Chapter 5

Warren ground his teeth together. The veins in his neck bulged against his collar. He glared at Darnell, his voice dripping with arrogance, and threatened to use every ounce of the Lewis family's influence in Chicago to crush him.

Darnell let out a short, humorless laugh. The sound held nothing but pure contempt. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a sleek, black smartphone. He tapped the screen, holding it up slightly, and calmly stated, "Mr. Lewis, I recall your company is currently in the middle of a critical Series B funding round. I imagine your investors wouldn't be too thrilled to see the chairman of the board on the evening news, assaulting his recently paroled daughter in a public hospital."

Myra panicked. The Lewis family company was currently negotiating a critical funding round. A police scene and a public scandal involving their recently paroled daughter would tank their stock prices by morning. She grabbed Warren's arm, pulling him back.

Warren pointed a trembling finger at Karli. He spat out a final, vicious warning, telling her she would beg on her knees for the mistake she made today. He turned on his heel and stormed out, Myra scurrying behind him.

Their hurried footsteps echoed down the linoleum hallway until the sound was swallowed by the chime of the elevator doors.

The emergency room fell into a dead silence. The adrenaline that had kept Karli standing vanished. Her legs turned to water. She slid down the cold, tiled wall until she hit the floor, pulling her knees to her chest.

She buried her face in her arms. Her shoulders shook as a raw, suppressed sob tore from her throat.

Darnell stood over her. He looked down at her shaking form, his dark eyes unreadable. He walked over to the small bedside table, pulled a few rough paper towels from the dispenser, and held them out to her.

Karli lifted her head. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face pale and streaked with tears. She took the paper towels, wiping roughly at her face, and whispered a hoarse thank you.

Darnell pulled up a cheap plastic chair and sat down opposite her. He crossed his long legs. Even in the sterile, cramped hospital room, he looked entirely in control.

He didn't offer comfort. He looked straight at her and stated that since the immediate threat was gone, they needed to establish the ground rules for this arrangement.

Karli took a deep breath, forcing the tears back. She unzipped her damp canvas bag and pulled out a crumpled spiral notebook and a cheap ballpoint pen.

She chewed on the plastic cap for a second. She pressed the pen to the paper and wrote the first rule: Total financial independence. Neither party interferes in the other's personal or professional life.

Darnell watched her intense focus. He raised an eyebrow, a slight nod indicating his agreement. He added his own condition: When necessary, she must cooperate and act the part of a devoted wife in front of his family elders.

Karli thought of the nightmare she had just escaped. Acting was a small price to pay. She nodded quickly and wrote it down.

She moved to the third line. She wrote firmly: Separate bedrooms. Absolute respect for privacy. No entering the other's room without explicit permission.

Darnell's gaze dropped to the words 'Separate bedrooms'. The corner of his mouth twitched upward for a fraction of a second. He leaned back in the plastic chair and said, "Deal."

Karli ripped the lined paper from the notebook. She signed her name at the bottom and handed it to him.

Darnell took the pen. He scrawled his signature across the paper in sharp, fluid strokes.

He stood up, checking his watch. He told her the hospital was no longer secure and ordered her to sign her discharge papers immediately. They were leaving.

Karli didn't argue. She had literally nowhere else to go. She gathered her bag and followed the man she had married just five hours ago.

Half an hour later, Darnell parked the Volkswagen in the underground lot of an exclusive high-rise apartment building in downtown Chicago-a place that looked modest from the outside but housed a penthouse level with private amenities.

They rode the elevator to the top floor. Darnell pulled out a key and unlocked a heavy steel door.

Karli followed him inside. The apartment was stark. The walls were painted a cold gray, the furniture was black leather and steel, and there were zero personal items. It felt more like a staging area than a home.

Darnell pointed down the short hallway to a closed door. He told her the guest room was hers, complete with an attached bathroom.

Karli dragged her exhausted body into the room. She dropped her bag on the floor and collapsed face-first onto the mattress.

She stared at the blank wall. The events of the day-the prison gate, the marriage contract, the rain, the ringless wedding-spun in her head like a fever dream.

From the living room, she heard the sound of a glass clinking, followed by the solid thud of the master bedroom door closing. The apartment went completely silent.

The tension finally drained from Karli's muscles. Wrapped in the strange safety of a stranger's home, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

In the master bedroom, Darnell stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over the glittering Chicago skyline. He held his encrypted phone to his ear. Julian Croft, his executive assistant, answered on the first ring. Darnell gave a single, cold order: seal his marriage records at City Hall immediately. No one was to know.