Terms
1001 Words
Sofia
The car that picked me up didn’t have a destination on the GPS. The driver didn’t say hello or ask if I was comfortable. He just held the door open and waited for me to get in.
As we drove, the city changed. The noise of the crowds and the smell of exhaust faded away. We entered a neighborhood where the streets were clean and the buildings were made of polished glass and steel.
There were no signs on the entrance, only men in suits who watched the car pass without moving their heads.
One of them led me through a hallway where my own footsteps sounded muffled. He knocked once on a heavy door and stepped aside. When I walked in, Dante was already there.
He sat behind a desk, looking like he had been waiting for hours. He didn’t stand up or tell me to sit down. He just watched me.
"Right on time," he said.
"I didn't have a choice," I replied.
"You always have a choice, Sofia."
The door clicked shut behind me. I stayed by the wall, keeping my distance.
"You wanted to discuss the terms," he said.
"I want to understand what you think you’re taking from me."
He didn't look annoyed or amused. He just reached into a drawer and slid a thick folder across the desk. It wasn't the thin file from before. This was a structured contract with my name printed on the cover. I stepped forward and picked it up.
The first few pages were a list of rules. I would have to live in his house for one year. I couldn't leave without permission. I could only go to places he approved of. My phone calls and messages would be monitored. My daily schedule could be changed whenever he wanted.
"This isn't protection," I said, gripping the edge of the paper. "This is control."
"It's both."
I kept reading. Curfews. Security guards following me. No contact with anyone outside without his oversight. It felt like the space in the room was getting smaller.
"You’re asking me to disappear," I said.
"I’m asking you to fulfill a contract."
I turned the page, looking for the one thing I expected to find. I read through the sections on behavior and expectations twice, then a third time. It wasn't there. I looked up at him, my heart beating faster for a different reason.
"You missed something," I said.
"I didn't."
"There’s no—" I stopped myself. He didn't say anything to help me finish the sentence. "You’re not asking for anything s****l," I said carefully.
"No."
He answered so quickly it made me more nervous.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because that isn't what I am owed."
I stared at him, trying to find the trick. "You expect me to believe that you just want me to live in your house and follow your rules for no reason?"
"I don't expect anything," he said. "The terms are clearly written."
"That doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't have to."
I tapped my finger against the desk. "You want me under your roof. You want total control over where I go and who I see. But you don't want that."
"No."
"That isn't restraint," I said. "That’s a strategy."
Dante finally leaned forward. "You’re starting to understand."
The room grew quiet. He wasn't yelling or threatening me, which made the situation feel more dangerous.
"Why me?" I asked. "Out of all the things my father owned, why did you want this?"
"You already know the answer."
"I want the real one."
"You are the asset listed in the contract," he said.
"That’s just a label. Tell me the truth."
Dante paused for a moment. "Your father knew he couldn't pay back the money he borrowed. So he offered something else. Something that would last longer than a cash payment."
"You're saying he planned this."
"I'm saying he understood how to use leverage."
"No," I said. "You're saying he handed me over to you like a piece of property."
"I'm saying he made a decision to protect his interests."
The difference didn't matter to me. I closed the folder and pushed it back toward him. "I'm not signing this."
He didn't move. "You have until the deadline."
"I heard you loud and clear the first time."
"I don’t think you do. You’ve taken this with so much levity. Sofia, you completely underestimate me ”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Underestimating him? Since the very first day he walked into that bakery he had turned my life upside down. I just didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of seeing me break. That’s why I’ve been everything else but act scared in front of him.
“I’m not underestimating you. I just think there has to be some other way out of this.”
He laughed bitterly causing the hairs on my back to stand.
“There is no better way Sofia. I’m sure you understand what happens if you refuse."
"I understand that you think you can force me to do this."
"I don't think," he said. "I act. You have no other choice. And the more you resist, the more I push"
I tightened my jaw and turned to leave. I was almost at the door when my phone rang. I pulled it out and saw Nina’s name on the screen. I felt a surge of relief.
"Nina?" I said, answering it quickly.
There was no voice on the other end. Just the sound of static and a faint clicking noise. Then the line went dead. I looked at the screen. There was no signal, even though I had been in the middle of the city.
I turned back to Dante. He was still sitting there, watching me. He hadn't touched a phone or a remote, but his expression told me he knew exactly what had just happened.
The trap didn’t close. It had already been closed. I just hadn’t seen the bars.
- Writer
