Mira's POV
I wake up choking.
Water floods my nose and mouth. I'm gasping, coughing, drowning in air that won't come. Someone yanks my head up by my hair, and I suck in a desperate breath.
"There she is." Vincent's voice is smooth, almost kind. "Welcome back, daughter."
My vision clears slowly. I'm tied to a chair in a gray concrete room. My head throbs where someone hit me. Vincent stands in front of me, looking like a businessman, not a monster.
"Where's Sophie?" My voice cracks. "Where's Kieran? If you hurt them—"
"The boyfriend is alive. For now." Vincent circles me like a shark. "Your friend is secured elsewhere. Both will stay breathing as long as you cooperate."
"What do you want?"
"What I've always wanted. My daughter." He touches my face, and I jerk away. "Do you know how long I've searched for you? Twenty-eight years. Your mother stole you from me before you were even born."
"She ran away from you! Because you're a criminal!"
Vincent's hand flashes out, slapping me hard enough that my ears ring. "Your mother was a thief. She stole company files when she left. Information that could have destroyed everything I built. I spent years looking for those files. For her. For you."
Blood fills my mouth. I spit it at his feet. "Good. I hope she destroyed you."
He laughs. "She tried. Went to the FBI, wore a wire, gathered evidence. Very brave. Very stupid." His smile fades. "So I had her killed. Sent a message to anyone else who thought about betraying me."
Tears burn my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. "You're a monster."
"I'm a businessman. And you're my investment." Vincent pulls up a chair, sitting too close. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to tell me where your mother hid those files. Then you're going to work for me, learning the family business. Be the daughter I deserve."
"I'll die first."
"No, you won't. Because if you refuse, I'll start hurting the people you love. Starting with your little coffee shop friend." He pulls out his phone, shows me a live video feed.
Sophie. Still tied up, crying, but alive. A man stands behind her with a knife.
"One word from me, and he cuts her throat." Vincent's eyes are dead, empty. "Then we move to Kieran Thorne. Then your ex-boyfriend's new wife—your sister, wasn't it? I don't discriminate. Everyone you've ever cared about dies, one by one, while you watch."
My whole body shakes. "You're insane."
"I'm thorough." He stands, adjusting his suit. "You have one hour to think about it. Then I come back and you give me an answer. Choose wisely, Mira. This is the only offer you get."
He leaves, locking the heavy door behind him.
I'm alone in the gray room, tied to a chair, with one hour to decide between becoming a criminal or watching everyone I love die.
Think. I have to think.
The ropes are tight, but not impossible. I work my wrists, ignoring the burning pain as the rope cuts my skin. If I can just—
The door opens again.
But it's not Vincent. It's Marcus.
My ex-fiancé walks in looking uncomfortable, like he's at an awkward business meeting instead of my kidnapping. He won't meet my eyes.
"Marcus?" My voice is disbelief and rage mixed together. "What are you doing here?"
"I didn't know it would go this far." He finally looks at me, and I see guilt on his face. Real guilt. "Mira, I swear, I didn't know who Vincent really was."
"You sold me out!" I strain against the ropes. "You gave him information about me!"
"For money! I needed the investment for my development project!" Marcus runs his hands through his hair. "This man approached me six months ago. Said he was a private investigator looking for his long-lost daughter. Showed me photos of your mother. Said he just wanted to reconnect with family."
I can't believe what I'm hearing. "And you believed him?"
"He paid me fifty thousand dollars just for basic information! Your schedule, your habits, where you lived. It seemed harmless!" Marcus paces like a trapped animal. "Then he asked for more. Building layouts. Security routines. Who your friends were. The money kept getting bigger."
"How much?" My voice is deadly quiet. "How much was I worth to you?"
Marcus won't answer.
"HOW MUCH?"
"Two hundred thousand dollars." He says it quietly, ashamed. "Paid in installments over six months."
Two hundred thousand dollars. He sold me for less than the price of a nice house.
"I thought he just wanted to watch you from a distance," Marcus continues desperately. "Maybe send gifts. Reconnect slowly. Rich people do weird things, right? I didn't know he was planning to kidnap you!"
"You didn't ask." The words taste like poison. "You saw the money and you didn't care what happened to me."
"I needed that investment! After the engagement party, my reputation took a hit. People thought I was cruel. Projects fell through. I was desperate—"
"YOU WERE DESPERATE?" I scream so loud my throat tears. "I was homeless! Broke! Eating one meal a day because you drained our account! And you took blood money to make it worse?"
Marcus flinches. "I'm trying to make this right. That's why I'm here. I'm going to help you escape."
"I don't want your help! I want you to rot in prison!"
"Mira, please—"
"Did you know about Sophie? About them kidnapping my friend?"
His silence is my answer.
"Get out." My voice breaks. "Get out before I find a way to kill you myself."
"I brought backup." Marcus pulls out his phone. "I contacted Kieran Thorne before they moved you. Told him where Vincent's warehouse locations are. He's coming with his security team."
"You think that makes up for SELLING ME?"
The door crashes open. Vincent walks in with two armed men, his face twisted with rage.
"Marcus." Vincent's voice could freeze fire. "I thought I told you to stay away from my daughter."
Marcus backs toward the wall. "I was just checking on her. Making sure she was comfortable—"
"You were trying to be a hero." Vincent nods at his men. "Take him. He's no longer useful."
"Wait! No! We had a deal!" Marcus tries to run, but the men grab him easily. "You promised me the development contract! You promised!"
"I promised you money for information. You delivered. Now you're a liability." Vincent pulls out a gun, pressing it against Marcus's forehead. "This is what happens to people who betray me."
"Vincent, don't!" I don't know why I'm protecting Marcus. After everything he did, I should want him dead. But I can't watch another person die because of me.
Vincent looks at me, surprised. "You're defending him? After he sold you like livestock?"
"I'm not defending him. I just..." I swallow hard. "I don't want more blood on my hands. Please. Just let him go. He's not worth killing."
Vincent considers this. Then he lowers the gun. "You're more merciful than your mother. She would have shot him herself."
He gestures to his men. "Lock him in the basement. We'll decide what to do with him later."
Marcus is dragged away, screaming. "Mira! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
His voice echoes, then disappears.
Vincent turns back to me. "That man sold you for money. Kieran Thorne stalked you for years. Your sister stole your fiancé. Your friend Sophie probably has secrets too—everyone does." He leans close. "See what the world has done to you? Everyone you trust hurts you. Everyone takes from you."
"Not everyone," I whisper.
"No?" Vincent smiles coldly. "Then tell me, daughter. Who in your life hasn't betrayed you?"
I can't answer. Because the truth is, I don't know anymore.
Vincent's phone buzzes. He checks it, and his expression changes. "Well, well. Your boyfriend is even more resourceful than I thought. He found this location faster than expected."
Gunshots explode somewhere in the building. Men shouting. The sound of a fight getting closer.
"Time's up." Vincent grabs my chair, dragging it backward. "We're leaving through the back entrance. And Mira? If you scream, if you try to signal him, I'll have my men execute Sophie immediately. Understood?"
More gunshots. Closer now.
"MIRA!" Kieran's voice, distant but desperate. "MIRA, WHERE ARE YOU?"
Vincent presses a knife against my throat. "Not. A. Sound."
I hear Kieran kicking down doors. Searching. Getting closer to finding me.
Vincent's knife presses harder, drawing a thin line of blood.
And I have to decide: stay silent and go with my father to God knows where, or scream for help and watch Sophie die on a phone screen.
Kieran's footsteps are right outside the door now.
Vincent's knife bites deeper.
One second to choose.
One second that could cost everything.