Chapter 7
Vanessa
My plan clearly didn’t go as … well, planned. Which doesn’t surprise me since it wasn’t exactly well thought out.
But at the same time, it kind of did. Because we’re married, and everyone thinks we slept together—albeit they think I drugged and raped him, which is partially true.
I did drug him.
But aside from taking his clothes off, except his boxers, I didn’t touch him.
But I can’t tell him that because he has to believe we slept together.
It’s the only way.
My life is literally on the line, and the only person I can trust is myself.
The entire trip home, everyone is quiet, the mood ruined, thanks to me.
The couples keep to themselves, and Lorenzo makes it a point to stay as far away from me as possible.
Nicole glances at me a few times, hurt and confusion etched on her features. And I don’t blame her. What I did was beyond messed up. But I had no choice.
I want to tell her what happened, but I can’t risk it.
She might be on the outs with her father, but disagreeing over how her inheritance should be spent or whether she should take the bar exam is different from telling her that her father—the only parent she has—is trying to sell my virginity to someone to pay off his debt.
What if she doesn’t believe me?
What if she chooses him over me and helps him kidnap me?
What if she tells Brielle, and the Antonovs hand me over to him?
My phone pings with a text—thanks to the Wi-Fi onboard—and when I read it, the blood drains out of my body.
Asshole (Eric)
You don’t want to piss me off, little girl. I’ll have a car waiting for you when you get back to Harbor Point. Make the right decision and go with my men.
I stare at the text for several seconds before I type out my response.
Me
I’m not going anywhere with you.
And then—because, fuck it, I did all this for a reason, and he’s obviously aware that I overheard them talking—I add one more text.
Me
BTW, I got married last night … and I’m no longer a virgin. Guess you’ll have to find another way to pay back your debt.
With shaky fingers, I hit Send and then turn off the alerts from his number, knowing that my getting married and losing my virginity is going to piss him off and send him off the deep end.
“Hey, can we talk?” Nicole says softly, sitting next to me. “I need you to make me understand why you did this. You said you were waiting to have sex until marriage, so none of this makes sense.”
“I did wait until marriage,” I lie.
“Vanessa,” she breathes, “this isn’t you. Talk to me, please.”
“I—”
The yacht rocks as the captain announces that we’ve arrived, and my heart picks up speed.
We’re here.
This is it.
“I need to go talk to Lorenzo,” I say.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
I nod and stand and then walk over to Lorenzo, who’s glaring daggers at me.
And I don’t blame him.
If the shoe were on the other foot, I’d be screaming the place down.
I drugged him.
Then paid someone off to marry us without questions asked.
When he was barely conscious, I had him sign his name.
Then I had the gentleman I’d paid off help me bring him up to the room, where I staged it to look like we consummated our marriage.
He feels taken advantage of.
Violated.
And I hate that for him.
Not only that, but I hate that I had to use him.
I always swore I would never rely on a man. Yet here I am, no better than my mother, using Lorenzo to save myself.
But it’s either that or I get taken and sold to some crazy guy who buys women.
“Umm, can we talk?” I say to Lorenzo.
“Not now.” He brushes me off, then stops and glances at me. “Actually, I do have one question. Did we use protection last night?”
I flinch, not having thought of that, and go with a partial truth.
“I’m on birth control.”
“That’s what my ex said.” He chuckles darkly. “I need to get home to my son, and thanks to you, I have to add getting checked for STIs on my list of shit to do.”
“I don’t have any STIs,” I mutter, making his glare intensify. “But, umm …” I clear my throat. “I was hoping I could go with you … to your house.”
His head whips around, and he looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
And again, I don’t blame him.
“Fuck no, you can’t. I don’t want you anywhere near me or my son.”
I swallow thickly, trying to quickly figure this out.
In my head, we’d get married, and he—along with everyone else, including my stepfather—would think we had sex.
I would go home with him, where I would be protected until my stepfather found another way to pay back his debt, and then I’d file for an annulment and go back to college to continue with my life.
“Okay, but—”
Before I can try a different angle, the bridge that links the yacht and the dock is let down, and everyone starts to pile off the ship.
“Wait, Lorenzo!” I plead, starting to panic.
I grab his arm, but he shakes me off.
“Vanessa,” Nicole utters, “stop it! You’re embarrassing yourself.”
“I can’t!” I cry out as everyone exits the yacht. “Lorenzo, please!” I yell, grabbing my carry-on and racing to catch up with him.
