Chapter 17 · Name the Killer

Lin slides the contract across his desk. Black leather portfolio. Gold clasp. The kind of thing that costs more than my last semester's tuition.

"Sign it," he says. "Then I'll give you the name."

I pick up the pen. It's heavy. Real gold, probably. Everything in this office is real—the marble, the view, the threat sitting across from me in a ten-thousand-dollar suit.

Pacific Capital Joint Ownership Agreement. My name's already typed in. Stella Su, Partner. Twenty percent equity stake. Access to all subsidiary accounts. Voting rights on major acquisitions.

It's bait. Obviously. He's handing me the keys to his kingdom and expecting me to be grateful.

I flip through the pages. Standard NDA clauses. Non-compete. Profit distribution formulas that would take my lawyer a week to decode. Except I don't need a lawyer. I died in this man's arms once. I know exactly what he's capable of.

"You're stalling," Lin says.

I look up. He's watching me with that same half-smile. The one that used to make me think he was harmless. A rich kid playing dress-up in his father's empire.

"I'm reading," I say.

"You don't trust me."

"Should I?"

He leans back. The leather chair creaks.