PRETTY LITTLE SECRET

Chapter One

Vanessa’s Pov

I had just come back from working two shifts straight at the diner, my feet throbbing and my hands stinging from washing too many dishes. All I wanted was to sit down, eat a piece of dry bread, and check on my little brother, Toby, who was sleeping in the back room with a quiet, rattling cough.

Instead, the front door burst open with a loud, terrifying bang.

Three huge men walked right into our tiny house. They wore expensive black suits that looked completely out of place next to our peeling wallpaper and broken sofa. Their faces were hard as stone, and they didn’t even bother to wipe their muddy shoes on our mat.

I jumped right in front of them, my heart slamming wildly against my ribs like a trapped bird. "Who are you?" I yelled, my voice shaking even though I tried to make it sound tough. "What do you want in our house?"

The biggest man, with a jagged scar running down his cheek, didn't even look at me. He looked straight past my shoulder. "Linda," he said, his voice deep and rough like grinding stones. "We are here for the payment."

I spun around to look at my mother, Linda. She was sitting at the kitchen table, her hands trembling as she nervously twisted a cheap silver ring on her finger. She wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Mom?" I whispered, a cold feeling spreading all through my chest. "What is he talking about? What payment?"

Mom swallowed hard, finally raising her eyes. They were completely empty, showing no shame at all. "Vanessa," she mumbled, her voice sounding small and weak. "You know how sick Toby has been. The hospital bills... they were just too high. I had to get money from somewhere."

"You took out another loan?" I cried out, my hands flying to my head. "Mom, we already owe so much money to the bank! How could you do that? How are we ever going to pay it back?"

"I couldn't let your brother die," she snapped back, her voice suddenly sharp and angry, like it always was whenever she wanted to make me feel guilty. "You care more about money than your own blood! You have always been so selfish, Vanessa. Always complaining, never helping enough!"

Tears stung my eyes, hot and fast. Me? Selfish? I had given every single penny I earned from my jobs to this house. I hadn't bought a new pair of shoes in three years. I gave up going to college so Toby could get his medicine. And she was sitting there, blaming me.

"I am not selfish!" I shouted back, my voice breaking. "I work until my hands bleed for you people!"

Before my mother could answer, the big man with the scar stepped forward and grabbed my arm. His grip was like a steel trap, squeezing so hard I let out a sharp gasp of pain.

"Enough talking," the man said coldly. "Linda made a deal. She couldn't pay the cash, so she used human collateral. You are coming with us."

"What?" I screamed, trying to pull my arm away with all my might. "Let go of me! Mom, tell them to let me go! What is he talking about?"

I looked at my mother, begging her with my eyes to be a real parent for once in her life. "Mom, please! Don't let them take me! Stop them!"

Mom slowly stood up from her chair, but she didn't step toward me. She actually took a step back, avoiding my gaze completely. "It's just for a little while, Vanessa," she muttered, her voice cold and heartless. "Just until the debt is settled. You've always been a burden anyway. Maybe this will finally make you useful to this family."

Those words hit me harder than a physical punch to the stomach. My own mother had just sold me. She traded me away like an old piece of furniture just to save her own skin and clear a debt. All the love I had tried to give her, all the sacrifices I made—it meant nothing. To her, I was just a thing.

"No! No, you can't do this!" I screamed, kicking and thrashing as the other two big men grabbed my other arm. I fought like crazy, biting and scratching, but it was no use. They dragged me toward the door, my boots scraping against the dirty floor.

"Help!" I screamed out toward Toby's room, hoping my little brother would wake up and save me, even though I knew he was too weak. "Help me!"

The heavy wooden door swung open, and they shoved me straight into the back of a sleek, black car waiting outside in the pouring rain. The doors locked with a loud click, and we drove away into the dark night, leaving my miserable life and my cruel mother behind.

An hour later, the car stopped in front of a place that didn't even look real. It was a massive, modern mansion sitting on top of a hill, surrounded by tall iron gates and dark, shadowy trees. The men pulled me out of the car, completely ignoring my tears, and dragged me up the giant marble steps.

They pushed me through massive double doors into a grand hallway that was bigger than our entire house. Everything was shiny and expensive—white marble floors, giant glass chandeliers, and paintings on the walls that probably cost more than everything my family owned combined.

They shoved me hard into a massive, quiet office. Sitting behind a huge glass desk was a man.

Just looking at him made my breath catch in my throat. He looked young, maybe in his late twenties, but his face was carved out of pure ice. He wore a sharp, expensive black suit, and his dark eyes stared right through me like I was a bug he wanted to crush. This was Ryan Blackwood. The ruthless billionaire who owned my mother's debt, and now, according to them, owned me.

"So," Ryan said, his voice deep, calm, and terribly quiet. It sent a cold shiver straight down my spine. "This is the merchandise."

I wiped the messy tears off my face with the back of my hand and stood up as straight as I could. My whole body was shaking, but I refused to cower.

"I am not merchandise!" I shouted, my voice echoing off the high ceiling. "You can't just buy people! This is k********g! It’s illegal, and I am going to call the police the very second I get out of here!"

Ryan didn't even flinch. He didn't look angry, which somehow made him much scarier. He slowly stood up from his leather chair and walked around the desk, stepping closer and closer to me until I could smell his expensive cologne mixed with the scent of rain. He was tall, towers above me, making me feel so small.

"You think you have rights here, Miss Hayes?" Ryan asked softly, stopping just a few inches away from me. His dark eyes locked onto mine, sharp and merciless. "Your mother signed a legal contract. She traded your freedom for her debt. You belong to me now, body and soul, until every single penny is paid back."

"I never signed anything!" I yelled back, my chest heaving with anger and fear. "You can't keep me here against my will! Let me go right now!"

Ryan let out a low, cold laugh that didn't reach his eyes at all. He reached out and caught my chin in his strong fingers, gripping it tightly so I couldn't look away.

"You are terribly brave, aren't you?" he whispered, his face inches from mine. "You think you can come into my house and yell at me? You have no idea what kind of man you are challenging, Vanessa."

I tried to pull my chin away, but his grip was like iron. My heart raced a mile a minute. I realized right then, looking into his cold, handsome face, that escaping this house was going to be completely impossible.

Ryan dropped his hand, stepping back, and gave me one final, terrifying look.

"You wanted to know what happens when you refuse to obey me," Ryan said coldly, his voice dropping to a whisper that made my blood run cold. "Now you’re going to find out."