Chapter 1

“Ellie, I am not going to let you work over there!” My dad’s voice booms in the house. He looks more than ready to argue, and I am not backing down either.

We are in the living room and he is sitting on the couch with his laptop on his lap.

“It is just a job at a coffee shop, dad! I can’t be a kid forever, I am 19 years old!” I argue back, and he scoffs.

“So you think you are all grown, huh? Why do you even want to work? I have provided everything you need, you have more than enough for you and generations to come. Why do you want to be a slave in a coffee shop?” He closes his laptop and turns his full attention to me as he makes his point.

“A slave?” It’s my turn to scoff. Is he being serious right now?

“You know what a slave is? A slave is being under the rule of your mafia father and not being able to be a normal teenager, that’s slavery!” I yell at him and he stands on his feet, causing the laptop that was on his lap to fall to the floor with a thud.

“Ellie, don’t you dare talk to me that way. Ever since we lost your mother, all I have done is care for you, you don’t have the right to disrespect me.” He says in a warning tone. 

Finally, he is upset enough to talk about her. My dad never talks about my mother, all I have left of her are pictures, I don’t know a single thing about her. And my father is someone who does not talk a lot when he comes home. He stays on his computer and responds to me in one to two-word sentences when I try to talk to him.

I know my mother’s death affected him, but it has been nineteen years!

I’m not saying that he should forget about her, but I’m just saying that he should start treating me more like the grownup that I am. He also never yells, so I know for sure that he does not want me to work at the coffee shop, but the truth is I’m tired.

I’m not a baby anymore. I am going to work there whether he likes it or not!

I don’t go anywhere and he even went as far as hiring guards to watch me. I didn’t go to an ordinary school, I was homeschooled, and I was forbidden to even play outside as a kid. 

This isn't life, it’s a fancy prison!

I can’t keep living like this, I need to experience life! I know it is not all that pretty out there, but hiding me from the world does more harm to me than letting me embrace it.

“Dad, it is just a job. The coffee shop is literally right across the street.” I say much calmer, seeing whether I can get him to agree, considering that I have his full attention, and not some computer.

“No, Ellie. My answer is no,” He says in finality and bends down to pick up the laptop that fell to the floor. It looks totally fine, despite how hard it fell on the marble floor.

He sits down on the couch once more and places the laptop on his lap. I watch him as he opens the lid and goes back to resume his work like we were just not shouting at each other.

“I hate you,” I say to him, and he rolls his eyes as he mumbles, “I love you, anyway.”

I storm off from the living room and I climb the spiral stairs that lead to the next floor. When I reach the top, I walk through the hallway and head to my room.

“Well, did he agree?” My best friend asks me. Her name is Selena and she is beautiful. Her black hair is curly and she literally looks like a model. She is dark-skinned and the epitome of perfection.

She also happens to work at the coffee shop. She knows about my situation, that my dad is treating me like I am in witness protection.

“Well, did he?” She beckons me to speak, and I sigh loudly.

“What did you expect? He said no,” I reply to her as I walk towards the bed so I can sit next to her on it.

“A little part of me thought he would agree, the coffee shop is literally right across the street, Ellie.” She reminds me, and I click my tongue.

I flop on the bed next to her and take my phone out of my trouser. 

“So what are you going to do?” Selena asks me, and I smirk.

“I am going to take the job of course,” I boldly tell her, and she bites her lower lip in nervousness.

“Ellie, your dad said no.” She reminds me, and I nod nonchalantly.

“I know, I know. But I am not going to listen, I’m done with my father trying to control me,” I tell her and I mean it.

“Okay.” She says tentatively.

Selena and I have been best friends for two years now. The only reason my father even agreed for us to be friends is that he knows her parents personally. I believe they too are part of the mafia.

We talk about almost everything, except what our parents do. It is a taboo topic for us.

So Selena is the only friend I have ever had. Her parents are much easier on her and she gets to do whatever she wants.

“Your dad is going to be so angry,” She points out and I shrug. “How would you even be able to go to the interview to get the job, it’s tomorrow by noon.” 

“I will sneak out,” I say loosely, and she chuckles. I place my phone down on the bed and I turn to her. “Why are you laughing?” 

“Don’t you hear yourself? How are you going to sneak out when you are in a mansion that is guarded by high-level security? And not forgetting, you also have personal guards,” She tells me, and I groan in frustration.

She has a solid point. 

“I will figure it out,” I say confidently, and she thins her lips. She has a look on her face that tells me that she has an idea.

“Let me help you,” She offers and I look at her in mild surprise.

“You would help me sneak out to go for the interview?” I ask her to make sure I did not hear her wrong.

“Yes, Ellie,” She rolls her eyes playfully. “But if we are going to do that, then that means we have to go now.”