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“Three years ago, your father’s company was used by Oscar Becerra to smuggle illicit cargo through the Port of Seattle,” Matthew explained, sitting opposite her, crossing his legs with effortless grace. “My brother, Julian, was the customs director who discovered it. Before he could file the report, his car was forced off a cliff on Route 9. The exact road where I found you last night.”
Elena gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “My father… my father wouldn’t do that. He was an honest man!”
“Your father didn’t know,” Matthew countered, his eyes locking onto hers. “But your stepmother did. Patricia Salgado was Becerra’s inside operative. She poisoned your father slowly, making his death look like a degenerative illness, so she could inherit the shipping licenses and hand them over to Becerra. Tonight, Becerra was supposed to finalize the acquisition of the final remaining docks—by taking you as payment for Patricia’s debts, cementing a blood pact.”
The room seemed to spin. Elena felt a nauseating wave of horror wash over her. Her father hadn’t died of natural causes. He had been murdered by the woman she had called family for five years.
“They ruined my life,” Elena whispered, her hands shaking as she stared at the photos. “They took everything from me.”
“They are about to take more,” Matthew said coldly. “Patricia has already filed a missing persons report, claiming you stole proprietary company data before fleeing. Becerra has put a bounty on you. They are desperate because the final transfer of your father’s estate requires your physical signature. Without it, the docks revert to the state in two weeks.”
Elena looked up, a spark of defiance cutting through her grief. “I will never sign it. Never.”
“Good,” Matthew said, a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips. “But staying hidden isn’t enough. I don’t want to just stop them, Elena. I want to destroy them. And for that, I need your cooperation.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to marry me.”
The Carranza Alliance
The silence that followed was absolute. Elena stared at him, wondering if she had misheard. “What?”
“A marriage of convenience,” Matthew stated, as calmly as if he were discussing a supply chain report. “As my wife, you gain immediate, ironclad legal protection. My lawyers will freeze all of your father’s assets under a marital trust, completely blocking Patricia and Becerra from accessing the docks. Furthermore, any move they make against you becomes an declaration of war against the Carranza empire.”
“And what do you get out of this?” Elena asked, her pulse hammering against her ribs.
“Access,” Matthew replied, his eyes darkening. “As your husband, I become the co-owner of the Vargas shipping lines. I can legally audit the books, expose Becerra’s smuggling routes, and hand him over to the federal authorities on a silver platter—right before I strip him of every dime he owns. I get justice for my brother. You get your freedom, your father’s company back, and the head of the woman who abused you.”