Freedom tasted like metal. I stood at the edge of Grayridge prison, breathing air that didn't smell like bleach and rot for the first time in four years, and all I could taste was the cold bitterness of metal on my tongue. My shoes crunched gravel as I stepped out from under the steel archway. No crowd. No family. No damn welcome-home sign. Just me, a duffel bag over my shoulder , and a silence so loud it made my skin itch.
Until I saw the car.
Black and sleek looking, Idling at the curb like it had been waiting for me. A Rolls-Royce. Definitely not prison material.
My stomach dropped.
I knew that car. Or more accurately, I knew the man who would likely be inside it.
The back door opened before I could even blink. And there he was.
Lucian Blackwell he stepped out like he owned the damn Earth I walked on.
His suit was perfect, charcoal gray with crisp lines and darker intentions. His hair looked like it hadn't been ruffled by anything in years. His face was sculpted from ice and fury. Cold, calm, and absolutely merciless as always
Every instinct in my body screamed at me to run but to where?
Instead, I stood my ground, glaring at the man who had once testified in court with a voice so calm it made the jury forget how to feel pity.
He said my name like it was a crime.
"Raine."
I didn't answer him.
Lucian reached into his coat and pulled out a white envelope. No expression. No small talk. Just that envelope, like it was some kind of twisted peace offering.
"You're free," he said. "But not safe from me "
I narrowed my eyes. "Is that a threat or a diagnosis"
"Neither. It's a fact."
"You followed me out of prison to give me a fact"
He ignored the sarcasm. Of course he did. Lucian didn't deal in emotions. He dealt in leverage
"There's something I need from you," he said. "And something you need from me."
My voice cracked from disuse, but I forced it out. "I don't need a damn thing from you Lucian ."
"Your sister is missing."
The words hit harder than any prison fight ever had. My chest clenched. I took a step forward before I could stop myself.
"What did you just say"
"She disappeared three days ago," Lucian said. "No activity on her phone. No communication. Her apartment was broken into. And your name was written on the wall."
I stared at him.
"Why are you telling me this"
"Because you're the only one who might know why."
"You think I had something to do with it"
"I think there are answers buried in your past," he said. "And I want them."
"You're insane."
He held out the envelope again. "This will give you the means to find her. To protect yourself. To get closure."
I took it slowly. Inside was a contract.
A marriage contract.
I blinked. Laughed. Blinked again.
"You're joking."
Lucian's voice didn't shift an inch. "You will live in my estate. You will follow my rules. We will be husband and wife in the eyes of the world. In return, I give you resources. Security. And my help."
"Help with what"
"Finding your sister and whoever really killed my fiancé since you claim you didn't"
The air went dead.
He still believed I killed her. That had never changed.
I looked at the contract again. "Why now"
"Because someone wants you silenced. And if you go missing again, I'd rather it happen under my roof."
"And marrying me solves that"
"It binds us together legally. Gives me access. And makes you harder to disappear."
My hands were shaking. "You're manipulating me."
"I'm offering you the only real option you have left."
He got back in the car. The door shut.
I stood there in the wind, holding the contract like it was a bomb.
And then I turned and ran
The cab ride to my old apartment was silent. The driver tried to ask if I was okay and to make short conversation I didn't answer.
When I opened the door to my place, I found chaos.
The entire apartment had been torn apart. Drawers dumped. Pillows slashed. Glass everywhere. It looked like a goddamn hurricane had torn through.
But what made my blood freeze were the words on the wall.
You took her. Give her back.
Written in something thick. Dark. Almost black.
I backed up until I hit the kitchen counter, heart pounding so loud I couldn't hear anything else.
Someone thought I had my sister. Or they were trying to frame me again.
Lucian was right. I wasn't safe.
I pulled out the envelope and looked at the contract again. My name. His name. A dozen clauses. One year of marriage.
One year of pretending.
It sounded like a nightmare, pure torture.
But if it brought me closer to the truth, I would do it.
I didn't trust Lucian Blackwell.
But I trusted the people coming after me even less.
So I grabbed a pen. And I signed.
Not because I believed in him. But because monsters are easier to face when you know their names.;