My Contract Husband

Chapter 13: Round 5

Emma stared at the text on her phone.

`Round 5. Move 1.`

Her hands shook so bad she almost dropped the phone.

Alexander saw it. “What is it?”

Emma turned the phone to him. Her face was pale.

Alexander’s jaw clenched. “We need to call Martins. Now.”

Emma nodded. “And Dane. And cybersecurity. And maybe an exorcist because this man no dey tire.”

That made Alexander almost smile. “He will tire. In prison.”

---

*1 HOUR LATER. WAR ROOM. FLOOR 49.*

Dane, Alexander, Emma, Officer Martins, and three cybersecurity experts from the FBI sat around a table covered with laptops and cold coffee.

“So,” Martins said. “Daniel is in maximum security. No phone access. No internet. So who sent the text?”

“Someone on the outside,” Dane said. “Someone he planned this with months ago. Probably Victor.”

The lead cybersecurity expert, Agent Lopez, tapped her keyboard. “The text came from a burner phone. Already destroyed. The fake emails came from servers in Russia, China, and Nigeria. Professional job. Expensive job.”

Emma leaned forward. “What do the fake emails say?”

Agent Lopez pulled one up on the big screen.

`From: e.carter@alexandercorp.com`

`To: swissbank@offshore.com`

`Subject: Transfer 50M`

`“Please move 50 million to account. This is urgent. -Emma”`

Emma’s stomach dropped. “I never sent that. I don’t even have access to Swiss accounts.”

“We know,” Agent Lopez said. “But the media doesn’t. Stock is down 20%. Investors are pulling out. Twitter is calling you a criminal.”

Alexander slammed his fist on the table. “Daniel is trying to destroy the company from prison.”

“Round 5,” Emma whispered. “He said this was coming.”

Martins looked at her. “What did he mean by that?”

Emma thought back. Her head was pounding. “Rounds. He always called it rounds. Round 1 was the contract. Round 2 was when he tried to frame me for fraud. Round 3 was the airport. Round 4 was prison. This is Round 5.”

“And Move 1 was the fake emails,” Alexander said. “So there are more moves coming. We need to know what they are.”

Dane stood. “Then we need to get ahead of him. What is Move 2? We need to predict it.”

No one answered. The room was too quiet.

---

*6 HOURS LATER*

Emma was back in her office. She had not slept. Her eyes were red.

Her assistant, Sarah, knocked softly. “Ms. Carter, you have a meeting with the board in 30 minutes. And the press is outside. Like 50 of them. They want a statement.”

Emma rubbed her face. “Tell them I will speak at 3 PM.”

Sarah nodded and left.

Emma’s phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

`Move 2. Check your email.`

Emma’s heart stopped. She opened her email with shaking hands.

There was a new message. From her father’s old email.

`To: Board@alexandercorp.com`

`CC: Press@allnews.com`

`Subject: My Daughter is a Fraud`

`“Emma Carter is not my real daughter. She was adopted. She has no right to the company. The will is fake. She is a gold digger. -Robert Carter”`

Emma stood so fast her chair fell backward and hit the wall.

“That is a lie,” Alexander said from the doorway. He had heard the noise and ran in. “Your father told me himself. You are his daughter. He showed me baby pictures.”

“I know,” Emma said. Her voice was shaking. “But no one else does. And the press will run with it. The board will use it to remove me.”

Her phone rang. Sarah. “Ms. Carter, the email was sent to the entire board and every major news outlet. They are asking for comment. The hashtag #FakeCEO is trending.”

Emma closed her eyes. “Round 5. Move 2. Attack my legitimacy. Attack my name.”

“What do we do?” Alexander asked. He looked ready to fight someone.

Emma took a deep breath. “We fight back. Get me my birth certificate. Get me my father’s lawyer. Get me DNA records. And get me a press conference in one hour. We go public before they do.”

---

*1 HOUR LATER. PRESS CONFERENCE.*

Cameras. Lights. Reporters shouting like market women.

Emma stood at the podium. Alexander stood behind her like a bodyguard.

“Good afternoon,” Emma said. Her voice was steady even though her legs were shaking. “I am here to address the fake email that was sent today.”

She held up documents one by one. “This is my birth certificate. This is my father’s will. This is a DNA test from 15 years ago. I am Robert Carter’s daughter. The email was fake. The sender used technology to fake my father’s email address. We have traced it.”

