The marriage certificate hit the marble counter at seven in the morning.
I'd been awake for three hours. Dorian looked like he hadn't slept at all. His shirt was clean but his jaw was tight and there were shadows under his eyes that makeup wasn't going to fix.
"This is insane," I said.
He poured himself coffee. Black. No sugar. "You have a better plan?"
I didn't. The Echo's coordinates were still burning in my head. My mother's voice saying she sold me. Dorian's silver bullets doing nothing.
I picked up the certificate. It was real. Embossed seal. Witness signatures I didn't recognize. Marriage between Mara Voss and Dorian Ash, dated today.
"How did you even—"
"I own the clerk's office," Dorian said. He wasn't joking.
I put the paper down. "So we're married."
"On paper. The council needs proof it's real." He glanced at his phone. "Press conference is in two hours."
My stomach dropped. "What press conference?"
"The one where I introduce my wife." He said it like he was scheduling a dentist appointment. "Ash Meridian stock is volatile right now. A marriage announcement stabilizes things. And it puts you under my name. Publicly. The black market won't touch you if you're legally mine."
Legally mine.
I wanted to throw the coffee pot at his head.
"I didn't agree to cameras," I said.
"You agreed to thirty days. This is day one." He set his cup down and looked at me. Really looked. "The council has eyes everywhere. If we don't sell this, they'll know it's a cover. And then the contract won't protect you."
I crossed my arms. "What do you want me to do? Smile and wave?"
"I want you to not look like I'm holding you hostage."
"You are holding me hostage."
His mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. "Fair."
I hated that I almost laughed.
He pushed a garment bag across the counter. "Sable sent this. It'll fit."
I unzipped it. Inside was a dress. Cream silk. Simple cut. Expensive as hell. The kind of thing I'd never worn in my life.
"I'm not wearing this," I said.
"You're wearing something," Dorian said. "Unless you want to do the press conference in your jeans."
I looked down. My jeans had a rip in the knee and dried blood on the cuff. From last night. From the Echo.
I grabbed the garment bag. "Fine. But I'm not saying I love you."
"I'm not asking you to."
---
The press conference was in the Ash Meridian Tower lobby. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Marble columns. A podium with the company logo etched in gold.
I felt like I was going to throw up.
Dorian's hand was on the small of my back. Light. Steady. Like he knew I was about to bolt.
"Breathe," he said quietly.
I breathed.
The cameras were already rolling. Twenty reporters. Maybe more. Flashes going off like strobe lights. I couldn't see their faces.
Dorian stepped up to the podium. I stayed beside him. His hand didn't leave my back.
"Good morning," he said. His voice was smooth. Controlled. Nothing like the man who'd ripped an Echo apart six hours ago. "I'll keep this brief. I'm pleased to announce my marriage to Mara Voss. We were married this morning in a private ceremony."
The room exploded. Questions overlapping. Cameras swiveling toward me.
"Mr. Ash, how long have you been seeing Ms. Voss?"
"Is this related to the Meridian merger?"
"Ms. Voss, what do you do for a living?"
I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.
Dorian's hand tightened on my back. Just slightly. A reminder.
"Mara works in logistics," he said. Smooth. Easy. A lie that sounded like the truth. "We met six months ago. This isn't a business decision. It's personal."
Another flash. I blinked. My vision was swimming.
Then I tasted copper.
I touched my lip. My fingers came away red.
The room went silent.
Dorian saw it. He didn't flinch. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood off my mouth. Gentle. Deliberate. Like we'd done this a thousand times.
"She gets nosebleeds," he said to the cameras. He didn't look away from me. "Stress. It's fine."
It wasn't a nosebleed. I hadn't had one since I was a kid.
But the reporters bought it. A few of them even looked sympathetic.
Dorian folded the handkerchief and tucked it back in his pocket. Then he leaned in. His mouth was next to my ear.
"Trust me once," he said.
I didn't trust him. But I nodded.
He straightened. Looked at the cameras. "That's all for today. Thank you."
He took my hand and led me off the podium. His grip was firm. Not tight. Just enough to keep me moving.
We made it to the elevator before I pulled away.
"What the hell was that?" I said.
"That was selling it," Dorian said. He pressed the button for the top floor. "You're bleeding because the Echo marked you. It's a residual effect. It'll stop in a few hours."
"You could've told me that."
"You would've panicked."
I wanted to argue. But he was right.
The elevator doors closed. I looked at my reflection in the polished steel. The dress fit perfectly. My hair was brushed. I looked like someone else.
I looked at Dorian's reflection. He was staring at his phone.
"What now?" I asked.
"Now we wait," he said. "The footage goes live in ten minutes. If the council believes it, you're covered. If they don't—"
His phone buzzed. He looked at the screen. His jaw tightened.
"What?" I said.
He turned the phone toward me.
It was a still frame from the press conference. Me. Dorian's hand on my face. The handkerchief.
But the ring on my finger was glowing.
Not reflecting the camera flash. Glowing. Deep red. Like it had its own light source.
And underneath the image, text was scrolling across the screen.
**FACIAL RECOGNITION MATCH: MARA VOSS.**
**CLASSIFICATION: MOON DEBT VESSEL.**
**STATUS: ACTIVE CONTRACT. COUNCIL CLAIM PENDING.**
I looked at Dorian. "What does that mean?"
He didn't answer.
The elevator doors opened.
Sable was waiting in the hallway. She had a tablet in one hand and a gun in the other.
"We've got a problem," she said.