Princess OF The Street

The Trap

Chapter 5

Damian’s POV

I stood in the center of an old rough living room and let out a harsh breath, feeling disgusted.

What is this place? I thought, looking around with so much irritation on my face.

“Is this really it?” I asked myself out loud. “Is this where the Princess of Wall Street ran away to hide?”

A sudden gasp made me turn around.

Cassandra was standing right there by the bathroom door, peeping on me with a completely terrified expression. Her face went entirely pale the moment she saw me standing in her apartment.

“Damian?” she whispered.

“Hello, Cassandra,” I said.

Before I could even take a single step forward, she bolted.

“Cassandra!” I yelled.

She ran straight to the back door. I chased after her instantly. She was fast, but I was much faster. She reached the door handle, but I caught her right on time. I grabbed her waist tightly, pulled her back, and slammed her against the door.

“Let me go!” she screamed. She thrashed wildly against me.

“Stop fighting me!” I yelled back, pinning her shoulders to the hardwood so she wouldn't break free. She kicked my legs aggressively. She hit my chest over and over again with her hands.

“Get off me! Don't touch me, Damian!” she cried loudly. She was breathing so heavily, like someone who's fighting for her life.

“Stay still!” I ordered angrily. I grabbed both of her wrists and forced them above her head, holding them tight against the door.

She finally stopped moving, but her entire body was shaking uncontrollably. Tears streamed down her face rapidly.

“How did you find me? How come you are here?” she asked. Her voice was choking with intense fear. “Why are you looking for me, Damian? I left everything behind! I ran away to leave my life in peace!”

“You thought you could just disappear?” I laughed bitterly. “Did you really think I would let you slip away after everything that happened between our families?”

“I have nothing left for you to take!” she sobbed. “My father is dead! My company is gone! What else do you want from me? Why can't you just leave me alone?”

“I want the truth,” I said closely.

“What truth?” she cried.

“Because things are not adding up in my company,” I said. “And I know you have something to do with it.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Six months ago, my company was under a series of constant attacks,” I said. “Millions are missing from the accounts. The board is compromised. We are not bankrupt but I need to know what’s going on. What are you doing?”

“That has nothing to do with me,” she said defensively.

“You must be joking. Every single clue points back to the Vale family,” I said angrily.

“That is impossible,” she whispered.

“Is it?” I asked. “When things stopped making sense, I started investigating. I hired a private investigator to follow every clue and you know what? Every f*****g clue points to your god-forsaken family. Then, I tried to reach out to you and that was when I noticed you were not in town.”

“I was running for my life! And it has nothing to do with you and your company” she yelled.

“My investigator found out you were not dead,” I continued. “He started looking for you everywhere. He found out where you worked. He asked questions and learned that you are living under a new identity.”

“You have no rights!” she cried. “Do you know you might be endangering my life? I don't even have a bank account anymore! How could I mess with your company?”

“That is exactly what a corporate spy would do to lay low,” I said.

“I am not a spy!” she screamed. “You are crazy!”

“Then why were you acting so guilty?” I asked. “The moment I came into this dead town, I saw you come out of a pharmacy. You looked completely terrified. You were looking over your shoulder. Who are you reporting to?”

“No one!” she screamed.

“Are you secretly meeting with your father's old evil friends?” I asked.

“Are you out of your mind?!” she cried.

“Are you using this town as a cover?” I demanded, ignoring her choice of words.

“No! I am running from…” she paused. “I don't know what exactly I am running away from but I want to be far from you…all of you,” she yelled.

“I don't care who you are running from,” I said flatly.

“Please, you have to leave me alone!” she begged, crying harder. “They are trying to kill me, Damian!”

None of what she was saying was making sense to me. “Then why are the cyber attacks coming from your family's hidden accounts?” I asked.

“I don't know!” she cried. “I haven't spoken to anyone in six months! I swear to you!”

“Someone is lying,” I said. “Someone is pulling the strings. And I am going to find out who it is.”

“It is not me,” she said.

“We will see about that,” I said. “Because I am not letting you out of my sight ever again.”

“What do you mean?” she asked fearfully.

I let go of one of her hands, reached into my jacket pocket, pulled out a folded paper and a pen, and held them out to her.

“What is this?” she asked, looking at the paper.

“It is a contract,” I said. “You are going to take a contract position at my company.”

“No,” she said immediately. “I won't do it.”

“You are going to work for me,” I said. “I am going to keep an eye on you twenty-four hours a day until I finish with my investigation. Your family won't mess with me again and get away with it.”

“I am not going back there,” she cried. “If I go back to the city, they will find me! They will kill me!”

“Sign the damn contract,” I commanded.

“I refuse,” she said, shaking her head.

“If you do not sign it right now, I will drag you out of that door,” I said. “And I will hand you over to the people who took over your company. I will tell them exactly ....No, I'll hand you over to the police until you prove me with everything I am looking for.”

She gasped loudly. “You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't hand me over to them or the police.”

“Try me,” I said coldly.

She looked deep into my eyes, searching for any mercy, but I gave her none. She knew I was completely serious. She was completely choiceless. She had nowhere else to run and nobody else to call.

Reluctantly, she reached out her shaking hand and slowly took the pen from me. She pressed the paper against the hard wood of the door and signed it.

I took the papers back from her and put them in my pocket. Then, I leaned in and quietly said, “You don’t get to disappear from me, Cassandra Vale.”

BAM. BAM. BAM.

A hard knock at the door made us jumpy, looking towards the door.

“Hello, who's there?” my voice boomed.

I stared at Cassandra questionably. She understood and shook her head fearfully. So, I slowly walked towards the door, and opened it. But there was nobody.

I glanced around, but everywhere was quiet. I hissed. I was almost closing the door when I looked down and saw a note on the floor. Slowly and curiously I picked it up. It reads, “She is not the one you should be watching.”