Chapter One

Chapter One

"No! I won’t do it, Dad. Never!" Katherine’s voice cut through the living room.

"You will, Katherine! Look around you!" Her dad’s, Matthew said, voice heavy with defeat as he gestured at the decaying room filled with jagged cracks raced up the walls, water-stained patches marred the ceiling.

"Our house is a breath away from collapsing! My company is gone. Your sister. Your little sister is lying in a hospital bed, fading away! And you? You have a boyfriend who flaunts his wealth, who’s got the means to save us!"

"So you want me to become a con artist?" She snapped. "You want me to cheat him?"

"Just once, Katherine!" Matthew’s voice was almost a plea now. "Just enough to save us. Do you not see our situation? Or are you so blinded by your pride?"

"Pride?" she laughed bitterly. "You think I haven’t noticed the hunger gnawing at us? You think I don’t hear my sister’s faint, pained breaths in that cold hospital room? And I've been trying all my best, you know it! But… this? Dad, how could you?"

"Because I've no choice!" Matthew's voice broke. "Mr. Massimo's loan has been due for three months. And you know what he’s capable of, Katherine. You know how dangerous he is."

Katherine’s steps faltered, her pulse quickening. Massimo. The name carried the weight of whispered threats, of men who vanished without a trace, of debts paid in blood. New York’s ruthless billionaire. The devil who smiled in expensive suits.

"Katherine, please… If not for me, do it for your sister. She won’t survive without treatment."

Katherine’s gaze was locked on the fractured ceiling.

A single tear slid down her cheek.

Her father had once been a millionaire, a man who commanded respect, owned properties. But that was before everything crumbled.

It began with his wife, her stepmother was caught in a tragic accident that drained his savings. What happened before then was even worse. Her stepmother had stolen the company’s documents, forging his father’s signature to secure a massive loan from a ruthless gambler in their neighborhood.

For ten years, Matthew had adored that woman, a love he clung to after Katherine’s mother died. But love turned to ashes when the truth came to light. His company was seized, and with it, his reputation, his fortune, all devoured by a debt he never even took.

The world collapsed further when Bethany, her stepmother was in an accident during the chaos.

Then her stepsister fell gravely ill, and desperation led her father to one final, dangerous gamble. A loan from Massimo Hollingsworth, New York’s most ruthless billionaire.

The man was more than just wealthy; he was a king in a city of shadows, ruling the Hollingsworth dynasty, the wealthiest family in New York.

The loan had kept her stepsister alive for a time. But now, the due date had come, and so had Massimo’s patience.

Her stepmother who'd miraculously recovered for three months now had began sleeping out, her guilt turning to indifference. Two months ago, she filed for divorce, abandoning Matthew, Katherine, and her own daughter, Thelma.

And now, her father was asking her to betray her boyfriend, James. The man who loved her as she loves him. But then again… what about her family.

“I’ll–”

Her words were shattered by the sharp sound of the front door swinging open. Heavy footsteps echoed, and three towering men in black suits and dark shades entered. They didn’t even knock.

And then a figure stepped in behind them. A menacing presence, tall, powerful, and draped in shadows.

"M-Mr. Massimo?" Her father spoke.

Katherine’s breath caught as the man stepped forward. He's a towering figure, a beast of a man whose tailored black suit clung to an imposing, muscular frame. His mere presence seemed to suck the warmth from the room.

His long, dark hair brushed against his neck, framing a face that was a sculpture of brutal perfection. Sharp cheekbones, a jawline like carved stone and his eyes, oh God!

His eyes were a mesmerizing anomaly with one a profound, stormy blue, the other an abyss of inky black. The contrast was both eerie and breathtaking.

"Mas–master. Massimo…What are you doing here?" her father’s voice quivered again. "I…I mean what… what can I offer you?"

Massimo’s gaze swept across the decaying room, a cold, disdainful survey of the misery surrounding him.

Without waiting for an invitation, he lowered himself into the worn armchair.

His predatory stare settled on Katherine, freezing her in place.

"I’ll be brief," he said in a deep, powerful voice. "I’m here for what’s owed to me. Mr. Matthew."

Katherine’s heart pounded.

"I… I’ll get a glass of juice, Dad," she stammered, trying to escape.

A mocking chuckle sliced the air.

"Did I say I came for a drink?" Massimo demanded, coldly. "I’m here for my money. Tell your father to hand it over, and I’ll be on my way. This hellhole already disgusts me."

Yet even as he spoke, his gaze remained locked on her, intensely.

