"You are to marry Jake Carter."
Is this some sort of prank?
She turned to the back of the letter to check the name again to confirm if it was her name she had read properly.
Her hands shook slightly as she held the letter, the edges crinkling beneath her fingers. She had read it three times already, and each time the words seemed to leap off the page with more audacity than the last.
Her lips parted in disbelief. Her jaw tightened, and for a moment, she laughed, bitter, sharp, and unrestrained. This had to be a mistake somewhere. A cruel, elaborate mistake. After all, she barely knew the man. She had seen him in passing at company events, a looming figure of power and intimidation, a man whose reputation made even the bravest hesitate, but to marry him?
That was absurd.
Her stomach twisted, but it wasn't the letter that made it knot; it was the news she had been grappling with for the past two days. Her brother, Darren, had been kidnapped by the city's most dangerous syndicate. Every parent's nightmare. Every sibling's horror. Her parents had been frantic, contacting authorities, mobilizing resources, but now…now it seemed they weren't paying a ransom. They weren't even trying.
Because the ransom wasn't money.
It was her.
She is the ransom.
Leia's chest tightened with a cocktail of anger and fear. How dare they…he…assume that she could be bargained like some commodity? That her life could be traded for her brother's freedom?
She slammed the letter down on the polished oak table and paced, her red hair flashing in the sunlight that spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows of her apartment. Her mind raced. Her family had expected to pay a ransom, but this was different. They hadn't prepared for this. And yet here she was, facing a reality that made her pulse hammer against her temples.
Leia Simmons doesn't plead. She doesn't beg. That wasn't her nature. She was fiery, stubborn, and proud to the core. And if someone thought she would bow quietly to threats, well, they were sorely mistaken.
There had to be some mistake.
Some grotesque error in the system of fear and control that Jake Carter had built. Some miscommunication, some cruel joke, anything.
She grabbed her coat, slung her bag over her shoulder, and stormed out of the apartment, heels clicking sharply on the marble floor. Every step was a declaration: she would confront this man herself. She would demand answers. She would not be toyed with.
By the time she reached the towering glass building that housed the offices of Carter Enterprises, her nerves had tightened into a taut string. She rode the elevator to the top floor, her reflection in the mirrored walls showing a woman of fire and fury, eyes blazing with defiance. She was red-haired, yes, and they often said the color matched her temper, and today, it certainly did.
The moment she stepped out of the elevator and onto the sleek, minimalist office floor, she felt the weight of power pressing down on her. This was Jake Carter's territory. Every polished surface, every sharp line of the architecture, screamed control and dominance. And yet, Leia was unflinching.
She stormed straight to the office door, with the petite blonde secretary running after her as she didn't even bother stopping to ask the secretary for the man who intended on trapping her, her fist poised to knock, except it was already swinging open.
There he stood. Jake Carter. The man himself. Tall, imposing, every bit the predator Leia had imagined, dressed immaculately in a tailored suit that did nothing to soften his intensity. His dark eyes, sharp and calculating, locked onto her with the kind of cold appraisal that could strip a person bare.
And for a heartbeat, Leia faltered, not out of fear, but from the realization that the stories, the rumors, the aura surrounding him were all true.
Jake Carter raised an eyebrow, an almost imperceptible smirk curling at the edge of his lips. "Leia Mae Simmons," he said, voice low, smooth, and deliberate. "I wasn't expecting…you."
Leia's chest heaved with indignation. "I came to talk to you," she snapped, her voice sharp, controlled.
"Is this a joke or something?" She brought her the letter and put it to his face. "Do you know what you're doing? My brother, you kidnapped my brother. And your letter…what in God's name is this nonsense about me marrying you?"
He tilted his head, studying her like a predator observing prey that refused to flinch. "Nonsense?" he echoed, the word dripping with amusement. "You don't understand, do you? The rules of this…game?"
Leia's hands curled into fists at her sides, but she refused to bow, to shrink, to plead. "What game? Don't insult me," she spat. "I am not some…some prize to be won or traded. If this is a joke, I assure you, it is in terrible taste."
Jake's smirk deepened. "You're amusing," he murmured, almost to himself, before fixing her with that piercing gaze. "Most people would have begged already. Cowered. Scrambled to prove their worth. But not you."
Leia bristled, and despite the terror tightening her chest, she felt a spark of…satisfaction. He was surprised by her audacity. Good. Let him be shocked. Let him realize that she wasn't someone to be pushed around.
"Are you crazy?" She asked in disbelief.
Her voice dropped, low and dangerous. "I am here because you have my brother. And I intend to get him back. Not because I want to marry you. Not because I'm afraid. But because family comes first. So, tell me, how exactly do you plan to play this?"
Jake leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin, his gaze never leaving hers. There was a silence that stretched long enough to make her pulse hammer painfully against her ribs. And then, deliberately, he smiled, cold, sharp, and utterly unnerving.
"You think you're in control," he said, voice smooth as silk but edged with steel. "You think you have a choice." He stood, taking a slow, deliberate step toward her. "But here's the reality, Leia…you are the ransom. Your brother will be released…if you comply. If you marry me."
Leia's stomach dropped, but her spine remained straight. She refused to show him her terror. "That's insane, you are insane," she hissed. "You can't just…marry me? For him? That's…" She searched for the right word. "Impossible."
Jake's eyes flickered, an almost predatory gleam shining there. "Oh dear, it is possible. I mean, I already sent the letter to you."
Leia's mouth went dry, but she refused to let fear show. "I…don't even…what? I don't even want to know. You don't know me, I definitely don't know you. You want me in exchange for my brother. This is madness!"
Jake took another step closer, and Leia could feel the raw heat of his presence. "Oh, it's no madness, sweetie," he said softly, the edge of obsession threading through his words. "It's what I want. And don't think for a second you can resist me, Leia. Because I always collect…what's owed."
"Owe what?"
Her hands itched to slap him, to push him, to run, but part of her could not deny the shiver of anticipation crawling up her spine. He was dangerous. He was terrifying. And yet…there was something magnetic, impossible to ignore.
Jake gestured, almost lazily, toward the far wall of his office. A sliding panel revealed a screen, and there, clear as day, was her brother, bound and terrified, eyes wide, struggling against his restraints.
Leia's heart leapt into her throat. Rage, fear, desperation, and fury surged through her in equal measure. This was real. Not a bluff. Not a threat. Her brother's life hung in the balance, and she was staring into the man who had orchestrated this nightmare.
"You…you can't do this," she whispered, voice trembling but fierce. "This isn't a game. This is…this is criminal! You…"
Jake's hand rose, stopping her mid-sentence. His gaze bored into hers. "Game? Oh no, Leia. This is reality. And in reality…choices have consequences. Your choice is simple: comply, or watch him suffer."
Her blood burned, her fists clenched, her chest heaving. But even in the panic and fury, even in the terror clawing at her insides, Leia Simmons refused to kneel. She was audacious, fiery, unbroken. And she was going to make sure Jake Carter knew she would not be a pawn quietly sacrificed.
Yet, as his smirk deepened and his eyes held that cold, impossible power, Leia felt the undeniable truth settle in her chest like lead. This man, merciless, controlling, and impossibly dominant, had set the rules. And for the first time, she realized: there was no escaping this game.
Not for her. Not for her brother. Not ever. Leia stands in the office, furious, defiant…yet paralyzed by the reality of the screen. Her brother is alive, but only because she is now the ransom. Jake leans back, smirk fixed, and whispers:
"Remember, Leia…resistance only makes it more…entertaining."