Taken In

Gail closed her eyes as she cried. In hopeless situations, she could only cry. She even wondered how come that her tears wouldn't dry out with how much tears she had cried in her whole life living with her father. 

Or maybe now that she was in this life and death situation, she was crying everything now for the last time. These men obviously wouldn't spare her, she was the daughter of the man who threatened the life of their boss. 

And speaking of the boss, standing in front of her was a man wearing a full black coat. He was handsome, tall, and had this dark aura that was scaring Gail out. 

Gail was taken out of the bed and was dragged in the living room, where her father laid on his own blood pool. She didn't feel anything when she saw him, it was bound to happen. Maybe she just hoped it came sooner, sooner before she developed the traumas he gave.

Even though he was gone, the things he had done to her were still vivid in her mind.

"Who is she?" the man in front of him asked, looking down at her without any emotion on his face and voice. 

"He's Paul Simon's daughter, Sir Michael. What should we do with her? It's not safe to let her go, she has seen our faces, she can tell the police about this."

Gail wanted to say something, that she wouldn't tell anyone just so they could let her go. Yet, at this point, she just caved in with everything. She didn't care anymore. 

It would be even better if they would just kill her right now. She didn't want to come with them, if they wouldn't kill her right now, it would come to that point soon as well, probably after they used her however they liked. 

"What happened to her?" 

Even though Gail's vision was blurry from her tears and her head hung low, she felt a presence in front of her. The man whose name was Michael, who was their boss, squatted in front of her and tried to touch her arm.

But Gail immediately coiled and moved far away. She shook her head and cried more. "D-dont hurt me, please..."

"She doesn't want to be touched, sir. She screamed when we dragged her here," Kheno informed him. 

Michael looked at her with observant eyes, especially at the colors in her pale skin that were not supposed to be there. Her exposed skin showed visible wounds, bruises, and scars, fresh and old. 

He might not know what happened but he had an idea, and that made him glare at the dead man behind him. He was not just a criminal to other people, he didn't even spare his own daughter. 

Michael stood up and sigh. The girl wouldn't stop crying, and she looked weak and cold already. She was so thin that Michael doubted she was being fed properly. 

"Bring her with us. I'll decide on what I'll do with her," he decided, putting his hands inside his pockets. "Maybe make her part of my maids."

"But, sir-" Kheno wasn't able to continue his complaint when Michael looked at him with finality. "You heard the boss."

Michael stepped to the side and watched as his men tried holding the woman's arms. But she flailed and cried out, screaming like she was in pain, moving away from them like crazy. 

"Please, please! Don't touch me! Get away from me!" she cried out, kicking the men, slapping their hands, moving her body away so she wouldn't be touched. 

"Don't move!" one of the men said, pulling Gail harshly which hurt her even more.

"Hold her gently!" Michael reprimanded with annoyance. 

"Sorry, sir."

Maybe it was because of too much exhaustion that Gail lost consciousness, but it made the job easier to bring her to the car. Michael told everyone to burn the house so it wouldn't leave any trace. 

"Kheno, before you kill this man, did you question him about why he was after me?" Michael asked while they were in the car on the way home. 

The girl was beside him, sleeping with her head on the window, her hair covering her face. He didn't let anyone be with him in the same car, but he didn't trust his people enough not to touch her so she would be safer with him. 

He didn't care. Caring for other people was not in his vocabulary. He was just making sure that this girl wouldn't run amok and cause further trouble in his team. 

"Yes, sir. But just like the usual answer, he was just tasked by someone over the phone, but other than that, he had no information anymore."

"Where's his phone, then?"

"Here, sir. No information regarding the person behind this assassination. Just like the others."

Michael took the phone from Kheno's hand and immediately pried on what was inside. There was nothing connected to the assassination plan on him, but he rather found something connected to what he'll this woman beside had gone through. 

There was a video of this girl being beaten by her father. There were a few seconds that showed her father's face, and Michael knew by then that he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. 

Then he showed how he beat this girl, laughing in the background mixed with the girl's cry of pain and begging him to stop. He should not be affected by it, after all, he was not that clean, he saw men being beaten in front of him as well. But for some reason, anger just bubbled inside him toward an already dead man. 

"I should have let him suffer for a longer time than let him experience death so easily," he muttered with disappointment. 

He learned more about Paul's daughter whose name was Gail. Apparently, he was about to sell her to a man next week in exchange for a huge amount of money. This girl really experienced a lot with her own father.

