The Devil’s Bargain

ELARA I kept staring out the window repeatedly. I returned from school a week ago, and ever since then, my dad has been acting far too much. He takes calls secretly; he doesn't eat or sleep, nor does he stay home. He's always moving around, and this action of his is making me worry. I wanted to stay calm; I forced myself to think that it's all about business. I forced myself to conclude that the economy is tight; that's why he's behaving that way, but with the way I'm seeing things from my perspective, it's far from that. He left hours ago when I called him for breakfast, and he promised to be back soon, but where is he now? This father of mine is making me so, so scared. Suddenly I watched a black BMW car pulling up at the front of our house, and I immediately knew that wasn't my dad. When I arrived, all my dad's cars were gone, except for the one he gifted me on my 20th birthday, which I didn't carry along to school, so where did he suddenly get the money from to buy a new one? Not just anyone but a BMW? That's a lot. I immediately pulled away from the window with a heavy heart. The car didn't make any screeching sound as it was supposed to . It came so silent and calm, and the next second a shadow fell across the living room window. I froze, my fingers clutching onto my phone tightly. Who could possibly be here at this hour if that isn't my dad? Or is he expecting anyone that I'm not aware of? The front doorbell didn’t ring, no knocks came, Instead the house seemed to shiver in fear with me and the lock clicked from the outside then the door opened. Two men stepped inside. Tall, silent, and impeccably dressed. Their presence alone filled the room, a quiet danger wrapped in black suits. My heart hammered against my chest rapidly. “Ms. Russo?” One of them asked. The voice was soft, almost polite for a man like him, but there was a hint of unspoken warning beneath the words. “Yes…” I swallowed. My voice sounded so small and weak even to my ears. “Your father is expected at…” The man paused, checking a piece of paper, “The Valerio Estate, immediately.” My mouth went dry instantly. My father hadn’t mentioned anything about a meeting with anyone named Valerio, so what are they saying now? I shook my head. “I don’t understand. He’s… he’s not available right now.” The second man’s gaze slid toward me. His eyes are sharp like a knife, and if looks could kill, then I would be dead right now. He didn’t speak; he didn’t need to. I could feel it, the weight of authority in the air, heavy enough to press against my chest hard. The first man continued. “This is not a request.” And then they left, as silently as they had arrived. The door clicked shut behind them. No explanation, no clarification, nothing. My legs felt wobbly, and I sank onto the nearest chair, staring at the hardwood floor as if it could provide answers to all of my questions right now, but none came. Only the faint echo of the men’s footsteps fading into sunlight. My father appeared in the doorway moments later, his face pale, shoulders tight with worry. He looked at me, and I could read every fear he tried desperately to hide, but what is really going on? “They’re here,” he said. No introduction as expected; neither was there an explanation, just the words I wasn't expecting him to say. “Who? Who’s here?” My voice shook in fear. He ran a hand over his face. “Dante Valerio. The Devil himself.” The name fell on me like ice water. The Devil? I blinked repeatedly, trying to process the words and register the danger we're in. “Your father owes him money. I owe him a lot of money, and we’re out of options," He said quietly. My stomach knotted hard. My father had always been proud, filled with pride. Always full of himself, and yet here he was, being summoned by a man whose name alone carried whispers of fear in every corner of the city. “I… I don’t understand. How much are we talking about?” I asked for more clarification, but he didn’t answer; he couldn’t. Instead, he ran a shaking hand through his hair and muttered, “It doesn’t matter. We need to see him now.” I wanted to protest, I wanted to argue, but there was no room for an argument at the moment. And so I went, following my dad silently. The drive was silent. My father refused to speak to me, his hands tight on the wheel. I sat calmly, but my thoughts were spiraling. What kind of man demands a family to be sent like lambs to the slaughter? What kind of debt is worth… this? What kind of s**t is my father in? And how did he even get himself entangled with no one else but Dante Valerio? I haven't heard much about him, but I do know how dangerous he is. We arrived at the estate in near darkness. The gates were enormous and tall enough to block the stars themselves. My pulse throbbed in my ears badly. This place already gave an eerie feeling that I don't want to acknowledge. The car stopped, and a man opened the door for us. A different man, taller and broader. We walked inside the building, and a figure cut out from the corner of the room...and then I saw him. Dante Valerio. How was I able to recognize him although it's my first time seeing him in person? He stood out most among each man present here. He didn’t move immediately. He simply watched, every inch of him radiating with control, authority, power, and danger. He had a dark hair that was slicked backwards with his sharp, sparkling suit. His hands relaxed at both sides, but I knew instantly that even a single movement from him could decide the fate of everyone in this room. And yet, it wasn’t the power alone that scared me. It was the way he looked at me. Not my father who's the debtor. Not the men around him, just me, only I, ike this was all about me. “I assume this is your daughter,” he said finally, voice low, smooth, yet dangerous. His voice held no anger and threats, which I knew he was far from. But why is he even concerned about me? “She… yes,” my father stammered. His gaze moved slowly, lingering over me. Giving me attention like I sought for it. “Sit,” he commanded. I obeyed, although my legs felt shaky at the moment, but I tried my best to hold up his gaze without trembling. Trying to tell him that my father might be scared of him, but I'm not. “Your father owes me,” he said finally. “But it’s not the money that concerns me.” My throat tightened; I heard my father's swallow audibly. I felt the shift in the room, the air thickening, pressing down on the both of us. I knew there was something off about him the moment I stepped in here, but I couldn't put a finger on it, and now it's about making sense. "Then...what do you want?" I forced up the courage to ask. “It’s you.” My heart stopped immediately. My breathing ragged and heavy that I felt it choking me. I blinked, “Me?” He didn’t answer immediately. He simply leaned forward, elbows resting lightly on the desk, fingers tapping on it. The light from the chandelier glinted across the gold cufflinks on his wrists, and my eyes locked on him. “You will learn in time,” he said finally, almost to himself, almost too softly for me to hear, but I did. "You are part of this now" Every word of his landed like a hammer in my chest. But still I don't understand how this is all about me. My father swallowed. “Please we can pay you, we can...” His eyes flicked to him, sharp, cold and this time more dangerous. “No. This is no longer about your money. It is about terms, terms you will learn soon.” He turned his gaze back to me and in that moment, I understood something terrifying. This man didn’t merely want payment, he wanted something else, something far more dangerous and it's relating to me. I swallowed hard, my mind racing. Fear, anger, all my emotions was rage baiting right now. I couldn't put a finger on what was going on because it all looks so set up to me. He wants me and not the money? How? Why? How am I even relating to all this? I watched him smiled faintly, not warm nor kind but there was a curve on his side of his lips that made my chest tighten. “You will understand soon enough, and by then it will be too late to turn back" He said. The door closed behind us as we left. My father turned to me, face pale like he just saw a ghost. “He called you. He's...he’s chosen you, Elara, and I don't know what to do” My mind went blank, and in the bright, silent driveway, I realized one scary truth: the Devil had knocked. And I had no choice but to open the door because right now nobody can save me not even my dad.