Chapter 1 - The Valuation of a Life
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The heavy oak doors of the study slammed shut, cutting off the damp, bitter chill of the Chicago night.
Two men threw me forward. My knees struck the thick Persian rug, sending a sharp, burning jolt through my bruised ribs. The rough plastic zip-ties pulled tightly against my skin, digging deep enough into my wrists to draw a thin line of blood.
Behind the massive mahogany desk sat Marco Duca.
He didn't look like the caricature the news stations painted. He didn't wear loud suits or bark orders into a phone. He sat in shadow, tailored black wool hugging broad shoulders, a crystal glass of amber liquid resting motionless between his long fingers. His dark eyes flicked over me—taking in my torn coat, my split lip, and the trembling breath I couldn't quite catch.
"Is this her?" Marco’s voice was low, like gravel grinding under a steady tide.
"Yeah, Boss," one of the men behind me said, adjusting his leather jacket. "Charlotte Whitmore’s girl. Delivered just like she asked. She said the debt is settled once the girl is out of the picture."
My mother had sold me.
She had lured me into her garage under the pretense of picking up old childhood boxes, only to stand in the doorway while two strangers dragged me into the back of a black van. She had watched with cool, detached eyes, smoothing the front of her designer trench coat before turning back into her heated mansion.
Marco set his glass down. The ice clinked softly against the crystal.
He stood up, his tall frame blocking the amber light of the desk lamp. He walked slowly around the mahogany edge until his polished leather shoes stopped inches from my knees.
He didn't reach for a weapon. He didn't smile.
"Do you want to live?" he asked.
The question hung in the quiet room, strange and heavy.
May you like
I lifted my head, my eyesight blurring around the edges. "What?"
"I asked if you want to live," Marco repeated, leaning down slightly so his shadow completely swallowed mine. "Because your mother paid two million dollars for me to make sure you don't."
