A Sovereign Debt

Chapter 2

I sat on the edge of the bed. My heart was racing. I picked up the tablet. The screen glowed.

Rule 1: You will be present for all meals.

Rule 2: You will not leave the grounds without permission.

Rule 3: You will answer when spoken to.

Rule 4: You will not enter the basement levels.

I threw the tablet across the room. It landed on the rug with a soft thud. I put my head in my hands. I thought about my father. I remembered the way he used to laugh. I remembered the way he looked this morning, broken and small in his favorite chair. I did this for him. I had to remember that.

I walked to the glass wall. The height made my head spin. I saw a guard walking the perimeter of the cliff. He had a dog on a leash. This wasn't a home. It was a private prison.

I spent the next few hours pacing the room. I opened the closets. They were filled with dresses. They were all my size. They were all expensive. They were all colors I hated. Xavier had curated a version of me before I even arrived.

At seven thirty, the door clicked open. Silas was standing there.

"It is time to dress for dinner," he said.

"I'm not hungry."

"Mr. Knight is waiting."

I looked at Silas. I wanted to scream. I wanted to hit him. But he stood there like a stone wall. He didn't care about my feelings. He only cared about the schedule.

I walked to the closet and pulled out a black silk dress. I changed in the bathroom. The mirror was huge. I looked at my reflection. I looked like a stranger. I looked like a ghost.

I followed Silas downstairs. The dining room was at the back of the house. A long table sat in the middle of the room.

Xavier was already at the head of it. He was drinking red wine. He didn't look up when I sat down.

A maid brought out plates of food. She didn't say a word. She moved like a ghost.

"Eat," Xavier said.

"I want to know about the debt," I said. I didn't touch my fork.

Xavier set his wine glass down. "The debt is handled. Your father is safe."

"How did it happen so fast? One day we were fine. Then, everything was gone."

"Markets are volatile, Lydia."

"It felt like a trap," I said. I leaned forward. "It felt like someone pulled the rug out from under us."

Xavier looked at me then. His gaze was heavy. It felt like a physical weight on my chest. "Does it matter how it happened? The result is the same. You are here."

"Why me? You could have bought any woman. Why go through the trouble of destroying my family?"

"Eat your dinner, Lydia. We have a long year ahead of us."

"I hate you," I whispered.

Xavier smiled. It wasn't a kind smile. It was the smile of a man who had won a game. "I know. It makes the victory much more interesting."

We ate in silence. The only sound was the clink of silverware against porcelain. I watched him. He was perfect. Every movement was controlled. Every breath was calculated. He wasn't a man. He was a machine.

After dinner, he stood up. "I will be in my study. Silas will escort you back to your room. Do not try the doors again. The alarm system is very loud."

He left. I stood in the empty dining room. I felt the walls closing in. I felt the eyes of the guards outside. I felt the secret weight of the contract on the desk upstairs.

I went back to my room. Silas locked the door behind me. I lay in the dark. The moon came out and turned the room silver. I couldn't sleep. I felt like I was being watched. I looked at the corners of the ceiling. I looked for cameras. I found none, but the feeling remained.

I thought about the way Xavier had looked at me. It wasn't just lust. It was recognition. He had been waiting for me to walk through that door. He had planned every second of my ruin.

I closed my eyes. I promised myself one thing. I would find a way to break him. I would find the c***k in his glass walls. I would make him regret the day he bought a Voss.

I finally fell into a restless sleep. I dreamt of falling from a cliff into a sea of ink. When I woke up, the sun was hitting the glass. I was still in the cage.

I got out of bed and walked to the door. I pressed my ear against the wood. I heard nothing. I looked at the tablet on the floor. It was time for breakfast.

I was no longer Lydia Voss. I was an asset. I was a sovereign debt. And I was going to make sure that Xavier Knight never got his money's worth.