Signed To Be His Wife - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

The evening air at the villa was still, almost too quiet. But the silence wasn’t peaceful—it was the calm that follows a storm you know isn’t over. Amara sat on the balcony again, her eyes scanning the horizon as the last rays of sunlight sank into the sea.
Even after the dramatic takedown of Reni and her accomplices, the threat still lingered like smoke in the air.
“They were just foot soldiers,” Nolan had told them.
“Then where’s the general?” Amara asked.
No one had the answer.
Dominic appeared behind her, setting a warm mug of tea beside her. His face was drawn, his jaw tight.
“They’re not done,” he said. “You saw how confident Reni was.”
“She said I wasn’t supposed to survive.”
“That’s not the kind of message someone sends unless they think they’ve already won.”
Amara looked down into her tea. “So we’re still playing catch-up.”
“Not for long,” Dominic said. “We’re flipping the board.”
That night, Nolan presented a full report.
The two men who had entered the boardroom had military backgrounds. Both had falsified identities, forged references, and no social footprint.
“Ghost-level clean,” Nolan said.
“And Reni?” Amara asked.
“Won’t talk. We’ve handed her to trusted federal contacts, but someone’s already lawyering up hard. Private money. High connections.”
Dominic paced. “We’re dealing with someone who’s been planning this for years. Long before Elena. Long before Amara.”
“She’s not just a pawn,” Nolan added. “She’s a thread in the pattern.”
The next day, Dominic pulled Amara aside.
“I need you to see something.”
He led her to a private server room beneath the villa—a place Amara didn’t know existed.
Inside, he pulled up encrypted files from Elena’s last investigation.
“She wasn’t only looking into Hart Enterprises’ finances,” Dominic said. “She was tracking internal leaks. People planted in our company.”
He opened a list. Five names. Reni’s was one of them.
But the one at the top caught Amara’s breath.
Benson Elijah.
Her professor.
“He was the recruiter,” Dominic said. “Not just for you. For others, too. He groomed candidates—young women with high intelligence, low income, and no immediate family support.”
Amara’s stomach turned. “He made us think it was our idea… to reach for better futures.”
Dominic nodded. “He was playing God.”
By mid-morning, a package arrived at the villa.
No return address.
It was hand-delivered to the gates by a private courier who vanished before security could question him.
Inside the package was a small black notebook.
Amara opened it carefully.
Page after page detailed operations, names, targets, even strategy dates. There were photographs, GPS tags, names of judges, lawyers, and even media figures.
It was Elena’s final journal.
At the back was a handwritten note:
“If you’re reading this, I didn’t make it. But it’s not too late for you. Trust no one. Not even those who wear loyalty like armor.”
Amara’s fingers trembled.
“I was supposed to receive this the day after she died,” Dominic said. “It was delayed. Intercepted maybe. Someone’s playing a long game.”
Amara stared at the last line again.
“Not even those who wear loyalty like armor.”
She turned to Dominic slowly. “Do you trust Nolan?”
Dominic looked startled. “What?”
“He’s smart. Loyal. Always there. Too perfect. Elena said to question everyone.”
Dominic’s face darkened. “I’ve known Nolan for years.”
“That doesn’t make him safe.”
They didn’t confront Nolan directly.
Instead, they set a quiet test.
Dominic called a false meeting about a fake raid scheduled to happen the next day at a property linked to The Ghost.
Only three people knew: Dominic, Amara, and Nolan.
They waited.
That night, the safe house was ambushed.
No intel was leaked publicly.
Only someone inside the circle had betrayed it.
Dominic stared at his phone in silence.
Amara didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.
He walked to the surveillance room and pressed play on a recording he’d secretly made earlier.
It was Nolan’s call history.
And in it, a number—previously encrypted—was now cracked.
It matched the burner phone from Clara’s contact.
Dominic sank into a chair, stunned.
“He was playing both sides.”
Amara felt something inside her crack. Nolan had trained her. Protected her. Believed in her.
And he’d sold them out.
The next morning, Dominic called Nolan into the study.
Amara stayed hidden in the adjoining room, listening.
“You’ve been with me since before Hart Enterprises even expanded into finance,” Dominic said.
“Long time,” Nolan agreed, his tone calm.
“I considered you my brother.”
“Dominic…” Nolan paused. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Dominic said. “Just wondering when loyalty became a mask.”
There was silence.
Then Nolan spoke, coldly. “You’re smarter than most, Dominic. But you never learned the first rule of the game.”
“What’s that?”
“Everyone has a price. Even you.”
The click of a gun followed.
But Amara had already activated the emergency signal.
Within seconds, Dominic’s elite guards stormed in and disarmed Nolan.
He didn’t fight. He just smiled.
“Cut off one arm,” he said, “and ten more will grow.”
As he was dragged away, Amara stepped into the room.
He looked at her, eyes unreadable. “I trained you well. You’ll need it.”
She didn’t flinch.
That night, Amara sat with Dominic outside.
Neither spoke for a long time.
Finally, she whispered, “I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
He turned to her. “Then trust me.”
She looked into his eyes.
“I do.”
He reached for her hand. “They took so much from me. From Elena. From you. But they won’t win.”
“What if this never ends?”
“Then we fight until it does.”
Amara leaned into him. The warmth of his hand grounded her.
For now, they were safe.
But they both knew that with Nolan gone, the next phase of the war had just begun.
And this time, it was personal.