MY WAY TO THE BILLIONAIRE'S HEART.

Chapter9

The room erupted into chaos. Victoria immediately pulled out her phone, fingers flying. Celeste looked panicked, her polish cracking. The new woman, her name tag read "Simone" ….remained eerily calm, watching Carter rather than the screen.

And Carter? He stood there, expressionless, watching them all like lab rats in a maze.

"You have two hours," he said calmly, as if the world wasn't imploding around him. "Fix this. Show me what you'd do as my wife when the empire catches fire. Best solution wins."

Maeve's heart pounded. This was it. The moment everything came together or fell apart.

But something felt wrong.

The news reports were too polished, the social media outrage too coordinated. She'd spent enough time online marketing her food stall to recognize manufactured trends.

This wasn't a real crisis.

This was Carter's ultimate test, not just of their PR skills, but of their character. How they'd react under pressure. Whether they'd throw him under the bus to save themselves, or fight for him.

She glanced at the others. Victoria was already typing what looked like a press release distancing herself from the company. Celeste was on the phone, probably with her family's lawyers. Simone was taking notes, her expression calculating.

They were all preparing to either abandon him or exploit the chaos.

Maeve looked at Carter. He was watching her specifically, those grey eyes boring into hers like he could see straight through to her soul.

He was testing her most of all.

Because he'd already told her he wanted her to win. This was her final chance to prove she deserved it, or to prove him wrong.

Maeve made her decision.

She walked past the other women, past the chaos and the manufactured panic, and stopped directly in front of Carter.

"Turn it off," she said quietly.

His eyebrow raised. "Excuse me?"

"The fake crisis. Turn it off." She crossed her arms. "This isn't real. The social media accounts are.The words hung in the air like a grenade with the pin pulled.

"The fake crisis. Turn it off."

Carter's expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes, surprise, or maybe respect. Around them, the other women stopped their frantic crisis management, turning to stare at Maeve like she'd lost her mind.

"Interesting theory," Carter said, his voice dangerously soft. "What makes you think it's fake?"

Maeve stepped closer, lowering her voice so only he could hear. "Because the social media accounts started posting at exactly 9:47 AM. All of them. Coordinated to the second. Real outrage doesn't move like that, it's messy, organic, chaotic. This is choreographed." She paused, holding his gaze. "And because you told me an hour ago that I'd already won. You wouldn't let a real crisis derail your plans. So this is a test. Of loyalty, probably. Or courage."

For three long seconds, Carter said nothing. Then his lips curved into something that might have been genuine admiration.

"Well then." He turned to the others, pulling a remote from his pocket and clicking it. The screens went dark. "Miss Wells is correct. The crisis was manufactured. A final evaluation of how you'd each respond under pressure."

Victoria's face flushed with anger. "You wasted our time with theater?"

"I evaluated your character," Carter corrected coolly. "Miss Hartley, you immediately began drafting a press release throwing me to the wolves to protect yourself. Miss Chen, you called your family's lawyers to explore legal separation from the company. Miss Baptiste…" his gaze shifted to Simone, "...you took notes. Calculating, intelligent, but ultimately detached. You'd manage the crisis efficiently, but without any real investment in the outcome."

Simone's expression remained neutral, but her jaw tightened slightly.

Carter turned back to Maeve. "Miss Wells called my bluff. She saw through the manipulation, confronted me directly, and…" something shifted in his voice, became almost intimate, "...chose to trust that I wouldn't actually let my empire burn. Even after everything she's learned about me."

The implication hit Maeve like cold water. She hadn't just passed his test. She'd revealed something about herself she hadn't meant to show.

She'd chosen him. Despite Leo, despite Jade's warnings, despite every red flag, when it mattered, she'd stood beside Carter rather than against him.

And he knew it.

"The challenge is over," Carter announced. "Thank you all for participating. Your cars are waiting downstairs, and you'll each receive the agreed-upon compensation for reaching the final round. Except…"

He moved to stand beside Maeve, his hand coming to rest lightly on the small of her back. The touch sent electricity through her spine.

"Miss Wells. If you'll stay."

It wasn't a question.

The other women left in varying states of fury and disappointment. Victoria shot Maeve a look of pure venom. Celeste looked relieved, honestly. But Simone paused at the elevator, her dark eyes meeting Maeve's with an expression that looked almost like pity.

Then they were gone, and Maeve was alone with Carter in his glass tower.

"Congratulations," he said, moving to the bar and pouring two glasses of something amber and expensive. "You've won."

Maeve's hands trembled. "I haven't agreed to anything."

