Chapter Five
>THE ENEMY'S OFFER
...The Mental Prison, Muse's Cell
Muse was sitting on the cold concrete floor of her prison cell because the mattress was rid with bedbugs.
The room was dimly lit.
Her hands were wrapped around her knees as she stared with lifeless eyes.
The sound of clanging metal echoed, coming from down the corridor.
Muse did not look up, used to the sound of the footsteps of guards who barely glanced her way.
But this time, the heavy footsteps stopped just outside her cell door.
She instantly looked up as the guard unlocked her cell door and stepped aside to reveal a well dressed young man.
He was wearing a tailored designer black suit with leather shoes. His dark hair was slicked back. It and even his shoes gleamed in the dull light.
"Muse," he said in a soft voice that sounded like music to her ears.
"Who are you?" she asked him with raised brows.
The man gave her a charming smile. "I am Pierre Donovan."
Muse's eyes widened in shock at the mention of his name.
That name was renowned.
He was a self made billionaire and the most ruthless business rival of the Vitale family.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a smaller voice.
Pierre stepped inside.
His eyes swept over the dirty cell. "This is no place for a lady like you."
He watched as Muse furrowed her brows at him. "Why are you here? I doubt you came here out of the goodness of your heart."
Pierre had heard a lot about Muse, the adopted daughter who had been usurped by her sister.
The headlines had painted her as a bad person who had wanted her sister dead.
But as he stared at her now, he begged to differ.
"Yes, you are right," he answered her smoothly. "I came here with an offer."
She instantly narrowed her eyes.
"What kind of offer?"
"I will get you out of this, this prison" -he gestured- "and clear your name. In exchange, you will marry me."
Muse's heart face contorted in confusion. "Are you insane? What are you saying? Marry you?"
Pierre nodded. "Yes. Your family has abandoned you. And last I heard, you were disowned publicly."
"It is just until they find the truth!" Muse snapped, getting to her feet. She did not appreciate this stranger digging at her wounds.
"Do you honestly think that they will ever take you back?"
"They will, I am family." Her voice shook with anger.
Pierre laughed in amusement.
He had not heard the bit about the adopted daughter being stubbornly foolish.
He took a step closer to her. His gaze met hers and she glared at him.
"Family? Is that what you call the people who discarded you the instant there was a better option?" He asked her. "Accept my help because they will never take you back."
Muse clenched her hands into fists. "I do not need your help."
"I expected you to be stubborn but not foolish. You will only destroy yourself by staying here and clinging to the false hope that keeps you going."
"And what makes you think that I would trust you?" Muse snapped. He was getting on her nerves with the grating suggestions.
But, his expression softened.
"You would because I am willing to tell you the truth that the Vitale family has kept hidden from you."
"What truth?" Muse asked him with raced brows. He was only confusing her more and more.
"Mrs Vitale knew all about Colleen. Your party was a setup to bring her back."
Muse froze. "That is unbelievable. It is a lie!" she defended
"Think what you want Muse, but it is true and I am here to correct that impression with evidence."
"What evidence?" Her eyebrows rose so high on her forehead that Pierre thought they would meet her hairline.
"I have all the evidence of how your entire family framed you for all those crimes ."
Muse's chest tightened at the injustice.
But then, her doubt still lingered in the air. "Why should I believe you?"
Pierre opened his briefcase pulled out a large manilla envelope. He handed it over to her. "This contains every single evidence I have been able to gather concerning this."
The first thing Muse saw when she opened the folder was the pictures of her mother and Colleen meeting prior to the party.
The date was there, in bold.
"How?" She asked herself.
"Your family wanted to get rid of you Muse." She set the photo aside.
Tears blurred her vision as she began to read the other papers.
"No… this can not be true."
"It is the truth, Muse. You have been lied to your entire life."
Muse's mind spun with perplexity and fury.
The mother she had trusted, the brothers she has leaned on, the family she had loved had all betrayed her in the worst way possible.
Pierre watched the lady as tears streamed down her face. He could see that she was in so much pain. All these would just be over if she willingly became his. He would avenge her.
"They will pay," Muse whispered angrily with a shaky breath.
"This is a marriage contract," he told her, presenting the document to her.
Muse stared at it.
"Marry me, Muse, and together we will destroy the Vitale family and reclaim what is rightfully yours."
Muse hesitated.
He was still her enemy.
"Sign the papers Muse, and I will keep you safe and bring you revenge served cold on a golden platter."
"You are my family's enemy Pierre."
"Are you speaking of the family who abandoned you and put you here?"
"They are still mine!"
The laughter that rang out was filled with disbelief and amusement.
"Look here Muse, those papers are not a choice. You will sign them and you will belong to me. I might be your enemy, but I am still your salvation."
She looked up at him with eyes that were filled with bitterness. "You just want to take advantage of my pain and use me as a pawn."
Pierre did not deny it because he wanted to help Muse. "See it how you want, but I am offering you freedom and a chance at revenge."
Muse knew that he was right, her heart warring with her mind.
She despised the idea of having to align herself with Pierre.
But her desire for revenge burned fiercely.
The Vitale family could not give scout free for the mess they had made of her life.
"Look Muse, I am not forcing you to decide now. You can read all of the evidence here and think about it. But know this, you will not survive in this place for that long. Someone will come for you."
The guard came in to signal that Pierre's time was up. He stood to his feet and straightened his tie. He gave Muse one last look.
"When you are ready to take control of your life, sign the papers."
Then, he turned and walked away, hoping that Muse would do the right thing.
Hours later when Muse was done reading through the evidence in the brief case, she made up her mind.
She requested for a pen and then signed the marriage contract.
She needed to find herself, to find her real family.
And to do that, she needed wealth, and power.
Pierre would give her that power.
Her family would not be expecting this, but Muse Vitale was not one to remain broken for long.