HIS TO RUIN, HIS TO SAVE

Chapter 2: The Predator Arrives

Elara's POV

That guy the nurse mentioned was standing way down at the end of the hallway. Funny enough, he didn't really look like a visitor to her. Not even close. So Elara mustered up some rare courage, walked right past the young nurse.

Click. Click. Click.

She glanced again down the hallway end where he waited, and that gentleman sure didn't seem like a debt collector. He wasn't like those bank guys in suits who bug people about late payments either. One thing he did look like though. A weapon all dressed up fancy in a suit.

Nurses in blue rushed around holding papers and test tubes just like always in hospital halls. But this man pulled everything toward him like a black hole in all that white clean space. Just standing there waiting. His eyes tracked her every step. Right there. She almost couldn't breathe.

“Sigh."

She'd rubbed her wet hands on her pants that were already all wrinkled up. Wiped them twice. Three times. The man gave off rich smells and strong power vibes. No wonder his dark hair stayed perfectly neat, even so late at night.

But deep inside of her though, Elara just knew it in her bones, down in the pit of her stomach.This guy wasn't here for chatting payment plans. Three feet away from him, she'd stopped. First thing that hit her was his smell. Costly perfume that instantly pushed away the sick hospital stink she’d breathed for days now.

"Ms. Hayes." His voice came out rough but smooth too like a boss talking calm to workers.

"Yes I am." Elara stuck her chin up high though her knees shook.

"And you are?"

"Uhn. Uhn. Uhn. Adrian Kade." Full of confidence he held out his hand.

That name hit Elara's stomach like a rock. She'd never heard it before but some part of her knew it spelled trouble. She took his hand anyway. His skin felt cool, his grip like iron but controlled. Just as she'd figured the handshake wasn't friendly. It felt like a trap snapping shut so she'd yanked back fast. Adrian brushed his palm on his jacket right away as though he was wiping off dirt.

"My father is resting Mr. Kade. If this is about the accounts could you email the office? Thanks!"

"I prefer to handle my investments in person." Adrian nodded toward the empty family waiting room before she could say another word. "Shall we?"

His words stayed polite but his eyes made it an order plain as day.

Elara glanced at Room 842. Her dad was safe inside there at least for now. With a stiff nod she walked ahead. The waiting room sat right next to her dad's and anyone in 842 would hear talks from there easily. The man's footsteps thudded heavy behind her. Leather shoes echoed on the polished floor.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Like a clock counting down.

She stepped into the waiting room and turned to face him. But the room felt tiny now. Right across from her he stood blocking the light sucking all the air just by being there.

"The nurse mentioned debt," Elara said crossing her arms tight. A cold feeling spread through her.

Adrian walked soft over to a plastic table. He dropped a thick black leather folder on it.

Thud.

Heavy. Final.

"I believe your father owes me money," he said without sugarcoating.

"Oh. So the company debt. The debt that I just got to know about. But it's with First National" Elara blurted. "We have sixty day grace period. It's in the..."

"Had!" Adrian cut in quick. He slid a paper across the table. SCHHHK! "I'd purchased the debt last month. All eight million of it. The legal claims on the equipment. The loan on your family home. All of it."

Elara stared dumbfounded. Words on the paper blurred in her eyes. First National crossed out. Stamped over it in big letters KADE ENTERPRISES.

"Why?" Her voice cracked bad. "Why would you..."

Banks sold debts sure she knew that. But billionaires? They didn't show up. No, no…they didn't do this. They didn't come to hospital waiting rooms so late at night to deliver news themselves.

Adrian stayed relaxed and unbothered. He unbuttoned his suit jacket. Sat down like a king on a cardboard box. Creeeeak!

"Your father built quite a reputation Ms. Hayes. Integrity and honor." A tiny smile touched his lips barely. It didn't reach his eyes. Never did.

"Too bad….he built it on the ashes of my family."

All the sudden air rushed out of Elara's lungs like whoosh.

"I don't... what?" she stammered, squeezing her eyes shut confused as anything. "My father is a good man. He'd never hurt anyone."

"Perspective is a funny thing huh? Wouldn't you agree?" Adrian leaned forward.

"To you? He's a saint. To me? He's the man who destroyed my…my family's life to get rich twenty years ago. And now?" He tapped the table hard. "Hmm. The wheel has indeed turned."

"Is he an enemy?" Elara said to herself barely above a whisper. She stumbled back dizzy. In her head she counted. One. Two. Three. Breathe. Like Richard taught her before presentations.

"This is revenge," she'd managed. "You didn't buy the debt for business. You bought it to ruin him."

"I bought it because I could" Adrian said. "And because I intend to collect. Now."

"We can't pay." Panic grabbed her throat as those words came out.

GULP!

"You know we can't! The accounts are empty. If you demand the money now the company will fail. Two hundred people will lose their jobs. My father is sick. This will kill him."

Despite everything she'd said Adrian just watched her. His face didn't change. He studied her messy hair, wrinkled shirt and dark circles under her eyes. Like a frog in biology class. Observing. Calculating.

"I know the consequences,” he said like it wasn't big deal. "Bankruptcy. Losing your house. Your sister Sophie dropping out of college. Everything your father built. Erased."

SOPHIE.

A single bead of sweat trickled down her spine. He'd done his homework down to the family tree. This went beyond money.

It felt like he'd been watching them. Hunting them.

"What do you want?" Elara demanded trying to find courage facing this so-called gentleman. "If you want to kill the company, Just do it. Why tell me all this?"

"Because there is another way." Adrian tapped one finger on the black leather.

Tap.

Tap.

"I have no interest in getting a few cents for every dollar in a courtroom. I actually do want something else."

Elara looked at the folder then back at him.

"We have nothing left," her voice nearly gone as she whispered. "There's nothing left to give."

Slowly, Adrian stood unfolding to his full height towering over her. He picked up the folder and held it out.

"Not everything" he murmured.

He stepped forward. Elara couldn't move, stuck between the cold vending machine and the wall of heat from his body.

He adjusted his left cufflink. Then his right. "Elara…Elara the debt is mine now," he said her name like they'd known each other before. "Which means I own the fate of everyone you love."

Then, he forced the folder into her shaking hands.

"I own you now but..." he whispered his voice sending shivers down her spine. "But I'd be more than willing to negotiate.”