Chapter 2 The Price of Blood

Elena Román didn't sleep a wink all night. The words from Antonio's note-"He wants something more than grapes"-spun in her mind like a vulture circling its prey. She knew the audit Hanna was planning would be useless; Sergio Montes wasn't a man you defeated with accounting books. You defeated him with sacrifices.

At dawn, while Hanna slept, exhausted from tears and fatigue, Elena made a decision that chilled her blood, but it felt like the only way out. She had to prevent them both from ending up behind bars for the fraudulent dealings Antonio had left uncovered.

A Call to the Executioner

Elena locked herself in the office and dialed the private number listed on the contract. It didn't take long before a deep, cold voice, stripped of any emotion, answered.

"Hello?" Sergio Montes' voice was like steel striking marble.

"Mr. Montes... this is Elena, Antonio Román's widow."

"Mrs. Román. You have my condolences, though I doubt this is a social call. My lawyers should already be on their way to San Lorenzo."

"Wait," Elena interrupted, gripping the receiver tightly. "I know what the contract says. I know the estate is yours and that my husband's debts are drowning us. But I also know you have a special interest in the lineage of this land. Don't send us to jail. Don't take everything from us."

"And what do you have that could interest me more than immediate ownership of the best vineyards in Mexico?" Sergio asked with a tone of lethal boredom.

A Pact of Convenience

Elena closed her eyes, feeling like she was betraying her own flesh and blood. "I'm offering you my daughter, Hanna."

There was a prolonged silence on the other end of the line. Elena continued, her voice trembling but firm.

"Hanna is the legitimate heir-educated, with the Román bloodline. If you marry her, San Lorenzo won't just be a seized property; it will be yours by marital right. The brand will keep its prestige, and you'll get the missing piece for your empire. A marriage contract. You save the family from legal ruin, and I give you Hanna."

The CEO's Response

Sergio Montes remained silent for a few more seconds. The hint of a cynical smirk could be heard in his breathing.

"A contract marriage..." Sergio repeated. "It's a medieval proposal, Mrs. Elena. But highly practical."

"Do you accept?" she asked, almost breathless.

"I'll be at the estate tomorrow. I want to see the 'merchandise' before signing any legal pardons. But I'm warning you: if Hanna isn't on board or tries to rebel, you won't just lose the estate. I'll personally make sure you spend the rest of your lives in a cell."

Elena hung up the phone. She sank into the chair, shaking. She had just saved the estate, but she knew she had condemned her daughter to a golden cage with a man who knew no mercy.

Meanwhile, out in the vineyards, Hanna walked between the rows of grapes, swearing she would protect her mother and her legacy at all costs, never suspecting that her own mother had already sold her to the enemy.

The Poison of Guilt

Elena heard the engine of the lawyers' car fading away and knew time had run out. She walked toward the terrace, where Hanna was leafing through old ledgers in the vain hope of finding an error to save them. Seeing her mother so pale, Hanna dropped the papers and rushed to her side.

"Mom, you're white as a ghost. Please, sit down. The stress of these past few days is killing you," Hanna said, taking her arm tenderly.

Elena used that gesture to begin her performance. She slumped into the wicker sofa and began to breathe heavily, pressing her hand against her chest.

The Manipulated Confession

"Hanna, my child... there are things I didn't tell you because I wanted to protect you. But I can't take it anymore. My body is failing me," Elena whispered, faking a faint. "The doctor warned me months ago: my heart won't survive a scandal, let alone a prison cell."

Hanna turned pale. "What are you talking about, Mom? What cell?"

"Your father... Antonio didn't just borrow money. He committed irregularities, Hanna. Frauds that involve me because I signed documents without reading them. If we don't pay Sergio Montes, he won't just take the San Lorenzo vineyard. He'll press charges. I'll go to jail, and with this heart... I wouldn't make it out alive."