She paused. “This is part of a coordinated attack by Daniel Alexander, who is currently in prison. He is trying to destroy this company because we exposed his crimes. He will not succeed.”

Reporters shouted questions.

“Ms. Carter, how do you know Daniel is behind this?”

“Because he texted me and said ‘Round 5. Move 2’,” Emma said. “And because he is a criminal who has no shame and too much free time in prison.”

More flashes. Some reporters actually laughed.

“Are you afraid?”

“No,” Emma said. “I am not afraid. I am angry. And I will not let him win. This company will be rebuilt on truth.”

She walked off stage. Her legs almost gave out.

---

*NIGHT. WAR ROOM AGAIN.*

Agent Lopez was typing furiously. “We traced the second email. It came from an internet cafe in Lagos. We have CCTV footage.”

She pulled it up on the screen.

A man. Hoodie. Face covered. But he had a tattoo on his wrist. A snake coiled around a dagger.

Dane leaned in and squinted. “I know that tattoo. That is Victor. Daniel’s old bodyguard. He disappeared after the airport. He is crazy.”

Martins nodded. “Then Victor is Move 2. And probably Move 3.”

Emma’s phone buzzed again.

Unknown number.

`Move 3. Tonight. 12 AM. The warehouse. Come alone. Or the evidence burns.`

Emma read it out loud. Her voice was calm but her hands were not.

Alexander stood immediately. “No. It is a trap. It is always a trap.”

“It is the only way to get the real evidence,” Emma said. “The evidence that will put Daniel away for life. The video. The one he mentioned.”

“Or the way he kills you,” Alexander said. “I am not letting you go alone.”

“Absolutely not,” Martins said. “We will raid the warehouse. Full SWAT.”

“And if the evidence burns in the process?” Emma asked. “We need it. To end this. To end Round 5.”

A long silence. Only the hum of computers.

Finally Alexander said. “Fine. We go. But Dane is on the roof. And Martins has SWAT on standby two blocks away. And you wear a wire.”

---

*11:55 PM. WAREHOUSE. DOCKS. RAIN.*

Dark. Rain pouring. Containers everywhere. The smell of salt and metal.

Emma and Alexander walked in. No weapons. Just the wire.

Victor was waiting. The snake tattoo on his wrist. He was holding a hard drive and a lighter.

“You came,” Victor said. “Daniel said you would. He said you are stubborn.”

“Give us the drive,” Emma said.

Victor smiled. “First, you answer a question. Why did you betray him? He could have made you queen.”

“I did not betray him,” Emma said. “He killed my father. That is not business. That is murder.”

Victor laughed. “Everyone kills someone. That is business. Welcome to the family.”

Alexander stepped forward. “Give her the drive. Now.”

“Or what?” Victor raised a gun and pointed it at Emma’s head. “You think I am scared of you?”

Sirens in the distance.

Victor’s eyes widened. “You brought police!”

SWAT.

Victor turned to run toward the back door.

BANG.

Dane’s shot. From the roof. It hit Victor’s leg. He went down, screaming and cursing.

“YOU SHOT ME YOU—”

SWAT swarmed in and cuffed him. Two officers, three officers.

Martins walked in. “You are under arrest, Victor.”

Victor spat. “Daniel will get out. He always does.”

Emma ran to the hard drive. It was intact. She grabbed it.

Then Victor lunged. Even with a shot leg. He grabbed Emma’s arm.

Alexander tackled him. They rolled on the wet floor.

“Get off her!” Alexander punched him.

Dane kicked the gun away. “Boss! You good?”

Emma was breathing hard. “I’m okay. I have it.”

Alexander pulled her up and into a hug. Tight. “You are insane.”

“You love it,” Emma said into his chest.

---

*THE NEXT MORNING*

The hard drive contained everything. Every crime. Every murder. Every bribe. Including a video of Daniel ordering her father’s death. Clear audio.

News broke. Stock went up 30%. #RealCEO was trending.

Daniel was given life in prison. No parole. No appeals.

Emma stood in her office. Alone. Finally quiet.

Her phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

`Round 5. Over. You won. -D`

Emma stared at it for 10 seconds. Then she deleted it. Blocked the number.

Alexander walked in. “It is over.”

Emma nodded. “It is over.”

He came to her. “What now?”

Emma smiled. Tired but real. “Now we rebuild. Together. And I sleep for three days.”

Alexander took her hand. “Together. And I will guard your sleep