Chapter 2 Miracles?

• As soon as I unlocked the door, I was pushed back some steps with the force it burst open. Three men in rugged clothes and skin filled with tattoos barged in.
• "What the hell?" I gasped at their sudden intrusion.
• I should have seen who it was through the peephole before opening the door.
• "Why are you barging into my house? Who the hell are you?"
• "Don't remember me, chica? I thought we had a good talk over the phone last Monday," the man in the middle said. The smell of alcohol entered my nostrils.
• My brows frowned. "What are you…"
• Then the conversation hit my memory lane.
• My fists clenched.
• "You remembered now?" With a raised brow, he raked his bloodshot eyes over my body. "I told you to send me my money by Friday. And it's Saturday now. Where is the money?"
• His tone turned harder with each word.
• "And if you don't remember, let me rephrase it again. I WON'T give you a single penny. Now get out of my apartment!" I held his gaze, pointing towards the door.
• "Of course, you will!" Stepping forward, he cupped my jaw with his fingers digging into my flesh. A wince left my lips. "That bitch stole fucking twenty five thousand dollars from my house! And now you are gonna pay for that!"
• "Then go and get her! Because I'm not paying you anything!" I hissed, trying to get out of his grip. But damn, he had a good grip even when drunk.
• "Don't you think I have tried? But I can't find her anywhere!" he growled on my face, spitting out in the process. Bile rose up my throat. "You're her daughter. So now you will pay me my money back instead of her. Otherwise, I'll have to drag you to my bar and make you serve me. You will pay me back by…" A smirk tugged up his dark lips. "Pleasuring my clients. And trust me, I would be really happy to do that."
• The men with him laughed. One of them touched the gun tucked in his pocket with his gaze set on me, as if threatening me.
• Something fell in my stomach. They were dangerous, and that man's words were disturbing.
• I would have loved to kick their dicks and throw them out of my house at that moment, but I couldn't be stupid.
• I looked at the man whom my fucking mother robbed. "I don't have that much money."
• He snorted. "I'm no fool. I know your career is going downhill nowadays after you sued that director. But that doesn't mean your bank balance is also zero. Not famous, but you were doing quite well in the past few years."
• Were.
• The word was like a slap to my face. Bitter, but it was the truth.
• "So don't feed me that shit and give me my money. You have time till next Friday. Otherwise…I do what I say."
• I pushed his hand away and he let me do it. Giving one last look over my figure once again, with his threat ringing in my head, he left with his men.
• Pinching the bridge of my nose, I let out a sigh. Even though I didn't let the emotion show on my face, fear and anxiety knotted in my stomach.
• My jaw clenched.
• Fear. I hated this feeling. I hated being helpless. I hated being tou…
• It's been years since anything like this happened. The last time any of her debtors came knocking on my door and threatened me was years ago. I left Theresa, my so-called mother, when I was fifteen. My grandma from Dad's side let me stay with her for a year until she died. But even If I left her, her deeds never left me. Her debtors and exes.
• That's what I have been doing since I started to earn. My life had become a living hell with their threats. I couldn't sleep at night due to their terror.
• She was good at running away whenever she knew she had to pay for her deeds. Her addiction to alcohol and drugs ruined my life as well as hers.
• But all of it suddenly stopped after my eighteenth birthday. The day after that fashion show five years ago, was my eighteenth birthday. I didn't know how, but this miracle happened.
• I thought she finally got back to her senses and fixed all the problems. But clearly, she didn't.
• And now I will have to pay for her.
• I was concerned when this man all of a sudden called me the other night. Listening to his slurred threats, I decided to ignore it as it's been years since something like this happened. But he showed up on my doorsteps today.
• It felt like I was back to five years ago.
• Yes, I had some money saved from my modeling and ad shows. But after buying this little apartment for me, I didn't have much in my bank account. If I gave it to him, I wouldn't have anything left for my expenses.
• Because I didn't have any shows in my hands now. I was jobless.
• Since I messed with that fucking director!
• The blaring of my phone from the kitchen took my attention.
• Closing the door, I walked in the kitchen.
• Beth.
• "Sorry, Beth. I can't come over today. Gotta handle something."
• "What? But why? I told you he would be here today and we will have lunch together. You haven't looked him in the eye for some months now." Her exasperated sigh resounded through the phone.
