Page 75 of Vows of Silence

“And Isabelle?”

My father didn’t even hesitate.

“Make it happen and she’s yours.”

Silas clicked off the video the second my father finished speaking. Before I could even process everything I had just heard, another file opened on the screen.

This one looked much more official. Legal documents filled the monitor, complete with company logos, signatures, paragraphs of terms and conditions, and enough formal wording to make my head ache.

At first glance, it looked like any standard corporate contract. And then I started reading.

My stomach tightened almost immediately as my eyes caught the names at the top of the page.

Adrien Vescari

Vittorio Carbone

Marriage Union Agreement

I stared at the words for a second, hoping I had misunderstood what I was looking at. But the longer I read, the worse it became.

Silas remained standing behind me, his chest close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating from him through the thinmaterial of my clothes. His gloved hand still rested over mine on the mouse, guiding me slowly through the document whilst his breathing remained steady behind me.

Unlike mine.

Mine had started shaking. Almost hyperventilating.

The contract itself barely referred to me as a person. Everything was written like a business merger. There were sections about financial integration, inheritance rights, public appearances, brand alignment, asset transfers, and future expansion opportunities between the Vescari and Carbone families.

I felt sick.

There were paragraphs discussing future heirs as though they were expected business investments rather than children. Timelines. Expectations. Consequences if those expectations were not met.

One section near the middle made my chest tighten painfully.

Failure to produce heir within the agreed timeframe may result in a renegotiation of financial distribution and continuation terms.

I swallowed thickly and kept reading anyway, unable to stop myself now that the truth was unfolding in front of me.

The deeper into the contract I got, the more disturbing the language became.

There were sections covering my public behaviour. Expectations surrounding obedience and presentation. Clauses discussing preserving the Vescari reputation and avoiding public embarrassment.

And then I reached the part that made my entire body go cold.

Corrective measures permitted where necessary for behavioural adjustment, including physical discipline,isolation, deprivation of privileges, and approved bodily harm.

For a second, I genuinely thought I might throw up.

My fingers tightened involuntarily around the mouse beneath Silas’s hand, and immediately his grip tightened too, grounding me before I could spiral completely.

I barely even noticed myself leaning backwards slightly until his arm shifted, moving around my waist to steady me.

My eyes remained locked on the screen.

I couldn’t look away.

Sexual preparation and training of spouse may be delegated at the discretion of the husband prior to official union should it be deemed beneficial for long-term compliance and marital satisfaction.