Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be a Disposable Bride
The footsteps stopped outside the bedroom.
Thea's heart pounded so violently she thought the sound must be audible.
Lachlan remained still.
His posture changed.
The warmth disappeared.
The man beside her became the man the newspapers called ruthless.
He whispered:
“Behind me.”
Thea hesitated.
He looked at her.
“Trust me.”
She moved.
The door opened.
Emil stood there.
He carried a tray.
“Tea,” he said.
Thea stared.
Lachlan did not blink.
“Why are you here?”
“Lady Astrid requested I bring it.”
“At midnight?”
“Her message was urgent.”
Lachlan held out his hand.
Emil gave him the tray.
He waited.
Thea noticed the faint tremor in his fingers.
He was afraid.
“Go,” Lachlan said.
Emil bowed.
The door closed.
Lachlan waited.
Thirty seconds.
Then he lifted the cup.
“Don't drink it.”
Thea stared.
“Poison?”
“Sedative.”
“How do you know?”
“Smell.”
She looked at him.
“You can smell sedatives?”
“Certain ones.”
He set the cup down.
Then he took out his phone.
“Gideon.”
A voice answered.
“Sir?”
“Search the kitchen staff.”
Thea watched.
Lachlan became efficient.
Cold.
He gave instructions in short sentences.
Then he looked at her.
“Go downstairs.”
“Why?”
“Because I want you where everyone can see you.”
“You want me to be bait?”
“I want the people watching you to think you're vulnerable.”
She stared.
“And if they attack?”
“I'll know who did it.”
The plan worked.
By morning, the house was under quiet investigation.
One kitchen employee vanished.
A second confessed to taking money.
But neither knew who had hired them.
Thea spent the day at the hospital with her mother.
Lachlan arranged a car.
He did not come inside.
When Thea returned, she found him waiting in the library.
“How is she?”
“Stable.”
“Does she know?”
“No.”
“About us?”
Thea shook her head.
“She thinks I married a blind man because his family is paying for her treatment.”
Lachlan looked away.
“She doesn't need more stress.”
Thea hesitated.
“You really care about her.”
“Yes.”
That answer surprised her.
“Why?”
“Because she raised you.”
Something inside Thea softened.
She sat across from him.
“Tell me about your family.”
“Which part?”
“The part you don't want me to know.”
His expression became distant.
“My uncle Julian is the chairman of Voss Industries.”
“I thought that was your grandmother.”
“She controls the trust. Julian controls the board.”
“And you?”
“I own enough shares to be a threat.”
Thea frowned.
“Why does he want you gone?”
“Because I know what my father discovered before he died.”
“What?”
“Money laundering.”
She went still.
“Through Voss Industries?”
“Yes.”
“And your uncle?”
Lachlan nodded.
“My father was going to expose him.”
The room became silent.
“Then he died.”
“Yes.”
Thea understood.
“And you pretended to be blind.”
“Yes.”
“Because if your enemies thought you were powerless, they'd stop watching you.”
“They did.”
“Until me.”
His eyes met hers.
“Yes.”
Thea whispered:
“Why me?”
“I don't know.”
That night, Thea went through the old records herself.
She found the contract.
The original version.
There was a clause she had never seen.
Thea Lindquist must remain married to Lachlan Voss for twelve months.
But beneath it, in handwriting different from the lawyer's, someone had written:
Then the girl receives nothing.
Her blood ran cold.
She confronted Astrid the next morning.
“You never intended to protect me.”
Astrid looked at the paper.
“Where did you find this?”
“In the study.”
The old woman sighed.
“I didn't write it.”
“Who did?”
Astrid looked toward the door.
“Julian.”
Thea felt sick.
“Why?”
“Because he wanted you trapped.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother knew something.”
Thea stared.
“My mother?”
“She worked for Voss Industries.”
The world tilted.
Her mother had never told her.
“What did she know?”
Astrid's face hardened.
“Enough to get people killed.”
That afternoon, Thea returned to the hospital.
Her mother was awake.
Thea sat beside her.
“Mom?”
Her mother smiled weakly.
“You're married.”
“Yes.”
“To a Voss.”
Thea froze.
“You knew?”
Her mother's eyes filled.
“I hoped I'd never have to explain.”
“What do you know?”
She looked toward the door.
“Close it.”
Thea did.
Her mother whispered:
“Your father didn't die in an accident.”
Thea stopped breathing.
“He was investigating the Voss family.”
Thea sat down.
“Mom…”
“He found records.”
“What records?”
“Payments.”
“To whom?”
“Judges.”
“Police?”
“Yes.”
“Politicians?”
“Yes.”
Her mother's hand trembled.
“And one name scared him more than all the others.”
“Whose?”
Her mother looked directly at her.
“Julian Voss.”
Thea returned to the mansion in a daze.
Lachlan was waiting.
He saw her face.
“What happened?”
She told him.
He listened.
When she finished, he asked:
“Did she say anything else?”
“She said my father kept copies.”
“Where?”
“She doesn't know.”
Lachlan's expression hardened.
Then Thea realized something.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I wasn't sure.”
“You keep saying that.”
He looked at her.
“I know.”
Thea turned away.
Then she saw the newspaper on the desk.
A photograph of Lachlan.
The headline read:
BLIND CEO MARRIES TEEN BRIDE AS FAMILY POWER STRUGGLE INTENSIFIES
She looked at him.
“You're not blind.”
“No.”
“So why keep pretending?”
He removed his glasses.
“Because the person who destroyed my family still believes I can't see what he's doing.”
Thea swallowed.
“And now?”
His eyes rested on her.
“Now he knows there are two of us.”
A phone rang.
Gideon.
Lachlan answered.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We found the man who planted the sedative.”
“Who?”
Silence.
Then Gideon said:
“He worked for your uncle.”
Lachlan stood.
“Where is he?”
“Dead.”
Thea's heart dropped.
May you like
Someone was cleaning up the evidence.
And they were getting closer.
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