The rain poured relentlessly, soaking the city in a cold, unforgiving gloom.Isabella Moretti stood under the dim streetlamp, her fingers clutching the thin strap of her worn leather bag as if it were her last lifeline. The air smelled of wet asphalt and desperation a scent she had grown far too familiar with over the past month.
Her father's voice echoed in her head, trembling and broken: "If we don't pay them, Isa… they'll take everything. Even the house."
Everything. The word gnawed at her. The small café her late mother had built, the home where every wall still carried her laughter, the only safe place Isabella had left—it was all about to be gone. Unless she did the one thing she swore she'd never do.
And now, here she was.
The glass doors of Kane Corporation Tower loomed ahead, glittering with power and cold indifference. The tallest building in Manhattan, its walls were made of glass and secrets. Inside waited the man she was here to see. A man the city both admired and feared. A man people called The King of Manhattan.
Adrian Kane.
She had never met him before tonight, but she knew his reputation ruthless in business, merciless in negotiations, and rumored to have ties to something far darker than Wall Street. The tabloids painted him as a billionaire playboy, but whispers in the underground spoke of something else: a man whose empire stretched far beyond legitimate borders.
Isabella hesitated at the entrance, staring at her reflection in the spotless glass. Her blouse clung to her from the rain, her hair damp and curling at the ends. She looked nothing like the kind of woman who belonged in Adrian Kane's world. And yet, she had no choice.
Taking a breath, she stepped inside.
The lobby smelled faintly of expensive cologne and polished marble. Her wet shoes clicked softly against the pristine floor as she approached the front desk. The receptionist barely glanced up, her red lips curving in the faintest of smirks.
"Miss Moretti?" she asked, her tone a mixture of curiosity and judgment.
"Yes." Isabella forced her voice steady.
"Mr. Kane is expecting you."
The elevator ride to the top floor felt endless. Each second ticked like a warning, her pulse quickening with every passing floor. By the time the doors opened, her palms were damp—not from the rain, but from the knowledge that whatever happened next would change her life forever.
The office was a cathedral of glass and steel, the city sprawled out beneath it like a conquered kingdom. Behind a massive desk sat Adrian Kane himself.
He was nothing like she had imagined.
Yes, he was impossibly handsome tall, broad-shouldered, with a face that could have been carved by the gods. But it wasn't his looks that caught her breath. It was his presence. His dark eyes, sharp and assessing, pinned her in place like she was a chess piece he had already decided how to play.
"Miss Moretti." His voice was deep, smooth, and laced with something dangerous. "Sit."
She obeyed, her knees brushing the cool leather of the chair.
"I've read your… situation," he began, steepling his fingers. "Your father's debts. The café. The house. All of it tied up with money borrowed from people who don't take kindly to late payments."
Isabella's hands clenched in her lap. "If I had another choice"
"You don't."
The blunt interruption made her flinch.
"You came to me because you heard I can make problems like yours… disappear," Adrian continued. "And you're right. I can. But I don't do charity, Miss Moretti."
Her heart thudded painfully. "What do you want?"
He leaned back in his chair, studying her like she was an equation he was deciding whether or not to solve.
"A marriage," he said simply.
The word hit her like a gunshot.
Adrian rose from his seat, walking toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, his silhouette framed by the city's lights. "You will marry me. Publicly. Legally. You will move into my penthouse, attend my events, smile when I tell you to, and play the role of the devoted wife. In exchange, I will pay off every cent of your father's debt—and ensure those who threatened you never come near your family again."
Isabella stared at him, disbelief twisting in her chest. "Why me? You could have anyone someone from your world."
His lips curved, but it wasn't a smile. "Because you're not from my world. You're… clean. Untouched by the politics of my business. And that makes you useful."
"Useful?" The word felt like an insult.
"Don't mistake this for romance, Miss Moretti," Adrian said, turning back to her. "This is business. I need a wife for reasons that don't concern you. You need money. We can help each other."
Her mind spun. Marriage to a man like him would mean giving up her freedom, her privacy—her life. And yet, if she refused, her father's world would crumble.
"What happens if I say no?" she asked quietly.
Adrian's gaze darkened. "Then your father loses everything by the end of the week. And those who lent him money will collect their payment in… other ways."
She swallowed hard, her breath shaky. "And if I say yes?"
"Then you'll be mine," he said, his voice low, final. "In every way that matters."
The room was silent except for the soft hum of the city below. Isabella's mind screamed for her to run, to get as far away from this man as possible. But her heart was pounding for reasons she didn't understand and her father's face flashed in her mind.
She closed her eyes. "I'll do it."
When she opened them, Adrian Kane was smiling not warmly, but like a man who had just won a game he'd never intended to lose.
"Good," he murmured. "The wedding will be in two weeks. Until then, you'll do exactly as I say."
He reached into his desk, pulling out a thin folder. "This is the contract. Read it, sign it, and we'll consider this deal… sealed."
Isabella reached for the pen, her fingers trembling. She didn't notice until it was too late that Adrian hadn't moved away. He was standing beside her, close enough that she could feel the heat of his presence.
As the tip of the pen touched paper, Adrian leaned down, his breath brushing her ear.
"Welcome to my world, Mrs. Kane."
Her signature bled into the page, sealing a bargain she couldn't take back.
Somewhere deep inside, a small voice whispered that she had just sold her soul.
But it was already too late.