Chapter Five

POV: Calla Reyes

“I never made a deal with you.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them. But it didn’t matter. The man in the doorway was already walking toward us like he had all the time in the world.

“You should remember me,” he said, eyes pinned on me. “Unless Damon wiped that from your memory too.”

“I don’t know who you are,” I said. “And I definitely didn’t agree to anything with you.”

He stopped just a few feet away. Damon hadn’t moved.

“Calla,” the man said calmly. “You signed your name to more than a marriage contract. You gave consent for something bigger. You just didn’t read the fine print.”

“Who are you?” I asked again.

He ignored me.

“Damon knows,” he said. “Don’t you?”

“Get out,” Damon said.

The man smiled. “Still trying to play hero? That’s not your brand.”

“I said leave.”

“You think she’s going to walk away from this quietly? From you?”

“I don’t care what she does.”

That hit harder than I expected. I looked at Damon, but he wasn’t looking at me.

“What did you do?” I asked.

Damon finally looked at me. “I told you. I used your name to protect a buyout.”

“This man thinks it’s something more.”

The stranger opened his briefcase and pulled out a single sheet of paper.

“You granted proxy rights,” he said. “To a company called Silverwell Holdings. That company is mine.”

“I never heard of it,” I said.

“You didn’t need to. The name on the transfer was enough. You gave control of ten percent of Voss Global’s voting shares.”

I stared at the paper.

“Wait. What?”

“You’re not just his wife,” he said. “You’re his liability.”

“She doesn’t have voting rights,” Damon said coldly.

“She does now. You looped her in to hide the transfer, but in doing so, you legitimized her authority. Technically, she owns a bigger stake than some of your board.”

“No,” I whispered. “That can’t be right.”

“You thought this marriage was about avoiding jail,” the man said. “It was about covering tracks.”

I looked at Damon again. “Tell me he’s lying.”

“He’s twisting it,” Damon said.

“But is it true?”

He didn’t answer right away.

“That paper,” I said, pointing to the document in the man’s hand, “is that real?”

Damon’s silence said more than a yes ever could.

My stomach dropped.

“You made me your shield,” I said. “But now they think I’m your partner.”

“You are.”

“No,” I snapped. “I didn’t agree to that. I didn’t sign up to be part of a company war.”

“You already are.”

The man stepped forward again.

“I came here to make you an offer,” he said.

“I’m not listening.”

“You should.”

“I said no.”

“Calla,” he said gently, “if you work with me, I can make this go away. Your name. Your signature. The marriage. All of it disappears. You walk out clean. No more cameras. No more secrets.”

I looked between him and Damon.

“What’s the catch?” I asked.

“You give me your vote,” he said. “You help me take Damon off the board.”

Damon didn’t flinch.

“You really want me gone that bad?” he asked.

“I want the company stable again. And as long as you’re at the top, it won’t be.”

“She’s not yours to manipulate,” Damon said.

The man smiled. “She was never yours to begin with.”

“I’m right here,” I cut in. “You both can stop talking like I’m a pawn.”

“Then act like it,” Damon said.

I stared at him.

“That’s what you think I am?” I asked. “A piece on your boardroom game?”

“You’re the one who gave him time,” Damon shot back. “You walked out and ran straight to someone you didn’t know.”

“I ran from a lie.”

“You think he’s telling the truth?”

“I think at least he didn’t marry me just to use my signature.”

“I didn’t want to use you.”

“But you did.”

The man held out a pen.

“One signature, Calla. You’ll never have to see either of us again.”

I looked at Damon.

He was still staring at me, jaw tight, shoulders tense like he was waiting for a bullet.

“You said you never wanted feelings involved,” I said.

“I meant it.”

“Then you should have no problem letting me go.”

His eyes didn’t move. “I don’t.”

“Liar.”

The man placed the paper on the counter.

“You have thirty seconds,” he said. “Or the offer disappears.”

I looked at the pen. At the paper. Then back at Damon.

He was silent.

Not a word. Not a reason. Not even a warning.

I picked up the pen.

Damon looked away.

My hand shook.

“Calla,” the man said again, gentler now. “This is the only way you come out of this untouched.”

I pressed the tip of the pen to the paper.

Then the door behind us crashed open.

Three men in black suits stepped in, faces sharp, eyes cold.

One of them walked straight to the man who’d made the offer and yanked the briefcase out of his hands.

“What the hell is this?” I asked.

Damon didn’t answer.

The third man grabbed the contract off the counter and ripped it in two.

“Stop,” the man shouted. “She was about to sign.”

The one with the briefcase opened it, pulled out a thin laptop, and turned the screen to Damon.

“This was just uploaded,” he said. “From a private server. Footage. Voice memos. Proof of collusion.”

“From who?” Damon asked.

“We’re still tracking the IP.”

The man who’d offered me freedom looked pale.

“You set me up,” he said.

Damon stepped forward. “No. You walked in here thinking she was yours to play with.”

“I’ll bury you for this.”

“Try it.”

The man lunged, but the guards blocked him.

I moved toward Damon.

“Did you plan this?” I asked.

He didn’t look at me. “I planned for every possible outcome. Except you picking him.”

“I didn’t pick anyone.”

“You were about to.”

“I wanted the truth.”

“And now you have it.”

I stepped closer. “So what now?”

Before he could answer, the man who’d brought the laptop stepped between us.

“There’s something else,” he said.

“What?”

“The server that uploaded the files… it wasn’t anonymous.”

“Then who sent it?”

The man hesitated.

He turned the screen toward us.

I leaned in.

The uploader’s name flashed across the screen.

I stopped breathing.

It was my brother.