Chapter 3: Sold by My Father

[Juliette's POV]

Yesterday… 

“Miss Lux, we’ve landed safely at the U.R.T. International Airport. The time is nine in the evening….” 

I unbuckled the belt, looked out of the window and sighed in nostalgia. Ah…, I miss Bora Bora already. The turquoise waters and the clear blue sky flashed across my mind, and I could still feel the warm salty breeze on my cheeks. 

Four days is not enough for a graduation trip, not for the daughter of the richest man in the Republic. But for the new CEO of Lux Corp, it's just nice, I thought with a tired yawn and a lazy smile of satisfaction. I'm ready to start work at the office, Papa. 

Hmm? I leaned forward, squinting to make sense of the dark forms through the misty glass pane. 

It took a second, but I saw what they were: men—two of them—in black suits and shades, standing erect in a soldier’s stance. As the plane swerved to a complete stop, I saw three more. 

Bodyguards, I concluded silently. Papa must have sent them; he always said that it's better to be safe than sorry, as the sole daughter of the richest man in the Republic, I’m a constant target for kidnappers. A warm and rosy feeling rose in my chest. It feels good to be back. 

Hang on—since when do they wear shades? An ominous feeling rose inside me. None of our staff wears shades, not even under the hot sun, cause Papa prefers to have eye contact with everyone. 

The eyes are the windows to the soul, Julie. Keep them open, and you’ll know when something sinister is lurking, his voice echoed in my ears.

A streak of chill shot up my spine. Those are not our bodyguards.

I jumped up and bolted for the exit. Amy, the air stewardess, was opening the hatch. 

"Amy! Don't open it!" I eyed her hand on the handle and reached out to grab hold of it. 

But the deadly thud of the freed latch punched me like a gunshot, and Amy smiled brightly at me in oblivion, "Yes, Miss Lux? Don't open what?"

I shoved her aside and hastily grabbed the handle to fasten the—. 

The door burst open, throwing me and Amy to the ground, and an army of black suits strewn in with thundering footsteps. 

There was no time for screams of horror. I recovered almost instantly and demanded threateningly, even though I was shaking inside. "What's the meaning of this! You’re trespassing on private property! You have no business —." 

A rain of clicks stopped me mid-sentence. Then ten guns pointed at me. Terror gripped my throat, fear scorched my back as I stared blankly at the black rings of death. I dare not breathe, in case I triggered the firing squad. 

Is this some kind of robbery? I wondered in a frenzy. Where the hell is my security! Why did they let these people in! 

It was then, the two men directly before me moved aside, and a guy with a ponytail in a slick navy suit stepped through. 

He reached out a hand to me but I ignored it and glared back with apprehension. "What makes you think you can barge in here with guns! Do you know who I am?" 

"Miss Juliette Lux," he answered politely with a gentleman's smile. "A pleasure to meet you, I'm Ben Smith." He shook his hand, urging me to take it.  

"I don't care who you are, I'm giving you three counts to get the fuck off my plane."

"Ah, this is no longer your plane, Miss Lux," Ben corrected with a light chuckle. "Excuse me, for a moment. Guns down,” he ordered the black suits. “I said, Guns! Down!" 

I swallowed as another splatter of clicks filled the air. With the guns out of sight, fresh air rushed into my lungs to catch up with the erratic pounding in my head. 

From the corner of my eye, Amy was trembling in pure fright. 

No time for pep talk, I told myself, we need to escape! I jolted to a stand and glared at the smiling intruder. "You can't do anything without proof or permit," I demanded angrily. "Now get out or I'm calling my security—."

Ben cleared his throat in embarrassment—for me. "Those men are with us now, Miss Lux. They no longer follow your orders—or Mr. Lux's." 

What? I blinked in disbelief. The pounding in my head grew stronger. Those guys betrayed Papa? Is there some kind of a war going on–?

Ben persuaded gently, "You need to come with me, Miss Lux. You're actually late for your meeting with our boss—the new owner of this plane, your men—and Lux Corp."

Lux Corp has a new owner? No…, my limbs went cold. It can’t be. My world was spinning. This is bullshit! I haven’t heard a word of it! No one called me at Bora Bora! 

"I'm the new CEO of Lux Corp!" I clenched into two fists. "Don’t you shit me! And get your hands off me! I'm not going anywhere with you!" I slapped away his persistent hand. 

Stealthily, I scanned the crowd, and caught sight of a tiny gap between two guys next to Ben. If I could slip through that—.

"We’re not asking, Miss Lux," Ben's voice stabbed my thoughts. "We were given specific instructions: any refusal, shoot on sight.” 

The guns were back up in an inhale, and I froze again, my escape plans vanished into thin air. This time, I could almost feel a bullet through my body, and rancid fluid shot up to the roof of my throat. 

Ben gave me a sympathetic look and gently urged me to follow him. 

I swallowed hard and took his hand. 

*****

BANG! I slammed the contract on the table and stood, shooting an infuriating finger at the thief who's stolen my father’s multi-billion dollar business empire. “I don’t believe any of this! You forced my father to sign it!”

Ralph Virtus stared at me in the same bored expression that he had since I entered his office, the highest floor of the Virtus headquarters building.

At his silence, his lawyer jumped in to explain on his behalf. “Miss Lux, I was present at the signing of this contract between Mr. Lux and Mr. Virtus. I assure you, Mr. Lux was definitely not forced. He gave everything to Mr. Virtus—including his staff, and you.” 

“You!” I spun around glaring at the bespectacled fifty-year-old lawyer, who had been my father’s law consultant for twenty five years—and his friend for thirty. He, too, looked at me with indifference as I hurled accusations at him. “How dare you betray my father, Uncle Jerry! You two were friends!” 

Uncle Jerry replied calmly “It’s because I’m his friend, so I'm telling you to do as Mr. Virtus says. For your father's sake, Juliette.” 

I chuckled sarcastically. “You expect me to believe that my father—a Lux—-would owe someone a debt? A Virtus, no less!” I spat in disgust.

“Your father admitted it. I didn't lie to you, Julie.” 

“What's the debt then? Why are there no details about it? And don’t you dare call me that again! You're no longer a friend of the family!” I gripped into tight fists, bitter resentment searing my cheeks. 

I swung back to face the thief, and my annoyance with him grew exponentially: firstly, he looks damn hot; secondly, he’s the enemy so I’m not allowed to find him hot; thirdly, he’s made for the MMA arena, yet he’s in a suit pretending to be a businessman. 

The Lux Corp would be gone in a day with you as the CEO, I sneered silently at him, and then demanded, “Where’s my father? I want to see him!” 

Again, very peacefully, Uncle Jerry placed a brown envelope on top of the contract. “Here’s the truth, Miss Lux. Every detail of it.” I snatched the envelope off the table as the old man added, “Mr. Virtus did this for you, out of his kindness and generosity, of course.” 

I scoffed a mockery and tipped the envelope, its contents splayed across the contract—some photographs, a medical report, and a police report. An ominous feeling sank deep into me as I saw Papa’s name on the medical report, and his silhouette in one of the photos. 

My trembling hand reached for a photo where he was resting in what appears to be a hospital bed. I traced his heavily bandaged body, noting the numerous tubes coming out of his body. A tear rolled down my cheek. 

“What has he done to you to deserve this?” I whispered shakily.

“Mr. Virtus didn’t do this, Miss Lux,” the lawyer replied softly. 

My face jerked up, my view misty with angry tears. “Who else could it be!” 

“Your father has many enemies,” the lawyer began and then paused when his new employer raised a hand. 

Ralph Virtus finally spoke in a luscious, deep voice. “If you're as good as your father's description, then you'd know that I gain nothing from his accident.” His brown eyes rolled down at the police report. 

I yanked it off the table and read it. Every word multipled my disappointment. After the last word, I crushed the papers, plonked back into my seat, and buried my face in a palm of crumpled documents. 

The report said that Ralph Virtus was at a meeting with the Lux Corp shareholders when the cargo truck crashed into Papa while he was driving.

So Ralph Virtus has an alibi, and Papa had indeed sold his entire fortune—the one that my family had spent generations amassing—to cover the debt which he owed; a debt which no one knew. 

“I understand that this is a tough time for you,” Uncle Jerry began. 

“Where’s my mother then?” I interjected and glared through my fogged gaze at the man who now owned my company.

He chuckled mockingly, shaking his head. “I’m not that interested in your family, Miss Lux.” He shrugged nonchalantly at my glare.

My eyes trickled back to the photos of Papa and his medical report. “I need to see Papa.” 

“You will,” Ralph Virtus’s deep voice spoke in a dangerous tone. “After the wedding.” 

*****

At present… 

My knees finally buckled. Hastily, I dropped into the chair beside the hospital bed, my eyes fixed on my comatose father. I clutched the bed linen, letting my anger strangle my knuckles till they paled, biting my lip to force back the explosion of tears. 

Mustering a smile, I leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I kept your promise, Papa.” I raised my right hand, and a pink diamond ring gleamed exquisitely in the afternoon sun.  

My view was misty again. I sniffed hard, and the handsome face of austere coldness sprung into my mind. My smile turned genuine. “You sure picked a good one, Papa. He’s a smart, tall, handsome mafia—and an incredible pain in the ass—exactly my type."

The police report pushed that brief moment of happiness away. My tone grew serious. “I know you were forced to sign it, Papa. I’ll find out the real truth, and I’ll take everything back. We don’t owe debts, and no one steals from us,” I muttered. “Not even a Virtus.”

A firm knock, and I jolted upright as our family doctor entered, subtly touching the damp corners of my eyes and said, “How’s my father, Doctor Rose?” 

Instead of her usual warm smile, the doctor avoided my gaze as though we'd never met. “Miss Juliette Lux,” she reported, flipping the papers of her chart. “Your father will be discharged this instant.” 

My smile melted into a grim line. “Discharged?” I turned to my father all bandaged up and hooked onto various beeping machines, then swung back to the stone expression and pressed for its sympathy, “Does he look fully recovered to you?”