Chapter 2 The Contract

The penthouse occupied the top three floors of a building in Ikoyi. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of Lagos-the Atlantic glittering in the distance, the organized chaos of the city spread out like a circuit board below.

A woman in her forties materialized in the marble foyer. Professional, warm smile. "Ms. Adeyemi, welcome. I'm Grace, the house manager. Let me show you to your suite."

Elijah had already disappeared down a hallway, phone pressed to his ear, his voice a low murmur of numbers and deadlines. I followed Grace through rooms that belonged in architectural magazines. Clean lines, expensive fabrics, art that was probably worth more than my parents' house.

"Mr. Kingston wants you comfortable," Grace said, opening double doors. "This is yours for as long as you need it."

My "suite" was larger than Cynthia's entire apartment. Bedroom with a king bed draped in white linens. Sitting area with leather chairs and a view of the harbor. Bathroom with a tub that could fit three people and a shower with enough jets to qualify as a car wash.

Clothes hung in the closet. Designer labels. My exact size.

"How did he know my measurements?" I asked.

Grace's smile didn't falter. "Mr. Kingston is very thorough. Dinner is at eight if you'd like to join him, or I can bring a tray to your room. The contract and supporting documents are on the desk." She gestured to a sleek workspace by the window. "Press nine on the phone if you need anything."

Then she was gone, and I was alone in a luxury prison.

I walked to the window. From up here, Lagos looked almost beautiful. The chaos reduced to tiny movements, the noise muted by triple-pane glass. Somewhere down there were the men who'd fired me. Who'd stolen billions. Who thought they could silence anyone who threatened their profits.

The contract sat on the desk in a leather folder. Forty-seven pages.

I opened it.

Unlike most legal documents designed to obscure meaning in dense paragraphs, this was surprisingly clear. Elijah wanted no misunderstandings.

*KINGSTON-ADEYEMI MARRIAGE CONTRACT*

*ARTICLE 1: TERM AND PURPOSE*

*This agreement shall commence upon legal marriage and continue for a minimum period of twenty-four (24) months. Purpose: To satisfy the matrimonial and heir requirements of the Last Will and Testament of Alexander Kingston III while providing Party B (Eniola Adeyemi) security and compensation.*

At least he was honest about it being transactional.

*ARTICLE 3: RESIDENCE AND LIFESTYLE*

*Party B shall maintain primary residence at Party A's Lagos penthouse or such other residences as required for business purposes. Party B will receive:*

*- Dedicated suite with private access*

*- Personal vehicle and driver*

*- Security detail as deemed necessary*

*- Wardrobe budget of $10,000 USD monthly*

Ten thousand dollars. For clothes. I'd been wearing the same three work outfits on rotation for two years.

*ARTICLE 4: FINANCIAL COMPENSATION*

*Party B shall receive:*

*- Monthly personal stipend: $50,000 USD*

*- Full medical, dental, legal coverage*

*- Upon successful completion of minimum term: $5,000,000 USD*

*- Bonus provisions for contract extension by mutual agreement*

I read the number three times. Five million dollars. For two years, that was more than I'd earn in a lifetime at Westbridge. More than my parents had made combined in their entire careers.

*ARTICLE 7: HEIR REQUIREMENT*

*Parties agree to produce one (1) legal heir via medical artificial insemination within eighteen (18) months of marriage commencement. Party B will:*

*- Undergo medical evaluation for fertility assessment*

*- Participate in AI procedures as scheduled by medical team*

*- Maintain prenatal care per medical recommendations*

*Party A will assume full legal custody upon birth. Party B entitled to reasonable visitation per separate custody agreement (Appendix C).*

There it was. The clinical reality of having a child I'd hand over like a business deliverable.

I flipped to Appendix C. The custody terms were generous-monthly visits, holidays, video calls. But the message was clear: this would be Elijah's child, raised in his world. I'd be the woman who gave birth, not the mother who raised them.

My phone buzzed. Cynthia again.

*"Eni, seriously, I need you out by tomorrow. Segun's upset I didn't tell you sooner. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."*

No concern. No guilt. Just inconvenience.

I looked around the suite. At the Egyptian cotton sheets. At the view that cost more per month than my old apartment. At the contract promising I'd never have to beg for a place to sleep again.

*ARTICLE 12: PUBLIC CONDUCT*

*Party B agrees to:*

*- Present as a loving, devoted spouse at all public functions*

*- Refrain from contradicting Party A's business decisions publicly*

*- Maintain the appearance of a legitimate romantic marriage*

*- Submit to media training and protocol instruction*

*Party A agrees to:*

*- Treat Party B with public respect and courtesy*

*- Provide advance notice of required appearances*

*- Consult Party B on matters affecting her public image*

I almost laughed. We'd be playing house for the cameras while maintaining separate lives behind closed doors.

*ARTICLE 15: CONFIDENTIALITY*

*Party B agrees that all aspects of this arrangement, including but not limited to the contractual nature of the marriage, financial terms, and heir arrangement, shall remain strictly confidential. Violation of this clause results in forfeiture of all compensation and potential legal action for damages.*

If I told anyone the truth, I'd lose everything.

*ARTICLE 18: TERMINATION*

*Either party may terminate this agreement after minimum term (24 months) with ninety (90) days written notice. Early termination by Party A without cause results in full payout to Party B. Early termination by Party B without cause results in prorated compensation only.*

I could leave after two years. Walk away with five million dollars and start over anywhere in the world.

Or I could stay trapped in a job I hated, living on my cousin's couch, waiting for the people I'd exposed to decide how to silence me permanently.

