Chapter Five
1224 Words
The first thing Ella felt was pain.
It spread through her body the moment she tried to move, sharp enough to drag a weak groan from her throat. Her head throbbed, her ribs ached, and every muscle seemed to protest against the simple act of breathing. For several seconds, she remained still with her eyes closed, trying to remember where she was.
Then the memories returned.
The wedding.
Greg.
The guns.
Her father.
Run, Ella.
Her eyes flew open.
Ella immediately tried to sit up, but the pain that shot through her side forced her back against the pillows. She gasped and looked around.
This was not the church.
She was lying in an enormous bed inside a room she had never seen before. Dark curtains covered the tall windows, allowing only a faint trace of daylight into the room. Everything around her spoke of wealth, but there was nothing warm or welcoming about it. The furniture was dark, the walls were decorated with expensive paintings, and the entire room carried an intimidating sense of power.
Ella's breathing quickened.
Where was she?
She pushed herself upright again, this time more carefully. A bandage was wrapped around her ribs, and another covered part of her forehead. Someone had treated her injuries.
Her eyes moved toward the door.
It opened.
A man walked into the room.
Ella froze.
She knew that face.
Not personally.
But she had seen enough photographs of him to recognize him immediately.
The dark hair. The cold expression. The scar stretching across his face.
Theo Salvador.
The Beast.
Her father's greatest enemy.
Ella's heart began pounding.
Theo closed the door behind him and looked at her without saying a word.
He was dressed entirely in black, his presence filling the room without any effort. There was something frighteningly calm about him. He did not look like a man who needed to threaten anyone to make himself feared.
Ella instinctively moved backward on the bed.
Theo noticed.
“You know who I am.”
It was not a question.
Ella swallowed.
“Theo Salvador.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“And you are George Clove's daughter.”
Ella said nothing.
Theo walked closer.
“You fell from a second-story window last night.”
Ella's eyes widened.
“You rescued me?”
“I found you.”
The answer was deliberately vague.
Ella studied him carefully. She had heard countless stories about Theo Salvador while growing up. Her father had spoken about him with hatred, describing him as one of the most dangerous men in the city. Theo was ruthless, unpredictable, and powerful enough that even George considered him a serious threat.
Now she was lying in his house.
Alone.
Injured.
With no idea what he intended to do with her.
“What do you want from me?”
Theo stopped a few feet from the bed.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On what you are worth.”
Ella frowned.
Theo's gaze remained fixed on her.
“You are George Clove's only daughter. Greg Manny has taken control of your father's organization, and you are the one person he might be willing to negotiate for.”
Ella stared at him.
Then she understood.
He wanted to use her.
“You think Greg will trade for me?”
“I think he might.”
Ella let out a bitter laugh.
Theo's expression hardened.
“You find that amusing?”
“No.”
She looked away.
“You are wrong.”
Theo studied her for a moment.
“Why?”
“Because Greg will not negotiate for me.”
Her voice cracked slightly, but she forced herself to continue.
“He will kill me.”
Theo's eyes remained on her.
“You are his fiancée.”
“Not anymore. He rejected me at the altar and turned against my father.”
“What do you mean?” Theo asked, “We have been trying to get intel on what happened at your wedding, but the only thing we have been able to learn is that George is dead and now Greg’s in charge.”
Theo sounded truly shocked. He stared at Ella who remained quiet, wondering if she should tell this man about what had happened to her and her father.
When she didn't answer him, he continued, “We thought it must have been a rival gang that had picked the wedding ceremony as an opportunity to attack the Clove gang, but we didn't understand why Greg was seen leaving the church unharmed, and the reason behind your jumping out of the window.”
Ella's hands tightened against the blanket.
“He betrayed my father. He turned his men against him and killed him. He tried to have me killed also, that was why I jumped out of the window. I am sure he would be searching the entire city for me after he realized that I survived the fall.”
Theo said nothing.
Ella looked directly at him.
“So I have nothing you can use against him.”
“But you are George Clove's daughter.”
“My father is dead.”
The words were difficult to say.
Ella's voice weakened, sounding defeated.
“And Greg has everything he wanted.”
Theo's expression changed almost imperceptibly.
“What about your father's organization?”
“Greg has it.”
“His money?”
“Greg has that too.”
“His territory?”
“Probably.”
Theo stepped closer.
“And you?”
Ella looked down at her hands.
“I have nothing.”
For the first time, something uncertain appeared in Theo's eyes.
He had expected fear.
Perhaps anger.
Perhaps bargaining.
He had not expected surrender.
He had assumed Ella would be valuable because she was George Clove's daughter. He had thought Greg might be forced to negotiate if Theo put her life at risk.
But Ella was telling him the opposite.
Greg did not want her.
He wanted her dead.
Theo studied the woman sitting before him.
She was bruised, exhausted, and clearly still shaken by everything that had happened, yet there was something in her expression that refused to break completely.
“You really believe he would kill you?”
Ella looked at him.
“I know he would.”
Silence settled between them.
Theo's original plan suddenly seemed less certain.
Ella was not the bargaining chip he had expected.
She was a woman who had lost everything in a single night and had nowhere to return to.
Theo turned away from the bed.
Ella watched him carefully.
“Where are you going?”
He stopped at the door.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he looked back at her.
“I haven't decided what to do with you.”
The door opened.
Ella stared at him in confusion.
“You rescued me, but you don't know why?”
Theo gave her one last unreadable look.
“I rescued you because I found you alive.”
Then he walked out.
The door closed behind him.
Ella remained sitting on the bed, staring at it.
For the first time since she had opened her eyes, she felt something more frightening than fear.
She had no idea what Theo Salvador wanted from her.
And somehow, that frightened her more than if he had simply threatened to kill her.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD