Chapter 4
1588 Words
I laughed. It came out harsh and broken, but I couldn't stop it.
"Belong to you? Are you insane?"
Dante didn't react. Just stood there with that cold expression, like he'd just told me the weather forecast instead of claiming ownership of my life.
"This isn't legal." I waved the contract at him. "You can't just own a person. This is human trafficking."
"Read the fine print." His voice was flat. "Your father signed over financial guardianship with your consent to a marriage arrangement. Perfectly legal."
"I never consented to anything!"
"Your signature is on page three."
My hands fumbled with the papers. There, buried in legal jargon. A signature that looked exactly like mine, dated two months ago.
"I never signed this." My voice came out strangled. "I've never even seen this document before."
"Nevertheless, it's legal and binding."
Mom stood up, wiping her face. "This is ridiculous. Sam, you don't have to do anything. We'll get a lawyer. We'll fight this."
"With what money?" Dante looked at her. "James emptied your savings. Took out a second mortgage on this house. You're drowning in debt you didn't even know existed."
Mom's face crumbled. She sat back down.
I wanted to scream. Wanted to throw something at Dante's perfect, emotionless face. But my phone buzzed in my pocket, breaking through the rage.
I pulled it out. Another unknown number.
"Don't answer that," Dante said sharply.
I answered it anyway. Put it on speaker.
Heavy breathing. Then that same distorted voice from earlier.
"You went to see him. We told you not to."
"Who is this?" I demanded.
"Someone who tried to save you. But you're too stupid to listen. Now you're going to pay the price, just like your daddy did."
The line went dead.
Dante moved fast. He grabbed my phone before I could react, scrolling through something. His jaw tightened.
"How many calls have you gotten?"
"Two. Plus the text with my photo."
He cursed under his breath. Actual emotion finally crossing his face, and it was anger. He turned to Marcus. "Get a trace on these numbers. And pull all security footage from her apartment building for the last forty-eight hours."
"Yes, sir."
"Wait." I grabbed for my phone. Dante held it out of reach. "That's my property."
"You're my property." His eyes locked on mine. "Which means your safety is my responsibility now."
"I didn't agree to any of this!"
"Your father did."
I wanted to hit him. My hands actually curled into fists. Mom made a sound like a wounded animal.
"James would never do this," she whispered. "He loved Sam. He wouldn't just hand her over to some stranger."
"He was desperate." Dante's voice lost some of its edge. "He came to me because he'd run out of options. Said he needed money to protect his family. I gave him a choice. This contract, or watch you die."
The room went silent.
"What?" I couldn't breathe right. "What are you talking about?"
Dante looked at me. Really looked at me. Something shifted in his expression. Not quite sympathy, but close.
"Your father borrowed money from Vincent six months ago. He thought he could pay it back. He couldn't. Vincent doesn't forgive debt. He makes examples." Dante moved to the window, hands in his pockets. "Vincent was going to take you. Use you however he saw fit. Your father knew what that meant."
My stomach turned. The way Vincent had looked at me. Called me pretty. Said he could use me in his organization.
"So Dad came to you instead."
"He asked me to outbid Vincent. To take on his debt and keep you safe." Dante's shoulders were tense. "I told him I wasn't interested in buying people. He begged. Said he'd give me anything. Do anything."
"And you came up with this." I held up the contract. "Marriage. Two years of my life."
"Yes."
"Why?" The question burst out. "Why would you agree to this? You don't know me. You don't owe me anything."
Dante turned. His dark eyes met mine, and for just a second, I saw something there. Something that made my heart skip in a way I hated.
"I owed your father."
"For what?"
"That's not your concern."
"Everything about this is my concern!" My voice rose. "You're standing in my mother's living room, holding a contract that says I have to marry you, and you won't even tell me why!"
"Because it doesn't matter why. What matters is keeping you alive."
"By forcing me to marry you? How is that better than what Vincent wanted?"
"Because I'm not going to hurt you." His voice dropped lower. Dangerous. "Vincent would have broken you within a week. Used you until there was nothing left. Then disposed of you like trash."
