Chapter four
1186 Words
Emily stared at Lucas with fear and her entire body was stiff from panic.
Lucas’s sharp eyes narrowed.
“Who are you” he asked again but his voice was colder this time.
Emily swallowed hard.
"I-I..." she stammered but couldn’t let anything out.
Lucas took a slow step forward making Emily stumble backwards.
This wasn't Sophia, not even remotely close..
His frown deepened and he clenched his jaw, he just realized that he had been played and it was beginning to piss him off.
"Answer me!” His voice was louder which made Emily jump.
"I-I'm Emily Harlow," she whispered.
Silence.
Lucas blinked once, then he blinked again. He had never been so confused in his life.
"Emily?" He asked, his voice dangerously calm.
"Yes, sir."
Lucas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, then suddenly his expression turned dark.
“Where is Sophia?”
"I-I don't know." She answered nervously.
Lucas laughed, a very short humorless laugh.
"Try again."
Emily flinched.
"I really don't know."
Lucas was beginning to see red.
The Harlows had some nerve.
His mother had shown him Sophia's file and his father had personally made the arrangement, and now they had sent this?
His gaze swept over her again.
The oversized clothes.
The frightened eyes.
The visible safety pins holding her skirt together.
Most importantly, her thin frail body. She looked as though a strong wind could knock her over.
For a brief moment, Lucas found himself wondering when last she had eaten a proper meal.
Something wasn't adding up.
"Come here." He commanded.
Emily stepped back and immediately shook her head.
"No." The answer flew out of her mouth before she could stop herself.
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
Interesting. Everyone usually obeyed him immediately.
Emily realized what she had said and paled.
"I'm sorry” she quickly apologized.
Lucas walked toward her anyway. The closer Lucas got, Emily continued to move back until her back hit the wall.
Her heart started to pound violently.
He stopped only a few feet away.
“I’ll ask you one last time Emily, where is Sophia Harlow!?”
Emily couldn’t handle it anymore as tears began to blur her vision.
“Answer me!”
The tears had started falling rapidly at this point.
“I don’t know, I swear I don’t know” she sobbed
Lucas froze
“Sophia is my sister, my stepsister” she finally confessed.
“My father, he told me to take her place”
“He said the Smiths only asked for his daughter, he said it didn’t matter which one." She said in between sobs.
“I swear, I was forced to come.” She said again sobbing.
“Interesting” Lucas muttered to himself.
“Charles Harlow takes me for a fool” he chuckled dryly.
He took his phone out, about to make a phone call, when something caught his attention.
Emily’s arm. There was a deep purple bruise on her wrist.
He instinctively moved closer and observed her for the third time today but at a closer distance.
There was a bruise on the shoulder where her jacket sagged.
There was a fading bruise near her jaw which she tried to cover with her hair.
Another on her cheekbone and she had a split lip.
Emily felt so small under his scrutinizing gaze.
Everything was beginning to make sense to him but he wasn’t going to jump to conclusions yet.
“Who did this to you?” He asked.
“I-I fell” "
The lie was terrible, even she knew it.
“Indeed”, Lucas said sarcastically
"You're a horrible liar."
There was a moment of silence between them, then Lucas placed a call.
Now, his expression had changed to pure anger. The person at the other end picked up the call.
“Hello,” the voice answered. Emily recognized that voice all too well, it was her “loving” father.
“Do I look like a fool to you?” Lucas asked straight up, no formalities or anything.
“Excuse me?” Charles asked, slightly irritated.
Lucas’s eyes never left Emily.
“You sent me a daughter and expected me not to notice the difference?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Charles replied quickly, trying to cover up his schemes.
“The person in front of me is not Sophia Harlow” Lucas spat.
“Well..well you see.. " Umm,” Charles stammered. He was short of words for the first time in a very long time.
He didn’t expect Lucas to notice, let alone to personally give him a phone call.
His heart pounded in fear. He knew what Lucas was capable of.
“You think you can play games with my family? With my name?”
“I swear, I did it for your own good” Charles said, his voice already shaking with fear.
“Sophia is difficult, spoilt and lazy while Emily is easier, quiet and obedient. She’ll do what she’s told” Charles explained nervously.
Emily knew her father for a lot of things, but fear wasn't one of them, so hearing her father's shaky voice over the phone made her feel more and more uneasy.
Lucas's grip on his phone tightened. He was beginning to realize.
“She can cook, clean, whatever you need. If she messes up, you can discipline her. She learns quickly when handled properly.”
“She won’t cause you trouble I swear and she..” Charles continued to explain himself.
You just confirmed something for me.” Lucas said, cutting his rant short.
Charles hesitated.
“What are you talking about?”
“This was all planned, you left your princess at home and sent me your leftovers.”
“The day I meet you Charles, I’ll put a bullet through your head for deceiving me, that’s my own promise to you” Lucas said coldly and he meant every single word of it.
“I’ll ruin you and all the Harlows, mark my words” Lucas threatened.
“And as for Emily” he continued as he glanced at her. “She’s mine now”
“She’ll be mine for as long as I want and when I get bored, I’ll return your leftovers to you in pieces”
Emily’s small frame began to shudder in fear and her breathing was ragged.
“Mr Smith please listen, it was my mistake and I swear ..” Charles tried to plead but Lucas ended the call immediately.
He was done with Charles, now all this attention was back to Emily.
“I-I” Emily tried to let out but her voice was too weak.
“Listen to me now Emily,” Lucas said. “You don’t belong to them anymore. You belong here”
“So don’t even think about running away, you’ll only make the game more interesting,” Lucas smirked then he walked out leaving her alone in the living room.
Lucas stopped in his tracks, stared at Emily one last time, and said, “This is where your life changes, you’re mine now.”
- Writer
