Chapter 3 Do You Have My Money Or Not?

• "Let me go, let me go, please!" I cried loudly as they bundled me into a van.
• "I swear I didn't do anything! I don't know anything, I'm innocent!" I screamed, but they ignored my pleas.
• "If you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to duct tape your lips, and trust me, sweetheart, it's going to hurt you a lot," one of them threatened.
• I swallowed my sobs and quieted down.
• "Good girl."
• "I'm sorry, I won't make any more noise. Can you please tell me why you kidnapped me?"
• "You owe our boss a great deal of money."
• Excuse me? I couldn't believe my ears. I knew damn well that I hadn't taken a loan from anyone in the longest time.
• I let out a hysterical laugh. "That's not true! I don't owe anyone any money. I have enough money for myself."
• The men chuckled darkly. The leader—a tall man with a jagged scar down his jaw—pulled a folded contract from his pocket. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it at me.
• "That's what they all say. 'I didn't borrow any money.'" He mocked.
• I grabbed the contract and quickly glanced through it. My name and signature were boldly written on a document requesting five million dollars. A contract I did not remember signing.
• "This must be wrong! This is a lie! It's a scam!" I cried.
• "Bitch, I will hit you hard if you deny it again. The evidence is glaring," he spat.
• "I'm sorry, but I'm telling the truth. I have no idea who signed this. I'm not the one!"
• "Oh, you want me to pull out the big guns then? You refuse to tell the truth?"
• He pulled out his cell phone and opened a video. It was a recording of me eating while signing some papers.
• My heart sank. I recognized that video, and I now knew how my signature got on those papers.
• "Oh God, oh God, oh God." I began to hyperventilate. My chest was constricting, and I couldn't breathe.
• Jake did this to me. Jake ruined my life. If I made it out of this alive, I was going to kill him.
• "My ex-boyfriend made me sign it! I didn't know it was for a loan. He told me I was standing as a guarantor for him to buy a new car! Oh God, I had no idea!" I couldn't hold back the fat drops of tears that rushed down my cheeks.
• The men laughed cruelly. "Tell that to someone who cares. You owe five million bucks, and that's all that matters."
• I got on my knees inside the moving van. "Please, you have to believe me! You just have to! Yes, I signed the papers, but I didn't know what they were for. Please!"
• The leader of the group seemed to take a bit of pity on me. His face softened, and he sighed.
• "If what you're saying is true, then I'm really sorry about what's going to happen to you. The big boss is not a forgiving man. He's cruel and cold and only cares about his money. He will not be kind to you. If you think we're bad, he's ten times worse."
• I wanted to drop dead immediately. I didn't think I had it in me to meet their boss. Dread seeped into my bones.
• I curled into myself for the rest of the ride, tears silently dripping down my face.
• I must have passed out because the next thing I knew—
• A harsh kick jolted me awake.
• "We’re here."
• I blinked blearily, my vision blurry from dried tears. Rough hands dragged me out of the van and onto the cold pavement.
• A mansion loomed before me. Massive. Cold. Elegant. It screamed power and danger.
• I didn’t resist as they shoved me forward, but I took everything in—the layout, the doors, the windows—any possible way to escape. I wasn't going down without a fight.
• "You'll wait here while the boss comes down to decide your fate," one of them said.
• We stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting. The first thing I noticed about him was his height—he was freaking tall. A long scar stretched across his left eyebrow, going down to his cheek.
• He was handsome but in a way that promised destruction.
• His piercing midnight-blue eyes landed on me.
• "I'm busy, what is so important that I had to be disturbed. Who is this?" he growled, glaring at his men.
• "Boss, she's the one that owes you five million dollars."
• There was a beat of silence.
• The boss ran his eyes over my body and smirked.
• "Her?" He sounded like he couldn't believe his ears.
• "I'm not the one! My ex-boyfriend is the one who borrowed the money! He tricked me into signing the papers! He's the one you want!" I screamed.
• "Silence!" he roared. "I don't care if you were tricked. Do you have my money or not?"
• I looked down at my feet. "I don't, but if you give me some time, I can pay it back slowly."
• A long pause.
• Then—he chuckled. A dark, sinister sound.
• "So you don’t have my money?"
• I stayed silent.
• His smirk deepened. "That’s fine."
• He took one slow step forward.
• "Then you’ll marry me."