Chapter 6 - The Terminal Secret
The absolute, crushing magnitude of the discovery hit Lucia with the physical force of a freight train.
The medical document wasn't a blueprint. It was a highly confidential, terminal diagnosis from a private oncologist, dated exactly six months ago—the exact same week Reed had proposed the contract marriage.
Patient: Reed Sterling. Diagnosis: Stage 4 Glioblastoma. Prognosis: Six to eight months. Condition is rapidly deteriorating.
Lucia’s jaw literally unhinged. The heavy sketchbook slipped from her trembling fingers, crashing loudly onto the mahogany desk. All the color violently drained from her face, leaving her looking like a terrified ghost.
Reed wasn't a cold, unfeeling monster. He was a dying man.
The massive, apocalyptic puzzle pieces violently slammed together in Lucia's mind. Reed didn't force her into a contract marriage to secure an inheritance. He already owned the empire. He forced her into the marriage so he could legally transfer his entire multi-billion-dollar estate directly into her name before the brain tumor killed him.
He paid for her father's life-saving surgery, secured her financial future forever, and intentionally acted like a cold, ruthless villain so she wouldn't grieve when he died.
He was pushing her away to protect her heart.
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"What are you doing in here?" a deep, exhausted voice suddenly echoed from the office doorway.
👉 Lucia spun around, entirely ready to completely shatter the billionaire's isolated, tragic reality.
