The Price
928 Words
Adrian Lancaster
The call came later that evening, right when I expected it.
I sat in my office, nursing a glass of scotch, the ice clinking faintly against the crystal as I swirled it in my hand. The city stretched out beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows — lights flickering across the skyline, car horns distant and muffled.
I knew Daniel Sterling would reach out. Men like him always did. The moment he realized there was no spinning the story, no loophole to crawl through, he’d make the call.
The phone on my desk buzzed, vibrating against the wood.
I smiled. Right on time.
I let it ring twice before answering.
“Lancaster.”
There was a beat of silence, followed by a voice that tried too hard to sound calm.
“We need to talk.”
I set my glass down. “I assumed we already had.”
“You know what I mean,” Daniel said tightly. “I don’t know what you think you’ve uncovered, but whatever it is — whatever you want — I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”
I leaned back in my chair, feeling the familiar buzz of control settle over me.
“There’s no misunderstanding,” I said. “I’ve seen the shipments. The falsified records. The payouts to men whose names you’ve tried to keep off the books.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“Don’t insult me,” I cut in coldly. “I don’t waste my time chasing shadows. Your operation isn’t just careless — it’s sloppy.”
There was a sharp inhale on the other end of the line. “If you have what you claim, then why haven’t you gone to the police?”
I smiled to myself. “Because there’s something I want more than that.”
Silence. The kind that told me Daniel was bracing himself.
“What is it?” His voice was wary now, quieter.
I let the moment hang, let him stew in it — let him imagine what I might demand. Money, property, power. Men like him knew how to buy their way out of anything.
But this time, no amount of money would fix what he’d done.
“I want Elena.”
The silence on the line stretched longer this time — heavy, weighted.
“I don’t understand,” Daniel said slowly.
“You heard me,” I said. “I want Elena. As my wife.”
Daniel’s breath hitched — quick, sharp. “That’s not happening.”
“It’s not a request.”
“You think you can blackmail me with my daughter?” His voice rose now, edged with fury. “You think I’m going to sell her to you like some kind of—”
“This isn’t about her,” I said, my voice low and firm. “This is about you. About the choices you made — the mess you dragged her into.”
“Drag her into?” Daniel’s laugh was bitter. “You expect me to believe this is about protecting her?”
“I don’t care what you believe.”
My fingers tightened around my glass. Memories surged — memories I’d buried for years. The day my father collapsed in his office, clutching his chest as I shouted for help. The sound of my mother sobbing — not just from grief, but from the pain that followed when she lost my unborn sister weeks later.
My father’s death wasn’t just a tragedy. It was the result of a partnership with Daniel Sterling — a man who’d played innocent while running shipments laced with poison behind his back.
And Elena?
She was just collateral damage.
“I’ll keep the files out of the authorities’ hands,” I said. “But only if Elena marries me.”
“You’re insane,” Daniel spat. “She won’t agree to this. She’s not some pawn in your twisted vendetta.”
“She doesn’t have to agree,” I said flatly. “You do.”
“You think I’m going to force my daughter into this?”
“You will,” I said coldly, “if you care about what happens when this information gets out.”
I let those words hang in the air, deliberate and heavy.
Daniel didn’t speak right away, but I could hear his breath quicken on the other end of the line.
“You’re doing this to hurt me,” he muttered eventually. “You’re using her to get to me.”
“I’m giving you a way out,” I countered. “You make this happen, and I’ll keep your secrets buried. No arrests. No headlines. No one dragging your family’s name through the mud.”
“And if I refuse?”
I exhaled slowly, my gaze drifting back to the skyline. “Then I’ll make sure Elena sees exactly what kind of man her father really is. I’ll make sure she watches you fall — and when you do, I’ll be the one handing the evidence over to the police.”
“You’re a bastard,” Daniel said through gritted teeth.
“You’ve always known that,” I muttered.
The silence stretched again, longer this time.
Then, finally — a quiet, defeated voice.
“I’ll talk to her.”
“I’m sure you will.”
I ended the call before he could say anything else.
I didn’t need to hear his excuses or his anger. I didn’t care what twisted lies he’d tell Elena to convince her.
All that mattered was that soon enough, she’d be mine.
- Writer
