Sophie couldn't sleep.
The guest room was perfect. Too perfect. The bed was expensive. The sheets were soft. The temperature was exactly right after James fixed it. Everything was designed for comfort.
But Sophie felt like she was suffocating.
At two AM, she gave up. She slipped out of bed and explored the penthouse. Maybe moving would help. Maybe understanding this prison would make it feel less like a cage.
The penthouse was silent. Brandon was somewhere in the east wing. Adrian's location was unknown. Sophie moved through the space like a ghost. Taking mental notes. Mapping exits. Counting security cameras.
Old habits from law school. Always know your surroundings. Always have an escape route.
She found Adrian's office by accident. The door was slightly open. Light spilled into the dark hallway. Sophie knew she should walk away. Adrian specifically told her not to touch anything in his office.
But Sophie had never been good at following orders.
She pushed the door open. The office was massive. Dark wood. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A desk that looked like it belonged to someone who controlled empires. And spread across that desk were files. Dozens of them.
Sophie moved closer. Started reading.
Criminal cases. Money laundering schemes. International wire transfers. Shell corporations. Offshore accounts. Every file showed a different piece of the Ashford family's operations. Legal on the surface. Criminal underneath.
This wasn't a legitimate business. This was organized crime with expensive lawyers.
Sophie should have been horrified. Should have run. Should have called the police.
Instead, she kept reading. Because the law was what she understood. And these files were brilliant. Whoever structured these operations knew corporate law, criminal law, international law. They'd built something almost impossible to prosecute.
She was so focused on the files that she didn't hear footsteps behind her.
"Find anything interesting?"
Sophie spun around. Adrian stood in the doorway. He wore pajama pants and nothing else. His chest was bare. Muscular. Covered in scars that told stories Sophie didn't want to imagine.
He should have looked vulnerable. Instead, he looked dangerous.
"I couldn't sleep," Sophie said. Her voice came out steadier than she felt.
"So you broke into my office."
"The door was open."
"That's not an invitation." Adrian walked into the room. Closed the door behind him. "What are you doing, Sophie?"
"Reading. You have good lawyers. Whoever structured these operations understands the law better than most judges."
Adrian moved closer. "You can tell that just from looking at files?"
"I graduated top of my class at Harvard Law. I can read corporate structures like other people read novels." Sophie gestured at the files. "This is brilliant work. Morally questionable. Probably illegal in seventeen different ways. But brilliant."
"And that doesn't bother you?"
"I didn't say that. I said it was brilliant. There's a difference."
Adrian studied her face. "You're not afraid of me."
"Should I be?"
"Most people are."
"I'm not most people." Sophie met his eyes. "You arranged this marriage. Didn't you? James said you specifically requested me. Why?"
Adrian was quiet for a moment. Then he picked up a file from his desk. Handed it to Sophie.
She opened it. Inside were documents. Photographs. Financial records. All about her parents. Where they lived. Where they worked. Their bank accounts. Their daily routines. Everything.
Adrian had more information on her family than the government did.
Sophie's hands shook. "You've been watching my parents."
"For six months. Since you started asking questions at Whitmore & Associates."
"Why?"
"Because Marcus Webb is connected to people I do business with. When he complained about a junior associate causing problems, I got curious. I looked into you. Harvard Law. Top of your class. Offered partnership track at twenty-four. Brilliant legal mind. Strong moral compass." Adrian's voice dropped lower. "You were exactly what I needed."
"Needed for what?"
"To restructure my family's legal operations. To find vulnerabilities I can't see. To build something so legally airtight that no prosecutor could touch it." Adrian took the file back. "Marcus Webb destroyed your career because you threatened to expose him. I'm offering you a chance to use that brilliant mind for something that actually matters."
"Working for a crime family?"
"Working for me. There's a difference."
Sophie wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him she'd never help criminals. But that would be a lie. She'd already agreed to marry into this family. She'd already taken their money. She'd already made her choice.
"What happens if I say no?" Sophie asked.
"Nothing happens to you. The contract stands. You play wife for six months. You get your money. You leave." Adrian's eyes went cold. "But your parents remain leverage. Insurance. To make sure you don't talk about what you've seen here."
"You'd threaten innocent people."
"I'd protect my family. Whatever that takes."
Sophie understood. Adrian wasn't offering her a job. He was telling her how things were going to be. She could cooperate and maybe protect her parents. Or she could resist and guarantee they'd be used against her.
"I want to negotiate," Sophie said.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Negotiate?"
"You want my legal expertise. Fine. I'll give it to you. But not as your prisoner. As your partner. I review your operations. Find vulnerabilities. Restructure everything to be legally defensible. In exchange, you leave my parents completely alone. No surveillance. No threats. Nothing."
"And if you betray me? If you go to the authorities?"
"Then you destroy me. But my parents stay safe regardless. That's non-negotiable."
Adrian was quiet for a long moment. Then he smiled. "You're negotiating from a position of weakness. Most people wouldn't have the courage."
