Chapter 2 Bound by Ink
Her father shoved another document toward her.
“Sign it now,” he snapped. “Or your name will be removed from the Vale family register.”
Marionette stared at him in disbelief. “You would disown me?”
“You stop being a Vale tonight if you make this difficult,” he replied flatly.
A hollow laugh almost escaped her.
She ran a hand through her hair, exhaustion pressing heavily against her chest.
“I truly have to applaud you,” she said hoarsely. “I didn’t think you could sink any lower.”
She picked up the pen, signed her name, then threw the contract back against his chest.
“There,” she spat.
Her eyes dropped to the smallest suitcase beside the stairs, she bent and picked it up.
The front door opened almost immediately and two tall bodyguards in black suits stepped inside.
Neither looked at her family.
Their attention remained solely on her.
Marionette walked toward the door, but paused at the threshold and turned back one final time.
“I hope the money keeps you warm at night,” she said calmly. “Because it will never save you from what you’ve done to me.”
Then she walked out with the bodyguards.
The drive to the Volkov estate was silent.
Tears burned behind Marionette’s eyes, yet not a single one fell.
The men seated in front never spoke to her.
They barely acknowledged her presence at all.
She felt less like a person and more like cargo being transported.
Eventually, the car slowed to a stop.
One of the guards stepped out first and opened the door for her.
“Miss Vale,” he said politely.
Marionette stepped out and looked up.
The Volkov mansion stood before her like a fortress. High iron gates surrounded the estate, armed guards patrolled the grounds, and surveillance cameras covered nearly every visible corner.
It did not feel like a home.
Instead it felt like a place designed to keep people trapped inside.
A man in a perfectly tailored black suit approached her calmly.
He looked to be in his early thirties, with sharp eyes and a composed expression that revealed very little.
“Welcome to the Volkov residence, Miss Vale,” he said with a slight smile. “My name is Adrian. I am Mr. Volkov’s personal assistant.”
Marionette gave a stiff nod.
“This way, please.”
The massive front doors opened, and she stepped inside.
The interior was dimly lit, elegant and cold.
Adrian led her through a long corridor lined with dark polished walls until they reached a set of wooden doors.
He knocked once before opening them.
“Mr. Volkov,” he said respectfully, “she has arrived.”
Then he stepped aside and left.
The room was mostly dark except for a single lamp glowing faintly near the window.
A man sat in a wheelchair with his back turned toward her.
“You signed the contract,” a low voice said from the darkness. “That makes you my wife.”
Marionette paused.
His voice was calm, deep, and controlled enough to unsettle her immediately.
“Come closer.”
She obeyed cautiously and stopped a few steps behind him.
“Sit.”
This time, she hesitated before lowering herself into the chair opposite him.
Slowly, Cassius turned his wheelchair around.
Their eyes met.
A cold heaviness settled low in Marionette’s stomach.Cassius Volkov’s eyes were dark, sharp, and disturbingly alive. There was something dangerous in the stillness of his gaze, something that made it difficult to look away.
His eyes were darker than sin.
Marionette tilted her head slightly as she studied him in return.
His gaze swept over her face, her dress, then briefly toward her trembling hands.
Something unreadable flickered across his expression.
“You’re not what I expected,” he murmured.
Neither are you, she thought.
But she said nothing.
A folder rested on the table between them.
“Our marriage contract,” Cassius said calmly.
Marionette picked it up and opened it while he watched her in silence.
Her eyes moved across the pages.
Duration: One year.
Public marriage.
Nothing surprising yet.
She continued reading.
Money.
Security.
Residence within the Volkov estate.
Her lashes flickered faintly.
A monthly allowance of two hundred and fifty thousand euros with complete control over the funds.
So he had no intention of keeping her powerless.
She turned another page.
Private security assigned to her at all times.
Any threat against her would be treated as a direct threat against him.
Interesting.
Protection, not possession.
Her attention moved lower.
Full autonomy.
Education.
Career.
Private pursuits.
Cassius Volkov would have no authority to interfere with any of it.
That caught her off guard.
Then she reached the final clause.
Upon completion of the contract, she would receive fifty million euros and ownership of one Volkov property of her choosing.
Marionette slowly lifted her eyes from the paper.
Cassius was already watching her carefully.
She looked back down.
No obedience clause.
No intimacy requirement.
No pregnancy condition.
No restriction on her movement beyond security protocol.
This was not a marriage contract.
It was bait.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked quietly.
Cassius’s lips curved faintly.
“Because I rarely do anything without a reason.”
He leaned back slightly in his chair.
“For the next year, your life belongs to me legally.”
Marionette studied him carefully.
“Why me? A man like you could have chosen anyone.”
Something strange flickered in Cassius’s eyes.
“I only want Marionette Vale.”
The way he said it made her chest tighten unexpectedly.
“And unlike your father,” he added softly, “I never buy things I do not intend to keep.”
Marionette’s expression cooled instantly.
“You don’t touch me.”
Cassius held her gaze without blinking.
“Not unless you want me to.”
That answer unsettled her far more than a threat would have.
“And after one year?” she asked.
“You walk away rich and untouchable.”
Marionette lowered her gaze to the signature line where her name had already been printed neatly.
Marionette Vale.
Cassius watched her quietly.
“Do you consent?”
Her fingers tightened around the pen.
“I must be very special for you to spend this much money on me.”
“Indeed,” Cassius replied calmly. “You are very useful to me.”
A faint smile touched her lips.
“At least you’re honest. I suppose that makes the feeling mutual.”
She signed.
Cassius took the contract from her hands and folded it carefully before setting it aside.
“Good,” he said quietly. “Then welcome to the Volkov family, Mrs. Volkov.”
Silence settled briefly between them before
Cassius spoke again.
“Tell me, Marionette.”
His dark orbs locked onto hers.
“Do you still carry the Heartguard pill your grandfather gave you?”
Marionette’s blood ran cold.
That was a habit she had never spoken about.
Not to her parents.
Not to anyone.
Cassius leaned back slightly in his chair
A faint smile touched his lips.
“Good,” he murmured softly.
“You’re going to need them.”
