CRYSTAL'S POV
Today is my eighteenth birthday.
And no one cares.
Not really. My parents didn't remember until I reminded them this morning, their smiles hollow, their words flat. My sister, the golden child, didn't even glance at me. She's always been the favorite, the one who mattered. And me? I've learned to disappear, to shrink, to fade into the background. Because in this house, I have always been invisible.
I sit on the edge of my bed, staring at the cracked ceiling. Sunlight streams through the blinds, casting stripes across the floor, dust motes dancing in the golden light. My birthday cake sits on the desk, half-eaten, frosting smeared where my mother carelessly set it down. I blow out the candle quietly, whispering a wish I don't even believe in anymore—a wish for someone to see me, to care about me, to love me.
No one does.
The only person who ever truly cared… my brother… is gone. Three years ago, he died, leaving a hollow ache inside me that has never been filled. I remember his laugh, the way he would squeeze my hand when I was scared, telling me I was brave, that I mattered. He was the only one who ever made me feel alive. Without him, I am nothing. Invisible. Unnoticed. Forgotten.
I hug my knees to my chest, pressing my face to them. My room, once my sanctuary, feels tiny, suffocating. Memories of my childhood flood my mind the times my parents yelled at me for the smallest mistakes, the way my sister would mock me while they laughed along, the way I learned to hide in corners so I wouldn't be noticed.
And now… today… everything is about to get worse.
The front door slams downstairs. My pulse spikes. Footsteps heavy, deliberate echo through the house.
I press my face further into my knees, trying to make myself invisible. But the fear is overwhelming. My parents' frantic whispers reach me: "five million… debt… Ace…"
Ace. The name alone makes my blood run cold. Ace DeLuca, the Italian mafia don, feared across continents. Ruthless. Untouchable. And now… he is here.
I peek through the blinds, my stomach twisting violently. Men in dark suits move with precision, coordinated, silent but threatening. My chest pounds. My hands shake. I feel like a trapped animal, and there's nowhere to run.
Footsteps climb the stairs. Then his voice low, commanding, impossible to ignore floats up:
"Where's the money?"
My parents stammer, panic dripping from their words. "We… we don't have it… we can't.."
Ace's voice drops, sharp as steel, in Italian:
"Non mi interessa. Troverete un modo." ( I dont care ,you would find a way)
We didn't understand what he said because we are not Italians but I know whatever he said was not good
My mother freezes. My father gulps.
My chest tightens. Panic coils in my stomach. Their eyes shift to me. And then my mother whispers, trembling, words that pierce my heart:
"You… you could… give him Crystal."
I freeze. My name Crystal James. My body feels heavy, my heart twisting violently. My parents… my own parents… are offering me, their daughter, to settle a debt.
"No… no…" My voice is broken, trembling. Tears sting my eyes. I want to scream, to disappear, to vanish completely. But there is nowhere to go.
Ace laughs. Low. Dangerous. Like the sound of a predator enjoying the fear of its prey. At first, he looks at me with nothing but disdain.
"You? Hmph. I don't want you," he mutters in Italian, voice like ice:
"Non voglio questa ragazza. Ma… forse può servire."
"I don't want this girl… but… maybe she can serve."
Whatever he said tasted like poison . My hands clench at my knees, my body trembling. My pulse is deafening in my ears. My eighteenth birthday the one day I should have felt special is turning into a nightmare I cannot escape.
He steps closer, his eyes scanning me, cold and calculating. I can feel his power pressing against me, unyielding, merciless. Then he speaks again, slow, deliberate:
"I'll give you six months. Six months to pay me back. If you don't…" His gaze pins me to the wall. "…you die. Then I come back for my money. Capisce?"
"Do you understand?" he says in Italian, letting the words linger in the air like a blade.
I squeeze my knees tighter, rocking slightly, trying to make myself smaller. My heart feels like it will burst. My room, my sanctuary, is gone. My parents' whispers have stopped. Their fear is palpable. I am powerless.
I remember my brother again—the warmth of his hand, the safety in his voice, the light of his laughter. I clutch that memory desperately. I need courage I don't have.
Footsteps grow louder downstairs. The faint metallic click of a gun holster sends shivers through me. Ace's men are moving with lethal precision. My parents are whispering frantically, but I know the decision has been made. There is no turning back.
The door to the living room creaks open. Heavy air fills the hallway. Shadows stretch across the floor like claws. My pulse is deafening. My body trembles.
I want to scream. I want to run. But there is nowhere to go. I am trapped, helpless. And the man who controls my fate… is here.
Today… I will pay my parents' debt.
And I have no idea how I am supposed to survive.