Chapter 4 Checkmate

The Vaughn estate was too quiet at night. The kind of quiet that made Liana's skin prickle with unease.

She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the thick folder on the mahogany desk. The room, though lavish, felt more like a gilded cage than a guest suite. It smelled of fresh linen and old books, with the faintest trace of cigar smoke-Killian's scent, lingering in the air as if he had claimed even this space.

She hadn't slept properly since she arrived, and it wasn't just the unnatural stillness of the house. It was the feeling of being watched.

She turned the folder over in her hands, her

mind racing. What was Killian Vaughn really after?

The sound of her phone vibrating startled her.

A call.

Her stomach clenched when she saw the name on the screen.

Greg Hanson.

Her former editor. The man who had thrown her to the wolves when she refused to bury a story that would have exposed corporate fraud at one of their largest advertisers.

Liana hesitated, then swiped to answer.

"I was wondering when you'd call."

"I should be the one saying that," Greg's voice was clipped, businesslike. "Liana, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

Her grip tightened on the phone. "Excuse me?"

"Your name is on a lawsuit."

Liana's breath hitched. "What?"

"I got a call from the legal department an hour ago. The Lancaster Corporation is suing you for defamation. Five million dollars in damages."

Her vision blurred for a second.

Lancaster Corporation.

The other billion-dollar firm she had been investigating before her career had imploded. She had been gathering evidence of fraud, siphoned funds, illegal offshore accounts until, suddenly, the case had vanished from every legal circuit. No one would touch it. No one would publish it..

She had moved on. Or at least, she had tried.

But now...

"This doesn't make sense," she said, forcing her voice to stay calm. "I never published the article."

"That doesn't matter," Greg snapped. "Someone leaked your research, and Lancaster is coming after you for it."

Cold fear gripped her.

"Who leaked it?"

"Anonymous source," he said grimly. "And before you ask, I tried looking into it. It's a dead end."

Liana clenched her jaw. . She was livid.

She swallowed hard, her mind working at lightning speed. Someone had gone to great lengths to bring this lawsuit against her. Someone who had the resources to make a defamation case stick without any published material.

Someone like Killian Vaughn.

Her pulse pounded.

She should have seen this coming.

Killian had sought her out. He had made her an offer she couldn't refuse. He had wanted control over her work, and now she was trapped in his world-forced to play by his rules.

And now?

Now, she was about to be buried under legal battles, drained of whatever money she had left, and smeared as a reckless journalist with a vendetta.

She barely heard Greg still talking. "Liana, listen to me. You need a lawyer. A good one. If this goes to trial-"

She ended the call.

Her hands were shaking.

She turned to the door, her body moving before her mind could process.

She stormed through the halls of Vaughn's estate, the anger in her chest igniting like gasoline meeting a flame.

The house was dark, but she knew exactly where to find him.

The study.

The heavy doors to the study slammed open, the impact reverberating through the vast room like a gunshot.

Liana didn't care.

She was seething, barely able to control the fury that coursed through her veins as she stormed inside. The weight of the news still pressed on her chest like a vice. Five million dollars. A lawsuit that came out of nowhere. Her name was being dragged through the mud-again.

And there was only one person who had the power to orchestrate something like this.

Killian Vaughn stood by the fireplace, the amber glow casting sharp shadows across his face. He didn't startle at her intrusion.

Liana didn't give him the satisfaction of hesitation.

"You son of a bitch," she snapped, striding toward him. "I knew you were controlling, but I didn't think you'd go this far."

Killian arched an eyebrow, lifting his tumbler of whiskey. "You're going to have to be more specific, sweetheart."

She threw her phone onto his desk, the screen still glowing with the email from her former editor.

"The lawsuit, Vaughn. Don't play dumb," she hissed. "You set me up."

For the first time, something flickered across his face-mild amusement, laced with curiosity. He took a slow sip of whiskey before setting the glass down.

"Contrary to your assumptions, I had nothing to do with this."

Liana's jaw clenched. "Bullshit."

Killian exhaled, almost lazily. "Liana, if I wanted to destroy you, I wouldn't have gone through the legal system. It's messy, unpredictable." He leaned back against his desk, arms crossing over his broad chest.

"But I do know Lancaster Corporation. And if they're coming for you now, it's because they finally found a way to do it without the risk of you exposing them first."

Her breath hitched.

She wanted to believe he was lying. This wasn't his doing.

Which meant the lawsuit was very, very real.

Her fingers curled into fists at her sides.

"So what? You're just going to sit there and watch while they ruin me?"

Killian tilted his head slightly, regarding her as if she were a particularly interesting puzzle piece.

"No," he said simply. "I'm going to fix it."

She let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Fix it? You're going to make a five-million-dollar lawsuit disappear?"

His smirk was slow, deliberate. "Yes."

She narrowed her eyes. "And what exactly do you want in return?"

There it was-the shift.

The room seemed to shrink around them, the air with an unspoken weight. Killian pushed off the desk and took a step toward her, his gaze never wavering.

"I need a wife."

Liana blinked.

The words landed like a bomb, detonating in her brain before she could process them. He couldn't be serious.

"What?" she whispered, half-convinced she had misheard.

"I need a wife," he repeated, each syllable calm, calculated. "And you need to make this lawsuit go away."

Liana stared at him, waiting for the punchline. But Killian Vaughn didn't joke.

Her heart pounded as she shook her head. "That's insane."

He lifted a shoulder. "Not really. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement. You become my wife for two years, and in return, I take care of your problem. The lawsuit vanishes. Your reputation gets restored. And when it's over, you walk away debt-free."

Liana opened her mouth, then closed it again. There were a hundred questions battling in her head, but one pushed to the surface first.

"Why?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Killian's expression didn't change. "Because my board is pushing for stability."

Her brows furrowed.

"My empire is built on perception," he continued. "And right now, my biggest investors don't trust a man with too many secrets. They want someone grounded. A man who has roots, a family. A wife."

Liana let out a breath. "So this is about appearances?"

He nodded. "For me, marriage isn't about love. It's about strategy. A public commitment makes me untouchable in certain circles. It builds trust with shareholders, smooths out certain political alliances, and keeps a few... problematic people at bay."

She caught the slight pause in his tone, but before she could press him on it, he continued.

"I need a wife, Liana. One who understands the rules. One who won't get attached. And one who needs me as much as I need her."

Liana's throat was dry.

Every instinct in her screamed to say no. To run.

But the lawsuit loomed over her like a death sentence.

She had no allies left. No job. No money.

And here he was, handing her a solution-wrapped in chains.

She lifted her chin. "Two years?"

"Two years."

Her pulse hammered. "And when it's over?"

"You walk away with whatever life you want. Debt-free, reputation restored." His lips curled slightly.

"And maybe even a little richer, depending on how well you play the part."

Liana's hands trembled.

This was madness.

But wasn't her entire life already ruined?

She had spent years fighting battles no one let her win. She had clawed her way into spaces that chewed her up and spit her out.

And now, she was out of moves.

Checkmate.

She exhaled shakily. "Draw up the contract."