There was a knock. "Ms. Adeyemi? Mr. Kingston asked me to inform you that Attorney Olatunde will be available by video call at nine p.m. if you have questions."

"Thank you."

I opened my laptop and did what any good analyst would do. I created an encrypted backup of everything. Uploaded my evidence files to three different cloud services. Sent the passwords to my old roommate in London with instructions to make everything public if anything happened to me.

Mutually assured destruction, exactly like Elijah said.

Then I pulled up the calculator and did the math. Twenty-four months. Fifty thousand per month. Five million at the end. That was six point two million dollars, assuming I didn't extend.

Enough to pay off my parents' mortgage. Put my brother through university without loans. Start my own consulting firm. Never depend on anyone again.

All I had to do was marry a stranger, have his child via medical procedure, and pretend to be in love for the cameras.

---

At 8:15, I left my suite. Followed the sound of quiet piano music through hallways lined with abstract art.

Elijah sat at a dining table set for two, reading something on his tablet. He'd changed-dark slacks, white shirt with sleeves rolled up. Less armor, somehow more intimidating for it.

He looked up. "You came."

"I'm hungry."

The ghost of a smile. "Honest. I appreciate that."

Dinner appeared, served by staff who moved like shadows. Pepper soup. Jollof rice with grilled fish. Fried plantain. The kind of home-style Nigerian food that cost a fortune when prepared by trained chefs.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. Then he said, "Questions about the contract?"

"Why me specifically?" I set down my fork. "You could hire a surrogate. Marry someone from your social circle who'd be more convincing to your board."

"My social circle is compromised." He didn't look up from his plate. "My last relationship was with a woman who turned out to be feeding information to my competitors. Anyone in my current sphere has either been bought by my uncle or could be."

"And you think I can't be bought?"

"I think you already turned down the easy money when you went to the police instead of selling those files." Now he looked at me. "You chose principle over profit. That's rare enough to be valuable."

"Or stupid enough to be desperate."

"Maybe both." He leaned back. "But you also have something else I need. You're credentialed, intelligent, and you have a legitimate reason to be in Lagos. The evidence you're carrying gives us a plausible story for how we met."

"What story?"

"You discovered financial crimes involving my father's partners. Brought it to my attention. I was impressed by your integrity and intelligence. We grew close during the investigation." He said it like he'd already rehearsed it a dozen times. "It's close enough to the truth that you won't trip over the lie."

"Except the part where we're not actually close."

"Yet." He paused. "We'll need to be convincing, Eniola. My uncle will look for cracks. The board will test whether you're real or just another transaction. If they sense weakness, they'll exploit it."

I took a sip of water. "And if I can't pull it off? If I'm not a good enough actress?"

"Then we'll both lose." Simple. Direct. No sugar coating. "But I don't think that's going to be a problem. You sat in that police station and reported billionaires for money laundering. You know how to keep your composure under pressure."

He wasn't wrong.

"The artificial insemination," I said. "When?"

"Month three or four. After the marriage is established and secure. The will requires an heir within eighteen months of my father's death, but that just means confirmed pregnancy, not birth." He set down his wine glass. "We'll use the best fertility clinic in Europe. Everything will be handled by medical professionals."

"How clinical of you."

"It's supposed to be clinical." His jaw tightened. "This is a business arrangement. Clear terms, clear outcomes. No messy emotions to complicate things."

"And the child? What happens to them in all this clinical planning?"

Something shifted in his expression. Brief, but there. "They'll have everything. Best schools, security, opportunities. I won't be a warm father-I don't know how to be. But they'll never want for anything material."

"Children need more than material things."

"Then you can provide that during your visitation." He said it without cruelty, just fact. "I'm offering you honesty, Eniola. Not perfection. I'll be a better father than my own, which admittedly is a low bar."

We finished eating in silence. The city lights glittered beyond the windows, millions of people living their normal lives while I sat in a penthouse negotiating the terms of a fake marriage.

Elijah stood. "The lawyer calls at nine. Read the appendices. Sleep on it. Tomorrow morning, tell me yes or no."

He started toward the hallway, then paused. "For what it's worth, I think you'll say yes. You're angry, and anger is useful. You want to watch them burn as much as I do. The question is whether you're willing to become untouchable first."

After he left, I returned to my suite. Stood at the window looking out at Lagos. Somewhere in that sprawl of light and chaos were the men who'd fired me. Who'd stolen billions. Who thought they could erase anyone who threatened their profits.

I thought about my father, working forty years for a pension that barely covered rent. My mother, still teaching because they couldn't afford for her to stop. My brother, brilliant and struggling to afford textbooks.

I thought about how I'd followed every rule. Worked harder than everyone. Done the right thing. And it had gotten me fired, threatened, and homeless.

The contract sat on my desk. Forty-seven pages of terms and conditions that would change everything.

I picked up the expensive pen Elijah had left next to it.

Found the signature line on page forty-seven.

And I signed my name.

Not because I trusted him. Not because I believed in fairy tales or love conquering all or any of that romantic nonsense.

But because sometimes the only way to stop being a victim is to become too powerful to touch.

I took a photo of the signed page and texted it to Elijah's number with one word: *Yes.*

Three dots appeared immediately. Then: *Good. We have work to do. My office, 7 a.m.*

I looked at my reflection in the dark window. A woman who'd just sold two years of her life for security and revenge.

The old Eniola had died at that police station.

This version was just getting started.

And she was done apologizing for wanting to survive.