Lena Carter had exactly twelve dollars in her bank account.

She stared at the number on her phone for several seconds, hoping it would somehow change.

It didn't.

Her younger brother's school fees were due in three days. The electricity bill was already overdue, and the hospital had called that morning about the remaining balance for her mother's treatment.

Everything seemed to be demanding money she didn't have.

Lena locked her phone and slipped it into her pocket.

“Lena?”

She looked up.

Her manager stood beside her, holding a small black envelope.

“Someone left this for you.”

“Who?”

“He didn't give me a name.”

Lena frowned as she accepted the envelope.

She opened it carefully.

Inside was a single black card.

ADRIAN BLACKWOOD

Her heart skipped.

Everyone in the city knew that name.

Adrian Blackwood was the thirty-two-year-old owner of Blackwood Enterprises, one of the most powerful companies in the country.

He was known for being brilliant, ruthless, and almost impossible to approach.

Why would someone like that send her a card?

She turned it over.

An address was printed on the back.

Blackwood Tower. 8:00 p.m.

Nothing else.

Lena almost threw it away.

Then she remembered the hospital bill sitting inside her bag.

She needed money.

And if a billionaire wanted to speak with her, perhaps she should at least hear him out.

At exactly eight o'clock that evening, Lena stood inside the enormous lobby of Blackwood Tower.

Everything looked expensive.

The marble floor reflected the golden lights hanging from the ceiling. Employees walked quickly through the building, speaking quietly as though even their voices had to obey the rules of the man who owned the place.

A receptionist looked at Lena.

“Name?”

“Lena Carter.”

The woman's expression changed.

“Mr. Blackwood is expecting you.”

She picked up the phone.

“She’s here.”

A few seconds later, she hung up.

“Forty-second floor.”

Lena stepped into the elevator.

As the doors closed, nervousness settled in her stomach.

She had never met Adrian Blackwood.

She had never even been inside a building like this.

The elevator climbed higher.

When the doors opened, a man in a dark suit was waiting.

“Miss Carter?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Blackwood is waiting for you.”

He led her through a quiet hallway before opening a large wooden door.

Lena stepped inside.

Adrian Blackwood stood beside the floor-to-ceiling window.

He was dressed in a perfectly fitted black suit, his expression unreadable as he looked over the city.

He didn't turn immediately.

“Sit.”

Lena sat.

Adrian finally turned toward her.

His eyes were cold and calculating.

“You're probably wondering why you're here.”

“Yes.”

“I've investigated your situation.”

Lena's expression hardened.

“You investigated me?”

“I needed to know who I was dealing with.”

“I don't appreciate strangers investigating my family.”

“I didn't bring you here to discuss your feelings about my methods.”

Lena stood.

“Then why am I here?”

Adrian calmly walked to his desk.

He picked up a document and placed it in front of her.

Lena looked down.

Her eyes widened.

It was a contract.

She looked back at him.

“What is this?”

“A marriage agreement.”

Silence filled the room.

Lena stared at him, certain she'd misunderstood.

“Marriage?”

“Yes.”

“You want me to marry you?”

“For one year.”

She almost laughed.

“You brought me to a billionaire's office to offer me a fake marriage?”

“A legal marriage.”

“That doesn't make it better.”

Adrian's expression didn't change.

“You will receive five hundred thousand dollars after the marriage is registered.”

Lena froze.

Five hundred thousand dollars.

That amount could clear her mother's hospital bills, pay her brother's school fees, and give her family a chance to breathe again.

But she couldn't possibly accept something like this.

“Why me?”

For the first time, Adrian hesitated.

Then he said, “Because you're suitable.”

“That's not an answer.”

“It is the only one you need.”

Lena pushed the contract away.

“No.”

Adrian didn't react.

“You haven't read it.”

“I don't need to.”

“You need the money.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“How do you know that?”

“I know about your mother's medical bills. Your brother's tuition. Your debts.”

Lena's face went pale.

“You really did investigate me.”

“Yes.”

She stood again.

“This is insane.”

Adrian remained perfectly calm.

“You have until tomorrow evening to decide.”

“I already decided.”

She turned toward the door.

“Miss Carter.”

She stopped.

Adrian's voice became quieter.

“If you walk away, I'll understand.”

Lena looked back.

“But you should know something.”

He picked up another document.

“This offer isn't entirely about me.”

“What does that mean?”

Adrian's expression darkened.

“Your family is connected to mine.”

Lena stared at him.

“My family doesn't know you.”

“Are you sure?”

She couldn't answer.

Adrian placed the document on the desk.

“There are things about your father's past that you were never told.”

Lena's heart began pounding.

Her father had died when she was young.

As far as she knew, he had been an ordinary businessman who had left behind very little.

“What are you talking about?”

“You'll learn everything eventually.”

“Why not tell me now?”

“Because if I tell you everything now, you may never sign the contract.”

Lena stared at him.

There was something behind his proposal.

Something bigger than money.

Something connected to her family.

She slowly picked up the contract.

“Why do you need a wife?”

Adrian looked directly into her eyes.

“My family believes I'm going to marry someone else.”

“And?”

“I need them to believe that marriage is no longer happening.”

Lena frowned.

“So you want me to pretend to be your wife.”

“For one year.”

“And after one year?”

“The marriage ends.”

“No feelings?”

“No feelings.”

“No interference in each other's private lives?”

“Correct.”

“No questions about your business?”

“Correct.”

Lena looked down at the contract again.

Seven rules were listed beneath the agreement.

She read the first one.

The marriage must remain strictly confidential outside the approved family circle.

The second.

Neither party may interfere with the other's personal affairs.

The third.

Neither party may develop expectations beyond the terms of the agreement.

Lena swallowed.

This was madness.

But then she remembered her mother's face in the hospital.

She remembered her brother telling her he might have to leave school.

Five hundred thousand dollars could change everything.

She picked up the pen.

Adrian watched silently.

Lena signed her name.

Then she pushed the contract across the desk.

“It's only for one year.”

Adrian looked at her signature.

“Yes.”

Lena stood.

“But if you lied to me about my father…”

She paused at the door.

“I'll make sure you regret it.”

For the first time, a faint smile appeared on Adrian's face.

“You may be the first person in years who has threatened me and walked away.”

Lena left without replying.

The door closed behind her.

Adrian looked down at the contract.

His smile disappeared.

He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out an old photograph.

It showed two men standing together outside a building.

One of them was Adrian's father.

The other was Lena's father.

Adrian stared at the photograph.

Then he whispered,

“You have no idea what your father did, Lena.”

He placed the photograph back inside the drawer.

The contract marriage had begun.

But Lena didn't know that Adrian Blackwood hadn't chosen her because she needed money.

He had chosen her because she was the daughter of the man who had destroyed his family.