"I'm not most people."
"No. You're definitely not." Adrian held out his hand. "Deal. You work with me. I leave your parents alone. But Sophie, understand this. If you betray me, I won't just destroy you. I'll make sure every law firm in the country knows exactly who you really are. You'll never practice law again."
Sophie shook his hand. His grip was firm. Warm. It lasted a second too long.
"Welcome to the family, Sophie," Adrian said quietly. "Let's talk about what you're really doing here."
The next morning, Adrian walked into the security briefing at exactly eight AM. Sophie was already there. Sitting at the conference table. Looking exhausted but alert.
Adrian set a cup of coffee in front of her. Black. No sugar.
Sophie stared at it. "How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That I take my coffee black."
"I make it my business to know things." Adrian sat across from her. "We have a problem. A crime boss named Thomas Kane was arrested three days ago. He has connections to the Ashford family through some casino operations. The evidence against him is overwhelming. I need to know if there's any legal way to dismantle the case."
He slid a thick file across the table.
Sophie opened it. Started reading. "You want me to help a criminal go free."
"I want you to find legal vulnerabilities. What Kane does with that information is his business."
"That's not how the law works."
"That's exactly how the law works. You know it. I know it. Every defense attorney in Manhattan knows it." Adrian leaned back. "The question is whether you're willing to use your skills to save someone who probably deserves to go to prison."
Sophie looked at the file. Looked at Adrian. "If I do this, if I find something, that makes me complicit."
"You became complicit the moment you walked into this penthouse."
He was right. Sophie had already crossed a line by agreeing to this marriage. By taking the money. By accepting Adrian's protection. Helping with one case wouldn't make her more guilty than she already was.
And maybe, just maybe, if she proved she was valuable, Adrian would trust her enough to let her guard down. Trust her enough to give her information she could use later.
Sophie was playing a long game. She just hoped she was smart enough to win it.
"I'll need twenty-four hours," Sophie said.
"You have twelve."
"That's impossible. This file is three hundred pages."
"Then you better start reading." Adrian stood. "Your room has been set up with everything you need. Laptop. Legal databases. Coffee maker. Don't leave the penthouse. Don't contact anyone. Just work."
He left before Sophie could argue.
Sophie looked at the file. Three hundred pages. Twelve hours. It was impossible.
Unless you had a photographic memory and twelve years of training in reading legal documents faster than humanly normal.
Sophie got to work.
Eleven hours later, Sophie walked into Adrian's office. He was on the phone. Speaking in what sounded like Mandarin. When he saw Sophie, he ended the call.
"Well?"
Sophie set down three pieces of paper. "Three loopholes. First, the evidence collection was sloppy. The warrant was obtained based on testimony from a witness with a documented vendetta against Kane. That makes it questionable. Second, the lead detective has a history of procedural violations. Two of his previous cases were thrown out for exactly that reason. That establishes a pattern. Third, Kane's lawyer filed a motion to suppress evidence three days late. But the judge accepted it anyway. That's judicial error. An appeals court would overturn."
Adrian read the papers. His expression didn't change. But something in his eyes shifted.
"This is good work," he said quietly.
"It's the truth. Whether it helps Kane is your decision."
"You found this in eleven hours."
"I'm good at what I do."
Adrian stood. Walked around the desk. Stopped directly in front of Sophie. "You're wasted as a contract wife. You're going to help me restructure the family's legal operations. You're going to help me build something nobody can touch."
"And if I refuse?"
"You won't refuse. Because you're curious now. You want to know how deep this goes. How complex the operations are. How brilliant the structure is." Adrian's voice dropped. "You're going to help me. And in return, I'll give you what you really want."
"What do I want?"
"Purpose. You were unemployable because you tried to do the right thing. Marcus Webb destroyed you for having a conscience. Now you can use your skills for something that actually matters. You can build something so legally perfect that even people like Marcus can't touch it."
Sophie should have said no. Should have walked away. Should have refused to help a crime family build legal immunity.
But Adrian was right. She was curious. She wanted to know how deep this went. Wanted to see if she could actually build something that sophisticated.
And maybe, just maybe, she wanted to prove she was more than the broken lawyer Marcus Webb created.
"I have conditions," Sophie said.
"Name them."
"I review everything. Every operation. Every transaction. Every legal structure. You don't hide anything from me."
"Agreed."
"And I don't do anything illegal. I find loopholes. I restructure operations. I make things legally defensible. But I don't break the law."
Adrian smiled. "Sophie, everything we do is technically legal. That's the whole point."
"Then we have a deal."
Adrian held out his hand. Sophie shook it.
She'd just agreed to help a crime family. She'd just become exactly what she swore she'd never be.
But maybe she could use this position to gather evidence. To build a case against the Ashfords from the inside. To finally do what she tried to do at Whitmore & Associates.
Or maybe she was lying to herself.
Either way, Sophie was committed now.