When Contracts Turn to Forbidden Kisses Chapter 131

Ethan

I sat across from Daniel in the dimly lit hotel suite, playing chess while trying to ignore the sounds coming from the bedroom. The expensive whiskey in my glass hadn't been touched for over an hour.

Felix's grunts and a woman's exaggerated moans filtered through the door, punctuated by the squeaking bedsprings. My cousin was drugged—Daniel's twisted payback for how Felix had treated Amelia. I kept my poker face, though inside I was both disgusted with Felix and reluctantly impressed by Daniel's calculated revenge.

I moved my knight, keeping my voice casual. "Interesting approach you've taken here."

Daniel shifted his queen with the precision of someone used to making high-stakes moves. His eyes—the same color as Amelia's but colder, harder—sized me up like I was another business acquisition.

'What does he really want tonight?'My mind raced, weighing every possible outcome as Daniel’s cold gaze never wavered. The stakes were higher than any chess game.

"He deserved to know what it feels like to be the one manipulated," he said, his Boston accent almost completely polished away. "After what he did to Amelia. You know all about that, don't you?"

"I do," I admitted, then met his gaze directly. There was no point denying Felix's behavior – we both knew what kind of man my cousin was. Still, family was family. "But he is my cousin, after all. I hope you'll spare his life."

Daniel's laugh was dry as sandpaper. "Family loyalty. How touching."

He placed his chess piece down with a sharp click. Something in his posture changed—subtle, but I caught it. The real conversation was starting.

"When I found out Amelia was my family," he said, "I dug into everything about her life. Her mother's death. The Victor Group money laundering case..."

My hand paused for a split second as I reached for my bishop—a tiny tell I immediately regretted. Daniel noticed. Of course he did. You don't build a tech empire without learning to read people.

"I don't know what you mean," I said, moving to threaten his knight.

"Do you?" Daniel leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "I discovered some interesting coincidences. For example, the timing of your approach to Amelia coincided perfectly with a critical period in the Victor Group investigation."

I continued playing, my voice steady as I captured one of his pawns. "The business world is small. Some coincidences are normal."

"Cut the crap, Ethan." Daniel's voice had the confidence of someone holding four aces. "We both know you're too smart for coincidences. Did you target her to investigate her mother's situation?"

The bedroom noises had reached a crescendo, then tapered off into silence. The sudden absence of sound made the room feel emptier, our words heavier. After a few seconds of consideration, I decided truth was my only viable option. Daniel had clearly done his homework.

I looked up at him. "Yes."

"So you had an agenda from day one." His voice remained calm, but with an undercurrent of steel.

"At first, yes," I admitted. I remembered meeting Amelia, how calculated I'd been, how wrong my assumptions had been. "But later, things changed."

"What changed?"

"I fell in love with her." The simplicity of my answer surprised even me. "And I realized her mother's death wasn't what it seemed."

Daniel's expression shifted slightly – a minute narrowing of his eyes, a barely perceptible tightening around his mouth. "What do you mean?"

"The deeper I dug, the clearer it became that it wasn't an accident." I set down my rook too forcefully, knocking over a pawn. "Someone framed her mother for money laundering, and then—"

"Had her killed to keep her quiet?" Daniel finished, his voice dropping.

"That's my theory," I nodded, feeling the familiar frustration of loose ends. "But I need more concrete evidence."

Daniel remained silent for a long time, studying the chessboard without making a move. The game, like our conversation, had reached a critical juncture. From the bedroom came Felix's heavy snoring.

Finally, Daniel stood up, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He walked over to the window, the dim light reflecting off the glass as he gazed outside.

"Compared to whoever's behind all this, your sins are pretty minor," he said, staring out into the night. "But you still deceived my sister. There's a price for that."

I watched his back, unsure of what he truly intended. Then my eyes drifted to the knife on the table. This wasn’t just about pain or blood — it was about commitment, a test of my dedication to Amelia.

Without hesitation, I picked up the knife and drew its edge across my palm in one swift motion. Blood immediately welled up, dark and thick in the dim light. The cut stung, but I kept my expression neutral.

"Satisfied?" I asked, meeting his eyes over my bleeding hand.

"What? You really are ruthless," Daniel said, startled by my actions. "I don’t want your life. I just need your help to uncover the truth about Amelia’s mom."

I nodded.

"Just remember," he added, "if you discover something bad, don’t let her find out."

He looked at my hand, then toward the bedroom door. "I’ve done my part with Felix. Tomorrow, when your family asks why you didn’t stop him, just say he hurt you while trying. I’ll handle the security footage."

"Understood." I watched my blood drip onto the chessboard, staining a white pawn red. "For Amelia's sake, I'll do whatever's necessary."

Daniel walked to the door, stopping with his hand on the knob. Half his face was in shadow when he turned back.

"We're working together now, but don't mistake that for trust. If you hurt her again..." He let the threat hang unfinished.

"I won't," I said, and the two words felt more binding than any contract I'd ever signed.

After he left, I stared at the cut on my palm. The physical pain was nothing compared to what I now faced. Daniel knew my secrets, but the harder question remained: how would I tell Amelia that our entire relationship began as an investigation?