Bought by the underworld CEO

Chapter 15 ( The Lie)

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Zoya walked to Ares’s room.

Ares opened the door and said, “Oh, well, well, well. What do we have here?”

Zoya said, “Why are you doing this to Leo? He’s just a kid. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Ares just walked to the door, locked it, and came back. Not to Zoya, but to the table. He poured a glass of wine and sat on the couch.

His eyes fixed on Zoya. Zoya got angry and snatched the glass and smashed it on the floor.

Zoya asked, “Why did you kidnap him and beat him up?”

Ares smiled and said, “Done. Happy? Did he say that I kidnapped him? No.”

“You are just imagining things.”

Zoya didn't want to talk anymore, so she went to her room and locked it.

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Zoya locked the door. Twice. Even though she knew it didn’t matter.

_This is my house. There are no locked doors here._

His voice lived in her head now.

She sank to the floor, back against the wood. Her legs wouldn’t hold her anymore. Brown Sugar lay on its side where she’d knocked it off the bed. One button eye stared at her. Judging.

The garden was quiet now. Too quiet.

But her mind wouldn’t shut up.

_The car._

It played on loop. Leo walking to it. The black door opening. Him sliding into leather seats that probably cost more than his apartment.

It wasn’t a taxi. It wasn’t his uncle’s rusted truck.

It was one of _Ares’s_ cars.

She knew the shape. The tinted windows. The silver emblem on the grill. The same kind of car that had pulled up to the amusement park. The same kind that idled outside the penthouse at 3AM with men in suits inside.

Ares’s cars didn’t take people home.

They took people _away_.

Zoya pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. _Stop it. He said he’d let him go. He gave him money. A suit._

But men like Ares didn’t pay twenty thousand dollars for a “misunderstanding.”

They paid for silence. Or for guilt. Or for her.

_“Promise me you’ll go.”_

Leo had nodded. Said okay. But Leo was 18. Leo thought kidnappers apologized. Leo thought the scariest night of his life was funny now.

Leo didn’t know Ares Blackwood never made mistakes.

Zoya’s stomach churned. She crawled to the bed. Grabbed Brown Sugar. Crushed it to her chest. The fur was soft. It didn’t help.

She stared at the ceiling. At the expensive chandelier that threw diamonds of light across the room. Prison didn’t always have bars. Sometimes it had crystal.

“Please,” she whispered to no one. To God. To the ceiling. To Ares, if he was listening. “Please let him be okay. Please just let him be dumb and safe and far away from here.”

But hope tasted like the pancakes this morning. Like cardboard. Like a lie.

Because when she closed her eyes, she didn’t see Leo smiling.

She saw Ares on the balcony.

Whisky in his hand.

Raising his glass.

_Cause and effect, Zoya._

She hugged Brown Sugar tighter.

And just hoped for the best.

Even though she knew better.

---

On his way back to his home, Leo couldn’t stop thinking. Why was Zoya acting like that? She looked terrified. Was she feeling okay? Was she sick?

Then suddenly the car stopped.

Leo frowned and asked the driver, “Why did we stop here? My house is still far from here.”

The driver didn’t answer. He just pointed ahead.

The road was blocked. Two black SUVs sat across the lane, doors open. Men in suits stood beside them.

Leo got out of the car. “Uh, hi?”

One of the men stepped forward. He was older. Scar on his cheek. Smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Leo. How are you?”

Leo blinked. “Do I... know you?”

The man chuckled. “Master Ares sent me. He has a special job for you. Your pay will be doubled.”

Leo’s eyes lit up. Doubled? He could help his uncle. Pay for medicine. “Really? What do I have to do?”

The man’s smile widened. “Come with us. We’ll discuss the details.”

Leo hesitated for half a second. Ares was rich. Ares was generous. This was probably a promotion.

He walked to them and climbed into the SUV. The leather was cold. The windows were tinted black.

The man slid in beside him. “First, call Zoya. Tell her you’ve left the city so she won’t worry about you.”

Leo, being innocent and too quick to trust others, didn’t even realize something. When Zoya asked him to leave, there were only two of them. How could a third person know about it?

But how could he? He’d spent his whole life in a one-bedroom apartment, taking care of a sick uncle. His world was hospital bills, online classes and night shifts. Not black SUVs and men with scars.

He didn’t know monsters wore suits and smiled.

But he just nodded. He took the burner phone they’d given him . “Sure. She was really worried.”

He dialed Zoya’s number.

On the other side, a phone rang in Ares’s pocket. He was in his study, staring at a burning photo in an ashtray.

He saw the name on the screen.

He smiled to himself. _The fish is hooked._

He pressed a button on his desk intercom. “Take my phone to Zoya. Now.”

A maid knocked on Zoya’s door thirty seconds later. “Miss. A call for you.”

Zoya’s heart stopped. She grabbed the phone. “Hello? Leo?”

“Zoya! Hey, it’s me.” Leo’s voice was bright. Too bright. “I just wanted to say I’m out of the city. I’m at my friend’s house. So don’t worry about me, okay?”

Relief crashed through Zoya so hard her knees almost buckled. “Oh, thank God. Are you safe? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine! Told you. Just a misunderstanding.” “Listen, I gotta go. But seriously, don’t worry.”

Zoya closed her eyes. “Leo, take care of yourself. And don’t trust anyone easily, okay? Promise me.”

Leo laughed. “Yes, yes, I know. I’m a grown man. I’m an adult. I can take care of myself. You don’t have to worry about me. Relax. You should take care of yourself. Okay, bye.”

The call ended.

Zoya stared at the phone. Then at Brown Sugar.

“He’ll be okay,” she whispered to herself. To the room. To the hope she needed to believe.

In the SUV, Leo handed the phone back. “It’s done. Zoya knows I’m safe. She won’t worry now.”

The scarred man hummed. “Good boy.” He reached over and ruffled Leo’s hair like he was a child.

Leo smiled. He didn’t see the way the other men in the car looked at each other.

He didn’t see the road signs change.

He didn’t see that they weren’t heading to the city.

The car was going deep into the mountains.

Where phones didn’t work.

Where screams didn’t echo.

_End of Chapter 15_

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