CHAPTER 3 : THE VOWS OF A GHOST
1971 Words
The cold needle touched my skin. I pulled back, but Caden’s hand was like a metal shackle around my arm.
"Stop moving, Ivy. It is just a tracking chip. It won’t kill you," Caden growled. He leaned over me in the dark car, his face sharp and harsh in the blue glow of his tablet.
“You’re putting a tracker in me?” I gasped, trying to slide away. “You said we were getting married to fool my father, not that I was your dog!”
“In that house, you’re both,” he said. He pressed the small device into my skin—quick, cold, no warning. “If we get separated, or if your father’s men grab you, I need to find you. Now, put on the mask.”
I stared down at the silver fox mask in my lap. It felt too heavy, like it knew what was coming. “Is this really it? Walking into my home with the man who wants my family dead?”
“It’s the only way you live tonight,” Caden said. Outside, the big gates of the Vance Estate creaked open. “Remember the plan. We go in as the Sterling heir and his new, secret wife. Don’t speak unless I say. Don’t look anyone in the eye. Once we hit the ballroom, get to the study.”
“And if my father recognizes me? My walk? My voice?” I whispered, heart pounding. “He’s a monster, Caden. He knows me.”
Caden grabbed my chin and forced me to meet his eyes. “He remembers a girl who painted flowers. He doesn’t know the woman who ‘died’ three days ago. To him, you’re a ghost. So act like one.”
The car rolled to a stop. The door swung open. Music floated out from the mansion—my father’s house, the place he tried to have me killed.
“Smile, Mrs. Sterling,” Caden murmured at my side, hand sliding to my waist. “It’s our wedding night.”
We stepped out. Cameras flashed like lightning. All those rich city people stared, whispering, hungry for gossip. Who was I?
“Caden Sterling! Is it true?” a reporter called out. “Did you come back with a wife?”
“No comments,” Caden barked, pulling me closer. He was solid and warm against me. I was scared of him, but somehow, I felt safer than I should have.
We walked into the ballroom. And then I saw him—my father. Silas Vance. He stood at the top of the stairs, drink in hand, looking way too pleased. Not at all like a man who’d lost his daughter.
“There he is,” I muttered. “The man who sold my life.”
“Head up,” Caden hissed. “Don’t let him see you shake.”
“Caden! My boy!” Marcus, fat and loud, blocked us. “We heard you were back! And who’s this beauty?”
“My wife,” Caden said, loud enough for everyone to hear. The whole room went silent. “We got married in Vegas. I wanted her to see where my family used to rule.”
“Married? Already?” Marcus squinted at my mask. “She looks familiar. What’s her name?”
“I didn’t say,” Caden snapped. “Now, excuse us. We have to go.”
He steered me toward the bar, but I could feel my father’s eyes burning into me. Each step felt sharp, dangerous.
“I have to go,” I whispered. “The study. I can’t breathe.”
“Go. Ten minutes,” Caden said, leaning in like he’d kiss me. “If you’re not back in ten, I’m coming in with a gun. Do you have the drive?”
“It’s in my dress.” I slipped away. I knew these halls, which doors stayed unlocked. I slipped into the big office and shut the door behind me. Quiet. Too quiet. I ran straight to the safe behind my mother’s portrait.
Fingerprint needed.
I pressed my thumb to the glass. Accepted.
Eye scan needed.
I leaned in, heart in my throat. The red light slid over my eye. Access granted.
The safe’s heavy door swung open. Inside, the black book waited. The proof Caden wanted. I grabbed it, hands shaking.
“Going somewhere, Ivy?”
I froze. That voice. Cold as ice.
I turned. My father was standing in the doorway, smiling like he’d already won.
“Father,” I said, clutching the book. “You should be at the party.”
“And you should be dead in the river,” he said, stepping in and closing the door. “I’m impressed, Ivy. I didn’t think you’d have the guts to work with Caden Sterling.”
“You tried to kill me!” My voice broke. “You sold me for money!”
“I sold something useless,” Silas sneered, pouring himself a drink. “You were always too weak. But look at you now. Stealing for a new master. Does Caden know your secret? Does he know about the baby?”
My blood froze. “What?”
“I have your doctor’s files. I knew you were pregnant before you did,” Silas said, swirling the glass. “The real question is, does Caden know? Does he know he’s protecting my heir? Or does he just think you’re a tool for his revenge?”
“He saved me,” I said, voice barely there.
“He’s using you. Once he gets that book, he’ll toss you aside. Or keep you locked up to get at me. Is that what you want for my grandchild?”
“It’s not your child! You tried to kill me!”
The door slammed open. Caden stood there, gun raised, eyes dark and wild.
“Step away from her, Silas,” Caden growled.
