Chapter One

Rose Alexandria Sinclair;

It was midnight—the hour when debts are paid in blood. My blood ran cold, goosebumps rising as I watched them beat the life out of my pa.

“Stop!” I cried, dropping to my knees. Tears poured down my face, my lips trembling with the pain tearing through me. “Please…I’ll pay the bills! Just don’t kill him!” I begged, every word a plea from the depths of my soul.

One of them turned, an eyebrow raised, a mocking smile on his lips. “You’ll pay? Is that so?” He sneered, glancing at my father. “Desmond, you didn’t tell us your daughter was rich… alright, sweetheart. Five million—cash. Right now.”

“Five million? Pa?!” I screamed, my voice breaking with frustration. “What the hell were you doing with five million!? You owe them that much?” I shook my head, ruffling my hair, my heart pounding in my chest. Panic clawed at me, the room spinning as I tried to make sense of it all.

One of the men laughed darkly, the sound sending a chill down my spine. “Five million doesn’t come easy, sweetheart. Your daddy's debts are much bigger than you can handle.”

“Please!” I pleaded, voice cracking. “I— I have a thousand dollars... Will that do?” My hand shook as I reached into my pocket, offering up the little I had left.

The man’s eyes bored into me, his smirk widening. He motioned to the others. “Keep going.”

I watched in horror as they continued to beat him, helpless to stop it. The raw pain in my chest was unbearable, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

“Please... please, stop!” My voice cracked, raw with desperation, but the words barely left my mouth before a slap cracked across my cheek. The sting was instant, searing. I tasted metal—blood—on my lips.

“Ah!” I gasped, eyes stinging as tears welled. My father’s weak pleading was like a blade in my chest. It wasn’t what I needed. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

This was my life now—my sick mother, my father’s gambling debts, a future slipping away faster than I could grasp it.

“We’ll be back tomorrow,” the man’s voice was cold, flat. “And if the money’s not ready... you’ll wish you never saw the light of day.”

The door slammed shut behind them, and the heavy silence in the room suffocated me.

I rushed to my father, my heart pounding. He was hunched over, blood staining his shirt, his face swollen from the beating. I knelt beside him, my hands shaking as I gently touched his shoulder.

“Pa!” I gasped, panic rising in my chest. “What the hell did you do?”

His breath was shallow, labored. He looked up at me, eyes clouded with pain. I pulled him into my arms, feeling the weight of his body.

“Rose… I didn’t want this for you…” His voice was weak, barely audible.

My heart broke, but my anger was sharper than the pain. I pulled away, looking at him with disbelief. “You didn’t want this? How about Mom? How about the bills from the hospital? You know she’s in there, Pa. She needs surgery, heart surgery. She’s dying, and you… you do this?!” My voice cracked, the tears welling up but not falling.

I turned away, pacing in tight circles, trying to hold it together. “How could you do this to us? We don’t even know how we’re going to pay for Mom’s operation, and now you’ve racked up five million more in gambling debts?” I was shouting now, the frustration choking me.

“I thought—” His voice was hoarse, as he winced in pain. “I thought if I won... if I could just win big, I could fix it all. Pay the bills... get your mom the surgery... everything. I wanted to take the burden off you.”

I stopped in my tracks, fury mixing with the sting of betrayal. “Take the burden off me?” I laughed bitterly, but there was no humor in it. “You’re putting everything on me! I’ve been the one to deal with Mom’s illness, the bills piling up... and now this?”

I took a step back, my heart pounding. “What am I supposed to do now? How do I fix this? I’m just a damn college graduate with no job, no money, and you’ve already taken everything else from me.”

His eyes fell to the floor, shame written all over his face. “I’m sorry, Rose. I didn’t know what else to do.”

I clenched my fists. “I can’t do this! I can’t just sell myself to pay for your mess!” The words stung as they left my mouth, but there was no other way to say it. “You really think that’s the solution? I’m supposed to—”

“Rose…” He interrupted, his voice trembling. “You’re a woman now. You’ve got what they want... You can use it to pay them back.”

I froze, my chest tightening. “What?” I whispered, the words barely escaping.

He didn’t meet my eyes. “I never wanted this for you… but it’s the only way. Use your body. You can pay them back, sleep with men… let them take what they want. Maybe they’ll leave us alone then.”

