PAWNED

I hurried down the polished hallway toward the Human Resources office, clutching the little slip of paper where I had written my employee number. It was payday, and the estate was buzzing with quiet excitement. I’d seen the other maids grinning, some whispering about new shoes or sending money home. My own chest fluttered with anticipation. This would be my first paycheck. My first real step toward independence. Mrs Kane, the HR manager, a woman in her forties with rimless glasses, looked up from her desk as I stepped in. "Olivia Maxwell, right?" she asked. "Yes," I said with a smile. "I was wondering if… maybe my payment got delayed? Everyone else seemed to have received theirs." She glanced at her computer screen, typing my name. The silence stretched. Her expression changed, softening into something that made my stomach tighten. Olivia… didn’t anyone explain this to you?” “Explain what?” My voice sharpened. She set her pen down and folded her hands. “You’re not on payroll. You’re here to work off Mr. Rufus Doyle’s debt to the Hilton Estate. That’s the arrangement.” I blinked at her, the words bouncing around in my head, refusing to make sense. “Debt? I… I don’t owe anyone anything.” “It’s not your debt,” she said matter-of-factly. “It’s his. But the terms were that you’d work here as a live-in maid until the balance is cleared. Your wages are going toward repayment until the debt is cleared.” I blinked. "I… I don’t understand.". Her words sank in slowly, like poison in my veins. I felt my face drain of color. "You mean… I’m not being paid?" She shook her head. "Not until the debt is cleared. And… well… given the amount, that could take years." I just stood there, numb. My stepfather… my own stepfather… had done this to me. I’d been so grateful when he said he’d helped me get a job at Hilton Estate. My stepfather had told me this job was an opportunity, a chance to earn good money. I’d even been… grateful. Grateful that, for once, he was looking out for me. But now? It hit me like a punch to the chest...he hadn’t helped me. He’d sold me. I eventually walked out of the office in a daze. I barely remember walking home, only that my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. By the time I opened the door, the anger had boiled over. I thought…God, I thought maybe he was finally trying to make up for years of indifference. Instead, he had sold my freedom without so much as asking me. By the time I reached our apartment that evening, my anger was barely contained. The moment I saw Rufus Doyle lounging on the couch, beer in hand, I let it spill out. "You tricked me!" My voice shook. "You told me you got me a job, but you pawned me off to the Hiltons like I’m some…" "I gave you an opportunity," Rufus cut in lazily. "You should be thanking me. Working for a rich family is a chance for a miserable girl like you to be useful." “Thanking you?” My voice broke. “You tricked me into paying your debt. Why didn’t you send Ella instead? She’s your real daughter……” The question barely left my lips before a sharp sting exploded across my cheek. The slap came so fast I didn’t even see it. My eyes burned, my head snapped to the side. I tasted blood, and before I could react, Ella Doyle was standing there, smirking like she’d been waiting for this moment. Her voice sliced through the air. "How dare you compare yourself to me?" she spat, her eyes blazing with contempt. I held her glare, refusing to shrink. Rufus rose from his chair, and for a moment, I thought he might hit me, too, but instead, a slow, smug smile spread across his face as he took my chin in his rough fingers and forced me to look at him. "Ella’s place in the Hilton Estate is to become Mrs. Hilton," he said with quiet pride. "I’ve already planned it. She’ll marry Thomas, and we’ll be set for life." My heart pounded, a cold dread creeping into every corner of my being. I was nothing to them-just a pawn in their game. And now, trapped and bound by a debt I didn’t create, I realized I had nowhere to run. “I don’t care about your plans,” I spat. “They have nothing to do with me. I’m done. I’m resigning from that place, and you can find someone else to do your bidding.” I turned toward the door, then his voice stopped me cold. “Then say goodbye to your mother’s heart transplant.” I froze, my pulse pounding in my ears. Slowly, I turned back. “What do you mean? The surgery’s already covered. She’s just waiting for her turn.” He sighed like I was a child who didn’t understand basic math. “There’s no money left. We’ve spent it all keeping her alive, and now we need more. Without it, she’ll be taken off the list.” My heart twisted painfully. “What do you mean there’s no money? I gave you everything we had, my trust fund... My dad left that for me.... I gave you every cent she saved for that operation!” She trusted you? He shrugged. “I tried to invest it so we’d have more. It didn’t work out. We’re broke. And if you want your mother to live, you’ll do as I say. His eyes glinted with that cold, calculating look I had learned to hate. Then, almost casually, he added, “I can always sell this house to clear the debts. That way, you won’t have to keep working at the Hiltons. It’s your choice.” I blinked, stunned. “What do you mean, sell the house? This....this is all that’s left of her. Every corner, every wall… It’s filled with her. I’ll never let you touch it. She’d never forgive you.” He stepped forward, towering over me. “Then you go back to work. Now.” His voice was sharp enough to slice through the air, and the command in it sent a shiver racing down my spine. I hated that I flinched. I hated that he still had that kind of power over me. But more than anything, I hated that for the first time, I was starting to realize…..Rufus wasn’t just cruel. He was dangerous. “She’s your wife!” The words tore out of me before I could stop them, my hands trembling at my sides. “And she’s your mother,” he shot back, his tone like ice. “You have a responsibility too.” I sank into the nearest chair, my knees threatening to give way. The weight of his words pressed down on my chest until breathing felt like a chore. Rufus leaned against the edge of the table, watching me like a predator who’d already trapped its prey. “Once Ella marries Hilton, we’ll have his wealth. Your mother will get her treatment. But until then, you’ll do your part….without complaint. This is bigger than you, Olivia.” I forced my gaze up to meet his, even though my voice came out hoarse. “And if Hilton doesn’t want her? What happens to my mum then?” A slow smirk spread across his face, as if the possibility had never truly occurred to him...or he didn’t care. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you informed. Now get back to work.” He walked out without another glance, his footsteps echoing like a verdict. Ella was still in the room, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed, a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. That smile, sweet on the surface, poisonous underneath, made my skin crawl. “I hope you’re not stupid enough to think you can ruin this plan,” she said, her tone dipped in honey and venom. “Remember….your mother’s life is at stake.” Her words clung to me long after she left, wrapping around my throat like an invisible noose. And for the first time, I wasn’t sure if I was breathing… or just surviving. I was now alone in the living room, the silence pressing in from every corner. Slowly, I wandered from wall to wall, my fingers brushing over the framed photographs. My mother’s smile seemed to follow me…warm, gentle, unshakable. I picked up one of the pictures, tracing the curve of her cheek with my thumb. And in that moment, I knew exactly what I had to do… anything to save her. She was all I had left in this cold, ruthless world, and I couldn’t afford to trust anyone….not Rufus, not Ella, not a single soul. Memories crept in uninvited, how Rufus had swept into her life, charming her, convincing her she was the love of his life, how she had been madly, hopelessly in love with him. And how I’d believed every word he said, because he made her so happy. But now the truth was crystal clear. He had never loved her. He only loved what she had...and he would stop at nothing until he stripped her of every last thing, even her life. And I would stop at nothing to make sure that never happens.