My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. We reached the top of the grand staircase just as the flashlights from the security team swept across the library floor below.
"They're already inside," I hissed, pulling Alexander back into the shadows of the hallway. "If they find my father's notes, they'll know I've been decoding the 'Ancient Pulse' formulas. They'll know I'm not just a trophy spouse—I'm a threat."
Alexander's face was unreadable in the dark, but his grip on my hand was firm. "The study has a secondary entrance through the servant's quarters. If we move fast, we can get behind the desk before they reach the safe."
We moved like ghosts through the narrow, carpeted service hall. Every creak of the floorboards felt like a gunshot. When we finally slipped through the hidden mahogany door into the library, the air smelled of old paper and expensive tobacco.
Across the room, I could see the light from Aunt Catherine's phone. She was standing by the fireplace, her shadow stretched long and thin across the wall. "Search everything," she commanded the two guards. "Sterling said the 'Divine Medic' records were accessed from this room. I want those journals, and I want them now."
I looked toward the desk. My heart stopped. The leather-bound journal was sitting right there, half-hidden under a stack of Alexander's business reports. One of the guards was only three feet away from it.
"I'll distract them," Alexander whispered. "When I move, you grab the books and head for the balcony."
"Alexander, no—they'll suspect you," I whispered back.
"They already do," he said with a grim smile. "But they can't fire the CEO. You, on the other hand... you're the one they want to make disappear."
Before I could stop him, he stepped out into the light, his voice booming through the library. "Aunt Catherine! I didn't realize you enjoyed late-night reading so much that you needed a security detail to help you choose a book."
The guards jumped, and Catherine spun around, her face pale with shock. "Alexander! You... you're supposed to be in the east wing."
"It's my house, Catherine. I go where I please," he said, walking toward her with such authority that the guards backed away.
While they were focused on him, I crawled behind the heavy oak desk. My fingers brushed the cold leather of the journal. I grabbed it, hugging it to my chest like it was a shield. I also grabbed the digital drive I had used to download the server files.
"We were just ensuring the security of the family assets," Catherine said, her voice trembling with rage.
"The only asset I care about is my spouse," Alexander replied, his eyes meeting mine for a split second across the room. It was the signal.
I didn't look back. I slipped through the balcony doors and into the night air of Anambra. I had the journals, but the secret was out. The 'Contract Marriage' was no longer a game—it was a war for survival.