Chapter 3: The Deadly Pledge
918 Words
Damon Vance's words were like a cold knife, precisely piercing my most vulnerable spot.
"You. You are the collateral I require."
His voice was devoid of warmth, yet it held a certain power, freezing the air in the entire study. I felt all the blood
rush from my body, the coldness shooting from my feet to my head.
"I... I don't understand, Mr. Vance." My voice was dry, barely audible even to myself. I couldn't grasp what he meant
by "collateral." Did he mean to use me as some kind of appendage, to work for him?
Damon subtly raised an eyebrow, a minute gesture that carried an air of mockery. He walked to the desk, not
sitting, but leaning against the edge, looking down at me.
"You don't understand?" He repeated, as if savoring the foolishness of the words. "What the Chen family owes me is
an astronomical figure. Your father exhausted all my patience, and my private funds, on that 'magnificent'
investment project."
He picked up the file on the desk, his long fingers lightly tapping the cover.
"The Chen family assets can barely offset one-tenth of the debt. The rest requires equivalent repayment."
My stomach clenched. "Equivalent repayment? I can work, I can do anything—"
"Anything?" He interrupted me, his voice carrying an indescribable intensity. His gaze was deep as the ocean,
threatening to swallow me whole.
"Then let's start now." He tossed the file back onto the desk and walked toward me, step by step. Each step felt like
a stomp on my heart.
He stopped right in front of me, his tall frame completely engulfing me in shadow. A mix of cool, woody scent and
dangerous masculine pheromones instantly surrounded me, almost suffocating me.
"I don't need an ordinary employee." He leaned in slightly, his hot breath brushing my ear, making the hairs on my
arms stand up. "Aria Chen. What you need to do is become my woman."
My breath hitched in my throat, and my head exploded with a buzz.
"Your... woman?" I repeated rigidly, my mind a blank slate.
"Precisely." He straightened up, looking at me coldly, as if admiring a piece of art. "Two years. You will move into
my manor and play the role of my personal partner. You will belong only to me. In return, the Chen family's debt
will be completely forgiven, and I will invest capital to help the family regain its footing."
He glanced contemptuously at my face, pale with shock, and a mocking curve formed on his lips.
"A fair trade, wouldn't you say? Two years of your time, for the future of your entire family."
A wave of profound humiliation washed over me.
"No... no! I can't!" I violently took a step back, bumping into the bookshelf behind me. The old volumes rattled with
a dull thud. "I am not a commodity! I am not something you can just buy and sell—"
"You are now." Damon cut me off ruthlessly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Aria Chen, the moment you
stepped into this manor, your body and your choices ceased to be your own. Your only value is what I assign to
you."
His eyes were hot yet cold, filled with an utter, irresistible possessiveness. It wasn't lust; it was the pure power
crushing a life.
My eyes welled up instantly, but I fiercely fought back the tears. In front of a man like him, tears would only make
me seem weaker and more ridiculous.
"I won't... I will find another way, I will work, I will pay off the debt..." My struggle was futile.
Damon sneered and shook his head, then made a move that utterly shattered my hope.
He pulled a small phone from his pocket, opened a video, and turned the screen toward me.
In the video, my father, Chen Wenzhe, looked haggard as he was surrounded by several men in black, signing a
document in a dim warehouse. Beside him was my grandmother's weary and worried face. And those documents
were clearly stamped with the Vance Group crest.
"This is the last unexposed asset transfer of the Chen family. Once finalized, your father will face prison time, and
your grandmother, I suspect, won't even have a place to live," Damon's voice was the pronouncement of a grim
reaper. "You have thirty minutes to decide. Choose, or watch your only remaining family fall into the abyss."
My heart was tightly squeezed by an invisible hand; the pain made it almost impossible to breathe. My father's
despair and my grandmother's trembling figure pierced all my defenses like a sharp knife.
Two years. My body. My dignity.
I closed my eyes, and my grandmother's gentle smile flashed in my mind. For her, I had no choice.
I reopened my eyes, gazing firmly at Damon.
"Fine." My voice was hoarse but every word was clear. "I accept. Two years."
The corner of Damon's mouth curled into a playful arc again—a victor's pose.
"Very good." He reached out, his fingers lightly stroking my chin. The icy touch sent a shiver through me. "From
now on, you are mine. My property."
He didn't give me any chance to react, turning back to the desk, picking up a pen, and signing his name on a
document that was already prepared.
It was a contract of sale. My own body, exchanged for the continued existence of my family.
And I, Aria Chen, was thus completely sold to this devil.
- Writer
