The Man Who Came To Collect My Debt
The rain fell like the sky was trying to wash away every sin this city had ever committed.
I stood in front of my family's old house, staring at the windows that used to glow with warmth and laughter.
Once, I believed this place was my sanctuary.
Once, I believed family meant protection.
I was wrong.
Some families don't protect you.
Some families trade you.
"Elena."
I turned around and looked at my father.
The man standing in front of me barely resembled the person I had known my entire life. He used to walk into every room like he owned it. He always had a solution, always had a plan.
Now he looked like a man waiting for a sentence to be announced.
"Tell me there is another way," I whispered.
His eyes moved away from mine.
That silence was the answer I didn't want.
"How much?" I asked.
"Elena..."
"How much do we owe?"
His jaw tightened.
"Five million dollars."
For a moment, the world stopped.
Five million.
A number so large it didn't feel real.
A number I couldn't earn in a lifetime.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought I could fix it."
"But you couldn't."
He said nothing.
Then I heard the sound of approaching cars.
Black cars.
Three of them.
Maybe four.
My heartbeat changed.
I already knew who had arrived.
Everyone knew his name.
Alessandro De Luca.
The man people feared more than they hated.
The man whose reputation followed him like a shadow.
The car doors opened.
Men in dark suits stepped out first. They looked like they belonged to a world where kindness was considered a weakness.
Then he appeared.
Alessandro De Luca.
He wasn't what I expected.
That was the most dangerous thing about him.
Monsters were supposed to look like monsters.
He didn't.
He looked like a man people would trust.
Tall. Perfectly dressed. Calm.
His eyes were cold, calculating, and far too observant.
Eyes that made me feel like he already knew every secret I had ever tried to hide.
Then his gaze stopped on me.
And stayed there.
"Elena Rossi."
I refused to answer.
"I didn't come here to speak with your father."
My hands curled into fists.
"Then why are you here?"
He walked closer.
Slowly.
Confidently.
"To collect what he owes me."
I glanced at my father.
Then back at him.
"The money?"
A small smile appeared on Alessandro's face.
There was no warmth in it.
"Money is the least important thing."
A chill ran down my spine.
"Then what do you want?"
For several seconds, he only watched me.
Then he said the words that would destroy the life I knew.
"I want you to marry me."
Silence.
Even the rain seemed to disappear.
I stared at him.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
I laughed, but there was no humor behind it.
"You think I will marry a stranger because my father owes you money?"
"No."
He stepped closer.
"You will marry me because it is the only way I can save him."
I looked at the man standing in front of me.
And for the first time in my life, I understood something terrifying.
Not every prison has iron bars.
Some prisons are made of promises.
And I had just been handed a cage with a diamond ring attached to it.