• I didn't want to look her boyfriend in the eye even today. That man didn't have a backbone to stand up for her. It's been months since his conservative mother totally denied their relationship but that man couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't accept a girl with his son who wasn't a Catholic. He couldn't convince his mother because he was a coward and nor did he tell her off. He loved his mother. But at the same time, he didn't want to let go of Beth too, only hurting her in the process by his mother's insults on a daily basis.
• Seriously. If I was in her situation, I would just flip off such conservative family and run away.
• "You have to come!"
• "I need to go to the court in an hour, Beth." Today was the final judgment for that bastard.
• "Oh! You didn't tell me about that." Her tone was accusing.
• "I got to know about it last night myself," I answered, taking a sip on the coffee that was cold now. Before I could drink it, those drunk men came up.
• "You need me to come with you? I can cancel the lunch if you want," she offered, her tone soft.
• A dry smile tugged on my lips. "It's okay, Beth. Enjoy your lunch with Mason. I can go there myself. It won't take long."
• I have been taking care of the shit life has thrown at me all my life. So I could do it today too.
• "You sure?"
• "I am. Don't worry. Alright, I need to get ready. I don't want to get late. You know the traffic." My gaze snapped down at the soft ball of fur that rubbed against my leg.
• "Alright, let me know what happens. Love you!"
• "Love you too!"
• Putting the phone down, I picked up the brown cat in my arms. Peeking at me with its green eyes, it meowed at me.
• All the anxieties were pushed towards the back of my head for a moment as a chuckle left me.
• "You're hungry, Romeo?"
• He purred, making my kiss its head.
• "Alright, Romeo. Let's get your tummy full. What do you wanna eat for lunch? Chicken?" He didn't make a sound, only licked his paw. "So chicken it is."
• Once I gave him his lunch, I quickly got ready before messaging my lawyer that I was on my way. He had already sent three messages to make sure I was there on time. Well, I had some bad records of arriving places late.
• Grabbing my purse, I then got out of the house.
• Time to see that bastard rotting behind the bars.
• ***
• "Congratulations, Miss. Brooks! You have won the battle!" Eugene, my lawyer whom I hired for my case against Todd Samuelson.
• "Thank you! It all happened because of you! If you hadn't come forward by yourself to help me out with this case, I wouldn't be able to send that man behind the bars," I said, shaking his hand.
• Todd, one of the famous directors in the film industry who tried to throw himself on me when I visited him in his vanity to discuss the short film he offered me. It would be my debut in the movies. And then he pulled that stunt. That bastard! The punches I gave him in return weren't enough, I wanted him to see him rotting in jail.
• A shaky breath left me. My fists clenched around my purse as I tried to put the 'I don't care' look on my face.
• I was lucky that there were people outside the vanity, so he couldn't do any damage to my already damaged soul.
• Eugene cleared his throat, letting out an awkward laugh. "Uh, I saw the news on the tv how Todd Samuelson did wrong to you. And him being the younger brother of the Mayor of the city, no one was ready to help you. So I thought I had to step in. I knew this wasn't the first time he did something like that."
• I forced a smile on even with the turmoil inside me.
• "Trust me, you literally came into my life like an angel when there was no one ready to help me and go against the Mayor."
• I was truly grateful that he helped me put that man behind the bars. Though it took two months for him to do that as the mayor tried his best to save his brother. As a powerful politician of Los Angeles, he had some connections here and there. But in the end, miraculously, Eugene managed to make Todd accept his crime and make the mayor back off. How did he do it? I didn't know. He didn't tell me anything.
• Just like I didn't know why he, a well known lawyer of the country, came forward to help me on his own just after a week the incident happened. When no lawyer was ready to fight my case.
• He said he wanted to make Todd Samuelson pay for what he did. But it wasn't enough to make me believe his words. There was definitely something more there.
• But I didn't ask much as I needed him to be on my side.
• As his phone vibrated in his hand, he glanced down at the screen before looking up at me. "Miss. Brooks. I have to leave now. But I will see you soon. We will have to do some paperwork."
• "Sure! Let me know when I will have to be present at your command." I winked, trying to make the conversation lighter.
• His eyes widened slightly. Glancing around swiftly, he cleared his throat again before nodding his head and walking away.
• A crease formed between my brows.
• What was that?
• "It's not over yet, you know?" A voice spoke from behind me.
• Turning around, I faced the very mayor of LA. Robert Samuelson. In his early fifties, he stood before me with his towering height and no hair on the head. And beside him, stood Todd, his brother.
