Chapter 2 : The First Choice
1042 Words
He stood.
“Don’t take too long. Opportunities don’t wait for the desperate.”
He walked away.
Catalina stared at the card in his hand… then at his retreating figure.
Her hunger burned.
But something else burned stronger.
Ambition.
And for the first time since losing everything…
Catalina realized—
This might be the beginning of something far more dangerous than survival.
She found him.
Not because she trusted him.
But because she had no better option.
The building was everything Catalina wasn’t—polished, powerful, untouchable. Glass walls, silent elevators, people who looked like they had never known hunger a day in their lives.
She hesitated at the entrance.
Just for a second.
Then she walked in.
The receptionist barely looked at her. “Do you have an appointment?”
Catalina placed the card on the desk.
That changed everything.
Within minutes, she was upstairs.
Waiting.
Watching.
Learning.
When the door opened, he didn’t look surprised to see her.
“I was beginning to think you chose pride over opportunity,” he said.
“I chose both,” Catalina replied.
He smiled.
Good answer.
“Sit.”
She didn’t.
“Tell me what you want,” she said.
“Direct,” he noted. “I like that.”
He leaned back.
“I want to see how far you’re willing to go.”
“For what?”
“For power.”
The word hung in the air.
Heavy.
Tempting.
Dangerous.
Catalina didn’t answer immediately.
Because she understood something now—
This wasn’t help.
This was a transaction.
And she would be the price.
“How far?” she asked finally.
His gaze didn’t waver.
“As far as it takes.”
Silence.
Then—
“Good,” Catalina said.
Because somewhere between betrayal and hunger…
She had already made her decision.
And Catalina had just taken her first step into a world where—
There was no going back.
The office was too quiet.
Too controlled.
Like everything inside it existed for one purpose—and one purpose only.
Power.
The man across from her studied her carefully.
“You don’t ask many questions,” he said.
“I ask the right ones.”
“And what’s the right question now?”
Catalina met his gaze.
“What do you get out of this?”
A slow smile.
“There it is.”
He stood, walking around her slowly.
“I get someone who understands loss. Someone who has nothing left to protect.”
He stopped in front of her.
“That makes you dangerous.”
“And what do I get?”
“Everything you lost,” he said. “And more.”
She didn’t believe him.
Not fully.
But she didn’t need to.
Because belief wasn’t what drove her anymore.
It was something colder.
Something sharper.
“You’re not afraid,” he observed.
“I am,” Catalina said. “I just won’t let it stop me.”
He nodded once.
Then extended his hand.
“Welcome to the real world, Catalina.”
She looked at his hand.
Then took it.
Her grip was firm.
Unshaking.
Uncertain… but determined.
Because she understood now—
This wasn’t the moment she got her life back.
This was the moment she lost what was left of herself.
And Catalina Valverde had no idea—
That the man she had just made a deal with…
Would be the first of many who would either make her powerful—
Or destroy her completely.
The first thing he did was change her name.
“Catalina Valverde is weak,” he said, sliding a document across the table. “She’s naive. Emotional. Predictable.”
Catalina didn’t touch it.
“And what do you want me to be?”
He smiled slightly. “Unpredictable.”
The new identity stared back at her from the page. A different surname. A different history.
A different life.
“You’re erasing me.”
“I’m refining you.”
She looked up. “And if I refuse?”
“Then you go back to that bench. Hungry. Forgotten.”
Silence.
Then Catalina picked up the pen.
Signed.
“You will follow three rules,” he said.
“Listen carefully.”
“Rule one: Never show need.”
“Rule two: Never give more than you take.”
“Rule three…”
He leaned closer.
“Never fall in love.”
Catalina held his gaze.
“Is that a rule… or a warning?”
“Both.”
But Catalina didn’t know yet—
Breaking that third rule would cost her everything.
They rebuilt her.
Hair. Clothes. Posture. Voice.
Even the way she walked.
“Slow down,” the stylist said. “Power doesn’t rush.”
Catalina practiced in front of the mirror.
Step. Pause. Look.
Again.
Again.
Again.
By the fifth hour, she didn’t recognize herself.
“Good,” the man said, watching from the doorway. “Now people will see you.”
Catalina tilted her head.
“And what will they see?”
“Whatever you want them to.”
That night, she attended her first event.
A private gathering. Wealthy men. Controlled smiles. Dangerous eyes.
She felt it immediately—
The tension.
The hunger.
The game.
A man approached her, glass of wine in hand.
“I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Catalina smiled.
“You haven’t.”
“Then I would have remembered.”
“Now you will.”
And across the room—
Someone was already watching her like she was a problem waiting to happen.
The man was powerful.
Older. Married. Careful.
He invited her to dinner.
She accepted.
“You’re different,” he said over dessert.
“From what?”
“From the women who want something.”
Catalina leaned back slightly.
“And what makes you think I don’t?”
He hesitated.
That was all she needed.
“I want access,” she said calmly.
“To what?”
“Your world.”
He laughed. “That’s not something you ask for. That’s something you earn.”
“Then let me earn it.”
Three days later, she was inside his office.
Not as a guest.
As a partner.
And Catalina had just crossed a line—
She would never be allowed to step back from.
- Writer
