Chapter 5: A Name Worth Millions
1183 Words
I stared at the message on my phone for so long that the screen dimmed.
We’re outside your house again.
For a second, I forgot where I was.
The mansion.
The contract.
Sebastian standing a few feet away from me.
Everything blurred together until there was only one thought left in my head.
Home. My family.
I looked up.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Sebastian didn’t answer.
His expression remained calm, but something about the way he looked at me made my stomach tighten.
“Who sent that message?” he asked.
I swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
“Show me.”
I hesitated before handing him the phone. His eyes moved across the screen. Nothing changed on his face.
No surprise.
No confusion.
Nothing.
That bothered me more than it should have.
“Do you know who they are?” I asked. He handed the phone back.
“Yes.”
The answer came too quickly.
I stared at him.
“You know them?”
“They work for one of the men trying to recover your father’s debt.”
A chill ran through me. I had heard stories over the past few months. Stories my father tried to hide.
Stories my mother pretended not to hear. People showing up at odd hours.
Threats disguised as warnings. Businesses were destroyed because somebody missed a payment.
At first, I thought they were exaggerated.
Now I wasn’t so sure.
My grip tightened around my phone.
“They’re at my house.”
“They’ve been there before.”
That answer irritated me.
“You say that like it’s normal.”
“It’s not normal.”
“Then why do you sound so calm?”
For the first time, his gaze sharpened.
“Because panic won’t help your family.”
I opened my mouth. Then closed it again. Because I hated admitting it, but he was right. Panicking wasn’t going to do anything.
It wasn’t going to make the debt disappear.
It wasn’t going to keep Leo safe.
It wasn’t going to stop people from showing up at our door.
I looked away.
My chest felt tight.
The room seemed smaller.
The silence stretched between us.
Eventually, I spoke again.
“If I leave right now… will they still be there?”
My voice sounded weaker than I wanted.
“Will they still be there?”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened.
“Most likely.”
The answer landed heavily. I thought about Leo.
I thought about my mother.
I thought about opening the front door and finding strangers standing there again.
Fear wasn’t the right word for what I felt.
It was something deeper. Something colder.
The realization that things were getting worse faster than I could stop them.I took a breath.
Then another.
Then another.
None of them helped.
“Can I go home?” I asked quietly.
His eyes remained on mine.
“Yes.”
The answer surprised me. I expected resistance.
Instead, he reached for his phone.
“Prepare the car.”
He ended the call.
Just like that. No discussion. No argument.
No attempt to stop me.
That should have made me feel better.
It didn’t.
Because I knew what was waiting for me.
The drive back felt longer than before.
Nobody spoke.
I sat by the window and watched the city pass in a blur of lights and reflections.
Every minute felt heavier than the last.
By the time we reached my neighborhood, my stomach was in knots.
The black car slowed. Then stopped.
I looked through the window. Three men stood outside our house.
One of them was smoking.
Another leaned against a dark SUV. The third was knocking on our front door.
My heart dropped.
Before I could move, one of the men inside the car spoke.
“Stay here.”
“I can’t stay here.”
The words came out before I could stop them.
“My family’s inside.”
I opened the door. The cold night air hit my face immediately.
One of the men near the house noticed me.
His eyes narrowed. Then he smiled.
I hated that smile. There was nothing friendly about it.
“Look who decided to come home,” he said.
I ignored him and walked toward the house.
My mother opened the door before I reached it. Relief flooded her face.
Then fear returned.
“Audrey.”
“I’m okay.”
My eyes moved past her. Leo stood in the hallway.
Trying to look brave. Failing completely.
Something inside me tightened.
The man behind me laughed.
“Family reunion. Nice.”
I turned.
“What do you want?”
The smile disappeared from his face. Money.
That was the answer.
Always money.
“Your father owes people.”
“We know.”
“Then tell him hiding won’t help.”
“My father isn’t hiding.”
The man shrugged.
“Then maybe he should answer his phone.”
They spoke for minutes that felt like hours. Threats disguised as warnings. Warnings disguised as advice.
Every sentence felt heavier than the last.
Eventually, they left. Not because they wanted to.
Because they had made their point.
When the SUVs disappeared down the street, silence settled.
My mother sat down. Leo looked pale.
The house felt small. Fragile.
Temporary.
I stood in the middle of the living room and realized something horrible. I had no solution.
Not one.
Every option I thought I had was gone.The part-time jobs.
The extra shifts.
The loans.
The promises.
None of it was enough. My mother looked at me.
There were tears in her eyes.
“Audrey.”
“No.”
“We’re running out of time.”
Leo looked between us. Confused. Scared.
Too young to carry this much fear. I couldn’t look at him.
So I went to my room instead. I sat on the edge of my bed.
And stared at the contract. For a long time, I didn’t touch it. I just looked at it.
Ordinary paper.
Harmless.
But it wasn’t. Because one signature would change everything.
My entire life. My future. My freedom.
The clock ticked quietly.
Minutes passed. Then another message arrived.
This time it wasn’t from an unknown number.
It was from Sebastian. The choice is yours, Audrey.
I stared at those words.
The choice is yours. It didn’t feel like a choice.
It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff and deciding how to fall.
I closed my eyes. Thought about Leo. Thought about my mother. Thought about the men outside.
Then I picked up the pen. My hand trembled.
For a moment, I couldn’t move.
Then I signed my name.
Audrey Bennett.
The ink dried. And with it, the last piece of my old life disappeared.
A second later, my phone rang.
Sebastian.
I answered. Neither of us spoke for a moment.
Then his voice came through.
Calm.
Controlled.
Certain.
“Pack your things, Mrs. Laurent.”
The call ended.
And I realized the contract hadn’t been the beginning of the marriage.
It had been the end of Audrey Bennett’s life as she knew it.
- Writer
