His Broken Prize

"You’re late.” Dante didn’t look up from his phone. His voice was flat, almost bored, like he was talking to a delivery guy who had the wrong address. Elise stood just inside the door of the massive office, fingers curled tight inside the pockets of her worn jacket. Her father had shoved her through and vanished down the hallway without even saying goodbye. She could still hear his footsteps fading. Coward. She didn’t answer right away. The silence stretched until it felt awkward. Dante finally lifted his eyes. Dark and Cold looking eyes. They were Measuring her like she was something on a receipt. “I said you’re late.” “Traffic,” she muttered. One of his eyebrows twitched. Just barely. “Your father told me you were polite.” “My father says a lot of things that aren’t true.” Something flickered across his face. Not anger. Something closer to interest. He set the phone down on the desk with a soft click. “You’re the payment,” he said. The words landed heavier than she expected, even though she already knew. Her father had explained it in the car in that same weak, apologetic voice he always used when he destroyed her life. Still, hearing it from this man made her stomach twist hard. “I know,” she said. “Do you?” “Yes.” He stood up. Tall. Expensive black suit. The kind that made regular people look cheap just by standing near it. He walked around the desk slowly, like he had all the time in the world and she had none. “You’re not going to cry?” Elise almost laughed. It came out as a weird little breath instead. “Would it change anything?” “No.” “Then no.” He stopped in front of her. Close enough that she had to tip her head back to meet his eyes. Up close he looked even colder. There was a thin scar near his left eyebrow she hadn’t noticed from farther away. “You’ll live here,” he said. “You’ll follow my rules. You don’t leave the building without permission. You don’t contact anyone without permission. You don’t lie to me.” Elise stared at the top button of his shirt because looking at his face felt like staring at the sun. “And if I do?” “You won’t.” She forced herself to look up. “That’s not an answer.” The corner of his mouth moved. Almost a smile. Almost. It disappeared so fast she might have imagined it. “You’re braver than you look.” “Or just stupid.” “Possibly both.” He turned away like the conversation was already finished. “Marco will show you to your room. Dinner is at eight. You will eat. I don’t like girls who look like they’re about to snap in half.” Heat crawled up her neck. “I’m not-” “I wasn’t asking.” She closed her mouth. A man by the door pushed off the wall. Big, broad shoulders, dark shirt, expression like he’d rather be anywhere else. Marco, apparently. He opened the door without a word and waited. Elise didn’t move. Dante’s voice came again, quieter this time. “Elise.” She looked back. He was watching her with those dark eyes. “Your father still owes more than just you. Behave, and maybe the rest of your family keeps breathing.” The threat was calm. No raised voice. No theatrics. Just fact. Elise’s fingers dug into her palms inside her pockets until it hurt. She walked out without saying another word. The hallway outside was long and quiet and smelled like money. Marco walked ahead of her, not bothering to look back. His shoes made soft sounds on the dark floor. “He’s not joking about the rules,” Marco said after a while, voice low and rough. “People who test him don’t usually get second chances.” Elise kept her eyes on the back of his shirt. “I’m not planning to test him.” “Good.” He glanced over his shoulder. “You’re not what I expected.” “What did you expect?” “Someone louder. Or softer. Or both.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Just don’t make my job harder.” They stopped in front of a door. Marco pushed it open and stepped aside. The room was bigger than her entire apartment. Floor-to-ceiling windows. A bed that looked like it had never been slept in. Everything white and gray and cold. “Bathroom’s through there. Clothes in the closet. Someone will come get you for dinner.” Marco paused. “Don’t try the windows. They don’t open.” Then he left and closed the door behind him. lise stood in the middle of the room for a long time. Her heart was still beating too fast. She walked to the windows and looked down at the city. So high up that the cars looked like toys. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass and closed her eyes. she was completely trapped. And the worst part was that when Dante had looked at her, he hadn’t looked away first. Somewhere in the building, a phone rang once and then stopped. Elise opened her eyes and whispered to the empty room, “Thirty days. Just to survive thirty days.” But even as she said it, she already knew it wouldn’t be that simple