CHAPTER THREE: What He Paid For
1270 Words
Leverage, Your sweet dad pawned you to more than one person.
Elijah didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t soften the truth either.
“That wasn’t the first time your father tried to trade you.”
For a moment, she just stared at him, waiting for her mind to catch up.
“That’s not possible,” she said.
Elijah leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, his posture relaxed. “It’s not only possible, it already happened.”
“No,” she snapped. “You already bought me, you already humiliated me in front of half the city, you don’t get to invent more just to justify it.”
He didn’t react to the accusation.
Instead, he stepped forward and placed his phone on the dresser between them.
“One,” he said calmly. “A political financier with diplomatic immunity.”
He tapped the screen.
“Two, an offshore broker connected to arms and human trafficking.”
Another tap.
“And three,” he continued, his voice lowering slightly, “a man who doesn’t negotiate, he collects.”
She shook her head, backing away until her calves hit the bed. “You’re lying.”
Elijah unlocked the phone and turned the screen toward her, a document filled it, her name was there, her full legal name.
Her signature, crooked, rushed, forged, but unmistakable, below it, a clause highlighted in dull yellow, asset transfer upon default.
Subject: Sharon Hart.
Her vision blurred, her head spinned for a moment.
“That’s not real,” she whispered.
“It’s very real,” Elijah said. “And legally binding in three jurisdictions.”
Her knees gave out, she sat heavily on the bed, staring at the screen as if it might change if she looked long enough.
“He wouldn’t,” she said weakly. “He wouldn’t do that.”
“He did,” Elijah replied. “Multiple times.”
Tears burned behind her eyes, but shock held them back, her body felt numb, like it had shut something vital down to keep her standing.
“Why?” she asked. “Why would he…”
“Because he was desperate,” Elijah said. “And because men like him always believe someone else will pay the price.”
Her fingers curled into the fabric of her dress. “So what? You stepped in to save me?”
“No.”
“I paid them off,” Elijah continued. “Because allowing them access to you would have caused… complications.”
She looked up sharply. “Complications for who?”
“For me.”
“So I wasn’t rescued,” she said. “I was claimed.”
“Yes.”
She laughed suddenly, short, broken. “You talk about me like I’m a business asset.”
“You were treated like one long before I touched the situation.”
“That doesn’t make you better.”
“No,” he agreed. “It makes me honest.”
Finally, she asked, “How much?”
Elijah paused.
“Enough that they were angry,” he said. “Not enough that they forgot.”
“They’re still watching.”
“They know where you are.”
Fear crawled up her spine. “Then why marry me? Why put me in public?”
“Because visibility changes the rules,” Elijah said. “They can’t touch what belongs to me without consequences.”
Belongs, she closed her eyes.
“So this marriage,” she murmured, “is protection.”
“It’s control,” he corrected. “Protection is a side effect.”
A knock sounded at the door, three sharp raps.
Elijah turned his head. “Enter.”
A man in a dark suit stepped inside, posture rigid. Security. “Sir. One of the previous contacts attempted to re-establish communication.”
Elijah’s expression hardened. “Which one?”
“The third.”
Elijah nodded once. “Increase perimeter patrol, no unscheduled access and pull her digital footprint offline.”
“Yes, sir.”
The man left.
Sharon stood slowly. “You said you paid them.”
“I did.”
“Then why is anyone still calling?”
“Because men like that don’t accept losing,” Elijah said. “They wait.”
Her voice shook. “So what happens to me now?”
Elijah faced her fully. “Your life changes.”
“How?”
“Immediately.”
He stepped closer. “You don’t leave this wing without clearance, you don’t meet staff alone, you don’t answer unknown calls you don’t post you don’t disappear from my sight.”
“That’s prison,” she said.
“Call it whatever you like.”
“You’re stripping everything from me.”
“You never had it,” he replied. “You just didn’t know.”
Anger flared. “I won’t live like a ghost.”
“You’ll live,” he said. “That’s the priority.”
She paced the room, breathing hard. “And my father?”
Elijah’s eyes darkened. “He’s no longer a concern to both of us.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he’s irrelevant.”
“That’s not mercy.”
“No,” Elijah said. “It’s distance.”
She stopped in front of him. “If I try to leave…”
“I won’t stop the others again.”
He said calmly, be certain of that, she stared at him, searching his face for bluff, there was none.
“So I stay,” she said.
“Yes.”
“And you own me.”
“Yes.”
“Elijah watched her carefully. “You’re learning.”
A faint sound echoed in the hallway.
Footsteps, dast.
Elijah turned instantly, turning his body, positioning himself slightly in front of her.
" What is that?” Sharon whispered.
The door handle moved, Elijah’s hand came back, palm out, stopping her. “Stay still.”
The lock disengaged, the door opened.
A woman stepped in nervously, pale, clutching a tablet.
“Sir,” she said quickly. “Security breach at the east gate, someone bypassed the external cameras.”
“Who?” she asked, Elijah didn’t answer.
Instead, he said to the woman, “Get her to the secure wing, now.”
The woman nodded and turned to Sharon. “Please come with me.”
Sharon looked at Elijah. “You said you handled it.”
“I handled it yesterday,” he said. “This is today.”
Alarms began to sound, as Sharon was ushered out, fear finally broke through the numbness.
“Elijah,” she said, her voice barely steady, “who’s coming?”
His gaze locked onto hers.
“One of the men your father sold you to,” he said. “And he doesn’t accept refunds.”
The doors were sealed behind her and Sharon understood
The marriage hadn’t protected her from danger, it had only delayed it.
- Writer
