Becoming Something More

The Trap is Set

Panic set in two days later when Elena’s mother collapsed again. This time, the diagnosis was final: surgery or death.

"The cost is two million dollars," the doctor said.

Elena felt the world tilting. Even with Leo’s $500,000, she was over a million dollars short. She begged, she pleaded, and the doctor managed to lower the price to $1.5 million—but it was still an impossible sum.

Meanwhile, Lucas sat in his high-rise office, reading a file on Elena. He saw her debt, her dying mother, and her failed law practice. He saw his opening.

"We need a fake victim," Lucas told his lead bodyguard, Max. "Alex will 'disappear.' We’ll frame it as a murder. I’ll be the prime suspect."

"Sir? Why put yourself in legal trouble?" Max asked.

"Because I need a lawyer," Lucas smirked. "And I want a very specific one who is desperate for money. She won't be able to say no."

The plan went into motion. A "murder" was reported. The police, knowing Lucas’s power, offered him a bribe to make it go away. Lucas refused. He demanded a court-appointed lawyer from a specific firm—the one where Elena’s manager worked.

When the manager called Elena, his voice was trembling. "Elena, a high-profile client wants you. It’s a murder case. He’s offering a four-million-dollar retainer."

Elena’s breath hitched. Four million dollars. It was blood money, but it was also her mother’s life.