CHAPTER 5

Susan's POV

My body would not stop trembling. No matter how much I tried to still myself, my body would not stop shaking. I could still feel the man's breath on my face, and I could still feel his fingers that had dug into my arm. My chest heaved and my breathing was laboured as I stared into Mark Cuban's eyes. Then my gaze shifted to the man on the floor who was wiped out cold from Mark's punch.

I shuddered as it occurred to me that if I had not been saved in time, he would have…

“What the hell is going on?” Mark's voice snapped me out of my reverie. I looked into his brown eyes and saw immediate distrust mixed with worry.

“Just stay the hell away from me,” I said as I moved to the side to walk away from him, but he grabbed my arm ensuring that I was pinned in place.

“Let go of me,” I spat.

His gaze softened but he did not let go of my arm, “not until you start talking.”

“I owe you no explanation,” I said, fuming, not wishing to be within his reach anymore.

“You show up at my company to claim you're my father's daughter, then you set me up to accuse me of attempted rape, then I find out that you've been planning this for years—”

I scoffed.

“Years? My father would not even acknowledge my existence…”

“Richard Cuban is not your father!” his voice was livid, “I'm not sure how you got your hands on that DNA result, but I swear I will prove—”

“I DON'T GIVE A FUCK, OKAY?” I yelled, “JUST FUCKING LET ME GO.”

I had to exit this place before my mother found me. Before she locked me up again and I had no way to escape.

“I am not letting you go until you tell me what the hell you're planning on doing this time,” he said, staring into my eyes.

“I am not planning anything,” I hissed, “I woke up this morning to find I was in a hotel room that I cannot remember ever entering, and when I tried to leave the door was locked and now… Just leave me the fuck alone.”

“If you want me to believe you,” he sneered, “prove it. Prove you have nothing to do with the rape allegations your mother is making.”

“I don't owe you a fucking explanation,” I said, seething.

“Your mother is demanding a hundred million dollars or she would tell the world I tried to rape you,” he was hot with anger and rightly so.

A hundred million dollars?

Had my mother gone completely mad?

The fight in me left my body when I heard the sum. I did not like the handsome bastard standing in front of me, but I… I could not stand the injustice either.

“I'll release a statement proving the allegations are false,” I said calmly.

His face carried an expression of surprise. He had not been expecting me to say that.

“How can I trust anything you say?” he asked me as he let go of my hand.

“Whether or not you trust me is your headache,” I said to him, “I don't care about your trust issues.”

As I tried to walk away, the man on the floor stirred and grabbed my leg but did not let me go. I looked down and fear froze me on the spot.

“I don't get paid if I don't complete the job,” he stared at me menacingly.

I was frozen in shock but Mark was not. He stepped on the man's hand, causing the bald man to let go of my leg immediately.

Mark grabbed the man by his collar and asked, “Who the fuck sent you?”

The man leered at him with a smile.

“Who the fuck sent you?” Mark asked again.

The man leaned forward and said, “Mr. Cuban, you paid me to…”

Mark punched his face, but he did not black out this time.

“Who sent you here?” he asked again.

The man's face held an expression of confusion.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked Mark, “you told me to put the fear of God in that woman and now you're…”

I staggered backwards dazed and confused, my heart beating rapidly.

It made sense now.

Mark Cuban had sent this man to hurt me and why wouldn't he? It could not have been my mother. She was too cheap to afford this type of fancy hotel. It had to be Mark Cuban. He had sent this man to force me into telling the world that he had not tried to rape me which was true.

Mark dropped the man roughly to the ground and turned to stare at me.

“You bitch!” he lurched at me, “you set this up didn't you?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked him, “You're the one who hired this thug to force me…”

He scoffed.

“I can't believe I fell for this again,” he laughed bitterly, “I will destroy you and I swear you will not get a dime from my father's estate.”

It was my turn to scoff.

“I did not give a fuck about it before but maybe I should,” I said, anger coursing through my veins, “and trust me I will make sure you leave this estate with nothing!”

“You're finally revealing your true colours,” he spat, “you snake.”

“You're the snake!”

The man on the floor looked at both of us, “You're the one who ruined the job! Do I get paid or what?”

I eyed the man with nothing, but disgust then turned to look at Mark, “My mother may have set up the rape, but you're even more disgusting and pathetic than she is.”

He was about to say something equally cutthroat when I heard my mother's voice crying like a bad omen.

“Susan! Thank God, you're fine!” she walked towards me, her face looked anguished, “I… I thought something terrible had happened to you.”

Mark shifted his gaze from me to my mother and shook his head.

“Pathetic losers!” I heard him mutter under his breath as he walked away.

My mother looked at me and said, “I… I was so scared darling.”

I saw policemen step out of the elevator, walking towards me, “Is this your daughter?”

I shifted my gaze between my mother and the policemen.

“What’s happening?”

“They’re here to arrest Mark Cuban.”