• Something churned in my stomach as soon as my eyes met his dark brown ones. They watched me with a hatred that was quite similar to his elder brother.
• The memories from that day made my jaw clench. Bile rose up my throat.
• Calm down, Cassie. It is over now. He will be rotting behind the bars for years.
• Holding my chin high, I said, "It's over whether you accept it or not." My eyes went back to Todd. "Didn't I tell you? You will pay for what you did? Congratulations on your defeat, bastard."
• My tone was as poised as a model's should have been. But my words weren't.
• Fury flashed through his features. The bruises that were on his face and body last month were gone now. But his broken arm was still in the clutcher. Someone really broke it badly.
• He was admitted to the hospital some hours after he tried to force himself on me. He was so badly beaten that people couldn't recognize his face due to all the blood.
• No one knew who did it. But people assumed it could be someone with whom he messed up really badly.
• But whoever it was, I was grateful to him for doing it. It was a soothe to my burning rage and hatred.
• Even though his tensed shoulders and gritting teeth told me he wanted to grab my throat, oddly enough, he didn't utter a word. And it bothered me.
• He wasn't a man to stay quiet.
• "Don't be so happy, Miss. Brooks. It's just a case you won. Trust me, I don't forget faces who mess with my family. With your drowning career, you should take steps carefully." Threat was etched deep in the mayor's words.
• Wow! Another one who was after my life now!
• I smiled, a sweet one.
• "Why don't you just cool down and focus on your own career, Robert? I heard your position is at risk now. Because your brother has ruined your reputation along with his. So instead of threatening me, focus on how to save yourself from drowning now."
• His lips pressed. A muscle of his jaw ticked.
• I knew crossing a powerful politician's path wasn't a good idea. But I already did that when I sued his brother. So there was no backing out now.
• "You…"
• Before he could utter another word, I threw one last glare at Todd and walked out of the room.
• As soon as I was out in the open air, I took a deep breath.
• This is over now. Time to carry on with my life like the old Cassandra Brooks. Positive and carefree.
• Because I didn't care about the past. About my sinking career. And about the threat from Theresa's debtors.
• Walking to my car, I got in and drove away.
• Ignoring the blaring of my phone, I turned to another street.
• My eyes burned but I blinked the tears away. My throat clogged up, making me gulp.
• I took a deep breath.
• I was okay. I didn't give a fuck about anything. Definitely to the incident that day.
• But as the memories of that day in the vanity flashed over my eyes, a tear fell. The recollection of his touch and gaze made me feel disgusted.
• My grip tightened on the steering wheel.
• I had to control my emotions. It made people weak. And I didn't want to be weak. I was strong. I wasn't eleven years old anymore.
• As another fucking tear rolled down, I sped up the car.
• No matter how much I tried to forget about it, it somehow crawled back in my mind. It made me weak when I was out of people's sight.
• But it is over now. I should move on.
• I have to.
• One problem was tackled. Now it was time to think about those men from this morning and my career. No matter how much I didn't want to care, I had to.
• I needed to call Chad.
• Wiping my tears furiously as if they were acid to my cheeks, just as I looked down to grab my phone, a forceful jerk sent me backwards along with the loud noise before my head collided against the window glass.
• Breath knocked out of my lungs. Black dots appeared in my vision as everything went silent for some moments.
• Distant chaos and the smell of smoke reached my senses. But other than blinking in the haziness, I couldn't move an inch. I felt numb.
• Some knocks landed on the side of my window. But it sounded more like someone smashing their fists against the glass.
• Pain soon shot throughout my skull as I tried to move.
• I let out a whimper.
• As I thought I would black out locked in the car, the door suddenly burst open. Someone unlocked my seatbelt and cupped my cheeks with rough hands. A heady cologne reached my nostrils.
• My name was being called. But it sounded distant and foreign. I couldn't focus on the voice.
• Even trying my best, I couldn't open my eyelids properly. As the seconds passed, they threatened to shut down.
• An arm snaked around my waist before getting me out of the car. This time, the scent was closer, as if engulfing me in it. For all I knew I was being carried.
• "Cassandra! Don't shu... your ey..., damn it!" That distant voice ordered. "Stay with me!"
• I could feel myself falling, falling in the darkest pit of somewhere.
• But I wanted to see who saved me. The person who knew my name.
• Forcing myself, I lifted my gaze up.
• And the only thing I saw before darkness totally consumed me was…
• A pair of icy blue eyes.