My overnight bag is heavy, so I end up leaving it on the dock so it doesn’t slow me down. My heart is pounding so hard that I can feel it in my ears. The world around me is starting to blur, and I know I’m about to have an anxiety attack.
“Vanessa,” Lorenzo hisses, “enough. I need to get home. I’m going to forward the certificate to my attorney, and he’ll start the process of getting it annulled.
And if you’re lying and not on birth control, I’d recommend taking the morning-after pill because the last woman who trapped me disappeared, leaving me a single dad. ”
Holy shit! I guess that answers the question as to where his son’s mother is.
Lorenzo glares at me one last time before he takes off toward the parking lot, rolling his overnight bag behind him.
I’m about to go after him and tell him the truth, beg him to protect me, when two men get out of a black town car and start heading my way.
Oh shit, it’s the men Eric sent.
I look around, unsure of where to go, knowing if I don’t get away from them, this is it. I’m going to be taken and never seen again.
I’ll become a statistic.
I spot Lorenzo sliding into the driver’s seat of his midnight-blue BMW sedan, and I rush over to him. From a distance, someone calls my name, but I don’t look back.
I’m in survival mode.
Fight or flight has made an appearance, and flight has taken over.
Adrenaline propels my legs forward and straight toward Lorenzo’s vehicle.
Just before he puts the car into drive, I swing the door open and jump into the passenger seat.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Lorenzo barks.
“Go, please!” I glance back at the two men, who are coming up on the car.
“Get out!”
“No! Please,” I beg. “They’re going to get me. Please, go.”
Lorenzo’s brow furrows, and he glances back just as the two men approach the vehicle.
One of them grabs the handle at the same time I swipe the lock.
“Open the door,” the guy says. “Mr. Vanderbilt said you need to go home.”
“Who the fuck are they?” Lorenzo asks incredulously.
“My stepfather’s men,” I cry out. “He’s trying to sell me to some guy he owes money to,” I blurt out, hoping it’s enough to convince him to drive away with me in the car.
Lorenzo curses under his breath, but thankfully, he takes off, leaving the two men behind.
He hits a button on his steering wheel and says, “Call Matteo,” and a second later, his phone rings over Bluetooth.
“Russo,” Matteo drawls. “Did I seriously see that crazy chick get into the car with you?”
Lorenzo glances at me. “Eric Vanderbilt sent two men to pick her up.”
“And? The last thing you want is to get involved in that family’s drama,” Matteo says, making my heart drop.
If he convinces Lorenzo to dump me on the side of the road, I’m screwed.
“It’s not family drama,” I choke out, knowing if I don’t tell them what’s going on, I have no chance of them helping me. “Eric owes some guy money, and I overheard Eric tell him that he would sell me to the guy in exchange for his debt being paid off.”
“Who?” Matteo asks.
“Santiago. I don’t know his last name. I just heard him call him Santiago.”
Lorenzo curses under his breath at the same time Matteo curses out loud.
“Please,” I say to them both. “I didn’t know what else to do or where else to go. He told him I was a virgin and worth millions.”
“Jesus fuck.” Lorenzo shakes his head. “That’s why you drugged and raped me?”
“I didn’t rape you,” I insist, refusing to admit we didn’t have sex and risk either of them telling anyone that I’m still a virgin.
I hate that he thinks we had sex and doesn’t remember it, but I’m not taking any chances. My life is literally on the line.
“Please,” I say to him. “I know what I did was fucked up, but I didn’t have any other choice.
He’s going to sell me!” Sobs rack my body, and I cover my face with my hands, trying to calm my breathing.
When it doesn’t work, I reach for my purse to grab my pills, only I don’t have them because I put everything in my luggage … which I left back at the dock.
“Shit,” I hiss.
“What?” Lorenzo asks.
“My pills—they’re in my luggage back at the dock.” I try to catch my breath, but I’ve had enough anxiety attacks to know that once I reach this point, the only way to help is by taking a pill.
“The pills you drugged me with?” Lorenzo accuses.
I try to suck in air, but each breath isn’t bringing enough oxygen to my lungs, and within a few seconds of my body not calming, I start to freak out, afraid of what’s to come.
“Lorenzo,” I gasp, my eyes meeting his, “I’m … having an … anxiety attack.”
His eyes go wide with concern.
“I’m … going to black out.”
“What?”
Black dots mar my vision.
My head turns fuzzy.
The world around me starts to spin.
“Please … don’t let … him take me.”
I’ve only just said the last word when everything goes dark, and I pray when I wake up, I won’t be on my way to be sex trafficked.