Chapter 3

“N… no sir, I'm not,” she stuttered, her shoulders tensed as she stood frozen in shock.

“Who the hell are you? What the fuck are you doing in my house?” He asked slowly, breathing heavily to control his anger.

Her chest heaved as she replied, “Sir, I… I… I…”

He clicked his tongue and cut in, “You better give me a damn straight answer.”

Two dangerous-looking men slowly pranced towards them. Isabelle turned to them as she swallowed in fear; the zip-lock bag fell out of her hand.

She quickly bent and picked it up before stretching it to Andrew.

“Sir, I was sent by my uncle to deliver this file to you,” she rushed, her hands trembling.

He narrowed his eyes at her, his jaw clenched in restrained fury. “What file?”

The venom in his tone sent a jolt of terror through her. A panicked gasp tore from her throat as her hands flinched, sending the file flying from her grasp and scattering papers across the floor, again.

As she bent down to pick up the files, she noticed that all the papers were blank.

“Did… I take the wrong file?” she asked herself. “I'm so dead when I get home,” she thought out loud.

“Throw this disgusting hoodie hag out of here, and someone gets me on the phone with Mr. Moner. I must get to the bottom of this trickery,” Andrew ordered as he turned to walk away.

“No, sir, please wait! I can't go back. My uncle will kill me. He said not to return home if I can't please the client,” Isabelle pleaded as she held his leg, stopping him from leaving.

Two men grabbed her and pulled her up. She refused to let go of Andrew, and he stared down at her in disgust as he shook his leg.

She knew Alejandro and Margaret were not kidding when they said she'd see hell if she came back without pleasing the client.

“Hey… let go of me,” Andrew squeaked.

“Please, sir, just hear me out. I can explain,” she pleaded, tugging his slacks harder, making them pull down his waist, making them hang low.

“Listen, girl… trust me, you can’t,” he growled.

Isabelle stayed persistent as she held him harder, looking at his soft slacks. Andrew was furious.

He gritted his teeth as he growled, “I will kill you, girl!” He grabbed her hoodie on her shoulders and yanked her up.

Isabelle bit her bottom lip and yelped in discomfort as she faced Andrew. He bashed her shoulders against the wall, and she threw her head back, letting out a gasp, and her hoodie fell off, leaving her dark brown, soft, wavy hair falling all over her.

Andrew crossed his brow as he sighted her face. He softened his grip on her shoulders, and she placed her hand on his, as she groaned in pain.

“Sir… ouch…” she winced as she almost crumbled to the ground.

Andrew caught her other arm and held her steady.

He swallowed as she looked up and locked eyes with him. His lips parted as he gaped at her for a while.

He instantly shook it off. No one noticed it, but for him, at that moment, it was like the world slowed down. He stepped back, and she bent to pick up the files. His guards grabbed her and were about to pull her away.

“Let her go,” he ordered as he pushed the guards away from her. He sighed as he ran his hand over his hair. “Alejandro had tried to trick me, but I want to hear what she has to say.”

Isabelle licked her lips as she got ready to speak, even though she avoided his gaze, which was fixed on her lips.

“Yes… I'm waiting,” he said softly as he feigned impatience, though he was quite intrigued, and he would give her all the time to talk.

He placed his hands in his pockets and rested his back on the wall as he stared at her, his front teeth closing in on his bottom lip as he looked at her from head to toe.

“Sir, hmm, I… My uncle said,” she stuttered.

“Speak, girl! I don't have all day,” his muscles tensed as he growled in impatience.

“My uncle said I had to deliver files to Mr. Andrew Sebriano. He said that they were confidential, so I didn't open the bag. I had no idea that I'd taken the wrong bag,” she explained.

Andrew was perplexed by her naivety. “How could someone be this stupid?” He thought to himself as he watched her narrate, oblivious of who he was and where she was, looking this vulnerable.

Immediately Andrew heard the word “confidential,” he knew exactly what was going on. He could tell Alejandro had tried to trick not just him but Isabelle too. “Are you really Alejandro's niece?” He asked as a look of reluctant sympathy filled his eyes.

“Yes, I am, Sir. He is my Dad's younger brother.”

Andrew was furious. Even though he didn't have a lot of people in his life, he knew the importance of family.

“Louie, get my car ready,” he ordered as he walked inside his house and came out wearing a jacket that matched the color of his pants, and he held a shotgun.

Isabelle's eyes grew wide as she saw the gun, and she stepped back when he brushed past her, his jaw locked in fury.

“Get in,” he gestured as he opened the passenger seat door of his onyx black sports car.

She was frozen to a spot, and when he ground his jaw, with his eyes locked in hers, she was forced to walk slowly towards the car.

He closed it as she entered, and he got in the driver's seat and zoomed off.

As he drove into Alejandro's estate, Isabelle began to panic. The fear of her uncle that grew with her from childhood made her no longer scared of the man with the gun, but what her uncle would do to them.

“Sir, please just turn around now and let me face my hell alone,” she pleaded, still unaware of what he was capable of.

“What do you mean by that?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, sir, my uncle is not a good person as he appears to be on the news; he's a monster.”

Andrew let out a smirk as he remembered how timid Alejandro was when he came to his house. “Please don't make me laugh. That man is a monster?”

Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at him before a wave of pity knocked that expression off her face. “Sir, you don't know the kind of man my uncle is.”

He smiled at her as he parked the car. “Let's go,” he growled.

Reluctant Isabelle slowly got out of the car.

“Why are you so scared?” he asked.

“Sir, my uncle…”

He interrupted, “Do you have no idea who I am?”

Scared, Isabelle slowly shook her head.

“Alright,” he smiled. “Come with me,” he said as he grabbed her hand, pulling her along.

As they got past the front door, Isabelle blinked as she stared at the side of his face. His whole countenance had changed; his eyes were blood red as anger stirred up within him.

Isabelle wondered if he was the same person she had been in the car with… his aura had changed as if he could take down a lion at this point.

She swallowed as he turned to her.

“No one here?” He asked, tightening his grip around the shotgun in his hand.

His stern voice and the cold look in his eyes made her stutter, “Th…the door on your left.”

He turned towards the door and noticed that Isabelle was slowing him down. He let go of her hand and stormed towards the door she pointed at.

“Alejandro! You bastard!” he growled as he kicked the door open.