Chapter 4

~FREYA~

He stood before me like he owned the air in the room.

Tall. Broad shoulders wrapped in black, sleeves rolled to his forearms like he hadn’t even bothered pretending this was a crime of passion. The lights revealed his face fully now, those amber eyes instantly locked with mine and my chest stuttered painfully.

I was right. It was the man from that night. The man I paid and ran from. He's the freaking kidnapper.

“What do you think you're doing? I already paid you your money in full, didn't I?” I yelled, struggling against the restraints.

After breaking into my room, the asshole had the audacity to knock me out and cuff me to a bed I didn't recognize.

His cold eyes dragged over me slowly, taking in the restraints, the fear I couldn’t fully hide, the tremor in my hands.

“You paid for one night,” he said calmly. “You didn’t pay to disappear.”

I laughed, brittle and shaking. “Are you insane? Untie me right now or I swear…”

“Or what?” he interrupted softly, stepping closer. “You’ll scream? You’ll call the police? Your guards?” His lips tilted faintly. “They’re busy. And you’re safe. For now.”

Safe.

The word tasted bitter.

“You broke into my room,” I spat. “You knocked me out and took me against my will. This is kidnapping.”

Atlas leaned down until his face was inches from mine, his voice dropping. “If I wanted to hurt you, Freya, you wouldn’t be awake.”

My heart slammed violently against my ribs. “Then why am I here? Do you want more money? I can give it to you! Just let me go and stay the hell away from me.”

His brows furrowed like the words displeased him. “Did you already forget what I told you that night?”

I blinked at him. What the hell is he talking about?

“You are mine, Snowflake. I am not letting you go.”

I let out a slow, bitter laugh. “You're joking right?” I searched his eyes for any sign that this was a prank but there was nothing. He was dead serious. “This… this isn't a prank.”

“It's not.”

I batted my lashes, perplexed. “What do you want from me then? Do you harass all your clients like this?”

He stepped away from me. “Let's get one thing straight. I am not a call boy, nor a stripper. I am a business man who values his time and takes every interaction seriously.”

It was at that moment it finally clicked.

Atlas Cade.

The billionaire everyone whispered about. The ghost investor. The man whose face never appeared in magazines because he was always behind a mask. He had multi-billion dollar empires and compared to him, my family was just a small fry. I couldn't pay him even if I offered my entire networth.

I wanted to deny that it was him. He couldn't have just casually walked into a club and taken interest in a paralyzed woman.

“I don't know what you're thinking but you're the first woman to awaken my interest in a very long time. And I'm not just going to let you slip through my fingers.”

His bluntness startled me. Atlas Cade was interested in me? Why? What was there to be interested in?

My eyes narrowed. Why did this seem awfully familiar?

“You’re not one of those assholes who find random women, trick them into contract marriages and abuse them till they take their lives, are you?” I asked suspiciously.

A low breathless chuckle escaped his lips. “On the contrary, I am not interested in marriage. I find the idea of forever rather fickle. I just want to sleep with you.”

The words landed like a slap.

I stared at him, disbelief burning through the fear. “That’s it?” I scoffed. “You kidnap me because you want sex?”

Atlas didn’t flinch. “I brought you here because you ran.” His gaze sharpened. “And I don’t like unfinished business.”

“I don’t owe you anything,” I snapped. “Whatever happened that night was a transaction.”

“Was it?” he asked quietly.

He turned away, moving to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Miami glowed beneath us, neon lights, glittering water, a city alive and ignorant of the fact that I was trapped above it.

“Three months, that's all I want with you,” he said, his eyes locking with mine through the glass. “After that, you're free to leave. During this period, you are solely my responsibility. I will give you anything you need, power, attention, money, loyalty, name it…” he turned to me. “What do you say, Snowflake?”

“How about no, thank you?” I shot back. “I don't want your money or loyalty. I just want to get off this bed and continue with my vacation.”

He didn't seem pissed or irritated at all. “Fine, let's try another way. Are you aware that you are no longer the major shareholder in your father's company?”

My breath hitched. “What? That… that can't be right…”

“Are you also aware that half of your family assets have been sold off under your signature?” He went on. I began shaking my head.

“You're… you're lying… Do you think I'm a fool? That I'll just believe you just because you said it?” I spat. “You are really despicable!”

“Perhaps you should think back to what documents you've been signing over the last three years,” he pushed his hands into his pockets. “Or better still, why don't I put your lawyer on the line so you can have a lovely chat with him. Ask who the true owner of Taylor Holdings is.”

My heart hammered hard against my chest. God, please let this be a joke.

“You see I've been watching you for quite a while, Freya. I was curious to know what kind of woman was mindlessly signing away her family's life work for Peanuts. But then I realized you were just a trusting love-stricken puppy,” A taunting smile crossed his lips. “Your boyfriend sold off half of your father's empire. Did you not realize that when your lawyer listed the remaining assets you wanted to transfer?”

I opened my mouth but no words came out. He was right. I hadn't thought about it when Attorney Williams said the properties were worth a hundred and sixty billion but our net worth was over seven hundred billion.

“He… he couldn't have…” I whispered, even though memories of Edward presenting different documents for me to sign under the disguise of investments sprang in my head. Back then, I trusted him so much that I didn't even bother to read.

Oh God! My chest squeezed so tight that a painful gasp fell off my lips.

“Like I said, I'm willing to give it all back in exchange for three months with you, or you could simply buy everything back. I'm willing to sell with a fifty percent profit, of course…” my eyes widened and he threw me a small smile. “It's business, darling. Don’t look at me like that. At the end of day, it's your choice. So think carefully.”

My eyes watered. How on earth could I have let this happen?