The scandal broke at 6:12 a.m.
Not a rumor.
Not speculation.
Photographs.
High-resolution. Undeniable.
Adrian Blackwood stepping out of a private hotel entrance in Manhattan.
Victoria Hale beside him.
The timestamp: two years ago.
The headline was ruthless.
“Was the Billionaire’s Marriage a Strategic Rebound?”
By 6:20, financial blogs were dissecting it.
By 6:45, investors were calling.
By 7:00, Lena was staring at the images on her phone in the quiet of her bedroom.
It was strange.
She knew about Victoria.
Knew she existed.
But seeing proof made something sharp twist inside her.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to feel.
Their marriage began as leverage in Chapter 1: The Contract Marriage.
It evolved into temptation in Chapter 2: The Price of a Signature.
It blurred into something dangerously real in Chapter 3: A Performance of Desire.
And last night, in Chapter 4: Scandal Under the Spotlight, the board made it clear:
Love was a liability.
Now the world was watching for cracks.
The Board’s Ultimatum
Adrian was already in his office when she walked in.
Impeccable.
Controlled.
As if headlines didn’t exist.
“They’ve scheduled the vote,” he said without looking up.
“Based on photos from two years ago?”
“Based on perception.”
She closed the door behind her.
“So what’s their demand?”
He finally met her eyes.
“Proof of stability.”
She laughed once. Sharp.
“We’re married.”
“They want something more permanent.”
The implication hung in the air.
Lena felt her pulse quicken.
“They want a child,” she said quietly.
Adrian didn’t deny it.
“They want assurance I won’t risk the company for impulse.”
“And marrying me was considered impulse?”
His jaw tightened.
“No.”
But the pause had lasted a fraction too long.
Paparazzi at the Gate
The estate was swarmed by noon.
Cameras.
Reporters shouting questions.
“Is Mrs. Blackwood aware of Victoria Hale?”
“Is the marriage real?”
“Are you separating?”
Lena stood at the top of the marble staircase, watching chaos unfold beyond the gates.
This was the cost of stepping into his world.
This was the cost of signing that contract.
But something inside her had changed since the night on the balcony in Chapter 3: A Performance of Desire.
She was no longer just surviving this arrangement.
She was part of it.
Whether she liked it or not.
Adrian joined her at the window.
“They’re waiting for weakness,” he said.
“And if we give them strength?”
“They’ll look for another angle.”
She turned to him slowly.
“Then let’s stop reacting.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Explain.”
The Countermove
The press conference was scheduled for 4 p.m.
Live.
Unscripted.
Risky.
Exactly what the board feared.
When they stepped onto the platform outside Blackwood Tower, the noise was deafening.
Flashes exploded.
Questions overlapped.
Adrian raised a hand.
Silence gradually followed.
“My marriage,” he began evenly, “is not a distraction.”
He turned toward Lena.
Not subtly.
Not for show.
Fully.
Intentional.
“She is not leverage. She is my partner.”
The word struck harder than “wife.”
Partner.
Equal.
Lena felt something shift in her chest.
“But since there seems to be confusion,” Adrian continued, voice cool as steel, “let me clarify something.”
He reached into his jacket.
The crowd leaned forward collectively.
He pulled out a document.
“Our joint acquisition of Hale Ventures finalized this morning.”
The silence was stunned.
Victoria’s company.
Acquired.
Clean.
Legal.
Brilliant.
He hadn’t just responded to scandal.
He had absorbed it.
Neutralized it.
Weaponized it.
Murmurs exploded through the crowd.
A reporter shouted, “So Victoria Hale is no longer a threat?”
Adrian’s expression didn’t change.
“She never was.”
Private Fallout
Back in the car, Lena finally spoke.
“You bought her company.”
“Yes.”
“That was personal.”
“No,” he said calmly. “That was strategic.”
She studied him.
“You’re lying.”
His eyes flicked toward her.
Slow.
Measured.
“Careful.”
“Did you do it because of the board?” she pressed.
Silence.
“Or because you didn’t like the way she looked at you last night?”
His hand tightened slightly on the steering wheel.
“You think I’m that impulsive?”
“I think you’re more emotional than you admit.”
The car stopped at a red light.
He turned to her fully now.
“You think this is about jealousy?”
“Isn’t it?”
His hand lifted.
Brushed her cheek.
Not soft.
Not hesitant.
Possessive.
“If I were jealous,” he said quietly, “you would know.”
Her breath caught.
“And if I wasn’t strategic,” he continued, voice dropping lower, “I wouldn’t have married the only woman capable of standing beside me without trembling.”
The words hit deeper than expected.
“You didn’t answer the question,” she whispered.
His gaze darkened.
“I don’t repeat myself.”
The Real Threat
That night, as headlines shifted from scandal to shock acquisition, a private email arrived in Lena’s inbox.
No sender.
No subject.
Just one attachment.
She opened it.
Her blood ran cold.
It was a copy of the original marriage contract.
Highlighted.
Annotated.
And at the bottom, a single message:
“The board hasn’t seen the emotional clause yet.”
Her heart pounded.
Emotional clause?
There wasn’t one.
Was there?
She remembered every page she signed back in Chapter 1: The Contract Marriage.
Every condition negotiated in Chapter 2: The Price of a Signature.
But contracts written by men like Adrian Blackwood were never simple.
Footsteps approached behind her.
She quickly locked the screen.
Adrian stepped into the room.
“You’re quiet.”
“Just tired.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
He sensed it.
He always did.
“You don’t trust me,” he said softly.
She hesitated.
Then:
“I don’t know everything.”
He moved closer.
Close enough that the space between them felt charged again, like it had in Chapter 3: A Performance of Desire.
“Then ask,” he said.
But the question forming in her mind was dangerous.
What if the contract had a condition tied to feelings?
What if love voided everything?
And what if someone intended to expose it at the worst possible moment—
Right before the board vote?
Her phone vibrated again.
Another message.
“Tomorrow. 9 a.m. The truth goes public.”
She looked up at Adrian.
For the first time since signing that contract—
She wasn’t afraid of losing the marriage.
She was afraid it might have become real.
To Be Continued…
There’s a hidden clause.
The board is preparing to strike.
And someone knows more than they should.
In Chapter 6, the contract will be reopened.
And one signature may destroy everything.