Love by the Contract

Chapter 200

The celebratory air in Emma Hamilton’s office was palpable. The Maxwell Foundation’s unprecedented funding grant had revitalized her ambitions, bringing delayed initiatives back to life. The health education program, once a distant dream hampered by obstacles and sabotage, was now days away from launch. Emma could hardly contain her excitement as she sat at her desk, reviewing the final rollout plans.

She adjusted the photos on her desk—Lucy and Liam’s smiling faces, and one of Thomas, his signature charm captured even in candid moments. These were her reminders of why she endured the endless battles. Their happiness, their future, drove her every decision.

Across the room, Clara, her assistant, stood with an equally bright expression.

“Emma, the media team has confirmed. The press will be covering the launch live next week.”

Emma nodded, but her focus remained on the plan details. “Good. Let’s make sure the program materials are ready for any questions. We want the world to see how impactful this will be.”

That evening, the foundation hosted a pre-launch dinner. The event buzzed with energy as donors, community leaders, and team members shared their excitement over the upcoming initiative. Emma, poised as ever, moved through the crowd with effortless grace, shaking hands, answering questions, and thanking the people who had supported her through thick and thin.

“You’ve built something extraordinary,” a donor remarked as Emma raised her glass to toast the future of the program.

“No, we’ve built something extraordinary,” Emma corrected, her eyes scanning the room. The faces of her team filled her with pride, but it was Thomas she sought out. Across the room, he stood by a group of international health officials, his posture relaxed yet commanding. Their eyes met, and he raised his glass to her. In that moment, all the battles, stress, and sleepless nights felt worth it.

Later that night, Emma returned home, exhausted yet fulfilled. Thomas was already there, leaning against the kitchen counter with a cup of tea. He looked healthier than he had in weeks, his recovery from the previous poisoning scare steady but slow.

“You were magnificent tonight,” he said, his voice warm and filled with admiration.

Emma smiled, leaning into him. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Their quiet moment was interrupted by a buzzing phone. Emma picked it up, glancing at the screen. It was Clara, her assistant.

“Everything okay?” Emma asked.

“I think you need to see this,” Clara said, her voice tense. “Check your email.”

Emma’s pulse quickened as she opened her laptop and clicked on the email. The subject line alone froze her in place: "Dossier on the Hamilton Foundation's Saboteurs."

“What is it?” Thomas asked, leaning over her shoulder.

Emma’s voice was barely a whisper. “The truth.”

The dossier revealed an intricate web of sabotage spanning years. Every cyberattack, PR assault, and attempt to undermine her foundation’s integrity could be traced back to a single source: the Diaz family.

Eliana and Luca Diaz, once powerful players in the pharmaceutical world and longtime adversaries of Emma’s, had returned to New York after years of silence. But they hadn’t come back to rebuild—they’d returned to destroy her.

Emma read the details in stunned silence, her fingers trembling. Each piece of evidence painted a clearer picture of the Diazes’ vendetta. They had leveraged their vast network of connections and influence to orchestrate everything: the stolen data, the smear campaigns, and even the attacks on her credibility.

“They never stopped,” Emma said, her voice trembling with a mixture of anger and dread. “All this time, they’ve been pulling the strings.”

Thomas’s jaw tightened as he read over her shoulder. “We need to bring this to the authorities.”

Emma nodded, but her thoughts were spinning. Why now? Why escalate after years of silence?

* * *

Across the city, in a luxurious penthouse overlooking the Manhattan skyline, Luca Diaz poured himself a glass of whiskey. He moved to the window, the lights of the city casting a faint glow on his sharp features.

Eliana entered the room, her demeanor as icy as ever.

“Emma Hamilton doesn’t go down easily,” she remarked, scrolling through her tablet. “Even with everything we’ve thrown at her, she keeps finding a way to rise.”

“That’s because we’ve been too subtle,” Luca replied, taking a sip of his drink. “Emma’s built her empire on resilience. She thrives on adversity.”

Eliana raised an eyebrow. “So what’s the plan? More attacks? Another smear campaign?”

“No,” Luca said, his voice low and dangerous. “We take away her foundation. Her heart.”

“And how do you propose we do that?”

A sinister smile spread across Luca’s face. “By targeting the one thing she can’t rebuild. Thomas Hamilton.”

* * *

Emma hadn’t closed her eyes for more than a few minutes at a time. Her mind was a battlefield of racing thoughts, images of the Diazes, and the looming sense of dread she couldn’t shake. Every moment she spent awake was another spent calculating contingencies, reviewing documents, and double-checking security measures. Her laptop cast a dim glow in the silent room, the only sounds the occasional click of keys and her shallow breaths.

