Chapter 12

Rosella....

I've paced the entire length of the room but I still can't make myself sit down for a minute. The soles of my feet are begging for me to stop stalking back and forth but I'm too jittery and nervous to even slow down.

I can barely feel the pain over my thumping heart.

What is he going to do now? Is he going to sell me? Or will he keep me for himself? How will he do that? And what the hell are they doing inside that damned office?

The reality of my life and the profundity of my debt has finally settled inside my mind and soul.... And I'm completely at a loss.

When Master Black had demanded for me to Balthazar. The fragility of my situation and the uncertainty of my position, had hit me like a ton of bricks, knocking the ever loving breath out of me.

Balthazar has collected me as a debt and now I'm his inherited property, he can do anything with me. He can rape me, mutilate me, sell me or ship me off to another country…. and I will never have a say in it. I will never get to decide my fate.

When Balthazar had managed to get himself up on his feet from the basement floor, I had seen pure terror in his beady eyes and for the first time in forever, I tasted the real fear, sniffed it in the air around me and felt it deep in my bones.

Master Black wore no expression, his face was impassive and I could not understand what was going on.

But I was really scared.

I'm still really very scared.

I had watched in dreadful silence as Balthazar had stepped to the side with Master Black and said something, to which he had nodded his head and backed away. Then Balthazar had picked up the red-hot stamp again and started marking the girls without a glance in my direction.

The thought of that scene makes me shudder in fear and hatred.

I am unable to shrug off the scared and pained looks I had seen on those girls' faces. I can still hear their helpless screams, buzzing inside my head. And looking at them, I had realised just how easily I could have been one of them.

Balthazar had told Roma, his most trusted man to take me up in his private room and he did as he was told as soon as we were out of the basement. Balthazar had walked us to the hall, along with Master Black, then parted ways near his office where he went inside his office with that dark stranger on his heels.

Roma had led me away to a set of stairs. After climbing up to the second landing, he had dragged me down a long corridor and pushed me inside Balthazar's private room.

And from then till now, I've done nothing but paced. Just kept pacing back and forth while running my hands through my hair in fear and frustration.

Fear had sparked inside my head when my eyes landed on the bed in the middle of the room but now, I can't even focus on why he wanted me here.

I have to find a way to convince Balthazar that I will do as he says, that I'll be a good girl, even if the thought is highly revolting. It's the only way I can stop him. I know he's a greedy man and if the price is right then he'll sell himself too. But it'll only work if I can get to him before he can sell me to that Monster Master Black.

I know he has done nothing to harm me in any way, yet. But I can't trust him. He's a part of this business, he's here for those girls and that's enough for me to want to keep my distance from him.

But I would be lying to myself if I said that that's the only reason why I want to stay away from him. As soon as my eyes landed on him, I knew. I knew he is not a normal man and neither is he anything like Balthazar.

Master Black is lethal.

He believes in action, not in empty promises.

He has mastered the art of hiding his true thoughts and emotions perfectly, and learned to assess a situation to put on the type of fake expression which would show you exactly what you want to read. I know he had been studying me silently but except for my fight and flight response, he had not seen anything else in me. That's why his eyes were filled with curiosity and intrigue when they had met mine.

He's got layers to his personality, the intense way he was looking at me, the sudden change in his mood when he'd started laughing then the abrupt way he'd regained his cool composure after demanding for me…. it all shows different levels of complexity. And Master Black has got more shades, lighter and darker, that he keeps hidden under the cover of his aloof personality.

But how the hell will I get out of here and talk Balthazar out of the plan of selling me to him?

I stop.

I hadn't even thought about that.

Maybe if I behave properly and acknowledge him with respect then he will drop the idea of selling me. I have to give it a try.

But first, I need to get out of here.

I run up to the door and try the knob, only to find it locked.

Dammit!

I turn back and scan the room with my wild eyes and nothing registers inside my mind. Shit! I'm losing it. I blink a few times and take deep breaths, trying to center my focus to find a means to get out of here.

This time when I glance around with steady eyes, I spot a dark desk pushed up against the right wall and decide to check it out. Maybe I could find a spare key or something to open the door.

I make my way to the chest of drawers and pull open the top one. Empty. Second one. Empty. Third one. Empty. Fourth one. Empty.

Fuck! There's nothing.

I turn desperate and throw one last glance around the space. Nothing. The whole room is bare except for a bed and a desk with small drawers.

I start pacing again.

No no no no no.

This can't be happening. He can't just sell me to anyone for money. He was going to make me pay for my great grandfather's debt, right? He had told me himself that he would take revenge for his grandmother. That's why he had kidnapped me, right? He can't give me away now. I am his responsibility. My great grandfather had raped and killed his grandmother, the first daughter of de Lucas — My train of thoughts freezes.

Wait a minute….

If the girl my great grandfather had raped and killed was Balthazar's grandmother then how could she have created her next heir. She surely couldn't have given birth before that. That's impossible. She was an only child and she died…. then who gave birth to Balthazar's mother?

My head is spinning, my thoughts are in a whirlwind.

Back in the jet, when Balthazar was telling me the whole story, I don't think I was paying attention. Either I would have caught such a big flaw in his story and confronted him. But I was too busy in thinking about my future to think straight and mull over the story for a second.

What a fool I am.

