Chapter 3

ERICA

The room was suffocatingly silent, save for the steady thrum of my racing heart in my ears. My breath hitched as the cool metal of the gun pressed firmly against my temple, sending shivers down my spine. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to run, but I couldn’t move.

He stood there, the man who held the gun to my head, towering over me. His presence filled the room, sucking out the air like a storm brewing right in front of me. His suit, dark, was tailored perfectly to his broad shoulders.

His face was sharp, every angle chiseled to perfection, but it was his eyes that truly paralyzed me—dark, bottomless pools of rage and control, yet disturbingly calm, as if he had done this a thousand times before.

Everything about him screamed power, control, violence.

"Oh, I must say, Thomas. I never knew you had such pretty daughters. First, I meet Lilibeth, and now I’m meeting Erica. Two beautiful girls." His voice was accented, smooth yet menacing.

Who is this man? How does he know me and my sister? What does he even want from us? We could barely feed ourselves, let alone pay any ransom.

He signaled to one of the thugs flanking my father and sister. Their blindfolds were ripped off, and their mouths freed from the cloth binding them.

"P-please. I-I will pay you your money. Please, don’t kill me," my father croaked, his voice trembling. My lips quivered at the sight, my stomach churning.

Suddenly, one of the men struck my father hard with his elbow, sending him to the cold floor with a loud thud. I let out a horrific shriek, my body trembling as I realized how much danger we were truly in.

My father spat blood from his mouth, groaning in pain and rolling on the ground.

"Such a shame," the man said, his voice dripping with mockery. "People like you love to test my patience, Thomas. Now, your beautiful daughters will have to pay the price."

Pay the price? Die?!

Without thinking, I pleaded desperately, my voice shaking. "Please don’t kill us, I beg you, please, just let us go!"

My sister sobbed silently, watching as I begged.

"I should let you go?" The man chuckled darkly, dropping the gun slightly. "I should fucking let you go?!" he shouted, his fury erupting as he delivered a bone-cracking slap to my cheek. The force knocked me off balance, sending me to the floor.

I gasped, the stinging pain burning across my skin. My cheek throbbed, the intensity of the slap pulsing through me. He slapped me—for pleading for our lives.

"I should let you go when your father took my money without paying it back?!" His voice boomed, rage spilling over as he loomed over me. "Will you pretend you didn’t know, Erica?"

Fear rooted me to the spot. I didn’t dare look him in the eye, afraid of what I might see in those dark pits of fury. Instead, I pressed my lips together, fighting the urge to cry out.

"Fucking look at me when I’m talking to you!" He grabbed my chin, his fingers digging painfully into my skin, pulling me up off the ground.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore and let out a cry, my voice shaking. "My sister and I had no idea about any of this! We didn’t know what our father did!"

"Let go of my sister, please," Lilibeth begged, her voice breaking.

"Shut up, you stupid girl!" my father snapped at her.

How dare he? How could he borrow from these people and put our lives at risk?

The man shoved me back to the floor and strode toward my father. "So, you didn’t even tell your daughters about our little deal, did you?" He sneered, grabbing my father by the hair, yanking his head back.

My father winced, blood spilling from his mouth. "I-I thought I could handle it myself."

"Well, news flash," the man growled. "I’m here now, and I want my money. Where’s my fucking two million dollars, Thomas?"

Two million dollars? My jaw dropped, my mind reeling at the amount. My father borrowed two million dollars?

"Dad, you took two million dollars?" Lilibeth’s voice was laced with disbelief. "What did you even spend such an outrageous amount on?"

"None of your business, you stupid girl! You better shut your filthy mouth before you put us in more trouble, since that’s what you are only good for!" my father spat back.

I could hardly process what I’d just heard. My father—our father—had taken a loan so enormous, and for what? The tension in the room rose so thick I could feel it pressing down on me.

"Please, just give me more time," my father begged. "My daughters will work and pay it off."

"What?!" I yelled, disgust and shock flooding my face. "Dad, are you serious?"

"You took two million dollars without telling us, and now you expect us to work it off? What did you even spend that money on because I fully well know you didn’t spend that money on anything profitable!"

