Nor did I tell him that this contract had been carefully arranged by my father, a man whom Rya deeply admired but whom he had never met.

For Rya, my father was simply a powerful businessman, almost a living legend within the corporate world.

Richard Halstead’s name appeared constantly in business articles, financial conferences, and conversations between ambitious executives who dreamed of reaching their level.

Rya used to talk about him as if he were a role model.

Sometimes he even repeated phrases he had read in my father’s interviews, trying to dream of being a visionary like him.

What I imagined was that the man I idolized was, in reality, my own father.

And that the contract that had just changed his career had not come through his own merit, but as a silent gift to protect me.

That morning Rya entró en la cocina con upa sonrisa arrogante y el telefono en la mano, leerendo en voz alta los mensajes de felicitación que recibira de sŅs compañeros y superores.

He walked around the house with his chest puffed out, as if each compliment were an invisible medal hanging on his freshly laced suit.

—He said my presentation was the best he’s seen all year —he said proudly, raising the phone as if he were showing off a trophy.

Then he leaned towards me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, an automatic gesture that seemed more like a social habit than a show of real affection.

While I watched him talk nonstop about his bright future within the company, I felt a small lump in my stomach that had nothing to do with the pains of my pregnancy.

Conoyó demasiado bien lo que ocurría cuando Ryan se ntío poder.

Success transformed him.

It made him arrogant, impatient, and less and less able to see the people around him as anything more than tools.

When night fell, that change was already evident.

The door of the house opened forcefully and Rya entered, staggering slightly, enveloped in the strong smell of whiskey and euphoria.

His shirt was half unbuttoned and his expression had that dangerous mixture of pride and contempt that I had learned to recognize.

But what really made my heart skip a beat was the woman who entered behind him.

Sabri.

She was wearing a tight red dress and holding a glass of wine as if she were at a private party instead of another woman’s house.

I wouldn’t even think that was inappropriate.

Rya looked me up and down, lingering on my loose blue dress and my already visible belly.

Su sonRISA fue lenta y cruel.

—Look at you —she said with a laugh dragged by alcohol—. Before you were fun, before we went out, we traveled and people looked at us with envy.

He pointed at my belly with disdain.

—Now you’re just a dead weight.

I breathed deeply, trying to maintain calm, because I knew that any emotional reaction would only fuel their need for conflict.

—Rya, it’s late—I said in a firm but calm voice—. Please, go.

He burst out laughing with an exaggerated laugh that filled the whole room.

Sabria watched the scene from the sofa with a small, cold smile, as if she were enjoying a show carefully prepared for her.

Ryan gave Ѕn a step towards me, ininvading my personal space con Ѕna growing aggression.

—Leave? —repeatedly—. I think you still don’t understand something important.

He raised his hands as if something invisible were being presented.

—That contract changes everything.

Cuando no respondí ni reactioné de la forma que él espera, su exción se oscureció de inmediato.

The first blow was a punch.

Fue up expújó n brutal que me hizo perder el ebuilibrio y caer contra el sofá con un dolor agudo que pieró mi cadera.

Instintivamente I protected my belly with both arms.

Rya grabbed my wrist with such force that I felt how his fingers were digging into my skin.

—Do you think you can still talk to me like that? —he shouted with wide eyes.

Sabrina nоо иnтеntó детеnerlo.

Simply take another sip of wine while observing everything with a distant expression, as if that were just distraction.

Ryan lifted me from his grip and dragged me to the decorative chair that was next to the window.

I tried to resist, but my strength could not compete with the uncontrolled fury of a drunken man.

From a nearby basket he took out a thick rope and began to tie my wrists and waist against the chair.

The rope scraped my skin as he pulled hard, completely ignoring my protests and the fear that was beginning to take hold of me.

My heart was beating so hard that I could barely hear anything else.

Entonces Ryan se inclinó hacia mí con una sonrisa torcida.

—That contract made me untouchable—he whispered.

He pointed at my belly with contempt.

—And you are just a problem that I haven’t yet decided how to solve.

It was that moment when we heard an unexpected sound.

Three firm knocks on the main door.

Rya frowned, confused.

—Who the devil lives at this hour?

He staggered to the door and opened it without even looking through the peephole.

The moment he looked up, his expression changed completely.

All the color disappeared from his face.

En el pasillo estaba хn hombre elegantente de cabello gris y postхñe хna хna хna хna хna хna хna хna хna хna хna хna хna хna хna ххidada.

Rya took several seconds to react.

But when he finally recognized the man in front of him, his voice came out trembling.

—Mr… Halstead.

My father.

The man whom Rya had idolized for years.

The man whose name had been repeated hundreds of times and impressed other executives.

My father calmly observed the room.

The wine glass.

The unknown woman.

The rope.

And finally me, tied to the chair.

The silence that followed was heavy.

Ryan intentó hablar rápidamente.

—Mr. Halstead, this is not what it looks like…

My father raised his hand to stop him.

SÅ voz fÅe tranquila, pero tenía Ån peso que hizo que todos en la habitaciónn guardaran silencio.

—You’re right —he said slowly—. It’s not what it seems.

Sus ojos se clavaron en Ryan con una frialidad absoluta.

Then he added a phrase that completely destroyed my husband’s world.

—That contract you signed this morning was for you.

Rya blinked confused.

My father continued speaking.

—It was a gift for my daughter.

And for the first time since I met him…

I saw true terror in Rya’s eyes.