Balthazar has lied to me. If his grandmother was killed before she gave birth to his mother then there's no possibility that he could exist.

Who the hell is he and why did he do this to me?

I don't remember when I moved and sat on the bed but when I feel my feet knock against something, I come back to the present with a start. I frantically look around for the source of noise and when I lean down, I find a suitcase tucked underneath the bed.

I frown then drop down to my knees and slide it out from under the bed. I check the padlock and find it unlocked. I open the top lid but find nothing inside which can help me in opening the door. I can only see a few blank sheets inside the spacious suitcase.

But why would he ever need a suitcase when he does his work from here only? Does he have a vast business made out of this human trafficking? He had told me that he's involved in other fields too, did that mean that he deals outside his territory too?

The thought makes me shudder and I quickly dismiss it.

I don't even want to know what other kind of business he's involved in.... Maybe smuggling of drugs.... Stop it, dammit!

I am just about to shut the suitcase and push it back inside when I notice the seams of the upper lid of the suitcase unthreaded, like someone has sliced it with a knife to open the outer covering of the inside of the top lid. I reopen it and pull down the cover, to discover some documents stashed inside. I pull them out and stand up as I flip through them.

It's a copy of the documents which has the details of a debt inheritance between the Danforth and the de Lucas family. As I go through the pages, I see the signatures of my parents at all the right places and the dates and information mentioned correctly.

I also find a birth certificate tucked in between the folder, it's of some girl named Rosella Rose Carson. I frown at the name, it's a very…. um, unusual name and it's presence between this folder doesn't make any sense.

I push forward, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling caused by that birth certificate and focus on the details. Has this girl been the victim of Balthazar too? Are there more?

By the time I've reached the end, I'm completely abashed and my head is filled with such horrible possibilities that I think I might explode in crumbs of disbelief.

My breathing stops and it feels as though the room is closing up on me, suffocating me. There's not enough air for me to breathe anymore.

Balthazar has tricked my parents.

All these documents are invalid. These are not legal. It's all fake. Anyone can tell that in just one look.

Why couldn't my parents know it?

And before I can get over the shock of this revelation, I hear the dreadful sound of the key turning in the lock.

I just stand there, frozen in place with all the fake paperwork scattered around me as Balthazar opens the door and looks at me from outside the threshold.

It takes him a moment to take in the scene in front of him, understand what's going on. And when the realization settles down, his whole body language changes. He turns rigid, the expression on his face freezes in its place and his shoulders get tensed.

“You lied to me and my parents....” My words are just above a whisper.

When I don't get any response from him, my blood starts simmering inside my veins, my heart picks up its pace and my eyes burn from unshed tears.

“You're a fucking liar! A cheat!” I explode, there's no one but Balthazar so I focus all of my hurt and anger on him. “You stole me from my parents. You made me leave my friends behind. You've ruined my everything. I hate you! I loathe you! I abhor you! You're a criminal, you've murdered my dreams! You're a coward, just a fucking coward!!”

“Are you done?”

He has the nerve to ask me that, after destroying my life!

“No, I'm not done. I'm nowhere near it and I'm telling you, by the time I'll be finished, you'll be behind the bars in a real jail.”

I don't know what I am going to do but I can't stand to be here for another second. I collect all the documents and put them inside the suitcase before locking it and standing up to face Balthazar. “You don't have any legal right on me now. You can't hold me here against my will.”

I start moving towards the door, thinking that I can slip through the door without any problem now that I know the truth. But somewhere deep within my mind, a voice keeps telling me that I'm wrong. I am trying to fool myself otherwise.

Balthazar is a mafia and he can do anything, he can hold me against my will or sell my body to someone else, it's his choice. I can't do anything.

But I have to put up this show and at least try to threaten him so that I can force him to back down.

“Where do you think you're going, Miss. Danforth?” Balthazar moves to block my way and I pause to glare up at him.

“That's none of your concern now. Move.”

“Who are you trying to fool, Miss. Danforth? Me or yourself?” He smiles down at me, smugly.

“I. Said. Move.” I grit out through my teeth, because I'm sure that my voice will start quavering if I will not keep my jaw clenched.

Fear has replaced the anger inside my veins and now it's making me sweat. My grasp on the suitcase tightens when it starts slipping through my moist fingers. Crap!

“I recommend you to drop the case and come with me willingly. I have other ways too and I'll not hesitate in using them on you. So it's better that you cooperate with me. Now that you know the truth, it'll be easier for both of us.” He still hasn't moved and my breathing is still increasing with my heart beat.

But I clench my jaw tighter and fight the urge to break down and give in. “No.”

His eyes harden. “Remember that you'd asked for this.”

And before I can comprehend his statement, he lunges at me and snatches the suitcase out of my hand. I fight him with everything I have but he overpowers me and pins me down on the floor.

“Let go, you bastard!” I keep struggling.

“Give me the injection.” He instructs someone and within the second, I feel something prick the skin on my neck. I wince and try to free myself but he holds me fast on the floor.

“Why did you do it?” I manage to ask in a meek breathless voice as my vision starts getting blurry and my head starts feeling heavy, a fog pollutes my mind and I struggle to stay conscious.

I'm losing the fight, fast.

“For money.” Balthazar's distant voice touches my ears before I fall into a deep dreamless sleep. “....and for power. That only you can bring to me.”