Chapter 2 - Secrets in the LedgerThe ride back to the Blackwell estate in the back of the bulletproof Maybach was suffocating. The partition between them and the driver was raised, sealing them in a private cocoon of heavy shadows and flickering highway lights.
Elena stared out the window, watching the rain streak across the glass. "What did Vance mean?" she asked quietly. "About my father's debts? I knew he was leveraged, Roman, but..."
"Your father wasn't just leveraged, Elena," Roman said, his voice flat, staring straight ahead into the dark cabin. "He was bankrupt. He owed five million to syndicate lenders tied to the dock unions. When I 'bought' your hand, as Vance so crudely put it, I didn't just pay off social debts. I cleared your family name from a ledger that would have seen your father indicted and imprisoned within forty-eight hours."
Elena turned sharply, her breath catching in her throat. "You bought my father's freedom?"
"I bought your safety," Roman corrected, finally turning his head to look at her in the dim light. "Your father came to me on his knees. He offered you because he had nothing else of value left to sell. I took the deal because I refused to let you sink with his ship. But make no mistake—I never intended for you to find out like this."
"And you let me think I was just traded?" Elena’s voice shook with sudden, fierce anger. "You let me believe I was a piece of property you acquired for your collection, all while acting like the cold, unfeeling master?"
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"It was safer that way," Roman snapped, his mask finally slipping, revealing the raw, frantic pressure beneath. "In my world, if enemies knew I cared about you—if they knew you weren't just a trophy wife—you'd become a target overnight. Look at what Vance tried tonight! The moment I show warmth, I paint a target on your back."
Elena stared at him, the ice in her chest melting into a searing, complicated heat. He hadn't just bought a wife; he had built a fortress around her, even if he built it out of walls that kept her shut out.