Michael returned the phone to Kheno. He massaged his temple, pressure and problems had been piling up in his company. There were problems almost every day, and he even had no idea where they came from. 

"What is your plan with that girl, sir? I certainly don't think it's best to keep her with you."

Michael glanced at the sleeping girl. He was reminded of his past, the past that he would never forget because it made him strive to be what he was now. 

"I'm not keeping her with me. I'm keeping her in the house. There will be a lot of maids who could take care of her there."

"And what if she harms you because you killed her father?"

"Do you think she cared for her father after what he did to her? A girl with heavy trauma wouldn't be able to think of other people but herself. I know that too well."

Michael looked outside, sighing as he once again remembered what happened to him before. He never thought he would be thinking about it ever again, but this girl beside him had reminded him of what he and his family had gone through. 

"If that's what you think is best, then I won't stop you," Kheno replied. 

Kheno was his most trusted secretary. He was with him at the start of his career. He stayed loyal to him, and among so many people Michael had, he was the only one he could entrust his life with. 

When they arrived at his huge mansion, the girl was still asleep. Thankfully, it was still easy to carry her around without her crying loudly. He asked the maids to take care of Gail while she was there.

On the other hand, Michael went straight to his office in his house. 

He had a pile of paper works on his table, thousands of emails from multiple employees and partners all over the world. He could barely sleep with everything on his table, even though he was workaholic, it was unending. 

He was experiencing internal conflicts in his companies. He didn't know why everything was almost simultaneous, he was inclined into thinking that someone was behind all of it. 

And he would definitely find out who.

Aside from that, the threat for his life was also getting uncontrollable. Paul's attempt to have him killed was the third time in the month. Usually, it was the third time in a year, but right now, whoever was planning for his death was working harder this year. 

He was peacefully signing papers and reviewing everything when a knock on his door disturbed him. His face fell and his eyes glared at the door as he walked there. Everybody in the house knew he didn't like to be disturbed while in the office. 

"Sir Michael, I'm so sorry, I know you didn't want to be disturbed but-"

Michael heard the loud scream from the first floor, also the maids in chaos while running after the girl who looked like escaping from prison. 

"Don't touch me! I did not do anything, please, don't get near me, please!" Gail cried out, stopping the maids and guards from coming to her. 

"What happened to her?" he asked, slightly annoyed at the first time having this much ruckus in his peaceful mansion. 

"We don't know either, sir. She just woke up then when she realized we were in the same room as hers, she started screaming for us to go away," the guard replied, scratching his head.

Gail kept on screaming, her stance ready to kick and punch whoever would try to get near her. With her sweaty look, her hair sticking on her face, and her wide, watchful eyes were making her look crazy. 

"What were you doing to her before she woke up?" 

Michael clicked her tongue and walked down the stairs. With his strong aura, his staff immediately noticed him and gave way. 

"We were cleaning her wounds. She has fractured bones as well, and she winced when we moved her arms which led to her waking up."

Michael came face to face with Gail. She was breathing hard, stressed and crying. She looked at him with a guarded stance, something that told him that she hated him for bringing her there instead of just killing her. 

Michael also wondered. Why didn't he kill her there? It could have been easier for the both of them if he did. 

"Gail Amanda Simon, right?" he spoke, voice low and cold. He was standing in front of her, hands in his pocket, and looking at Gail with a serious face. 

Gail didn't answer, shivering in fear and anxiety as she also looked at other people in the room with them. 

"You have nowhere to go now. Your house is burnt down to ashes with your father. You have no one to go to. If you want to live and start a new life, then better cope with the new life here, which is following my rules."

Michael wasn't good with comforting. He was cold, heartless, and always stern. This was all a drama to him, a waste of time even. If this girl would continue throwing tantrums like a freaking child, then he would throw her out. 

Gail didn't answer again, but she hugged herself, watching everyone move. She flinched when a guard tried to come to her, moving away from his reaching hand. 

Michael noticed it, then something clicked in his mind. An abused girl would never want to be touched by a man, especially if the cause was a man. He should have known better.

"We'll leave, Gail. Only Brenda will remain here to take care of you. Everyone get out of here."

With one command, everyone followed, even Michael who threw one more glance to Gail before going inside his office once again.

Only Brenda and Gail were left in the huge living room. Brenda, who was smiling kindly at Gail, held out her hand.

"I won't hurt you.”