The rain fell harder.
Each drop hit the pavement like a warning.
Lina felt it first—not the cold, but the weight. The kind of weight that came from being seen by someone who could erase her life with a sentence.
The man inside the black car watched her calmly.
Too calmly.
His eyes were sharp, calculating, the kind that had never known hesitation. He didn't look angry. He didn't need to be.
People like him didn't raise their voices.
They decided outcomes.
"So," the man said again, opening the door and stepping out. "You must be the girl."
Nathaniel moved instantly, stepping in front of Lina without thinking.
"Don't involve her," he said coldly. "This is between you and me."
Chairman Blackwood smiled faintly.
"That depends," he replied. "On whether she knows her place."
Lina's heart pounded violently.
She hated the way her knees felt weak. Hated the instinct to shrink back.
So she didn't.
She stepped around Nathaniel.
"I'm right here," she said, her voice trembling but clear. "You don't have to talk about me."
Nathaniel turned sharply. "Lina—"
"It's fine," she said quietly.
The chairman studied her.
Slowly. Thoroughly.
Like a product.
"Interesting," he said. "You don't look like much."
Lina flinched—but lifted her chin.
"I'm not trying to impress you."
A brief pause.
Then the chairman laughed softly.
"That's exactly why you're dangerous."
Nathaniel's jaw clenched. "Enough."
The chairman waved a hand dismissively. "Relax. I'm not here to threaten her."
He looked at Lina again.
"I'm here to explain reality."
She swallowed.
"I already know reality," she said. "I'm poor. I struggle. I work hard for very little. You don't need to teach me that."
"On the contrary," the chairman replied. "You know survival. Not power."
He gestured toward Nathaniel.
"This boy was born with power. And power comes with obligations."
"I'm not an obligation," Lina said.
"No," the chairman agreed calmly. "You're a weakness."
The word landed like a slap.
Nathaniel moved forward, his voice deadly quiet. "You will not speak to her that way."
The chairman's smile vanished.
"You forget yourself," he said. "I built everything you stand on."
"And I walked away from it," Nathaniel shot back.
"Yes," his father replied. "And look what followed."
He gestured vaguely.
"Chaos. Headlines. Exposure."
Lina's phone vibrated in her pocket, as if on cue.
She didn't need to look.
She already knew.
The chairman turned back to her. "Miss Lina Hart."
Her breath caught at the sound of her full name.
"We've done our research," he continued smoothly. "You live alone. Small apartment. Modest income. No influential connections."
Nathaniel's fists clenched.
"You had no right—"
"I had every right," the chairman interrupted. "My son brought her into my world."
He met Lina's eyes.
"And my world is not kind to people like you."
Lina's chest tightened painfully.
"What do you want?" she asked.
The chairman smiled again.
"I want peace."
She almost laughed.
"I don't think you know what that means."
"Oh, I do," he replied. "Peace is when the engagement proceeds. When the rumors stop. When my son remembers who he is."
Nathaniel shook his head. "I won't marry Evelyn."
"You will," his father replied. "Because I will make you."
"You can't force love," Lina said suddenly.
The chairman looked amused. "Love is irrelevant."
He turned fully toward her.
"Tell me, Miss Hart—how long do you think you'd last under scrutiny?"
Her stomach dropped.
"How long before your employer decides you're… inconvenient? Before your landlord raises your rent? Before strangers start digging into your past?"
Nathaniel stepped toward her. "Stop."
"Before your safety becomes a concern," the chairman finished calmly.
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Lina's hands shook.
This was it.
This was the difference between their worlds.
"I didn't ask for him," she said quietly. "I didn't chase him. I didn't know who he was."
"I believe you," the chairman replied. "That doesn't change the outcome."
Nathaniel turned to her, panic flashing across his controlled expression.
"I won't let him touch you," he said fiercely. "I swear."
She looked at him.
Really looked at him.
The man who had sat with her when she was humiliated.
The man who had hidden everything just to be loved honestly.
And she understood something terrible.
Loving him was never free.
It had always come with a price.
She took a slow breath.
"Chairman Blackwood," she said.
Nathaniel froze. "Lina, don't—"
She held up a hand.
"What do you want from me?" she asked.
The chairman's eyes gleamed.
"Wise question."
He stepped closer—but kept a polite distance.
"I want you to disappear," he said simply. "Leave my son. Publicly. Cleanly."
Nathaniel's breath hitched. "No."
"Refuse," the chairman continued calmly, "and I will make your life very difficult."
Lina felt tears sting her eyes.
"And if I agree?" she whispered.
"Then you walk away," he said. "And I ensure your life remains… peaceful."
Nathaniel shook his head violently. "This isn't your decision."
She turned to him.
His eyes were red.
Furious.
Afraid.
"Your world is too big," she whispered. "And mine is too small."
"Then I'll shrink it," he said desperately. "I'll leave everything."
The chairman laughed softly. "You already tried that."
Lina closed her eyes.
She remembered Eric's words.
You're too poor to afford love.
Maybe this was what he meant.
Not money.
Power.
She opened her eyes and looked at the chairman.
"If I leave," she said, "you'll leave me alone?"
"Yes," he replied without hesitation.
Nathaniel grabbed her wrist. "Lina, don't."
She gently pulled free.
"I don't belong in your war," she said softly.
Her chest felt like it was tearing open.
The chairman nodded approvingly.
"Good girl."
Nathaniel stared at her, disbelief etched into every line of his face.
"You don't mean that," he said hoarsely.
She forced a smile.
"I told you," she said. "I can't afford this kind of love."
She turned away.
Every step felt like breaking glass beneath her feet.
Behind her, Nathaniel called her name.
Once.
Twice.
She didn't turn back.
She couldn't.
Because if she did—
She wouldn't survive it.
Inside the car, the chairman spoke quietly into his phone.
"Proceed with the engagement announcement," he said. "She's agreed."
Nathaniel stood alone in the rain.
And for the first time in his life—
Money couldn't save what he loved.
[End of Chapter 4]