Emma POV
The contract sat on the table. My hand shook above it. The pen felt heavy, like it would crush me if I held it too long. My fingers were stiff. My chest tight. I knew what this meant. If I signed, I was no longer free. I would belong to him.
He leaned back in his chair, calm, watching. One arm rested on the side. The other tapped the table in a slow beat. His eyes stayed on me, sharp and patient, like a predator waiting.
"You're wasting time, Emma," he said. His voice steady, cruel. "Every second you stall, your sister's life slips away."
His words cut through me. Sophia's face came to me, pale and weak. She needed care. She needed him. My stomach twisted. He had me, and he knew it.
"You're a monster," I said. My voice cracked, but I forced the words out.
He smiled, small and cold. "Maybe. But I am a monster who saves Sophia. Sign, and she lives."
I swallowed hard. The pen almost slipped from my grip. My lungs refused to work. But I spoke. "I'll sign. One condition."
His brow lifted. "Condition?"
"I see Sophia. Always. No excuses. No games. If you take her from me, you take everything."
He stared at me in silence. My heart pounded. I refused to look away. I had nothing left but this demand. At last he nodded. "Fine. You'll see her. I'll allow it."
Relief rushed through me. For the first time that night, I breathed. I thought I had claimed a piece back.
I pressed the pen down. The scratch across the paper was sharp and final. I pushed it away fast. My hand burned. My chest ached.
He folded the contract without looking at it. His eyes stayed on me. "Good girl," he said. Smooth, but with an edge. "From now on, you're mine."
My legs shook as I stood. I forced them forward, step by step, toward the door. I told myself it was over. Then his phone buzzed.
"Yes," he said. "Everything is working as planned. She signed. She has no idea what's coming."
A low laugh followed. I froze at the door. Fear spread cold inside me.
It was not over. It was only beginning.
Ethan POV
The contract sat on the table. Her hand hovered above it, shaking. The pen slipped once, and she caught it like it might run from her. Her face had lost all color. She understood what this meant. Once she signed, she was mine.
I leaned back in my chair, calm. One arm rested on the side. The other tapped the table in a steady rhythm. I wanted her to hear it, to feel each second drag. My eyes stayed on her. I did not blink. Silence breaks people faster than words.
"You're wasting time, Emma," I said. "Every second you stall, your sister's life slips away."
Her jaw tightened. "You're a monster." Her voice cracked, but she forced the words out.
A small smile touched my lips. "Maybe. But I am a monster who saves Sophia. Sign, and she lives."
She swallowed hard. I saw her body scream to run, but her love for Sophia chained her in place. That was my grip. That gave me control.
"I'll sign," she said. Her voice shook. "But on one condition."
I tilted my head. "Condition?"
"I see Sophia. Always. No excuses. No games. If you take her from me, you take everything."
I let the silence stretch, studying her. She thought meeting my eyes gave her strength. It did not. But I let her believe it. Hope makes chains heavier. At last I nodded. "Fine. You'll see her. I'll allow it."
Relief softened her face. She thought she had taken back something. She had not.
Her hand moved. The pen scratched across the page, sharp and final. She pushed it away fast, like the ink burned her fingers.
I folded the contract without looking at it. My eyes stayed fixed on her. "Good girl," I said. My tone smooth, but the edge clear. "From now on, you're mine."
She stood slowly, unsteady, and walked toward the door. I let her. She thought it was over. It was not.
My phone buzzed. I answered, still watching her. "Yes. Everything is working as planned. She signed. She has no idea what's coming."
A low laugh left me. "By the time she learns, it will be tool ate."
She froze at the door. Her fear filled the room. Perfect.