Ethan didn't wait for my father to get off his knees. Papers signed, his victory sealed, he snapped his fingers and one of his men stepped forward.d
"Take her," Ethan ordered coolly, as though I were nothing more than property changing hands. His gaze slid back to my father. "She'll be safe enough in my care. Whether or not she stays that way depends on you."
My chest constricted. "Safe?" I hissed, but Ethan ignored me, already turning his back, dismissing me like I didn't exist.
I stumbled as his man's hand wrapped around my arm, not roughly, but firm enough that I knew there was no point fighting. I twisted to look back, my father still on his knees, my mother clutching his shoulder, both of them silent, defeated. Neither made a move to stop what was happening.
That was the moment it hit me like ice water down my spine. I wasn't just being taken. I was being given away.
The car ride was silent. Ethan didn't come with us, he had "business" to attend to, according to the mann driving. Business, or maybe he just wanted to let me stew in the reality of what had just happened. That was worse. At least if he'd been there, I'd know what game he was playing.
Instead, I sat rigid in the back seat, clutching my bag like a lifeline, trying not to let the tears spill over. The Chicago skyline blurred past, the familiar twisting into the unknown. I wanted to scream, to throw myself out of the moving vehicle, to do anything other than what I was doing, rolling quietly into the lion's den.
When the car slowed, I expected his penthouse downtown. Instead, we veered off into one of the old-money suburbs north of the city, where the houses weren't houses at all, but sprawling estates hidden behind wrought-iron gates and tree-lined driveways.
The gates groaned open as though they knew who was arriving.g,
We rolled past manicured gardens and fountains glinting under moonlight until the house came into view. No that wasn't a house. It was a fortress disguised as a palace. Pale stone, towering windows, a front door that looked heavy enough to withstand a war. T.
The car stopped. My pulse didn't.
Two servants appeared immediately, silent and efficient, pulling out my suitcases from the trunk like this was the most normal thing in the world. Like I'd simply been dropped off from a honeymoon instead of kidnapped from my own wedding.
And then she appeared.
A woman in a severe black dress, her hair twisted into a silver knot that gleamed under the outdoor lights. She carried herself like a warden more than a housekeeper, every line of her body stiff with discipline. Her eyes cut over me, sharp and assessing, before her chin lifted an inch.
"Miss Rossi?"
I got out of the car slowly, clutching my bag against my chest as if it could shield me. My kidnapper, the bastard who had stolen me from my alta, was nowhere to be seen. Of course not. He wouldn't dirty his hands with something so trivial as welcoming his captive bride.
The woman strode toward me, extending an open palm as though I owed her something. "I'm Ms. Sterling."
I stared at her hand, refusing to take it. She was his employee, his accomplice. The fact that I wasn't smashing her over the head with my bag was proof of a civility I didn't feel.
Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't press. Instead, she turned on her heel, spine straight as a sword. "Let me show you to your wing."
"My… wing?" I echoed, numb, my legs moving only because hers did.
"Yes, dear. Wing. Mr. Eaten was quite adamant about keeping to tradition. No sharing a bed before marriage." A flicker of a smile tugged at her thin lips, as though she approved of his twisted version of chivalry.
Good. Because I'd sooner gouge out my own eyes than willingly share a bed with the devil himself.
When we got to my room, I didn't stop to look or appreciate anything. It occurred to me that I hadn't tried to lure her into helping me, inm fact she might not even know I was in danger, I caught her fragile hand and pulled her toward me as she reached for the door.
"Please I know it sounds strange but your boss just bought me from my parents, I need to get out of here. Please help me, I was kidnapped.
She stare at me and blinked.
"Oh dear. I think I forgot to turn off the oven." She rushed outside the door closing after her.
I ran after her yanking at the door handle. She locked me in. Fuck!