Chapter 2

"Marcelo, I know you must have heard. I made a mistake by breaking our agreement. But I'm willing to make it right. I'll do whatever it takes to make things right with you."

Marcelo raised an eyebrow,

"What are you proposing?" he asked.

"I'll work for you," Francisco said. "I'll do whatever you need me to do. Just please, don't take Georgina away from me."

Marcelo leaned back in his chair, staring straight into the eyes of Francisco.

Marcelo sat in his leather armchair, puffing on his cigar while Francisco was nervously standing in silence across from him. After a long silence, Marcelo spoke up in a deep, serious voice.

"An agreement is an agreement amico," he said, letting out a plume of smoke.

Francisco swallowed hard and replied, "I will work for you, I will do anything you want."

Marcelo stood up from his chair, towering over Francisco. "What, do you think I am a beast?" he said, his eyes narrowing. "You don't think I am not capable of taking care of your daughter?"

Francisco shook his head frantically. "No, no, of course not. I just don't want my daughter to leave me now." he lied.

Marcelo took a step closer, still smoking his cigar. "Then you should have thought about that before you made the deal," he said firmly. "I expect you to honour your commitment within the next 48 hours, or there will be consequences and it’s not something you or your daughter would be alive to tell”.

Francisco, now trembling a bit, hung his head in defeat, knowing there was no arguing with Marcelo. He had made a deal with the devil, and now he would have to pay the price.

Francisco walked along the deserted street, his mind consumed with worry about how he was going to break the news to his daughter Georgina.

The night was chilly, and the only sounds were the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional distant car horn. He had just met with Marcelo, and he had to keep his end of the deal which could potentially change he and Georgina’s lives forever.

A secret agreement that made Francisco's heart heavy with guilt. He had promised Marcelo that if there was any breach of the agreement, he would hand over Georgina to Marcelo. It was a deal he had made without her knowledge, and now he was regretting it.

As he walked, Francisco's thoughts were racing. How could he have made such a deal?. Didn’t he know that there was always a possibility of things going south? How could he betray his own daughter like that? He had always been a man of his word, but this time he had gone too far.

He reached his doorstep, and his hand trembled as he fumbled with the key. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, the warmth of the house enveloping him. He took a deep breath and walked into the living room, where Georgina was sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Hi, Dad, you work for him now? She asked with a frown..

Francisco sat across from his daughter Georgina, his heart heavy with regret. He knew that what he was about to say would be difficult to hear, but it was something he had to do.

"Georgina, there's something I need to tell you," he began, taking a deep breath.

Georgina looked at him, sensing his unease. "What is it?" She asked

 "The day we went to see Marcelo to borrow the money for our winery, there was a clause to the deal that you aren't aware of”

Georgina looked at him quizzically, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What kind of clause?"

Francisco hesitated, then took a deep breath. "Marcelo asked for me to hand you over to him if the deal goes sour, and I agreed to it."

Georgina's mouth dropped open in shock, and for a moment, there was silence in the room. She stared at her father, trying to process what he had just said.

"Hand me over?" she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. "What does that even mean?"

Francisco looked at her, his expression sad. "It means that if there was any breach of the agreement, I would have to give you to him and we have to do this within the next 2 days. I made the deal without your knowledge, and I'm so sorry."

Georgina stared at her father, her mind racing. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could her own father make such a deal? How could he even consider handing her over to someone else? Especially a man with numerous killings and deaths rumoured to him.

"Why would you do that, Dad?" she asked, her voice shaking. "How could you even think about giving me away?"

Francisco hung his head, feeling ashamed. "I don't know, Georgina. I don't know what came over me. I was just too confident we were going to pull it off and I ignorantly accepted. It was a mistake, and I'm so sorry."

Georgina sat there, her eyes filled with tears. She didn't know what to say or how to react. She felt betrayed and hurt, and she couldn't believe that her own father had made such a deal without her knowledge.

 "I need some time to think." Georgina said slightly.

Francisco nodded, his own eyes filled with tears. He watched his daughter walk out of the room, her words ringing in his ears. He knew that he had hurt his daughter deeply, and he didn't know if he could ever make it up to her. All he could do was hope that one day, she would forgive him.

Georgina sat alone in her room, her mind racing with thoughts and emotions. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She knew that getting worked up would only make things worse. She needed to think clearly and logically.

She couldn't believe what her father had told her, and she was struggling to come to terms with it.

"How could my father do this to me?" she thought, her heart heavy with hurt and betrayal. She had always trusted her father, and now he had made a deal that put her in potential danger.

But as much as Georgina was hurt, she also knew that there was no point dwelling on it. It was already done, and there was nothing she could do to change it. She needed to come up with a solution, but what was the solution?

Georgina knew that she couldn't run away with her father. It would only put a target on their backs, and she knew that Marcelo would do anything to find them. She couldn't put her family in danger like that.

"I can't run from this," she thought, her mind racing with possibilities.

Georgina knew that she needed to confront Marcelo and try to reason with him. Maybe she could convince him otherwise.