Tears burned in my eyes, anger building inside me as I waited for an answer. But all I got were more pained grunts from my father.

"Oh, I know. You spent it all on gambling and drinking, didn’t you? And now you want us to work our asses off to pay it back? Do you even have an ounce of shame at all? What sort of a father are you? Do you delight in making our lives miserable?!" I screamed, my tears blurring my vision and my voice beginning to hurt.

"Such a sweet family moment," the man sneered. "But I need my money. Now, who’s giving it to me? Or do I start putting bullets in your heads?"

My body shook with fear as he signaled his men to draw their guns. Oh God. Is this it?

"I’ll count to three, and if I don’t get my money, I’ll start with the little one. Beautiful Lilibeth," he said maniacally.

Lilibeth! My heart shattered at the terror in her eyes.

"Get up!" he ordered, and one of the men dragged her up, her wails piercing the air.

"No! Please, I didn’t do anything! I don’t want to die!" Lilibeth screamed, her voice trembling.

"One!" He began counting.

"No! Let go of me! Don’t kill me, I beg you!" Lilibeth cried, her voice breaking as the men tied her to a chair.

This man is sick. She is just a child!

My heartbeat raced for its summit and my breathing became rapid. The wheels in my head were spinning and sweat beads covered my entire body. No. I can’t stand and watch this!

"Two!" He cocked his gun, positioning it directly at Lilibeth.

"Jesus Christ, someone help me!" She screamed.

"I will give you your money!" I yelled at once without thinking twice. He turned to face me, a slow but dangerous smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Principessa, how do you plan on doing that?" He slowly drew the words from his mouth as he meandered towards where I stood.

"I’ll work," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I’ll work as long as it takes. Just spare our lives, please."

He chuckled, his dark eyes burning into mine. "Thomas, your daughter is not only beautiful but brave."

He stepped closer, his hand brushing a strand of hair from my face. His fingers tilted my chin, forcing me to look at him. "You know what I love most? When pretty girls like you beg me."

His thumb caressed my cheek, sending an electric chill through me. But then his face darkened. "And what I hate the most… is people who make promises they can’t keep."

"I’ll pay off every penny," I whispered. "I swear."

He let out a smile, his face in such close proximity with mine that any further movement could bring our lips against each other.

"You are hot…" he murmured, trailing his other hand to settle on my waist before encircling it and pulling me against himself. I let out a terrified shriek, my heart pounding in my ears.

"It will be such a shame to spill your blood," he groped my waist even more tightly than before. His expensive perfume filled my nostrils, so intoxicating. It’s a shock that someone who engages in horrific activities like these still has the modesty to smell so nice.

"You will work as a stripper in my club by night. And my maid by morning," he decided, shoving me away like I was coated in dirt.

"A-A stripper?" I could handle being a maid, but being a stripper?

"I know I didn’t have water in my mouth when I said so, yes? Don’t be stupid," he scowled.

I gulped heavily, the reality of my situation dawning on me that I was probably about to sell my entire life to this strange and ruthless man.

"You’ll work for me for two years, Erica. If, by the end of that time, you haven’t earned two million from your performances at the strip club, then you’ll owe me another two years of service. Fair deal, wouldn’t you say?"

I was dumbfounded. Two whole years?

"That’s too much, please reconsider. I still have to work as your maid—just think about it," I pleaded

"Being my maid is just an added bonus. I need to keep an eye on you, and I can’t do that while you're living in this rundown dump you call home. So, you’ll live in my house, and you’re not staying there for free. I won’t have you becoming a burden like your worthless father over there.

You’ll work for me as my maid and my rules are simple: you will submit to me at all times Erica and you will obey my every order. Do otherwise and we would have serious issues. I know you don’t want that. You have just twenty four hours to get yourself ready and if you choose not to work for me anymore then you better have my money ready else.” He didn’t need to complete his sentence as I knew already what the consequences would be.

Death.

I watched as he marched out of the house with a formidable air of authority oozing around him. His goons trailed behind him, their glares hot on our skins.

I stood in a spot, glued and mortified by everything that just happened.

What has my father gotten me into?!