By the time dawn broke, the sky painted in hues of pale pink and gold, Emma finally let herself step away. She moved to the balcony, clutching a mug of untouched coffee in her hands. The cool morning air brushed against her skin, but it did little to calm the storm inside her.

Footsteps behind her broke her trance. She turned to see Thomas, still groggy but smiling softly, his presence a balm she didn’t know she needed.

“Up all night again?” he asked, his voice heavy with concern.

“I couldn’t stop thinking,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “There’s so much at stake, Thomas. I can’t lose what we’ve built... I can’t lose you.”

He stepped closer, resting his hand over hers. “Emma, listen to me. Whatever happens, I am here, with you.”

She nodded, leaning into him, her head resting against his shoulder. His steady heartbeat offered a fleeting moment of solace, but deep down, a dark, unrelenting unease gripped her. She had faced enemies before, but this was different. The Diazes weren’t just after her foundation—they wanted to destroy her entire life.

The next evening, Emma was engrossed in her work, finalizing preparations for the health program’s highly anticipated launch. Her office, normally a place of focus and productivity, felt heavy with tension. She scribbled notes, her thoughts jumping from one task to another, when her phone buzzed on the desk.

Clara’s name flashed on the screen. Emma’s stomach twisted. Clara’s calls rarely carried good news.

“Emma,” Clara said, her voice trembling, almost breaking. “You need to see this.”

Emma’s heart sank. “What is it?”

Clara hesitated, then sent over a file. Emma clicked on it, her pulse quickening. Her eyes scanned the intercepted message, and with each word, her breath hitched.

“Target acquired. Eliminate Thomas Hamilton by the weekend.”

Her world tilted. The room seemed to close in on her as her heart pounded in her ears. “No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “No, no, no, no, no…”

Her fingers trembled as she dialed Thomas’s number. It rang once. Twice. No answer. Panic surged through her veins.

“Thomas, pick up. Please pick up,” she muttered, trying again.

Nothing.

Emma bolted from her chair, her voice sharp as she called out to Clara.

“Call security! I need every available team member looking for him now.”

Clara rushed into the office, pale and shaken. “What’s happening?”

“It’s the Diazes. They’re going after Thomas.” Emma grabbed her coat and bag, adrenaline propelling her. “I’m going to find him.”

The drive to the restaurant where Thomas was meeting a potential partner felt agonizingly slow, even as her driver weaved through traffic with practiced urgency. Emma clutched her phone in her lap, trying to steady her breathing, but her mind raced with worst-case scenarios.

She thought of Thomas’s laugh, his reassuring smile, the way he always seemed to ground her in moments of chaos. She couldn’t lose him—not now, not ever.

Finally, the restaurant came into view. Relief surged through her when she spotted his car parked outside, but it evaporated just as quickly. Something was wrong. The driver’s door was open, the overhead light casting an eerie glow in the darkened street.

Emma didn’t wait for the car to stop fully. She threw open the door and ran, her heels clicking sharply against the pavement.

“Thomas!” she screamed, skidding to a halt by his car.

Her heart dropped at the sight of him slumped over the steering wheel, his head resting limply against the side. His skin was pale, a sheen of sweat covering his forehead. His chest rose and fell in shallow, labored breaths.

“Thomas, no,” Emma whispered, pulling open the door. Her hands shook as she tried to rouse him. “Thomas, wake up. Please, wake up.”

But he didn’t respond.

“Someone, call an ambulance! Please!” she shouted over her shoulder to her driver, her voice cracking with desperation.

Her hands moved to check his pulse, the faint rhythm barely there. Tears blurred her vision, but she refused to fall apart. Not now. She cradled his face, her voice trembling.

“Stay with me, Thomas. You’re going to be okay. Just hold on.”

The paramedics arrived minutes later, their presence a whirlwind of urgency. Emma stood frozen as they worked to stabilize him, her fists clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palms. Her mind screamed with a single thought:

This time, they wanted to finish the job.

Hours later, Emma sat alone in the hospital waiting room. Her legs bounced restlessly, her hands clasped tightly in front of her as she stared at the sterile white walls. The doctor’s words from earlier echoed in her mind:

“We’ll do everything we can, but it’s critical.”

She felt hollow, the weight of helplessness crushing her. Every time the waiting room door creaked open, her heart leapt, only to sink again when it wasn’t the news she needed.

Finally, the door opened again, and a nurse stepped inside. Her expression was grave, her eyes filled with quiet sympathy.

“Mrs. Hamilton?” she said softly. The nurse hesitated, then shook her head. “I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”

The words hit Emma like a physical blow, stealing the air from her lungs. Her knees buckled, and she gripped the back of a chair to steady herself.

“No,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “No, this can’t—”

But the nurse’s expression didn’t change. The truth settled over Emma like a suffocating weight, and the room blurred around her.

In that moment, her world shattered. Thomas was gone.