CHAPTER ONE : THE DEVIL'S APPEARANCE

I rushed down the stairs to meet my parents in the living room. I hadn't expected to see them pacing back and forth, and the tense, distressed look on their faces immediately set off alarms in my mind.

​"Mom? Dad?" I called out.

​They both jolted and spun around. It was obvious they hadn't noticed my presence until that exact moment.

​"What's going on, Dad?" I asked, cutting off my own question as the low rumble of engines echoed from outside. Stepping toward the window, I peeked through the blinds and saw numerous cars parked outside in our driveway.

​"Who are they? Did you guys happen to get the money to order all these cars?" I asked, completely confused. Deep down, I knew better; given our current financial situation, we couldn't afford anything expensive.

​I searched for answers on their faces, but Dad turned away, his expression twisted in pain. Mom, on the other hand, had gone completely pale. She walked slowly toward me, took my hands in hers, and squeezed them gently.

​"Melissa dear, no matter what happens..." Mom began, her eyes burning into mine. From the trembling tone of her voice, I could tell something was profoundly wrong. Mom never sounded like that.

​"What’s happening, Mom? You’re scaring me!"

​"I know, baby, but please remember that we will always be there for you, whenever you need us," she said. "Even though we are not rich anymore, we are happy to have you in our lives. Your dad and I love each other very much, and you are the absolute heart of that love."

​As confused as I was by what was terrifying them so deeply, I wanted answers.

​"Dad, will you not say anything?"

​I looked up at him, but before he could open his mouth to say a word, the front door burst open.

A group of hefty, heavily tattooed men trooped straight into our living room. They held firearms, and their collective aura was suffocatingly intimidating.

Mom instinctively shoved me behind her back, shielding me from view.

​Are they here to kill us? What did we do?

Frantically, my eyes subconsciously trying to count them. I quickly lost track because they were so many. They completely surrounded us , positioning themselves in a perfect but deadly formation.

​The heavy sound of footsteps echoed towards the door, and a final figure made his appearance at the door.

​He was exceptionally tall, with dark, curly hair falling across the left side of his face. His sleeves were rolled up tightly, and the top buttons of his shirt were left undone, revealing his lightly haired chest.

He wore sleek, sparkling black leather pants, and a cigarette hung from his lips as he puffed out clouds of thick smoke.

​Who the hell is this guy? I muttered to myself, fuming. Gosh, I hate the smell of cigarettes! I lifted my right hand and tightly covered my nostrils.

​The other men were intimidating, but this man's presence was outright terrifying. A forceful, dark power seemed to emanate from him from the very moment he walked in. He moved like he owned the entire world. Instantly, the armed men bowed their heads respectfully.

​"Master," they murmured in unison.

​"Do you have my package ready?" his voice thundered. It sounded strong yet strangely sweet, deep and heavily mature. He stepped forward, stood face to face with my father, blowed a cloud of smoke directly onto his face.

​"Sir Damian, the...i..i..i..uhm.... mm... I-I..." Dad stammered, completely unable to form a coherent sentence. I would never forget the sheer look of agonizing pain and helplessness on his face.

"Don't waste my time."

​Damian's tone dropped into a dangerously quiet register, as if he had no patience left to waste.

​Suddenly, his gaze shifted directly to me. His cold, calculating eyes sent a violent shiver straight down my spine.

​"What package is he talking about?" I whispered directly into my mother's ear.

​"Keep quiet, Melissa," she whispered back.

​ Damian scrutinized my body from where I stood, his eyes lingering with an unsettling intensity. Beside him, a few of his men smirked. A wave of deep shame and terror washed over me. I didn't fully understand what was happening, but I instantly knew we were done for.

​"Hey! stop, She's my daughter, and you will not look at her in that way!"

​Damian did not even flinched. Like what dad said has no effect on him.

​"I am not concerned with whatever the hell you are!" Dad continued, his voice shaking but furious. "But you will not do anything stupid to my daughter, you got that!"

​"That's just so funny, Raymond!" Damian laughed slightly, as if what my father had said was the funniest joke he had ever heard.

​Who the hell is this psycho? I thought.

​"You're in debt to me, Ray." Damian blurted out, his expression instantly shifted into a very threatening, dead serious stare."

"I would rather not waste my time on you, I am here

for something of mine that you are holding onto."

"Hand over your daughter."

​My brain shut down immediately. I glanced at Dad, but he only sighed in utter frustration. He walked over to me and held me tightly against himself.

​"Hey, baby, I'm so sorry," Dad whispered. "I'm so sorry things had to come to this point, but I need you to be a brave girl, okay?"

​"What's happening?" I asked, looking up at him with puppy eyes. Tears welled up in my eyes immediately, because I knew he recognized that look; it always told him I was terrified and confused.

​"You'll be living with Sir Damian for a couple of months until I come to get you back," he said.

​"But Dad, I like it here with you and Mom! Why?" I looked over at Mom. "You know that, Mom! Why are you sending me to live with him?"

​He looked so terrifying. My heart bolted as I rolled my eyes around the room, taking in Damian and his men.

​"What a scene!" one of damian's men interjected dramatically, a cruel smile spreading across his face.

"So she has no idea that she is been given out by her own parents to master damian, Poor thing." The bodyguard muttered silently.

​"What?! Dad, tell me that's not true!" I voiced out aggressively.

​"No! That's not it, Melissa!" Mom cried out, already weeping as Dad tried to convince me.

"We would never do such a thing to you! He threatened to take you away from us, that you are what he wants in return for his payments."

​"And you agreed to it?" I asked, completely shocked.

​"Don't hate us, Melissa! We would never want such a thing for you, sweetheart! Please!" Mom and Dad begged in unison.

​"Enough! Take her!" Damian commanded his men.

​"What?! No!" I protested, holding a tight grip on my mother. "I'm not going with you!" I shouted.

​Two of his men strode toward me and pulled me away from my mom, completely ignoring the tight grip I held on her. One of them hoisted me up onto his shoulder.

I fought back with everything I had, but to no avail; he was far too strong and hefty for me. Tears were already streaming down my cheeks.

​"Leave me alone! Let me go!" I continued screaming and fighting on his shoulder, but it didn't shake him at all.

​My parents hugged each other tightly. I could see the tears they had been holding back finally find it way slowly down their cheeks, but they could do nothing this time around. My parents had always had my back they would never let anything bad happen to me but at this point, it was a completely helpless situation.

​"No! Stop! Don't take her, take me instead!" Mom suddenly roared.

"She's in this situation because of me! If I didn't need the money for my heart surgery, you'd have no reason to take her. So take me instead! Let me pay the debt myself!"

​Mom pulled out of Dad's arms, knelt on the floor behind Sir Damian, and held his feet, crying bitterly.

​"Mom!" I voiced out.

​"Get off my feet, woman!" Damian barked angrily and rudely shoved my mother to the ground.

​I felt a sharp pain pierce through my heart as I watched my mom being pushed to the floor.

Yet, she crawled right back up and held his feet again.

​"Please, Sir Damian, she's my only daughter! Don't take her away from me," Mom begged bitterly. "I promise we'll pay you back, please!"

​I could only watch and cried because there was absolutely nothing I could do.

​"Too late, woman. I'm taking her!" Damian retorted sharply.

​Mom tried to touch his feet one more time, and that was when a deafening gunshot shattered through the air.

​"Mom!" I let out a bitter cry.

​Damian had pulled the trigger on her.

I watched in horror as her lifeless body fell to the floor.

​He calmly wiped his gun with a clean white handkerchief and tugged it back into its position, as if killing someone meant absolutely nothing to him.