Chapter 3 - The Price of LoyaltyThe days that followed were a blur of luxury and fear.
I was given clothes made of silk and cashmere,
meals prepared by world-class chefs,
and a room that was larger than my entire apartment.
But the doors were always locked from the outside,
and every time I looked out the window,
a guard was staring back at me.
Dominic visited me every evening,
sometimes to ask questions,
sometimes just to sit in silence and watch me.
He was a man of few words,
but his presence was a constant,
suffocating weight.
One night,
he entered the room with a folder in his hand,
his expression darker than usual.
"We found your father,"
he said,
throwing the folder onto my bed.
My heart stopped,
my hands trembling as I reached for the documents.
There were photos of a small cabin in upstate New York,
and a man who looked twenty years older than the father I remembered.
"He didn't vanish because of the debt,"
Dominic said,
his voice cold.
"He vanished because he was working for the Castellanos,
stealing information from my father's estate before he died."
The world tilted on its axis,
the floor beneath me feeling like it was turning into water.
"No,"
I whispered,
"he wouldn't do that."
"He sold you, Elara,"
Dominic said,
stepping closer until I could feel the heat radiating from him.
"He knew they would come for you to collect,
and he used you as a distraction so he could run with his earnings."
I collapsed onto the bed,
the betrayal cutting deeper than any knife ever could.
Everything I had sacrificed,
the double shifts,
the hunger,
the constant fear,
it was all for a man who had traded my life for his own.
Dominic sat beside me,
and for the first time,
he reached out and touched my hair.
His touch was surprisingly gentle,
a stark contrast to the violence I knew he was capable of.
"You are alone now,"
he whispered,
his blue eyes searching mine.
"But in this house, you are safe."
"Why do you care?"
I asked,
looking up at him through blurred vision.
"Because you showed me loyalty when you had every reason to let me die,"
he replied.
"Loyalty is the only currency I value."
He leaned in,
his face inches from mine,
and for a moment, I thought he might kiss me.
Instead, he stood up and walked to the door.
"Tomorrow, we finish this,"
he said.
"The Castellanos are meeting for a shipment at the docks."
"And your father will be there."
May you like
He left the room,
leaving me with the ruins of my past and the terrifying uncertainty of my future.
