Sophia didn't remember leaving the building.
One moment she was in the stairwell.
Next, she was outside, cold air slicing her lungs as sirens screamed in the distance.
Her phone felt heavier than stone in her hand.
Marcus wanted her.
Alive.
Willing.
That was worse than death.
A black car rolled to a silent stop in front of her.
The window slid down.
Marcus sat inside, perfectly calm, like this was a scheduled meeting.
Not a kidnapping.
"Get in," he said.
Sophia didn't move.
"You have ten seconds," he added casually. "After that, Ethan loses another organ."
Her heart stopped.
She opened the door.
Sat inside.
The car drove.
No guards touching her.
No ropes.
No threats.
That was the terrifying part.
Marcus didn't need them.
"You're shaking," he observed.
"You shot him," she whispered.
"I spared him," Marcus corrected. "There's a difference."
Tears burned her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"
He smiled faintly.
"Because power isn't money," he said. "It's leverage. And you… are leverage."
The city lights blurred past the window.
Sophia stared straight ahead.
"What do you want from me?" she asked.
Marcus leaned closer.
"Marry me."
The words hit harder than any bullet.
She turned to him slowly.
"You're insane."
"No," he replied calmly. "I'm efficient. You marry me. Ethan lives. You refuse…"
He shrugged.
Silence finished the sentence.
Sophia's chest tightened.
"You'd never let him go," she said.
Marcus's smile widened.
"Of course not," he said. "But he'll breathe. He'll wake up every morning knowing you chose his life over your freedom."
Cruel.
Perfectly cruel.
The car stopped at a private airstrip.
A jet waited.
Engines humming.
Marcus stepped out and offered his hand.
Sophia stared at it.
That hand was a cage.
A contract.
A sentence.
But Ethan was still breathing.
For now.
Her fingers trembled as she placed her hand in his.
Marcus's grip tightened.
"Smart choice," he murmured.
As they walked toward the jet, Sophia made a silent promise.
Not to Marcus.
Not to Ethan.
To herself.
She would burn this empire to the ground.
Even if she had to become a monster to do it.
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The wedding is a trap… but for who?