Chapter 3 #2
“I didn’t know what he did for a living when I met him, so I’m willing to look past his job title since I like him.”
Bri laughs. “If it helps, you won’t be the only single person there. Lorenzo—my brother’s best friend—is coming, and he’s completely unattached.”
She waggles her brows, and I shake my head.
“Not happening. My focus is on school.”
Men are a distraction I don’t need.
It’s not that I’m against dating. One day, I plan to find a man to spend my life with. I want to get married and have babies and maybe even get a cute dog or cat.
But not yet. Not until I’ve achieved all the goals that I’ve made for myself.
Bri shrugs. “Regardless, you should come. It will be a good time. We’ve rented a yacht, and it will be a relaxing trip there and back.”
My, how the rich live …
“Thank you for the invite, but—”
“Just think about it,” Bri insists. “We’re leaving in the morning. If you decide to go, Nicole can text you the directions to the port. If not, it’s all good.”
“Thanks. And when you get back, I can measure you.”
“That would be great. Thanks.” Bri smiles, her hand going to her belly.
I take the last sip of my coffee and stand, knowing now that James is here, Nicole will be preoccupied.
I say a quick bye to Nicole, James, and Bri, and even though I’d rather be anywhere but there, I head to my mom and Eric’s house—since I have never considered that place my home.
Since I don’t have a car, not needing one where I live, Eric insisted I use his driver, refusing to take no for an answer.
When I tried to argue, my mom gave me the look that said not to be difficult, so I gave in.
While I hate that it means he can keep tabs on me, being able to call for a ride is convenient.
Mom asked me to meet her for lunch, but when I look at my phone, I notice I’ll be a bit early. Oh well. Maybe we can eat now and get it over with, and then I can head to the fabric store that recently opened that I want to check out while I’m here.
When I arrive at the house, it’s quiet, and I wonder if maybe nobody’s home, until I hear muffled voices coming from inside Eric’s office. His door is partly closed, so I’m not sure who he’s talking to.
Assuming my mother is in there with him, I head toward his office to greet them, not wanting to be rude, but before I can make my presence known, Eric says something that has me freezing in my place.
“I can assure you that she’s a virgin. I’ve made sure of it.”
Is he talking about me?
Normally, I wouldn’t assume, but since I’m the only virgin in this house, what are the odds that he’s talking about someone else? Though why he would be discussing my virginity with anyone makes no sense.
Silence.
And then, “I sent the pictures over, like you’d requested. She’s in pristine condition. Not a single flaw. Like I told you before, you can have her, and in exchange, you leave my family alone and my debt to you is paid.”
What the hell? There’s no way he’s talking about me, right? I have to be misunderstanding the context.
More silence.
He must be on the phone.
I move to the side so I can listen without being in plain sight, and I glance around to make sure nobody is around. They have a cleaning crew come in a few times a week and a chef who makes their meals, but nobody that’s around all the time.
“You know I tried,” Eric whines. “I warned you that the Antonovs wouldn’t be pushed out of this town. But you can have her. She has no family, so no one will notice she’s missing, and she’ll make you millions. You can sell her to the highest bidder or put her in one of your whorehouses.”
Oh my God. He’s trying to sell me.
There’s no way this is a coincidence.
My heart races in my chest as the feeling of an anxiety attack moves through my body.
I knew Eric was shady, but this is insane. The man is talking about selling me off to someone like I’m a piece of art that they’re looking to acquire.
Clacking of heels against the marble floor tells me my mother is heading this way.
I should stop her and tell her what’s going on, but something inside me has me stepping around the corner to listen to how this plays out.
Maybe it’s because I’m in shock at what I just heard and I’m hoping I’ve watched too many true crime documentaries when I can’t sleep that I’m creating a situation that isn’t real.
My mother saunters into the office, and Eric tells whoever is on the phone that he’ll call them back and then greets my mother.
“Darling, I spoke to Santiago.”
“And?” she breathes, worry laced in that one word.
“He said he’ll make a deal with me.”
“Oh, thank God, Eric,” Mom whispers. “What does he want?”
“Vanessa.”
Hearing my name, confirming it was me he was talking about, has me struggling to breathe. My hand goes to my throat, and I silently count to ten, trying to calm myself down. My antianxiety meds are up in my room, and I need to hear the rest of this conversation.
Until he said my name, I was hoping I’d misunderstood. But I hadn’t. My stepfather, the shady mayor of Harbor Point, has made a deal to sell me.
“What do you mean?” she asks, confusion in her tone.
“He’s in the market for high-quality women. With the Antonovs refusing to let any cargo in and out of their port, it’s made things difficult for him. He said that he’ll wipe away my debt and leave our family alone if I give him Vanessa.”
Mom gasps. “Eric, there must be another way. She’s my daughter. I can’t just give her to a psychopath. What will people think?”
Holy shit! She’s more concerned with her reputation than my life?
I choke back a sob, the reality of my life hitting me. I’ve always known my mother resented me for being born—even though she had chosen to give birth to me and keep me instead of aborting me or giving me away. But I never realized just how much she hated me.
When I was growing up, every time she struggled—which was pretty much all the time—she’d remind me that it was because of me.
She thought she was going to marry a wealthy man, only to learn he was in debt and in the middle of losing everything.
She left him once she found out, but it was too late.
She discovered a few weeks later that she was pregnant, and when she asked him for support, he told her he couldn’t afford a child and gave her enough money to get an abortion.
But for a brief moment, her heart won over, and she kept me. And she’s made sure to remind me every day since as far back as I can remember that it’s because of her keeping me that she not only struggled, but also couldn’t find a man to support her.
“No respectable man wants to take care of another man’s bastard child.” Her words, not mine.
“They won’t know,” Eric says, shaking me out of my thoughts.
“We’ll report her missing, paint the picture of a troubled young woman.
Nobody will ever find her, and she’ll become one of the millions of unsolved cases.
I hate to do it, darling, but it will mean saving us.
I sent him the pictures I had taken of her in the shower—”
“What?” she shrieks. “You were watching her in the shower?”
Oh my God! He was watching me in the shower and took pictures? Did he sneak in? Or does he have one of those creepy cameras installed in the mirror? It doesn’t matter now. I’ll never get undressed in this house again.
“Only so that I could send them to him,” Eric explains, like it’s totally okay to take pictures of his twenty-one-year-old stepdaughter since it’s for a good cause—selling her to pay off his debt.
“It’s why I had you insist she come home.
He needed to see the product before agreeing to accept it as payment. ”
Holy shit, I’m going to be sick.
I swallow back the bile that’s rising in my throat.
“Okay,” Mom agrees. “When?”
“Tomorrow. The Antonovs will be out of town for that bitch’s wedding, and Nicole is going, so she won’t be around to possibly witness anything. I hate that she’s friends with them, and I’m going to handle that soon, but for now, it will work out in our favor.”
“Okay,” Mom says again. “Is there anything you need from me?”
“Just act normal,” Eric tells her. “Go to lunch and make sure she doesn’t know anything. I’ll handle the rest.” I hear shuffling, and then he says, “Soon, this will all be over, and our lives will go back to normal.”