Chapter 2 - The Coercion
Clara let out a nervous, breathless laugh.
She waited for the punchline, but Leo's expression remained as hard as stone.
"You are insane," Clara said, stepping around him.
"A sudden marriage is the only way to move you into my heavily guarded compound without making my enemies realize I am weak," Leo explained without turning around.
"I will not sell my life to a criminal just because you paid off my loan shark," she shot back.
She walked out of the alley, leaving the most dangerous man in the city standing in the rain.
The next morning, Clara arrived at the city hospital to visit Evan.
She carried a small paper bag holding his favorite chocolate muffin.
When she reached room 412, the bed was completely empty.
The crisp white sheets had been stripped away.
Panic seized her chest as she ran to the nurses' station.
"Where is Evan Hayes?" she demanded.
The head nurse looked at a computer screen and sighed.
"His specialized treatments were canceled this morning due to unpaid debts, Miss Hayes."
"That is impossible, his insurance covers his room until the end of the month!" Clara yelled.
"A private medical firm bought out his debt at dawn and ordered his immediate discharge," the nurse replied coldly.
Clara spun around and sprinted toward the hospital exit.
She ran into the parking garage, desperately dialing Evan's cell phone.
It went straight to voicemail.
Before she could reach the street, three large men in leather jackets blocked her path.
They wore the signature red ties of the Rourke crime family.
"Vincent Rourke heard you helped his enemy survive the other night," the largest man growled.
"He wants to have a little chat with you and your brother."
The man pulled a switchblade from his pocket and stepped forward.
Before the blade could even gleam in the dim light, a suppressed gunshot shattered the silence.
The man dropped his knife and fell to his knees, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
Frank Delaney, Leo's right-hand man, stepped out from behind a concrete pillar with a smoking pistol.
"Mr. Caruso does not like it when people touch his fiancée," Frank said casually.
Clara realized with sickening clarity that she was caught in a war she could not win on her own.
"Where is my brother?" Clara asked, her voice trembling.
May you like
"He is perfectly safe in Leo's private medical wing," Frank answered, offering her a dark envelope.
"But if you want him to stay breathing, you need to sign this marriage license right now."
