THE DEAL
1214 Words
Chapter one: The deal
Lorenz penthouse suite
Alexander Lorenzo didn't believe in coincidence.
The file on his hand contained everything he needed to know about her– ADELE DANTE. Twenty three years old. The eldest child and now the breadwinner of her family. Her father's death had left scars deeper than she knew. And with her mother's condition, the weight on her shoulders has only grown heavier.
Desperation had become her surname.
Alexander closed the file, something flickered in his eyes
" She carries the weight her father left behind, whether she knows it or not," he said coldly.
" The past has a way of collecting its debts, "he said at last, his voice low, deliberate. "And Adele Dante is the only one who can pay for what was taken from me".
With that, he stood. It was time to claim what was already his.
Gravemont hospital
Ooh... you’re here."
Startled, Adele turned around, her hand flying to her chest. A man stood just close to the doorway, dressed in pale blue scrubs, clipboard in hand.
She sighed. "You scared me."
“My apologies,” he said, stepping further into the dimly lit waiting room. “You must be Miss Adele Dante?”
She nodded slowly, her legs stiff from sitting too long. “Is something wrong with my mother?”
“No. But there’s something we need to discuss. Privately.”
She immediately felt lightheaded. That word *privately* never meant anything good in hospitals. She followed him down a hallway that smelled of antiseptic.
The walls were the same pale green she'd stared at for weeks.
They stopped outside a plain wooden door. The man knocked twice, then opened without waiting.
Inside, the room didn’t look like part of the hospital. No machines, no charts. Just silence, a desk, a man sitting on a chair, and a man standing close to him, who looks more like a bodyguard. Staring at the man in a chair, his aura seems different. There was something odd about him.
He wasn’t a doctor.
He looked like he owned the building. No like he owned whatever he walked into, he had a dark aura screaming possession and power. He’s putting on a dark suit, open collar, tailored to perfection. His face was sculpted, symmetrical, his cold Eyes like frozen steel scanned her with calculated interest.
He was power, wrapped in flesh.
“Adele Dante?” he said, not rising from his chair.
She nodded, she wasn’t even able to voice a “yes” out
“I’m Alexander Lorenzo.”
Her breath caught.
She knew that name, she had heard of that name, Everyone did. CEO of Lorenz Motors. Lorenz Chocolate. Lorenz Pharmaceuticals. The richest man in America. Rumoured to be engaged once, never confirmed. Never married. Never smiling. But she never thought she'd meet him like this.
“I he..llo,” she managed to say.
“Sit,” he said, motioning toward the chair opposite him, his voice cold.
She sat.
“I’ll get straight to the point,” he said, folding his hands. “I need a surrogate. I’m offering a significant compensation package, medical coverage for your mother, 3 million dollars upfront and 2 million dollars upon completion.”
Adele froze.
*five million dollars*?
She blinked, heart racing. That was more money than she could imagine. Enough to cover her mother’s surgery, her brother’s school, their debt and even their future. She couldn’t even understand how she was feeling
“w..hy me?” she asked, voice unsteady.
“You were recommended by someone I trust. And because you’re... suitable.”
She swallowed. The way he said the word “suitable” sent a chill down her spine. As if she were part of a business deal. And it was more like there was an underlying meaning but she cared less.
“I’m not a professional. I’ve never done anything like this before,” she whispered.
“I’m aware,” he said. “But you’re healthy, Young, Discreet. “Desperate.”
The last word hit her like a slap. She lowered her gaze. And yes he was saying the truth “she is really desperate “
She was lost in her thoughts calculating what the money could do for her, his next statement brought her back
“I don’t need your answer now,” he continued. “But your mother’s condition is... unforgiving. Time is not your ally. And frankly, neither is mine.
Many others would jump at this offer. The ball is in your court
Adele clenched her fists in her lap.
She could feel the weight of her life pressing down on her. Her mother’s frail voice from the hospital bed. Her little brother was asking if he could go back to school. The hunger. The mockery.The debt. The darkness.
And now this.
A choice that could save them.
Or destroy her.
She looked up. “Can I ask one thing?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Why me… really?”
Alexander paused. Just for a bit. Then, something flickered behind his cold eyes.
“Because I don’t want complications. I want control. And you, Miss Dante, are the kind of person who understands that.”
She stared at him.
This was it.
A decision that could change her life forever.
–Hospital corridor
Adele steps out of the private office, her legs shaky, and walks down the hospital corridor. The normal bustle of nurses, gurneys, and overhead announcements feels strangely muted to her. She's holding the contract papers Alexander gave her, though her hand trembles as though it weighs a hundred pounds.
On her way to her mother's ward, she runs into Caleb, who's clutching crumpled bills from the bursar's office – his school fees notice.
“Addy…. They said if I don't pay by Monday, I'll be out of classes “.
Adele swallowed hard, clutching the papers tighter behind her back so he wouldn't see them.
She forced a smile. “Don't worry, I'll handle it”.
He shakes his head. “You always say that. But how, Adele? We can't keep living like this. Mom's in there fighting for her life, and you're…you're breaking yourself for us”.
Her throat tightens, but she places a hand on his shoulder. “I said I'll handle it. Trust me”.
As he leaves, Adele presses her back against the wall, sliding down to sit on the cold linoleum floor. She unfolds the contract slightly, her eyes scanning the bold letters, SURROGACY AGREEMENT.
Her tears blur the words, but in that moment, the decision becomes less of a choice and more of an inevitability.
--- Ward 185
Stepping into her mother’s ward, she looked at her mother lying almost lifeless on the bed, and tears dropped from her eyes.
She began reminiscing about all their good memories together.
We just lost Dad not too long ago, we can't really lose another person, I can’t really bear to see you like this, she said, crying.
“Mom, I'm going to get you through this..... alive and healthy," she whispered through tears. "I got a crazy offer, but am going to accept it ... for your sake, for our sake “, she said, crying.
That minute determination crept into her….
- Writer
