Neon bled like blood, dripping one drop at a time across the auction house ceiling. I knelt in the center of the spotlight, my neck locked in iron chains. Below me sat rows of men in sharp suits—hyenas in silk, their hands steady as they raised paddles, slicing through air like knives cutting steak. Kyle Denver didn’t raise his paddle. He simply lifted his chin—and the auctioneer brought the gavel down without hesitation. “Sold. One point two million. Buyer: Mr. Denver.” No one asked if I consented. Not even my name was spoken correctly—three times, it came out wrong. But when he bent to unfasten the lock around my throat, I heard his Adam’s apple shift—just once. Not excitement. Hesitation. That night, he took me to his penthouse. No lights were turned on—only a floor-to-ceiling window, glowing with the city’s light pollution, reflecting me standing motionless in shadow. He slid a contract across the table. The tip of his fountain pen pressed into the paper. “Sign it. You’ll be my personal assistant. Room and board included. Eighty thousand a month. Three years—and your debt vanishes.” I took the pen. Didn’t read a single clause. Flipped straight to the last page, to the signature line. The nib hovered for three seconds—then I smiled. “Kyle,” I said, “the lighter you used to burn my father’s safe… was it engraved with a ‘D’?” His pupils contracted—sharply. I didn’t wait for an answer. Signed my name—sharp, precise, blade-like. Before the ink dried, I looked up, meeting his gaze. “Remember this: I’m not selling myself. I’m just collecting interest.” Later, he placed me at the desk to his left. A new assistant brought coffee—his fingers brushed my wrist, deliberate, lingering. I lowered my eyes, smiled faintly—and in one fluid motion, overturned the scalding liquid onto his tie. Then, right in front of Kyle, I pulled out my phone and played a recording: “…As long as Alison dies, your father’s money-laundering evidence stays buried—rotting inside that hard drive.” It was the assistant’s voice. Kyle said nothing. Just snapped his pen in half—and dropped both pieces into the shredder. The night before the wedding, I tried on the gown. He stood in the doorway for a long time. Then, quietly: “You have a mole beneath your left shoulder blade. When you were seven—I took a flying stone for you.” I turned. The veil flared, white and weightless. “And do you know who threw it?” He stayed silent. On the day of the ceremony, I walked down the aisle to sacred hymns. He waited at the altar in black, like a god freshly risen from hell. He stepped forward, gripped my wrist—tight enough to whiten his knuckles. When his lips neared mine, I rose onto my toes, leaned in—then, the instant before contact, pressed the barrel of a gun between his third and fourth left ribs. The crucifix above burned in mute silence. “Kyle,” I whispered—soft as breath against skin, tender as a lover’s vow— “You taught me what contract means. So let me teach you what *non-performance* means.” He didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull away. Even curved his lips—just slightly. I pulled the trigger. —The chamber was empty. His right hand rose slowly. Palm open. Resting in it: an old, rusted key—and half a charred insurance policy, its edges blackened and brittle. My father’s name was printed there. And beneath it—a signature. One I’d never seen before. One that was real. Outside, the storm had broken. The first sliver of dawn split the clouds—striking the veil still resting on my head. She hates her cold boss... unaware he is her arranged husband! Trapped in a fake marriage with a ruthless Mafia King, Dakota becomes his darkest obsession.