Chapter 4

"Hold still."

Sebastian stood directly behind me. His fingers brushed the bare skin at the nape of my neck. The sudden contact sent a violent shiver down my spine.

He fastened the heavy diamond necklace around my throat.

I looked at our reflection in the tall vanity mirror. I forced my expression to remain perfectly blank. I had spent the entire day playing the role of the compliant, submissive bride.

I smiled whenever he spoke to me. I nodded whenever he gave an order. I did not argue. I did not fight back. I needed him to think I was broken. I needed him to drop his guard.

I needed time.

"You look perfect," he murmured. His dark eyes met mine in the mirror.

"Thank you," I lied smoothly.

Tonight was our official engagement gala. The massive ballroom on the lower floor of his building was already filled with hundreds of elite guests.

I knew I could not simply run away. His private security team watched my every single move. The exits were guarded.

My phone was monitored. I had to find real evidence. I had to prove he was planning to murder me tonight.

Sebastian stepped back. He offered me his arm.

We walked out of the penthouse and took the private elevator down to the ballroom.

The gala was deafening. We spent the first hour greeting strangers. I played my part flawlessly. I laughed at their jokes. I leaned into Sebastian's side. I waited for my moment.

It finally came. A group of aggressive politicians cornered Sebastian near the bar. They demanded his attention.

His grip on my waist loosened for just a fraction of a second.

I slipped away.

I moved quickly through the crowd. I hurried down the private, restricted corridor.

I reached the heavy oak door of his private study. I turned the brass handle. It was unlocked.

I stepped inside. I closed the door silently behind me. I locked it.

The room was dark. The only light came from the city skyline outside the massive windows. I moved straight to his large mahogany desk. A sleek silver audio recorder sat right next to his keyboard. It was the exact kind used for dictating personal notes.

I picked it up. My hands shook violently. I pressed the play button.

A strange man's voice spoke first. "The Kensington contract is ironclad. Her father wants out."

"He signed the papers," Sebastian's voice replied calmly.

"He found a loophole," the strange man said. "If the bride dies before the marriage is consummated, the debt dies with her. Her father hired me. He paid me half a million dollars in cash."

I stopped breathing. The air vanished from the room. My own father had hired a hitman.

"And what exactly are your orders?" Sebastian asked on the tape.

"Make sure Vanessa Kensington doesn't survive the wedding night," the hitman answered.

There was a long, terrifying pause on the recording.

"If you touch her," Sebastian's voice dropped to a lethal, chilling whisper, "I will peel the skin from your bones. You will return the money. You will leave this city. If you make sure Vanessa Kensington doesn't survive the wedding night, I will make sure your entire bloodline is erased."

The recording clicked off.

I dropped the device onto the desk. My legs completely gave out.

I grabbed the edge of the heavy table to keep from collapsing to the floor.

My father wanted me dead. He had sold me to Sebastian to save himself.

Then he had hired a killer to murder me just to break the contract.

Sebastian was not plotting my death. He had been threatening the man hired to kill me. He had saved my life.

A key turned in the lock.

The study door swung open. Sebastian stepped inside.

He closed the door behind him.

He looked at me. He looked at the silver recorder resting on the desk.

"You heard it," he said.

"My father," I choked out. The words tasted like ash in my mouth. "He ordered the hit."

"Yes."

"Ethan sent me an edited version," I said. My voice trembled uncontrollably. "He tried to frame you."

Sebastian walked slowly toward me. He stopped right in front of me.

He reached into his tailored jacket pocket.

He pulled out a heavy silver revolver.

I gasped. I stepped back until my spine hit the desk. He flipped it around in his hand. He held it by the barrel. He offered the grip to me.

"Take it," he commanded.

I stared at the gun. I slowly raised my shaking hand. I wrapped my fingers around the cold metal grip.

Sebastian stepped closer. He grabbed my hand. He pulled the gun forward. He pressed the barrel directly against the center of his own chest. He held it right over his heart.

My breath hitched. "What are you doing?"

"If you still think I'm the villain, pull the trigger, Vanessa," Sebastian said. His dark eyes burned into mine. "But if you want to destroy the men who actually betrayed you, marry me."

The room fell dead silent. I felt the steady, calm beat of his heart through the metal barrel. Ethan had abandoned me to a gunman. My father wanted me dead for money. Sebastian was the only person who had stood between me and a bullet.

I lowered the gun.

I let it slip from my fingers. It hit the thick rug with a soft thud.

"I will marry you," I whispered.

Sebastian did not hesitate. He closed the distance between us instantly. His hands tangled fiercely in my hair. He pulled my face up to his. He kissed me. It was not a gentle kiss. It was rough.

I kissed him back.

I poured all my rage and all my betrayal into it. We were sealing a dark, dangerous alliance.

He backed me against the edge of the desk. My hands gripped his broad shoulders.

I lost myself in the intensity of the moment.

Suddenly, the screen of his phone lit up on the desk right beside us. The bright light caught my eye.

I pulled back slightly to catch my breath. I glanced down at the glowing screen.

A text message had just arrived. The sender's name was clearly visible.

Maureen.

I froze. My heart stopped beating completely. I stared at the short, glowing sentence.

"Mission accomplished, Mr. Sprouse. Vanessa suspects nothing about us."