Contractually Yours CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISSING PAWN

CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISSING PAWN

[Vale Manor, the morning after the banquet]

Olivia Vale

She humiliated us.

Nathan Vale

She ran. From us. From everything we gave her.

Jane Vale

Everything? You mean the bruises and locked doors?

Olivia Vale

Watch your tone, Jane.

Jane Vale

Don’t act like it’s a tragedy. She never wanted to be part of this family.

Hana Vale

...Still. Jumping from the third floor? That’s a statement.

Nathan Vale

She must’ve hit her head. The girl is ungrateful. After all we did—

Jane Vale

All you did was use her. She was a backup bride. A bargaining chip.

Nathan Vale

She was a Vale. She owed us.

[Silence]

Olivia Vale

(quietly) She’ll come back. She has nowhere else to go.

Hana Vale

...She’s not coming back.

Nathan Vale

Then we find her. We bring her back. Whether she wants it or not.

Olivia Vale

We’ll watch all orphanages. Airports. Hospitals. Any woman matching her description— Bring her in.

Hana Vale

And if she’s with someone? Someone powerful?

Olivia Vale

(smiling coldly) Then we make him regret taking her from us.

[Pause. Cold silence.]

For the first time in years, Serena Vale had slipped beyond their grasp. But the Vales weren’t known to give up their pawns easily.

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