Chapter 2 Terms and Conditions

Lina jumped up fast when she heard the sound of glass breaking and scattering all over the floor. The sound of the glass was really loud. It startled Lina. She got up from where she was sitting to see what had happened to the glass.

She was sitting up in bed. Her heart was beating fast when something hit the wall on the other side of the room. A picture that was hanging on the wall fell down. Broke into pieces on the floor. The painting was in a frame. It was a really loud noise when it shattered.

"What the..."

The bedroom door swung open fast.

Adrian was standing there with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbow. His jaw was tight and his eyes were really angry; they were like fire. He was holding her phone in his hand. Adrian was still holding her phone and his eyes were raging with fire; it was like he was furious about something.

Her phone.

Oh no.

The man wanted to know where this thing came from. He asked the question in a way.

Lina's heart was beating fast and she could hear it loud, in her ears. She quickly got out of bed. Reached out for something. "Give my stuff back, " Lina said.

He picked it up. Hold it really high. "You do not tell me what to do in my house, " he said.

"It belongs to me, " Lina said, her voice shaking. "You did not have any right to go through my phone."

He interrupted me. "I have every right". He looked at me. "You are my wife". Then he shook the phone. "And this phone was hidden in a secret part of your bag".

Her mouth felt really dry.

She had totally forgotten that the compartment was there. The compartment was something she had not thought about in a time. She did not recall the compartment all until now. The compartment was a thing of the past, for her.

Adrian said to answer him. He wanted to know why she had an email app that was locked with a code. Adrian asked this in a furious voice. "Why do you have an encrypted email app?"

Lina swallowed. "I want to keep things to myself " she said, "I have my privacy."

Adrian's laugh was sharp. He said "Poor girls who are struggling with debt do not usually pay for military grade encryption."

He tossed the phone onto the bed between them. The phone screen turned on. It showed a message that she had not seen before. The message was on the phone screen. It was something Lina did not recognize.

UNKNOWN CONTACT:

"They are watching."

Adrian looked at the screen. He was focused on the screen to see what was on it. The screen was in front of Adrian. He kept looking at the screen.

Then at her.

He smiled slowly.

He said. "So will you tell me what is going on with this thing, this situation, this problem. Can you explain this to me?"

Lina's mind was over the place. The walls felt like they were closing in on her. Every single lie she had told was about to fall. Lina said "It is spam", in a weak voice.

Adrian stepped closer to the phone. He wanted to see it clearly.

He said to Lina "Tell one lie, Lina and I promise you I will make sure you are sorry you ever married me Lina."

Her chest felt really tight. She said "I did not want to marry you. "

That really stopped him. He didn't know what to do.

For a short moment something sparked in his eyes. It was not anger.

Pain.

Then it disappeared. It was there for a moment. Then it vanished.

He said," You came to me .You walked into my office.You said you wanted my name."

"I asked you for help". She was really loud. "There is a difference."

There was a lot of silence between them. It felt really heavy. The silence between them was very uncomfortable. It felt like it was weighing them down.

Adrian breathed out slowly. " Get dressed"

She looked at them with surprise and asked "Why?"

You are coming with me.

"Where?"

"My office."

She looked at him and said "No".

He leaned his head down looking at her like she was a problem he really wanted to figure out. "This is not a request."

"I am not your worker. I do not work for you." Lina yelled.

"You are my problem, until I figure out what kind of game you are playing, you do not ever leave my sight."

Her heart felt really bad. She said "That is not right."

"Marrying the woman who destroyed my family is not right either."

The words really got to her; they went into her soul. This was not the first time she had heard the words but that did not matter. The words still had an effect on her.

Adrian turned to leave. "You have ten minutes"

The door closed loudly behind him as he walked out.

The Blackwood Group headquarters is really something. It is a building with a lot of steel and glass.

The Blackwood Group headquarters looked perfect. Lina did not feel like she belonged there. Adrian was walking with her through the security area. He had his hand on her lower back, holding her tightly. She was not feeling very comfortable.

Possessive.

Deliberate.

Every single eye was on them watching their every move. It was really something to see. Every eye in the room followed them.

Whispers started to spread fast and they were very bad. They were like poison hurting her slowly. The whispers just kept on coming one, after another. They were all very mean,not nice.

"That is the woman we are talking about." said by one of the whisperers.

"The wife?"

"She looks like an ordinary person. She appears to be someone you would see every day and not really notice."

"Is that the person who destroyed them?"

Lina held her head up even when she felt bad about what happened and it made her feel really bad inside. She felt shame crawling under her skin.

In the elevator, Adrain finally said. "You are not allowed to talk unless someone talks to you, " He was very clear about this rule. He wanted to make sure she understood.

She clenched her jaw tightly and said. "I am not mute "

He said "You will be if you dare say a thing you are not supposed to."

The doors opened onto the executive floor. This was the part of the building where all the important people worked.

The boardroom was already full.

Men and women who were wearing suits all turned to look at Adrian when he walked in. All the conversations stopped. The room fell silent as everyone watched them.

Then she saw the woman.

Vivian Blackwood.

Adrian's sister got up from her seat and her face looked happy but it did not seem real. She said "Brother". Took a step forward. "You did not tell me you were bringing your wife today."

Her eyes moved to Lina. They were sharp even though she was smiling at her.

A chill ran down Lina's back. It was a cold feeling.

Vivian took Lina's hands in her own. She said to her softly "Welcome, to the family."

Her grip got really tight, her nails dug in enough to cause some pain.

"You look pale," "Are you feeling nervous?" Vivian asked.

Before Lina could say anything the doors swung wide open.

Two men who were wearing suits came into the room and they showed their badges to everyone.

One of them said "Adrian Blackwood,we are here from the Financial Crimes Commission."

The room suddenly became very loud.

Adrian looked confused."What is this?" He was very curious about what was happening.

The investigators looked away from him to Lina.

" We are looking into the Blackwood collapse case again,and your wife is someone we want to talk to about the case."

The words landed like a blow.

Lina felt the room shake. She thought to herself what was going on. She was getting scared.

Adrian turned around slowly to the investigators. He said "Explain to me what is going on,I want to know what is happening."

The investigator went on to say, " Some years back someone got into the company's private files and that caused a lot of trouble. It led to people getting arrested and the company going bankrupt. The person who told us about it just disappeared. Now it seems like that same person's doing things online again.This same source is now active. And your wife is a person of interest in this case."

The man passed a folder across the table to Adrian.

"All the evidence points to your wife."

Everyone looked at Lina. Everyone turned to face Lina.

Adrian did not move.