Little Plaything

"If you don't want to be thrown out of here," he leaned in and whispered in her ears, "Obey."

Erika looked up to meet his eyes which were filled with malice, she couldn't process what made her dad believe this man was up to any good at all. She felt discomfort and anger, making her push him a little away from her.

"I belong here. Do you really think you have any authority to throw me out of here? Never-"

Just when her words landed, a knock on the cabin door surfaced. The corner of his lips turned up into a smile.

"Your ride is here," he smiled, making her look back to see the security guards standing, waiting for her. Horrified, Erika stared at their serious faces. They weren't joking, he.. wasn't joking. Nigel walked right behind her and leaned down to whisper in her ears, "You've lost everything. Now take your pathetic self out of this office if you don't want to lose your little self-respect by being dragged out."

Erika stiffened, her face burning up with shame. She could walk out but.. this was her place. Her dad built all of this.

"No," Erika said a moment before running out of the room and straight to where she thought her father would be. "DAD! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

She ran through the corridor, startling everyone around.

"THIS IS ALL WRONG. TELL THIS MAN HE CAN'T THROW ME OUT OF HERE! I'M YOUR DAUGHTER!" She yelled out loud as she rampaged through the halls. Her convicting voice grew when she saw her father Matthew standing at the end of the corridor with his PA, watching her, unfazed. "DAD!"

Suddenly, she was held and pulled back by the security. And just like Nigel Asher had said, she started being dragged out of the floor. She resisted, yelled and called out. But no one came to help her. Not even Matthew Sterling, who just stood there and watched her being disrespectfully taken away.

Erika felt like the world she had always lived in, has ended in a blink of an eye. She was pushed out of the building gate and she stumbled her way to her car. Tears threatened to drip down as she entered her car and the driver drove away. All she wanted was her room, to process it all.

"Home," she said to the driver as she sat inside, dazed and embarrassed.

The car drove off and Erika tried to let the cold air distract her thoughts. She thought she understood but everything was more confusing to her.

She finally looked up after a couple of minutes to see the roads that looked a little bit different.

"Hey, I think you missed a turn," she reminded the driver.

"No."

"What do you mean? This is not the way," she sat up straight, realising something was off. "You're driving away from home."

"We're going the right way, ma'am. Please sit still," he said with a tired voice. Erika knew this wasn't okay, she was being tricked.

"Where are you taking me? Tell me!" She raised her voice to let him know she would alert people around as they were still on the main road. "Turn the car around and take me home!"

"Please relax-"

"Tell me where we are going or I'm jumping out of the door, I don't care what happens to me. Fast!" She threatened him and as planned, he understood she would do it. He panicked as she frantically started jittering and attempting to unlock the door. "I'm gonna jump off, I swear."

The driver panicked even more now, he couldn't afford to let Erika run away.

"No no, wait! These are orders, I have to fulfil them. You can't leave," he said, trying to get her to calm down.

"What orders? From who?"

"I'm taking you to the airport. You're being sent off to Canada. Your packed bags are already loaded in this car," he broke the news reluctantly, startling Erika to the point of freezing.

"What the fuck did you just say?"

"I have nothing to do, ma'am. It's all Mr Sterling's orders. He's sending you to an acquaintance's house who will take care of you. If you want to keep living in his care, you have to go to Canada," the driver explained but the words were of Erika's father. She was stunned, bile rising in her throat.

"W-who's house?"

"Jessica Kipling."

"Who is that?"

"I can't say it."

"TELL ME," Erika slammed the window, threatening to jump out again.

"A friend.. of Mr Nigel Asher."

If only this thing wasn't shocking enough, it had just gotten way worse. Nigel.. he was behind this too. It was he who was ruining her life bit by bit without even knowing her. Erika sat back and the car continued to drive.

She fidgeted her fingers, she was going to Canada. She was being sent away so Nigel Asher could take over the entirety of the company by manipulating her father. Her father, who was too blind to notice what was going on. With Erika gone, everything would belong to him.

Would she really sit back in Canada and watch it all unfold?

Erika's hand slid to her side, latching on carefully to the door handle. The driver wasn't looking but the car was running at a decent speed. She looked outside fearfully, trying to find one good reason to motivate her enough to do it.

That's when she remembered the smile on the face of the devil himself, Nigel Asher. Her blood took no second to boil up. That's when she made the door fly open of the running car and with zero thoughts in mind, she jumped off. She didn't make a noise but she fell pretty hard, rolling and tumbling to the harsh road, scathing her legs and hands.

She was on the road, watching the car she had jumped off of drive away. The driver hadn't noticed her gone yet. She took the opportunity to start running as fast as she could to get away. There was no way she was going down without a fight. That man was taking away all that actually belonged to her.

Erika ran and ran, feeling the blood from her knees and elbows, the air making it burn more. She moved through thin alleys and took sheds in places she couldn't be found easily. She needed an ATM to call a cab that would take her home.

~

All her cards were blocked. All her so-called friends were too busy to pick up the calls or even reply. She was stranded, nowhere to go, not even a lift because of how suspicious she looked because of her injuries.

She had been walking for hours, with no money, no one to help, dazed. She was devastated, and couldn't believe her situation. Her journey from riches to rags in a matter of hours was impossible to decipher.

She was tired in every way possible, running and hiding to not be found and taken away. But she couldn't move anymore, finally collapsing on the side of the pavement, sitting up by leaning back on a wall. She was freezing, the cold late-night wind was hitting her all at once. She'd have worn something warmer if she had any idea her life would upturn that easily.

Her head was spinning, dizzy from the cold and the jump from the car. But mostly her thoughts. She felt her face burn, her eyes almost closed as she sat on the sidewalk. She had no one, nowhere to go. All she wanted to do.. was to...

"Maybe you're not as feisty as you pretended to be," a strong voice spoke from a distance, directed towards her. Her strength had given up as she looked to her side to see a pair of shoes. "You're not even smart, I didn't have to look hard to find you."

Erika slowly raised her head to look at him. He was standing a little away, watching her crumpled up. His pitiful look on her ignited her anger bit by bit once again.

"I.. am not letting you take away my life.. just like that."

He laughed a little, stepping closer as Erika struggled to stand up.

"It doesn't matter now, does it? I've already snatched it from you," he mocked her, letting his eyes trace her, feeling more satisfied with every hint of anger in her.

Erika, fuming, turned to him and took a step. He didn't fumble, he just waited for her. Her hands reached out on his chest and she clutched his collar, trying to bring him to her level.

"You're wrong. I will take back everything before you even realise it. You're nothing but a manipulative traitor. Wait till my father realises that-"

Suddenly, his hands tangled through the back of her head as she grabbed her hair, pulling her close. She winced a little. A flash of anger in his eyes for the first time.

"You're out of the will, the company and even this city in no time. Even if he realises that, it's already too late for you," he said, his tone colder than before. "You'll die here, no one will come for you. Humble yourself."

His dark eyes bore into hers as he clenched his jaw. She could feel the warmth of his body as he was so close. Her eyes traced his skin, thoughts a blur.

How could she watch him with those eyes when he was talking of letting her die in these abandoned streets?

"Why are you here? You could've just left me to die here. Are you here to make fun of me? Someone you've known for not even a day? Why.. why are you doing this to me? Why couldn't you just take the CEO position and leave me alone?" She asked, genuinely questioning his actions. His face went a little calmer.

"It's fun.."

"What?" She asked, appalled.

"You're his daughter. Until I completely destroy your father and take away everything he has, you can take the damage," he said, his grip loosening on her hair to smoothen it out a little. "You can be my little plaything."