The Billionaire's Twisted Proposal

~1~

Jacob and Darina chatted happily as they walked home after visiting their dad at the hospital.

An anonymous stranger had paid the balance of their bill for his surgery, and they were so glad.

Even though their dad might be in and out of the hospital for what might be the rest of his life, with this surgery done, he was at least going to survive.

They had bought some groceries and were heading home to make a well-deserved dinner to celebrate.

However, as soon as Darina pushed the front door open, the lights came on almost immediately.

“Why, welcome, I've been expecting you,” A male voice resounded in the room.

On taking in the sight before them, the smile and laughter on both Jacob and Darina's faces died instantly.

Two men in black suits, who were hiding at both sides of the door, waiting for them, pushed them in and threw them on the floor in the middle of their living room.

There were five men in total and their boss sat down on one of the sofas in the living room.

The two men placed the two siblings in front of their boss, and started hitting Jacob with the metal rod in their hands.

Another one came forward and held Darina in place on the floor.

“Stop, stop! Leave him alone, please!” She screamed in terror as she saw her brother groaning in pain.

The man raised his hand and the men stepped back.

Jacob slowly looked up. On recognizing the man, his face paled instantly and he shook in fear.

“You've got some nerve stealing from me, Jacob Thompson,” the man said.

Darina’s eyes darted from Jacob to the man, confused.

“What? Jacob would never steal anything,” she said. “What do you mean?”

That statement of hers only earned her a dirty slap from the man who held her down and she hissed.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Jacob said, answering the man with gritted teeth. He felt like his body was on fire.

“I didn't…” he was cut short when a metal rod came in contact with his body again.

“Arghh!” He shouted as he shook in pain.

“Really?” The man's tone was dark. “Then, what's this?”

One of the men stepped forward holding a small box with Hampton Labs inscribed boldly on it. He gave it to his boss and stepped back.

On seeing the box, Jacob gritted his teeth.

“How did this get here then?” the man asked, and opened the box. Only a few products were left inside.

The man chuckled darkly.

“It's almost empty. Looks like someone owes me money!” he said threateningly.

Jacob dropped his act. He crawled to the man's feet.

“Mr. Hampton, I promise, I'll get you the money. Please just let me keep my job…”

Darina's eyes widened at the mention of that name. Realization dawned on her. She'd been wondering where she'd seen this man's face before.

Gerald Hampton, the co-founder and CEO of Hampdell Incorporated, whom she'd seen only on tv was in their home?

How did her brother even get involved with a man like Gerald Hampton?

Gerald was enraged. He took a baton from one of the men and began to hit Jacob by himself.

“Leave him alone! He said he'll get you your money. If you kill him, then how will you get it, huh?!” Darina angrily shouted at him on impulse.

Gerald stopped and turned to look at her with a surprised expression on his face.

“Someone's got a mouth,” he spat with a wicked glint in his eye.

He started walking towards her menacingly when Jacob grabbed his ankle.

“Mr. Hampton, I'm sorry, I only sold the products to help my sick dad in the hospital. If you just give me time. I swear, I'll get you your money back,” he begged.

Darina's eyes widened. So, her brother was the anonymous stranger all along?

He had successfully refocused Gerald's attention to him. Gerald put on a disgusted frown and kicked Jacob in the face.

His hands came off Gerald's ankle instantly. Blood gushed from his nose and he shivered in pain while laying flat on the floor.

One of his men raised him up and Gerald crouched in front of him.

“Do you know how much those products cost, Thompson?”

Jacob didn't answer, he was silent.

“Each one costs two million dollars”

Both Jacob and Darina's eyes widened. Two million dollars? Jacob had sold each product for far less than that.

“There are 12 pieces in a box and 9 are missing,” Gerald chuckled. “Now do your calculations,” he said.

“You stole products worth 18 million dollars, Thompson!” Gerald thundered.

“Now, tell me how is a poor brat like you going to pay back that amount of money?” his voice was low and unnerving.

“Even if you sell this little shabby place of yours, you wouldn't be able to pay me”

“Sir, I'm begging you, I don't want to go to prison. If you let me keep my job…” Jacob started.

Gerald groaned irritatedly. He hated when poor people begged him. But, this particular one seemed to have a whole lot of guts to actually touch him.

“Your job? You think you still have a job…?” Gerald asked incredulously.

He stood up and kicked his face again with his foot. Jacob fell but was back up in a flash.

“You can never…” Gerald started.

His eyes casually darted to Darina and he looked at her with interest.

“Or…,” he dragged as an idea popped up in his head.

“Hmm…” he walked towards her. “What was it you studied again, Thompson?”

Jacob's eyebrows creased in confusion. He didn't answer at first until Gerald gave him a piercing gaze.

“Chemical Engineering,” Jacob answered.

“I could let you keep your job, Thompson. Might even have something better for you,” he said.

Gerald grabbed Darina's hair and pulled it backwards, making her look up at him. He caressed her cheek.

“Get your stupid filthy hands off me, moron!” she growled, slapping his hands off her face.

Gerald chuckled with a glint in his eyes.

“Ooh, feisty. I like her already,” he grinned looking at her squarely.

At those words of his, Jacob's heart dropped.

“You've got a really fascinating little… something here, don't you?”

All of a sudden, he slapped her fiercely and she screamed.

She fell back, holding her red cheeks.

“Nice…” he said. His voice was low and frightfully smug. “She screams quite loudly too. She's perfect”

Darina was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with his smug remarks.

“What do you say Thompson? Let's strike a deal here,” Gerald turned to look at Jacob briefly.

“How about you let me have your sister here, then we forget about your debt?”