Chapter 8 - Sovereign Vows
Elena stared at the blue folder. ""Marry you? Have you lost your mind?""
""It’s not a romance, Elena. It’s an armor,"" Christian explained, his tone entirely clinical. ""Under the maritime charter your father and I co-signed years ago, my offshore holdings merge unconditionally with yours upon our marriage. My legal immunity shields your assets. The moment we are husband and wife, Richard’s receivership is nullified by international law. They cannot touch your money, and they cannot touch you without going through me.""
Elena’s pulse raced. She looked from the legal contract to Christian’s wounded shoulder, then up into his dark, unblinking eyes. Twelve hours ago, she was preparing to marry a monster in white lace. Now, a devil in black was offering her salvation at the cost of her freedom.
""And what do you get out of this?"" she challenged, refusing to be a pawn any longer.
""I dismantle the Sterlings,"" Christian said simply. ""They destroyed my family twenty years ago. Your father was the only man who stood between them and my ruin. I will see Marcus Sterling and his son in prison or in the dirt.""
Elena felt an unfamiliar spark ignite within her hollow chest. The timid girl who had wept in the cathedral aisle was dead, buried under torn lace. In her place stood an heiress with nothing left to lose.
""Get the minister,"" Elena said firmly.
May you like
Two hours later, in the cold glow of a coastal lighthouse ten miles away, a retired maritime magistrate read the ancient vows. There was no white gown, no music, and no flowers. Elena wore a simple dark sweater, and Christian held her hand with an iron grip.
When the magistrate pronounced them husband and wife, Christian slipped a plain platinum band onto her finger. ""Now,"" he whispered, ""the hunt begins.""
