🌹 The Contract Bride
đź“– Chapter Five: No Way Out
Emma froze.
The flash drive still blinked inside Alexander's computer. The screen displayed a progress bar—97%, nearly complete.
And Alexander stood just behind her, gun raised. His face was a mask of fury and betrayal.
"I said don't move."
Her hand trembled above the keyboard. "Alexander, I—I wasn't—"
"Don't lie to me again."
His voice was ice. Controlled. But beneath it, a storm raged. Emma could see it in his eyes—the fire, the pain, the betrayal too deep for words.
"Take out the flash drive," he said.
Her fingers hesitated.
"I said now."
Emma yanked the device out, the screen blinking back to the desktop with a soft chime.
Alexander lowered the gun, just slightly, then stepped forward and grabbed the flash drive from her hand.
"You broke into my private study. Plugged this into my system." He held it up like a smoking gun. "Tell me why I shouldn't call security and have you arrested."
Emma's throat dried. Her mind scrambled for words, for a defense, for something—anything—that would make him believe her.
"I didn't have a choice," she whispered.
He let out a bitter laugh. "That's the best you've got?"
"I didn't know what it would do! Damien—he's threatening me!"
Alexander's jaw clenched. "So you just obeyed?"
Emma's voice cracked. "He knows about my father. About the money. He has everything, Alexander. If I didn't do it, he said—he said he'd ruin both of us."
"And you believed him?" Alexander roared, slamming the flash drive onto the desk. "You let him manipulate you into betraying me?"
Tears filled her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. "He was going to expose everything. My past. That night at the gala. What happened with Lily—"
He stiffened. "Lily?"
Emma swallowed. "My sister. He has a file on her. And what happened to her… it's connected to Damien. To Project Carthage."
Alexander stepped back like he'd been struck. "What are you talking about?"
"Your company's involved, Alexander. I didn't know until tonight, but Project Carthage—it's not just about surveillance. It's about targeting people. Eliminating them digitally. And Damien says Lily was one of the first."
The silence stretched. Then Alexander turned and opened a drawer. He removed a sleek tablet and pulled up a folder marked "Classified: C."
Inside were files. Redacted reports. Testing logs. Development contracts. And at the top—
Target: L.V.
Emma's breath left her body. "That's her. Lily Vale. My sister."
Alexander's face hardened. "I never approved this. This wasn't in the original charter for Carthage."
"But someone did," Emma whispered.
Alexander looked at her, something dangerous flickering in his gaze. "Damien Vale."
The Next Morning – Wolfe Corporation Headquarters, Paris
Alexander stood in his glass-walled office, overlooking the Seine.
Below, the city bustled as if nothing had happened. As if his empire hadn't just been shaken to its core.
Behind him, Emma sat in silence.
Neither had slept.
The air between them was no longer cold—it was electric. Heavy with tension, but also an unspoken alliance neither dared voice yet.
"We have to move fast," Alexander finally said. "If Damien's trying to weaponize Carthage against me, he's not working alone."
Emma looked up. "Who else could be involved?"
He tapped the screen. "My CFO, Gerald Klein, signed off on the last funding round. He'd never do that without being compromised."
Emma frowned. "Then we expose him."
"It's not that simple." Alexander turned. "Project Carthage is buried under so many layers of shell companies and firewalls, even I can't trace it back cleanly anymore."
Emma stood. "Then let me help you."
He blinked. "Help me?"
"You said you needed someone inside your life. Your bed. Your company. Damien thought he could use me that way. But what if we turned the tables?"
Alexander narrowed his eyes. "You want to become a double agent?"
Emma nodded. "Let Damien believe I'm still working for him. I'll find out who he's working with, and you'll get proof."
He studied her. "You're serious."
"I owe Lily that much," she said softly. "And I owe you."
Damien's Office – Two Days Later
The plan was simple.
Emma returned to Damien like a beaten dog.
She knocked once. Then again. The door opened before she touched it a third time.
Damien smirked. "So. You finally picked a side."
Emma stepped in. "I did what you asked. The drive's been used."
He tilted his head. "And Wolfe doesn't suspect?"
"No." She lowered her gaze. "But you were right. Something's going on inside that company."
Damien's eyes gleamed. "Good girl."
He handed her a new phone. "We'll use this from now on. Burn the old one. And Emma—if you try to double-cross me—"
"I won't."
He grinned. "Then we're one step closer to destroying Wolfe."
Emma left the office feeling sick.
But the audio file in her coat pocket—recorded via Alexander's custom wire—was already uploading to a secure server.
They had their first piece of evidence.
