Chapter 5 The Price Of Fire

Sophia stared at the file in her hands, her fingers trembling slightly. She had found it accidentally-tucked behind a row of legal binders in Damon's private study. She hadn't meant to snoop.

But the door had been open, and curiosity had outweighed caution.

And now she couldn't unsee the contents.

Inside were contracts, surveillance photos, and confidential reports_all centered around her father's company.

Wolfe Industries had acquired stakes in Hart Technologies months before the auction. The timing wasn't coincidental.

It had been a setup.

Their marriage? Strategic.

Her desperation? A tool.

Her heart thudded in her chest, her stomach flipping with something between betrayal and rage. Damon hadn't just saved her family.

He'd orchestrated their downfall to force her into this.The door creaked behind her.

She turned.

Damon stood in the doorway, still in his suit, dark eyes sharp as a scalpel.

"You found it."

Sophia held the folder up. "You manipulated the entire situation. You made my father believe we were losing everything just so you could control me."

Damon's jaw flexed, but he didn't deny it.

"I needed leverage," he said. "You wouldn't have agreed otherwise."

Her voice cracked. "You turned my family's pain into a negotiation tactic."

"I protected you," he countered. "And I kept your father's legacy intact."

"You broke it to control me Damon."

Silence stretched between them like a blade.

Sophia's voice shook. "Why me, Damon? Why go to such lengths for a woman you barely knew?"

His expression didn't change. But something flickered in his eyes.

"Because I knew you'd survive it," he said softly. "And because I needed someone strong enough to stand beside me."

Sophia's breath caught. She didn't know whether to cry or scream.

"So all this," she whispered, "the gala, the romance, the kindness it was all just part of your business plan?"

Damon's silence was damning.

She threw the folder at his chest. "You don't get to play savior when you're the one who lit the fire."

She stormed past him, heart racing, fury pulsing through her like wildfire.

But she didn't make it far.

A tall man in a gray suit was waiting in the foyer, flanked by two security guards.

He looked vaguely familiar_elegant, European, with cold blue eyes and a predator's smile.

"Ah," the man said. "Mrs. Wolfe. I was hoping to finally meet you."

Sophia faltered. "Who are you please?"

Damon's voice rang out behind her, hard as steel. "Leon Varcek."

Varcek smiled wider. "A pleasure, Sophia. I'm Damon's biggest competitor. And perhaps... his worst mistake." Varcek chukcled.

Sophia's blood chilled.

"I'm here on business," Varcek continued. "Seems there's been some... financial irregularities. And some very interesting rumors about your marriage."

He looked between them like a shark circling a wounded swimmer.

"Of course," he added, "if your marriage is legitimate, the board has no grounds to challenge Damon's recent acquisitions. But if it's not-"

"You're not welcome here," Damon growled.

Varcek turned, unfazed. "We'll see about that."

He tipped an imaginary hat at Sophia. "Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Wolfe. I do hope we'll speak again.

Privately, perhaps."

And with that, he vanished through the doors.

Sophia turned slowly to Damon. "What the hell was that?"

"He's fishing for weakness."

"He thinks I'm the weakness."

Damon's jaw tightened. "You're not."

"You sure? Because from where I'm standing, I have a front_row seat to your empire collapsing."

His voice was low. "Not if we stay ahead of him."

She stepped forward. "What aren't you telling me?"

Damon exhaled, long and sharp.

"If the board thinks our marriage is fake, they can force me to liquidate Wolfe Industries' newest holdings-including the Hart portfolio.

Everything I've done to protect you, your mother... it all burns if they void the deal."

Sophia stared at him. "So you need me. Not as a wife. As a shield."

"No," he said, stepping closer. "I need you because I trust you to fight with me. Even now. Even knowing everything."

Her voice was small. "You shouldn't."

"But I do," he said. "And I'll prove it."

She swallowed hard, torn between fury and the part of her that still, somehow, wanted to believe him.

That night, Damon didn't retreat to his office. He stood on the balcony with her, silent as the wind moved around them. The city lights flickered below, but Sophia barely noticed.

Her voice was hollow. "How do you sleep at night?"

"I don't," he said simply.

A pause.

"I used to think control was the only way to survive," he said. "Build walls. Eliminate risk. But then you walked in and destroyed all of that in a single night."

Sophia didn't look at him. "I didn't destroy it. I just refused to let you hide."

He glanced at her. "Do you regret it?"

She hesitated.

"No," she said at last. "I regret falling for the version of you I thought was real."

Silence again.

"I want the truth," she said. "All of it."

Damon's voice was rough. "My father built this empire on blackmail and blood. When he died, I took over-and vowed to make it legitimate. But I made enemies doing that. Varcek is one of them. He doesn't just want my company. He wants to ruin me."

Sophia turned to him, something softening in her chest. "And where do I fit in?"

He met her eyes. "You're the one thing he didn't expect. The only person I can't predict."

His hand brushed hers-hesitant, reverent.

"I never meant to fall into this," he said. "But I did. Somewhere between our first lie and your first real smile."

Sophia's heart fluttered.

But she didn't move.

Not yet.

Later that night, she sat on her bed with the file in her lap. The weight of it pressed on her like stone.

She had a choice now.

She could burn it all-expose the truth, walk away, and free herself from Damon's world.

Or...

She could step deeper into the fire.

Fight alongside him.

And maybe-just maybe-build something real from the ashes.