Chapter 5 - The Contract
Two days passed.
Daniel didn't call.
I didn't contact him.
The wedding was canceled.
The venue deposit was lost.
The flowers were donated.
The invitations were destroyed.
I packed Daniel's belongings into boxes.
Every object felt like evidence from a crime scene.
Then I found the contract.
It was hidden inside an old folder.
A business contract between Daniel's company and Bennett Holdings.
I read the first page.
Then the second.
By the third page, my hands were cold.
There was a clause.
If Daniel married Chloe, Bennett Holdings would transfer controlling shares of a major property development to his company.
I stared at the words.
The marriage wasn't only a dare.
It was financially valuable.
I called Chloe.
She answered immediately.
“Emma?”
“Did you know about the contract?”
Silence.
“That depends.”
“Don't do that.”
She sighed.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did Daniel know?”
“I don't know.”
“You're his best friend.”
“I know.”
“Did you marry him because of it?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because he asked me to.”
“Why?”
“He said he wanted to scare you.”
I felt sick.
“And you agreed?”
“I thought it was a joke.”
“You signed legal documents.”
“I was drunk.”
“That doesn't erase a marriage certificate.”
“I know.”
Her voice broke.
“I've hated myself since last night.”
I sat down.
“Chloe, why would Daniel want to scare me?”
She hesitated.
“Because of something he heard.”
“What?”
“He thought you were planning to leave.”
I frowned.
“Why would he think that?”
“Because someone showed him messages.”
“What messages?”
“Messages between you and another man.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Chloe whispered:
“Daniel thought you were cheating.”
I almost laughed.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
I hung up.
Then I searched my phone.
There were no messages I had sent.
No hidden conversations.
No secret relationship.
But there was one strange thing.
Three months ago, I had received a message from an unknown number:
You don't know the man you're marrying.
I had ignored it.
Now I wondered if Daniel had received something similar.
That evening, Daniel came to my apartment.
I didn't invite him in.
“I found something,” he said.
“So did I.”
He looked at me.
“The contract?”
“Yes.”
“I didn't know about the marriage clause.”
“Do you expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if I knew, I would never have done it.”
“You did something worse than signing a contract.”
“I know.”
“You made me feel replaceable.”
He looked down.
“I was stupid.”
“You were cruel.”
“Yes.”
“You humiliated me.”
“Yes.”
“You chose a dare over me.”
His eyes filled.
“Yes.”
He didn't defend himself.
Somehow, that hurt more.
Then he handed me a flash drive.
“What's this?”
“Sophie's files.”
I stared at it.
“Where did you get them?”
“Rachel.”
I looked up.
“Rachel is alive?”
“She contacted me last night.”
“Where?”
“She won't tell me.”
“Why give you the files?”
“Because she trusts me.”
I almost smiled.
“She shouldn't.”
“I know.”
I took the drive.
“What's inside?”
“Everything Sophie found.”
“Financial records?”
“Yes.”
“Names?”
“Yes.”
“Your family?”
“Some of them.”
I looked at him.
“Why give this to me?”
“Because you were right.”
“About what?”
“You don't know who I am.”
He took a breath.
“I've spent three years trying to bury what happened because I thought protecting everyone meant staying silent.”
“And now?”
“Now I understand silence protected the wrong people.”
He walked away.
I closed the door.
Then I plugged the flash drive into my laptop.
There were dozens of files.
One folder was labeled:
VALENTINE
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Daniel.
Taken yesterday.
At the hotel.
The same hotel where he had come to beg me back.
May you like
Under the photograph was a message:
The wedding was only the beginning.