The words hit like a physical blow. Mom made a choking sound.
"And what will you do?" I forced myself to hold his gaze. "Keep me like a pet? Show me off at business dinners?"
"I'll keep you safe. That's all you need to know."
"That's not enough!"
"It's all I'm offering."
I wanted to scream. To cry. To run out of this house and never look back. But my feet stayed planted. Because he was right about one thing. Vincent had looked at me like I was meat. Like I was something to use and discard.
Dante looked at me like I was a problem to solve.
I wasn't sure which was worse.
My phone buzzed in Dante's hand. He glanced at the screen, then showed it to me.
Another text. Another photo. This time of me standing in Dad's office upstairs, holding those bank statements.
We're watching. Always watching.
My blood turned to ice. They'd been in the house. Or had cameras set up. Either way, they knew exactly what I'd found.
"Marcus." Dante's voice cut through my panic. "Sweep the house. I want every camera, every bug, every piece of surveillance equipment found and destroyed. Now."
Marcus and the other guard moved immediately. I heard them going through rooms, opening closets, checking vents.
Mom grabbed my arm. "Sam, what's happening? What did your father get us into?"
"I don't know." My voice came out hollow. "But I'm going to find out."
"No, you're not." Dante stepped closer. "You're going to do exactly what I tell you. Starting with agreeing to this marriage."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then Vincent takes you. And I won't stop him."
The threat hung in the air. Cold. Simple. Effective.
"You're a bastard," I whispered.
"I've been called worse." He pulled another paper from his pocket. Unfolded it. "This is a marriage license application. We'll file it tomorrow. The wedding will be in two weeks."
"Two weeks?" My voice cracked. "You're insane."
"I'm practical. The sooner you're legally mine, the sooner Vincent has no claim. He might challenge a contract, but he won't challenge a marriage."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm more dangerous than he is."
The words should have sounded like a boast. But the way Dante said them, flat and emotionless, made them sound like fact.
Mom stood up. "I won't allow this. Sam is my daughter. I won't let you take her."
"You don't have a choice, Mrs. Montgomery. Your husband signed away that right." Dante's eyes stayed on me. "But I'm not unreasonable. Samantha can have time to process this. Twenty-four hours. Then I need an answer."
"You already know my answer," I said. "It's no. It'll always be no."
"Then you'd better make peace with whatever Vincent has planned for you."
He turned to leave. Marcus appeared from upstairs, holding something small and black.
"Found three cameras, boss. One in the office, two in the master bedroom. And this." He held up what looked like a phone charger. "Audio bug in the kitchen."
Dante took them, examining each one. His expression darkened.
"Professional grade. Expensive." He looked at me. "Someone is very interested in your family, Samantha. And they have resources."
"Who?" I demanded. "If you know what Dad was involved in, tell me."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because the less you know, the safer you are."
"I'm already not safe! Someone is threatening me, following me, bugging my mother's house!" My voice rose to a shout. "I have a right to know what I'm in the middle of!"
Dante studied me. Then he moved closer, so close I could feel the heat of his body. When he spoke, his voice was low. Meant only for me.
"Your father stole something. Something worth killing for. The people who want it back will tear you apart to find it. Vincent is just the first. There will be others." His eyes bored into mine. "Marry me, and I can protect you. Refuse, and you're dead within a week."
My throat closed up. "What did he steal?"
"Twenty-four hours, Samantha. Then I need your answer."
He left. Just walked out with Marcus and his guard like he hadn't just blown up my entire life.
Mom collapsed back on the couch. I stood there, shaking, holding that marriage license application.
My phone buzzed in my hand. Dante must have given it back without me noticing.
Another text. Unknown number.
I opened it with trembling fingers.
A photo. Dad's car at the bottom of the canyon. But zoomed in on something I hadn't seen before. Something tucked under the seat.
A briefcase.
Below the photo, one line:
We want what's in the case. You have 48 hours to find it, or your mother is next.
- Writer