Hanna felt her world crumbling. The image of her mother-elegant and fragile-behind the bars of a Mexican prison was a nightmare she couldn't bear.

The Sacrifice Contract

"I spoke with him, Hanna," Elena continued, taking her daughter's hands and looking at her with pleading eyes. "I spoke with Sergio Montes. I begged for mercy. And he... he gave me a way out. The only way out to save the estate and keep me from dying in prison."

"What way out, Mom? Whatever it is, we'll do it."

Elena swallowed hard and dropped the bombshell with a coldness disguised as agony:

"He wants you, Hanna. He wants to join the Román family to legitimize his power over the vineyard. He has agreed to forgive the debt and drop the legal charges... in exchange for you becoming his wife. A three-year marriage contract."

The Weight of the Name

Hanna pulled her hands away, stepping back as if she had been slapped. "Marry him? A man I don't even know? Mom, that's selling me! This is insane!"

Elena began to sob in a controlled manner, ramping up the pressure. "It's for San Lorenzo, Hanna! For your father's memory! If you don't accept, they'll come to take me away in handcuffs tomorrow morning. Is that what you want? Do you want my death on your conscience? Please... do it for me, for your mother who has given you everything."

Hanna looked toward the grape fields, feeling the vines turn into the bars of a cage. Elena's manipulation had hit the mark: Hanna couldn't let her mother die in jail, even if it meant surrendering her life to a stranger.

"Fine, Mom," Hanna whispered, her voice dead. "Tell Sergio Montes I accept. But tell him this too: he's taking my name, but he will never have my soul."

"Thank you, daughter... thank you for not leaving me alone in this," Elena whispered against her ear, forcing a trembling voice. "Someday you'll understand I did this for both our sakes."

Hanna didn't respond. She remained rigid, her gaze lost in her father's office. In that moment, the weight of the Román name and the land of San Lorenzo felt like a marble slab crushing her chest.

Elena stepped back, drying her tears with an elegance that struck Hanna as suspiciously quick.

"Sergio will be here first thing tomorrow," Elena said, regaining her commanding tone. "I want you to wear that blue silk dress your father loved so much. You must look like a Román, not a victim."

Hanna nodded mechanically. She walked to her room and locked herself in. From her balcony, the San Lorenzo vineyards looked different under the moonlight: they were no longer her home; they were a ransom payment.

Meanwhile, in his office in the capital, Sergio Montes stared at a photograph of the Hacienda. On his desk, a marriage contract sat waiting for a single signature. He knew Hanna had accepted; people like Elena Román always ended up selling what was most precious to them just to maintain their status.

"Tomorrow, San Lorenzo will be mine," Sergio thought, "and Hanna Román will learn that in my world, everything has a price."

Hanna walked down the stairs of the main house with her chin held high, even though her hands were trembling, hidden within the folds of her blue dress. In the main hall, her mother was already waiting, wearing a rehearsed smile and a vitality that contradicted her supposed heart condition.

"Remember, Hanna," Elena whispered, "my life and our family name depend on this. Smile."

At that moment, the roar of a luxury engine announced an arrival. A black armored sedan pulled up to the main entrance. A man who looked as if he had been carved out of granite stepped out: Sergio Montes.

Sergio was not the bloated, decadent villain Hanna had imagined. He was young, possessed an aggressive elegance, and had dark eyes that seemed to scan every secret in the room. As he entered, the air seemed to grow thin. His presence filled the space, displacing even the authority that Antonio Román once held.

"Mrs. Román," Sergio said, ignoring Elena's extended hand and fixing his gaze directly on Hanna. "I assume she is the reason I am here."

"My daughter, Hanna," Elena introduced with a honeyed voice. "She is fully aware of the situation and is ready to save the family honor."

Sergio walked toward Hanna, stopping only inches away. She didn't lower her gaze, though his scent-a mix of sandalwood and power-made her head spin.

"She's braver than I expected," Sergio murmured in a frigid tone. "A pity that bravery is being used to clean up her father's messes."

