Chapter 1: The Price of Survival
The rain was relentless that night.
Lena Parker stood outside the glass building, clutching her thin jacket tighter around herself. The lights inside were warm, golden, expensive. Everything she was not.
She checked the address again on her phone.
Blackwood Enterprises.
Her heart pounded.
She had promised herself she would never come here. Never beg. Never step into a world that crushed people like her without even noticing.
But promises did not pay hospital bills.
Her father was unconscious. The doctors had been clear.
"Deposit the money within forty-eight hours, or we stop treatment."
Forty-eight hours were almost over.
Lena took a shaky breath and walked inside.
The lobby smelled like money. Polished marble floors, silent elevators, people in sharp suits who didn't even glance at her worn shoes.
At the reception desk, the woman looked up.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"Yes," Lena lied softly. "With Mr. Blackwood."
The woman hesitated, then picked up the phone. After a moment, she nodded.
"Top floor. Don't waste his time."
The elevator ride felt endless.
Everyone knew Adrian Blackwood.
Young. Powerful. Ruthless.
A man who built an empire before turning thirty. A man rumored to destroy anyone who crossed him. A man who never mixed emotions with business.
The doors opened.
Lena stepped into a silent office, floor-to-ceiling windows showing the city below. Behind a large desk sat a man in a black suit, his attention fixed on the file in his hands.
He didn't look up.
"Speak," he said coldly.
Lena swallowed.
"My name is Lena Parker. I'm a college student. I— I need help."
That made him look up.
His eyes were dark. Sharp. Uninterested.
"I don't run charities," Adrian said. "You have five seconds to tell me why you're here."
Her hands trembled, but she forced herself to speak.
"My father worked for one of your subsidiary companies. He collapsed at work. He needs surgery. I just need a loan. I'll repay every cent."
Adrian leaned back, studying her like a problem to be solved.
"Loans require collateral."
"I don't have anything," she whispered. "But I'll work. I'll do anything."
That was when his gaze changed.
Slow. Calculating.
"Anything?" he repeated.
The silence stretched between them.
Then Adrian stood up, walked toward her, and stopped just a step away.
"I can pay for your father's treatment," he said calmly.
"But nothing in my world is free."
Lena's chest tightened.
"What do you want?" she asked, barely audible.
Adrian's lips curved into a faint, dangerous smile.
"A contract," he said. "One year. You belong to me."
Her world tilted.
This was not a loan.
This was a cage.
And yet, somewhere far away, a heart monitor beeped.
Her father was waiting.
Lena closed her eyes.
"…Prepare the contract," she said.
Adrian turned back to his desk.
And the deal that would change both their lives forever was sealed.