He’s so arrogant, she thought.

"Please… Mr. Massimo, I-I will pay you. I just… I just need a little more time," her father begged.

Massimo leaned forward, his dark blue eyes narrowing. "Time?" he echoed. "Do you think I deal in time, Mr. Matthew? No. I deal in power, in control, and you are very much in debt."

His eyes slid back to Katherine.

"Perhaps," Massimo murmured, "there are… other ways to settle your debt. Your daughter could serve as a maid in my mansion."

Katherine’s heart plunged. "No!”

"No! Please, not that. I-I'll find a way to pay you," Matthew stammered.

His lips curled in a cold, almost amused smile. "Three days, Mr. Matthew. I am generous tonight. But after that… you know what I’m capable of."

Matthew’s face drained of color, but he nodded.

Massimo rose, his gaze lingered on Katherine, an intensity in his eyes that made her shiver, then he turned and walked out.

Silence settled in.

Matthew collapsed onto the torn sofa, his hands trembling. "Katherine… please… you must help me. I’m counting on you."

The sight twisted something inside her, tearing at her resolve.

******

Katherine tried calling James for the ninth time that afternoon, her fingers trembling as the call went unanswered.

Time was slipping through her grasp. Just one day remained until Massimo’s ultimatum.

If she could just speak to James, if she could see him, she could explain, maybe even convince him.

James was wealthy, so wealthy that the scope of his family’s fortune seemed like a dream to her. For two years, they'd been together but she haven't knew anything about his family. He never spoke about them and would always cut her off when she wanted to inquire.

Her heart raced as she reached his grand estate. His car was parked outside meaning he was home.

Knock.

Silence.

Knock.

Nothing.

On the fourth knock, she thought she’d go mad. But the stillness persisted.

Katherine’s hands balled into fists, frustration and fear twisting inside her. Was he avoiding her? This was unlike him.

She tried the doorknob, and to her shock, it turned.

She pushed the door open, going up the stairs with her heart pounding.

And then she heard it. Faint, muffled sounds. A soft, rhythmic chorus of… moans.

Her breath hitched. No… no, please, she prayed that wouldn't be what she was think.

Her trembling hand reached for the dark knob, her mind spinning. But she froze when a familiar voice drifted through the barely cracked door.

"You know you can enjoy all of this forever, don’t you?" The familiar voice was filled with seduction. It was her ex-stepmother’s, Bethany. "You just have to break up with my ex-stepdaughter once you've achieved all your aims. You know, I sold all my husband’s properties just to be with you and even divorced him… all for you."

Katherine’s pulse turned to ice. Her ex-stepmother? Here? Her mind was filled with disbelief and horror.

What's she even talking about?

Then came another voice that drove a dagger through her heart. The all familiar voice of James.

"I know, love. I love you so much," James murmured. "I’m only using her as a means to an end. You know she hasn’t even let me take off her dress since we started dating. I’m just waiting for the calamity I'm planning to hit, and that’s where Katherine comes in. I want—"

"Shh, that’s enough," Bethany shut him up. "Now, come to mommy."

A sick, twisting sensation coiled in Katherine’s stomach. Her hand slipped from the knob. Each word hammered against her heart, cracking it piece by piece.

Tears blurred her vision as wave of sickening laughter followed and then the moans started again, growing louder

How could she've been so blind? The truth hit her. It'd been happening for so long.

Even back when her stepmother was still married to her father.

James… her James… had been a lie.

The signs were always there. The faint hickeys on his neck that he brushed off as rashes or gym injuries.

The unexplained absences. The lingering scent of perfume that wasn’t his. And she’d believed him. Because she’d loved him. Because she’d trusted him.

Should she barge in and confront them?

A faint vibration suddenly sounded in her pocket from her phone.

“Dad?” she whispered, answering the call. She moved away from the door.

“Katherine… Massimo… he had an accident two days ago.” Her father announced.

Her heart stumbled. "An accident?"

“It’s being kept from the public, but… I found out. He’s in a coma, Katherine. In a critical condition."

Her breath hitched, but her father’s voice continued, cracking with fear.

“But that’s not the worst of it. His aunt… Madam Elizabeth… She's here. She’s claiming that we’re responsible for his accident. Katherine… She's demanding that you marry his nephew. Or else…"

Her father’s voice broke. "Or else she’ll have our entire family jailed."

The world spun, her grip on the phone weakening.

And then it slipped from her grasp, clattering against the marble floor.