The Signature of Fate

Without further ado, Sergio signaled his assistant, who placed a black leather folder on the mahogany table. The documents were ready.

Key Clauses of the Marriage Contract:

Duration: Three years of mandatory cohabitation.

Assets: The San Lorenzo Estate becomes the property of Montes Global, though Hanna will retain the title of nominal administrator.

Pardon: Sergio Montes withdraws all evidence of fraud against the Románs from the prosecutor's office.

Bond: The marriage will be legal and public; any attempt at a prior divorce will nullify the debt forgiveness.

Hanna picked up the fountain pen. The weight of the metal felt like a ton. She looked at her mother, who placed a hand over her heart in a dramatic gesture of "pain." Hanna closed her eyes and signed.

The Owner's Seal

Sergio took the document, checked the signature with cold indifference, and closed it.

"Congratulations, Hanna," he said, and for the first time, a cynical smile crossed his lips. "You've just bought your mother's freedom with your own life. You have two hours to pack your things. You won't be living here anymore; you're moving with me to Mexico City today."

Hanna froze. "Today? But my mother... the vineyard..."

"The vineyard already has new managers," Sergio replied, turning his back. "And your mother has her freedom. You, on the other hand, now belong to me."

The silence that followed Sergio's order was deafening. Hanna didn't move; her eyes were fixed on her mother, who, instead of showing sadness or outrage at the coldness with which Sergio treated her daughter, was exhaling a nearly imperceptible sigh of relief.

In that instant, the scales fell from Hanna's eyes.

The Taste of Betrayal

It wasn't Sergio's arrogance that hurt the most, but Elena's expression. Her mother was no longer clutching her chest in anguish, nor were her hands shaking. On the contrary, Elena walked over to the table to pour herself a glass of the wine that remained from Antonio's cellar, as if she were celebrating a victory.

"Pack, Mom?" Hanna whispered, her voice cutting like glass. "You're just letting me go with him like this, without a word?"

"It's for the best, honey," Elena replied, refusing to look her in the eye. "Sergio is right; there's nothing left to do here. He will look after you in the capital. I'll stay here for a few days to... get my things in order."

Hanna felt a profound nausea. Hatred began to burn in her gut-a black, pure hatred she had never felt before. Her mother hadn't "sacrificed" her out of love for the estate; she had sold her like a piece of merchandise to save her own skin, to keep her status, and to stay out of a prison cell.

The Frigid Goodbye

Sergio, who was watching the scene with a raised eyebrow and a look of contempt, broke the moment.

"The clock is ticking, Hanna. I don't like to wait. If you aren't in the car in ten minutes, I'll tear up the contract and let the feds through that door to take your mother away."

Hanna went up to her room, but she didn't cry. She packed the essentials with mechanical movements. On her way down, Elena tried to hug her again, but Hanna pulled away with a violence that made her mother stumble back.

"Don't ever touch me again," Hanna hissed into her ear, with a coldness that even surprised Sergio. "You get to keep your freedom and your house. I'm leaving with the man who destroyed us. But remember this, Mom: from today on, as far as I'm concerned, you are just as dead as my father."

Into the Wolf's Territory

Sergio Montes was waiting for her by the open car door. He had seen everything: Elena's manipulation and Hanna's breaking point. For a second, there was a flash of something like respect in his eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Hanna climbed into the back seat, and Sergio sat beside her, maintaining a frigid distance. The car started, leaving behind the dust of the San Lorenzo vineyards.

"You're a smart woman," Sergio said without looking at her as the car sped down the highway. "It took you less time than I thought to realize your mother sold you for a handful of coins."

Hanna clenched her fists until her nails dug into her palms.

"You aren't any better than she is," Hanna spat with venom. "She sold me, but you were the one who set the price."

Sergio let out a dry, dark laugh.

"In this world, Hanna, everyone has a price. Yours has just been paid. Welcome to your new life."