Wolfe Manor – Midnight
Emma sat beside Alexander, their knees almost touching on the edge of the bed.
"Here." She handed him the new phone Damien gave her. "It's untraceable."
Alexander examined it. "There's a listening chip in here?"
"I planted it while he gave me instructions."
He nodded. "You're braver than I thought."
Emma smiled faintly. "I'm not brave. I'm desperate."
His hand brushed hers. "Desperation has a way of revealing the truth in people."
A silence fell between them.
He didn't let go of her hand.
And she didn't pull away.
Two Weeks Later – Zurich, Switzerland
They followed the paper trail to a hidden server farm buried in the Alps.
Emma had to attend as Alexander's wife—publicly, they were here for a charity gala.
Privately, they were here to break into the digital vault storing Project Carthage's encrypted files.
Inside the server bunker, tension ran high.
Alexander's tech lead, Mira, whispered, "Firewall's almost down. But once we breach it, we've got maybe ten minutes before it triggers an alert."
Emma typed rapidly, bypassing Damien's Trojan trap embedded in the drive she'd used before.
They gained access.
And what they saw stole the breath from everyone in the room.
> Target List – Phase 2
Subject: Emma Vale
Status: Active Surveillance
Subject: Alexander Wolfe
Status: Marked for Elimination
Emma backed away from the screen. "He was going to kill you."
Alexander stared, jaw clenched. "He was going to erase us both."
"We have to stop this," Emma whispered. "Before it's too late."
The Next Day – Back in Paris
Emma arrived at the café on Rue de Montagne, the designated meeting spot.
Damien sat at a table, sipping espresso like a man with no care in the world.
"You've been busy," he said, not looking up.
Emma sat across from him. "You said if I gave you access, you'd leave me alone."
He smiled. "Change of plan. Wolfe's going down, but so are you."
She blinked. "What?"
"I told you. No one walks away clean." He handed her a folder. "You'll read this at the press conference tomorrow. Statement of confession. You're the whistleblower."
Emma opened it—and her blood ran cold.
It claimed she had orchestrated the project from the beginning. That she had blackmailed Alexander. That she'd framed Damien.
"It's all lies," she said.
"Truth is flexible," Damien replied, sipping his coffee. "If you don't read that tomorrow… the next file I leak will be about your sister. And your father. Everything you tried to hide."
Emma's fists clenched under the table.
He leaned forward. "You have no way out."
But he was wrong.
Because she had Alexander.
And they had one last card to play.
Wolfe Corp Rooftop – That Night
Paris shimmered below.
Emma stood beside Alexander, wind whipping her coat.
She handed him the confession. "He wants me to read it tomorrow. Or he'll destroy what's left of my family."
Alexander's face hardened. "Then we destroy him first."
He pulled out a small case from his coat.
Inside was a chip.
"What's that?" she asked.
"The real virus," he said. "We built it after Zurich. It traces back every command Damien's ever sent. Every off-the-books wire transfer. Every AI directive signed under his name."
Emma stared. "So what's the plan?"
He looked her dead in the eyes. "You go to that press conference. Read exactly what he gave you."
Her breath caught. "You want me to lie?"
"No. I want you to bait him. And when the cameras are rolling… we'll expose everything."
Emma nodded, heart racing.
It was dangerous.
But it was the only way.
Final Scene – The Press Conference
The room was packed with reporters.
Emma stood at the podium, Damien in the wings, smiling like a man about to win.
She held the folder in trembling hands.
"Today," she began, "I have a confession…"
The cameras zoomed in.
"I—Emma Vale—was recruited to infiltrate Wolfe Corporation. I was offered money. Influence. And in return, I was to deliver classified data from within."
Gasps rippled through the room.
Damien's grin widened.
"But…" she said, voice growing stronger, "what they didn't expect was for me to fall in love."
The room fell silent.
Emma looked straight into the camera.
"With the truth."
Suddenly, the screens behind her flickered.
Then lit up—showing security footage. Bank transfers. Coded emails. Damien's voice, threatening, commanding, caught on tape.
Reporters screamed questions.
Security stormed the stage.
Damien turned white.
Alexander stepped out from the crowd, holding up a warrant.
"You're under arrest, Damien Vale. For conspiracy, espionage, and attempted murder."
Epilogue Teaser
That night, back at Wolfe Manor, Emma stood by the window.
Alexander walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"It's over," he whispered.
She turned, pressing her forehead to his.
"No," she said. "It's just beginning."
And far away, in a hidden facility in Singapore—
A new file opened.
> Subject: Wolfe, Emma
Status: Alive
New Target Acquired