"No?" He handed her a glass. "Then what was that little display? Defending my reputation, seeing through my test, standing beside me when you could have joined the feeding frenzy?" He took a sip, watching her over the rim. "Whether you've admitted it to yourself or not, Maeve, you've already chosen."

"You're wrong." But her voice lacked conviction.

Carter set his glass down and pulled out a tablet, sliding it across the gleaming table toward her. "The contract. Read it. Every word. Take your time. I'll be in my office."

He started to walk away, then paused. "One more thing. Cameron's been texting you, hasn't he?"

Maeve's blood ran cold. "How did you…"

"I know everything that happens in my orbit." His voice was casual, but his eyes were sharp. "My cousin is a good man. Too good, sometimes. He sees the best in people, which makes him vulnerable. And he's developed feelings for you, real ones, I think. That complicates things."

"Complicates how?"

Carter turned fully, and for the first time, she saw something like genuine emotion c***k through his carefully constructed facade. "Because I don't share well. And if you sign that contract, you're mine for two years. Not Cameron's. Not Leo's. Mine. We can negotiate many things, Maeve, but that isn't one of them."

The possessiveness in his voice should have terrified her. Instead, it sent heat pooling in her stomach, which terrified her for entirely different reasons.

He left her alone with the contract.

Maeve sat down, hands shaking, and began to read.

MARRIAGE CONTRACT BETWEEN CARTER ALEXANDER LANGSTON AND MAEVE ELENA WELLS

The legal language was dense, but the core terms were clear:

Two-year marriage, renewable by mutual consent

$50 million compensation, paid in installments

Separate residences permitted but must attend public events together

Fidelity clause (during public marriage, no outside relationships)

NDA covering all business dealings

Termination clause (either party can exit with penalties)

But it was the addendums that made her stomach twist:

ADDENDUM A: Family Support

The Langston Family Trust will immediately cover all medical expenses for Elena Wells (mother), including experimental treatments not covered by insurance. Thomas Wells (brother) will receive full scholarship to Stanford University with living expenses. Rita's Diner will receive interest-fee loan of $500,000 for renovation and expansion.

He'd researched everything. Knew exactly how to make this impossible to refuse.

ADDENDUM B: Professional Development

Maeve Wells will receive position as VP of Product Development at Langston Appliances, with full authority to oversee quality control and safety protocols. Salary: $250,000 annually, separate from marriage compensation.

A real job. With power to actually fix the problems Jade had exposed.

ADDENDUM C: Exit Strategy

If marriage ends before two years due to Carter Langston's breach of contract, Maeve Wells receives full compensation plus $25 million penalty. If marriage ends due to Maeve Wells's breach, she receives nothing and must repay all family support provided.

The carrot and the stick. Freedom if he failed her. Ruin if she failed him.

Maeve's phone buzzed. She grabbed it, desperate for a lifeline to reality.

Leo: I meant what I said. I love you. But I need to know, are you coming home tonight?

The question beneath the question: Are you still mine, or have you already left me?

Another text, from Cameron: Whatever Carter offered you, remember you have choices. You're not trapped. I can help you find another way.

And then, impossibly, a text from a hospital number: Don't sign anything until you talk to me. Room 412. Come alone.

Jade. Still fighting from her hospital bed.

Maeve stared at the three messages, three different futures, and felt the walls closing in.

She could walk out right now. Go to Leo, confess everything, rebuild their life together slowly, painfully, watching her mother get sicker, watching Tommy drop out, watching Rita lose everything…

No. That wasn't fair. She couldn't blame this decision on them.

This was about her. What she wanted. Who she wanted to be.

The girl who played it safe? Or the woman who jumped into the fire and hoped she'd figure out how to fly?

Maeve stood up, grabbed her purse, and walked toward Carter's office.

He sat behind a massive desk, city sprawling behind him, looking every inch the king of his empire. When she entered, he didn't look up from his computer.

"Decision made already?" His voice was carefully neutral.

"I have questions."

Now he looked up, and something like approval flickered across his face. "Ask."

"The faulty products. The fires. Is Cameron telling the truth? Were those your father's decisions, or yours?"

Carter's jaw tightened. "My father's. I found out six months ago when a factory supervisor tried to blackmail me with the information. I paid him off and started my own investigation. Every word Cameron told you was true."

"Then why not just admit it publicly? Why all this…" she gestured at the space between them, "...manipulation?"

"Because public admission means lawsuits that would bankrupt the company before we could fix anything. It means the Takahashi merger falls through. It means thousands of good people lose their jobs while lawyers get rich fighting over the corpse of my father's empire." He stood, moving around the desk. "I'm not a good man, Maeve. I won't pretend to be. But I'm trying to do the right thing in the only way I know how, through control, through strategy, through leveraging every resource I have."

"Including me."