*Maya's POV*
I ripped open the envelope so fast I almost cut my finger on the paper.
My hands trembled as I pulled out a single sheet with fancy letterhead. The words at the top made my stomach flip: "Kane Industries Legal Department."
Papa leaned over my shoulder, breathing hard. "What does it say, mija?"
I read the first line out loud: "Miss Rodriguez, my client Alexander Kane requires a wife to fulfill the terms of his inheritance."
"A wife?" Papa's voice cracked. "What kind of sick joke is this?"
I kept reading, my voice getting quieter with each word. "In exchange for a marriage contract lasting two years minimum, Mr. Kane will pay all medical expenses for Carlos Rodriguez, clear all debts for Corazón Restaurant, and provide a settlement of five hundred thousand dollars."
The paper slipped from my fingers and floated to the floor like a feather.
Five hundred thousand dollars. Carlos's surgery. The restaurant saved. All our problems solved with one signature.
"This can't be real," I whispered.
Papa picked up the letter and read it again. His eyes got wider and wider. "Alexander Kane... isn't that the billionaire who owns half of New York?"
My heart started pounding. I grabbed my phone and typed "Alexander Kane" into the search engine. The screen filled with pictures of a man who looked like he stepped out of a magazine. Dark hair, sharp blue eyes, and a face that never smiled.
The first headline made my blood run cold: "Ice King of Wall Street Destroys Another Business Rival."
I clicked on the article. The words seemed to jump off the screen: *Alexander Kane, 32, known for his ruthless business tactics and cold personality, forced the closure of Henderson Electronics last week after a hostile takeover. Sources say Kane showed no mercy, leaving 200 employees jobless...*
"Papa, look at this," I said, showing him my phone.
Another headline read: "Kane's Ex-Girlfriend: 'He Has No Heart.'"
I clicked on that one too. A beautiful blonde woman was crying on camera. "Alexander never showed emotion," she sobbed. "Two years together and he never once said he loved me. He treats people like chess pieces, moving them around until he gets what he wants."
My stomach felt sick. This was the man who wanted to marry me?
I scrolled through more articles. Each one was worse than the last.
"Billionaire Kane Ruins Family Business Over Missed Payment."
"Former Employee: 'Working for Kane Was Like Living in Fear.'"
"Alexander Kane: The Man Who Never Smiles."
Papa sat down heavily in his chair. "Mija, this sounds dangerous. Why would someone like him want to marry you? What's he really after?"
I kept reading. Finally, I found an article that explained everything. "Kane Industries Heir Must Marry to Inherit Grandfather's Fortune."
The article said Alexander's grandfather left a will requiring him to be married by his thirty-third birthday or lose his entire company to his cousin. His birthday was in six weeks.
"He needs a wife fast," I said. "And he picked someone who's desperate enough to say yes."
Papa grabbed my hands. "Maya, you can't seriously be thinking about this."
But I was thinking about it. Carlos's face flashed in my mind. His smile when he talked about going back to college. His dreams of becoming a teacher. His silly jokes that made me laugh even when I wanted to cry.
"What if this is our only chance?" I asked.
"What if it's a trap?" Papa shot back. "What if this Kane person hurts you? What if he's some kind of monster?"
I looked at more pictures of Alexander Kane. In every single one, his face was like stone. No smiles. No warmth. Just cold, empty stares that made me shiver.
One article called him "The Iceberg" because he was so cold and distant. Another said he hadn't been seen laughing in public for over ten years.
"Listen to this," I said, reading from my phone. "Kane's business partner quit last year, saying 'Working with Alexander is like working with a robot. He has no feelings, no compassion. He makes decisions based purely on profit, never caring who gets hurt.'"
Papa stood up and started pacing around the restaurant. "This is insane, Maya. You can't marry a stranger. Especially not someone who sounds like a villain in a movie."
"But Papa, what choice do we have?" My voice broke. "Carlos is dying. We're losing the restaurant. In two weeks, we'll have nothing left."
I found another article with a picture of Alexander at some fancy party. He was surrounded by beautiful women in expensive dresses, but he looked bored and annoyed. Like being there was torture.
"Look at him," I said, showing Papa the picture. "He doesn't even want to be around people. How am I supposed to live with someone like that?"
Papa stopped pacing. "You're not. We'll find another way."
"What other way?" I practically screamed. "You said it yourself - nobody will help us. The bank won't give us money. We've tried everything!"
I clicked on a video of Alexander giving a speech at some business conference. His voice was deep and cold, like ice water. He talked about "eliminating weakness" and "removing emotional interference from business decisions."
The reporter interviewing him asked, "Mr. Kane, what do you do for fun?"
Alexander stared at the camera with those scary blue eyes. "Fun is a waste of time. I work."
"What about relationships? Love?"
"Love is a fairy tale people tell themselves to feel better about being weak."
My heart sank. This man didn't believe in love. He probably thought marriage was just another business deal to be managed and controlled.
But then I thought about Carlos again. About the way he hugged me yesterday before I left the hospital. About how he whispered, "Don't worry, sis. Everything's going to be okay."
If I didn't do this, Carlos would die. Our restaurant would close. Papa would lose everything Mama worked so hard to build.
I found the lawyer's business card at the bottom of the envelope. Mr. Harrison had written his phone number on the back with a note: "Call before midnight. This offer expires at 12:01 AM."
I looked at the clock on the wall. It was already 9:30 PM.
"I need more time to think," I said.
Papa knelt down beside my chair. "Mija, promise me you won't do anything crazy. This Kane man sounds dangerous. What if he hurts you? What if he locks you up in some mansion and never lets you see your family again?"
"What if Carlos dies because I was too scared to try?" I whispered back.
Papa's face crumpled. He knew I was right. Without this deal, Carlos had no chance.
I was about to call the lawyer when my phone started ringing. The caller ID made my heart stop.
"Saint Mary's Hospital."
I answered on the first ring. "Hello?"
"Is this Maya Rodriguez?" The nurse's voice was urgent and scared.
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"You need to come to the hospital right now. Your brother Carlos collapsed during dinner. He's having trouble breathing. The doctors are working on him, but..." Her voice trailed off.
"But what?" I screamed.
"His heart is failing faster than we expected. If we don't operate tonight, he might not make it until morning."
The phone fell out of my hands. Papa caught it and talked to the nurse while I sat there in shock.
Tonight. Carlos needed surgery tonight.
But we didn't have the money. The hospital wouldn't operate without payment upfront. I had maybe three hours before my little brother's heart stopped beating forever.
Papa hung up the phone and looked at me with tears in his eyes. "They want fifty thousand dollars before they'll start the surgery. As a down payment."
Fifty thousand dollars. We had maybe three hundred dollars in our bank account.
I picked up Mr. Harrison's business card with shaking fingers. On the back, he had written something I hadn't noticed before: "Emergency surgery arrangements can be made immediately upon agreement."
It was like he knew this would happen. Like he was waiting for me to become desperate enough to sign anything.
My phone rang again. This time it was Carlos himself, calling from his hospital bed.
"Maya?" His voice was weak and scared.
"Something's wrong. The machines keep beeping, and the nurses look worried. I'm scared, sis."
That's when I knew I had no choice at all.