The man in front of her didn't seem real. Tall, dark, too elegant for that miserable neighborhood, he wore a custom-made black suit. His dark hair was perfectly combed, and his eyes... God, his eyes. They were gray. Not an ordinary gray—they were like wet steel: cold, calculating, dangerous.
Edward Salvatore.
Julia crossed her arms, suspicious. The other man beside him—a bald brute with an unfriendly face—didn't take his eyes off her for a second.
"I'm not going to repeat myself," Edward said, his voice low, husky, and so authoritative that it seemed to cut through the air. "Get in the car. We have something to discuss."
"If you're mistaking me for some desperate bitch, let me warn you right now..." she began, ready to explode.
But he raised his hand, interrupting her with a simple gesture.
"I know exactly who you are, Julia Ferraz. Ernesto's granddaughter. Nineteen years old. Rebellious, proud, and full of unpayable debts."
She felt her blood run cold. How did he know so much?
"Who are you?" she growled. "Police? Loan shark? Psychopath?"
A smile appeared on his lips, slow and cruel.
"I'm the man who can save the only relative you have. Or... watch from the stands as he wastes away in a third-rate hospital."
Rage rose like fire. She took a step forward, her finger raised:
"If you lay a finger on my grandfather, I'll..."
"You'll what?" Edward tilted his face, slightly amused. "Going to hit me? With that glass courage of yours?"
She stopped. Because, for the first time, she felt fear. Real. Deep. And not for herself. But for what this man could do to old Ernesto.
"What do you want from me?" she whispered, finally.
Edward took an envelope from his jacket and handed it to her. Inside, there was a contract.
Marriage contract.
"You're going to be my wife, Julia. In exchange, I pay for everything. The hospital, the exams, the treatment, the house, everything. Your grandfather will live comfortably until the end."
She widened her eyes, shocked. Her first reaction was to laugh. And that's exactly what she did.
"You're crazy. Totally nuts. Why would you want to marry me? There are beautiful, rich, blonde women with high heels and silicone dying for you!"
"Precisely." He stared at her. "None of them will do. I need someone like you. An ordinary girl. Without connections. Without a big family. Without ties. A credible fake."
"And if I refuse?"
Edward leaned back in the back seat of the car, relaxed.
"Then your grandfather dies in up to six months. And you continue living in this hole, being exploited, waiting for a miracle that won't come."
That sentence hit her like a punch in the stomach. She wanted to scream. She wanted to hit him. But the truth was a monster she already knew: she was alone. And without a way out.
"This is emotional kidnapping. It's blackmail. It's disgusting." She spat the words like poison.
He smiled. A smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"I prefer to call it... opportunity."
Silence.
Julia's world seemed to crumble. All her life she fought to be free. And now, the only way to save the only one she loved... was by selling herself.
"This is hell," she whispered, defeated.
Edward Salvatore watched her for a few seconds and replied calmly:
"Welcome to my world, little one."
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