The clock struck eleven, each chime echoing through Evelyn's bedroom like a countdown to destiny. The envelope from Ben Carter lay open on her bed, its contents memorized but still shocking. The contract was ruthlessly simple: marry him within twenty-four hours, and he would save her family from complete destruction. One signature to trade her freedom for their salvation.
She stood at her window, watching Victoria pace the front garden in her most expensive dress. Of course her sister wouldn't give up without a fight. For two hours, Victoria had alternated between screaming fits and tearful begging, trying to convince Evelyn to let her take her place.
"It makes more sense!" Victoria had cried. "I'm the one who knows how to handle powerful men. You'll just embarrass everyone!"
A soft knock interrupted Evelyn's thoughts. "Come in, Maria."
The old housekeeper entered, her kind face creased with worry. In her arms, she carried a simple black dress – not one of Victoria's designer gowns, but the elegant piece Evelyn had bought with her own money from managing the foundation's accounts.
"Your mother and sister are downstairs," Maria said, laying out the dress. "Miss Victoria is wearing her red Valentino. She's planning to go to the car instead of you."
Evelyn smiled slightly. "Of course she is." She touched the black silk gently. "Would you help me get ready, Maria? Like you used to when I was little?"
Maria's eyes filled with tears. "You were always my favorite, Miss Evelyn. So quiet, so smart. I watched you grow up in their shadows, never complaining, always working harder than anyone knew."
As Maria helped her dress, Evelyn studied her reflection. Her honey-blonde hair fell in soft waves past her shoulders, making her green eyes seem brighter than usual. The black dress hugged her curves – different from Victoria's willowy frame, but beautiful in its own way.
"Your sister's dress is more expensive," Maria said, fastening Evelyn's mother's pearl necklace – the only piece of family jewelry she'd ever been given. "But you look like a queen."
"A queen about to marry the devil," Evelyn murmured.
"Better the devil who chooses you than the angels who never saw your worth."
Voices drifted up from below – Victoria's shrill demands, Eleanor's attempts to take control of the situation. They would be watching the front door, ready to intercept her.
"Maria, is the kitchen door still unlocked?"
The old housekeeper's eyes twinkled. "And the path through the garden is clear. Just like when you used to sneak out to study in the library late at night."
Evelyn hugged her fiercely. "Thank you. For everything."
The back stairs creaked slightly as she descended, her heart pounding with each step. Through the kitchen window, she could see the sleek black car waiting at the service entrance. This was it – her last chance to back out, to return to being the invisible daughter.
Never again.
The night air was cool against her skin as she slipped through the garden. Behind her, she could hear Victoria's voice rising in triumph as she approached the front car, ready to steal her sister's destiny one last time.
But the car Evelyn approached was different – darker, more powerful, with windows tinted like black ice. The driver straightened as she emerged from the shadows.
"Miss Evelyn Wills?" He opened the door, relief evident in his voice. "Mr. Carter is waiting."
She slid into the leather interior, her decision made. As they pulled away, she heard Victoria's outraged scream from the front of the house. For once, the golden daughter had lost.
The car glided through Rome's nighttime streets like a shark through dark water. They passed familiar landmarks – the places where she'd grown up watching Victoria shine while she faded into the background. Everything looked different now, as if the city itself knew its power structure was about to shift.
Finally, they pulled up to a modern glass tower that seemed to pierce the sky itself. Unlike the old-money buildings her family preferred, this was a monument to new power, to a man who had clawed his way up from nothing.
"Top floor," the driver said, stopping at a private entrance. "The elevator knows where to go."
The elevator was all steel and mirrors, reflecting infinite versions of her as it rose silently. Fifty floors of possibilities, of fears, of questions about the man who had specifically chosen the forgotten Wills daughter.
When the doors opened directly into a stunning penthouse office, Evelyn's first thought was: power. Everything about the space radiated it – from the wall of windows overlooking the city to the massive desk that dominated the room like a throne.
And there he stood.
Ben Carter turned from the windows, and Evelyn's breath caught. The photos hadn't done him justice. Tall and powerfully built, he radiated dangerous grace like a caged predator. Dark hair swept back from a face that belonged in Renaissance paintings – all sharp angles and perfect shadows. But it was his eyes that held her: storm-grey and penetrating, seeing straight through her careful mask to the fire beneath.
"You came through the back garden," he said, his voice deep with a rough edge that spoke of a past far from her privileged world. "Avoiding your sister's attempt to steal your place. Again."
Evelyn lifted her chin. "You knew she would try."
"I know many things about your family, Miss Wills." He moved closer, studying her with unnerving intensity. "I know your father's been skimming money for years. I know your mother cares more about social status than her children's happiness. And I know your sister takes everything that should be yours."
"Then why offer to save them?"
His smile was all predator. "Because I want something they have. Something they've never valued properly."
"Me," she whispered.
"The quiet daughter who speaks four languages, not three like everyone thinks. Who's been secretly running the family foundation because your father's accountant is incompetent. Who notices everything while being noticed by no one." He stopped directly in front of her. "Until now."
Her heart raced, but she held his gaze. "What do you really want, Mr. Carter?"
"A partner." He gestured to the contract waiting on his desk. "Someone who understands that real power isn't in being seen – it's in seeing everything. I'm building an empire, Evelyn. I need someone who knows how to rule from the shadows."
She moved to the desk, reading the contract again. "If I sign this, what happens to my family?"
"They keep enough to live comfortably. Your father avoids prison. Your mother saves face in society." His lip curled slightly. "Victoria learns some overdue lessons about life."
Time seemed to stop as she stared at the elegant pen beside the contract. In her mind, she saw all the times she'd been overlooked, underestimated, pushed aside. All the quiet moments she'd spent learning, watching, preparing for... this.
"I want one condition," she said, picking up the pen.
His eyebrow raised. "You're negotiating with the devil?"
"I want to learn everything." She met his gaze steadily. "No secrets. No locked doors. If I'm going to be your partner, I want to know every part of your empire – both light and shadow."
For a long moment, he studied her, those storm-grey eyes seeing straight into her soul. Then he smiled – a real smile that transformed his harsh features into something breathtaking.
"Deal." He stepped closer, his hand covering hers on the pen. "Welcome to the dark side, Mrs. Carter."
Evelyn signed her name with steady hands. As the clock struck midnight, she looked out over the city that would soon be theirs. Victoria could keep her spotlight.
The second-best daughter had just chosen something far more valuable: power.
And the devil smiled.