I stepped back as if he’d slapped me, my hands shaking. My head was spinning. “How could you ask me to do that? How could you even suggest that?”

“I’m sorry, Rose… but you’re the only one left who can fix this. I... I didn’t know what else to do,” he said, voice breaking with guilt.

I staggered back, every part of me shaking. “I’ve been taking care of everything, Pa! I’ve been dealing with Mom’s hospital bills, keeping this damn house together, and now this? And you—” I choked on my words, unable to stop the tears. “Why? Why are you doing this to me? I already have enough to carry! I can’t carry this either.”

The room felt like it was closing in on me. I took another step back, my mind a blur of disbelief. “How did we get here, Pa? How did we end up like this?”

He couldn’t answer. He just sat there, broken, watching me.

And for the first time, I realized… Maybe it wasn’t just the debt that broke us. It was everything.

“I hate you…” I finally forced the words out, the anger and hurt choking my throat. It was the first time I’d admitted it, even to myself. But now it felt like a relief, a release.

His eyes widened, and I saw that flicker of disbelief, like he couldn’t believe I was saying it. Like I hadn’t been silently suffering all these years, putting up with all the things he’d done.

“You think this is easy for me?” he snapped, stepping forward. “You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to ruin your life?”

I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw everything I had at him. “You did ruin my life. You ruined everything! I hate that I’m stuck here, with no job, no future, no way out. I hate that I’m here, in this house, pretending like everything is fine when it’s not. “You” did this. “You” let it all fall apart.”

His face twisted with guilt, but I couldn’t feel sorry for him anymore. “You think I haven’t tried to fix things?” he said, his voice a little softer, but still defensive.

I laughed, bitterly. “Fix things? You don’t fix anything. You just keep making it worse. I hate that I’m the one left picking up the pieces—*my* pieces. I hate that you’re the father I have. You think I wanted this life? You think I wanted to be stuck in this mess because of your mistakes?”

He opened his mouth, but I didn’t let him speak. I was done listening. “I hate that you’re still acting like you’re the victim here! You’re not! You’ve never been! And yet… I still care. I still care about you, about how you’re doing, about what happens to you. And I hate myself for it.”

I was shaking now, my fists clenched at my sides, but I didn’t care. I needed to say it. I needed him to know how much he’d destroyed me.

“You know what? Screw you!” I yelled, my voice cracking. I couldn’t stand the sight of him, the disappointment, the weight of everything he had done. The years of lies, the mistakes, the broken promises. “I’m done!”

I turned, my heart hammering in my chest, and before he could say another word, I threw open the door with all the force I could muster, slamming it hard behind me. The sound echoed through the house as I ran.

“Rose!” His voice followed me, desperate, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

My legs moved faster, faster than I ever thought possible, my breath coming in ragged gasps, the cold night air biting at my skin. I heard his footsteps behind me, but I didn’t look back. I didn’t care.

I reached the street, my feet pounding against the pavement, the darkness around me swallowing everything. The city felt empty, silent, like it was waiting for me to make my next move.

I rounded the corner and kept running, not sure where I was going, just needing to get away. The pounding of my feet was all I could hear until I turned another corner and then I saw them.

Three masculine figures appeared in the shadows, just steps ahead of me. Panic shot through my veins. I spun around, heart racing, only to find another four figures closing in behind me.

My breath hitched as they took slow, deliberate steps toward me. The air grew thick, suffocating.

“Is she the one?” A voice came from the front, deep and unsettling.

“What!?” I gasped, my throat tightening.

“Yes… it’s her.” Another voice confirmed, colder this time.

I froze, confusion and fear swirling together. My mind raced, trying to make sense of it. Who were these people? And what did they want with me?

Before I could move, one of the figures reached forward, lifting something from the shadows. A heavy object. A rough, cold edge gleamed in the faint light.

*Thwack!*

The sharp impact hit my head with a sickening thud. A flash of pain tore through me as I stumbled back, blood running down my face, warm and sticky. The world spun, the darkness closing in.

My legs gave way, and I collapsed to the ground, barely conscious, the last thing I heard being the cold voices around me.

“Good... she’s perfect for the job.”

And then, everything went black.