“Ah, the husband,” Silas mocked, not even flinching. “Tell me, Caden. Did you tell her the truth? Because I was just telling her about the baby she’s hiding from you.”
Caden’s eyes snapped to mine. His face was unreadable, stone cold. “I don’t care about his lies, Ivy. Get over here. Now.”
“Is it a lie, Ivy?” my father pressed. “Tell him. Tell him whose blood is in your body.”
I looked at Caden. For the first time, I saw doubt flicker in his eyes. The room felt so tight I could barely breathe. My head spun. I tried to speak—"Caden, I—"—but the words stuck in my throat.
He didn’t wait. "Did you get the book?" His voice was low. Dangerous.
I nodded. "I have it," I whispered.
"Then we’re leaving." He grabbed my arm and yanked me after him, never letting his gun waver from my father. "You follow us, Silas, and I’ll kill you."
Silas just laughed. "I’m not following. I’ll wait. Because when Caden figures out what you really are, Ivy, he’ll bring you back to me himself."
We ran. Didn’t even look back, not until we were in the car and Caden floored it. Tires screeched. The book sat heavy in my lap, but the secret in my gut weighed more.
He didn’t talk. Not for miles. His knuckles turned white on the wheel.
Finally, he spoke. "Is it true?" His voice could cut glass.
I reached for him. "Caden, please—just listen—"
"Is it true?" He slammed a fist into the steering wheel, shouting now. "Are you pregnant with his grandchild?"
I broke. "Yes!" The word tore out of me. I covered my face, sobbing. "Yes, but it’s not what you think. The night of the party… the man in the mask—"
He jerked the car to a stop and turned toward me, eyes burning with something fierce and raw.
"You were just a mission, Ivy. A key to a safe." He barely breathed. "But if you’re carrying his blood… if you lied to me…"
I couldn’t take it. "I didn’t know it was you!" I screamed. "I didn’t know the man in the mask was you!"
He went still. Silence. He just stared, then slowly reached his hand out toward my stomach.
"Mine?" That word barely made a sound.
I nodded, crying harder. "The scar on your hand. I saw it tonight. It was you, Caden. At the party, three months ago. It was always you."
He looked at his own hand, then at me. The man who wanted revenge now looked at me like he didn’t know whether to hate me or hold me.
"If that’s true," he said, voice shaking, "you’re not just a key anymore. You’re my world."
He started the car again and drove into the night. But his eyes on me—something had changed. It wasn’t just hate now. It was obsession, deep and dark.
I clutched the book. I’d just handed Caden the weapon to destroy my father. But I’d also tied myself to him, forever.
"What are you going to do?" My voice was small.
He stared at the road, jaw set. "I’m going to finish the war, Ivy. Then I’ll make sure no one ever lays a hand on what’s mine again."
"So… am I free?"
He laughed. It sounded cold. "Free? No, Ivy. You’re the mother of my child. You’re never leaving my side."
I turned to the window. My father was gone, but I’d run straight into the arms of someone even more dangerous. Vance and Sterling—our families were enemies to the bone.
"Will you tell the world?" I whispered.
He shook his head. "The world thinks you’re dead. That’s safer. We live in the shadows now, until I’ve taken every one of their heads."
The baby kicked for the first time. Just a soft flutter, but it made me look at him—Caden, the man everyone feared. My husband. My captor.
"Caden," I said, "if my father finds out the baby’s yours… he’ll come for us."
He squeezed my hand, hard. "Let him try. I’ve been waiting for a reason to burn it all down. Now I have two."
I closed my eyes. I was so tired of running. Tired of being scared. I wanted to trust him, but how do you trust someone who used you as a pawn?
I didn’t know it yet, but the man I hated was the father of my child. Would he love the baby enough to stop being the monster I saw?
We pulled up to a new house. Even more hidden than the last. Caden got out, opened my door, and didn’t wait—he just picked me up.
"This is our real home," he said.
I glanced at the guards, the cameras, the thick walls. "Why so many guards?"
He looked at me. "Because the war just got personal."
Inside, the place felt like a fortress. I realized I’d traded one cage for another—just one with more expensive locks.
He set me on the bed, and I whispered, "Are we ever going to be happy?"
He studied me for a long time, then touched my hair. "Happiness is for people who aren’t at war, Ivy. Right now, we survive."
"And after?"
He said nothing. Just kissed my forehead and walked out.
"Sleep. Tomorrow, we start the real fight."
I lay there in the dark. A billionaire’s wife. A mother. A ghost.
But as I watched Caden’s silhouette in the doorway, I had to ask: If he kills my father, will there be anything left of the man I loved in the garden, or will he become exactly like the monster he is trying to destroy?
- Writer
