Chapter 10

The Betrayal

POV: Karol Kensington

"Pack your bags. You are leaving for his island today."

My mother’s voice was as cold as ice. She did not even look up from her computer.

I stood in the doorway of her big home office. I was so tired. I had not slept at all. I spent the whole night in my dark office, looking down at the black SUV parked outside in the rain. I hoped I could think of a plan to save our clinic without selling my soul to Ciro.

I was wrong.

I walked inside but did not sit down. "What is happening, Mother? The bank called me at six in the morning. We are totally out of money. The power company is going to cut off our lights."

"I know," my mother, Esperanza, said. She finally stopped typing and looked up. Her eyes were hard and completely blank. "That is why I fixed the problem. You are going to Villa Altamira tonight. Ciro will let us have our supplies as soon as you step foot on his island."

"No. I told you yesterday that I am not taking his deal. I will not be his prisoner just to pay your bills."

"You do not have a choice anymore," my mother snapped. She slammed her computer shut. The loud sound made me jump. "Our clinic is dying, Karol! We have no supplies. We have no money. You made this mess by going against protocol and saving him at the derby. Now you will fix it."

"I am your daughter," I whispered. My voice broke. My chest hurt so much it was hard to breathe. "I am a doctor. I am a person. I am not a thing you can trade to our enemy!"

Esperanza stood up. She walked slowly around her large desk. She stopped right in front of me.

"You are a tool for this business, Karol," she said smoothly. Her voice was terrifying. "And right now, you are the only tool that can pay our debts. If you say no to Ciro, I will ruin you."

I stared at her, totally shocked. The room started to spin. "What?"

"I am on the national medical board," my mother whispered. "If you do not get in his car today, I will call the board myself and tell them you hurt Ciro's knee on purpose. I will take away your doctor's license. You will never treat a patient again."

My own mother. She did not care about my hard work or my dreams. She only cared about the money and the family name. She was ready to destroy my life to save her business.

I stepped back, shaking my head. I looked down at her desk because I could not look at her cruel face anymore.

That was when I saw it.

A thick blue folder was open on her desk. The paper inside had a big black logo at the top: Restrepo Conglomerate.

I pushed past her and grabbed the folder.

"Put that down, Karol!" my mother yelled. Her face turned red with panic.

But I was already reading the bold words on the paper. Private Care and Work Contract.

It was a legal paper giving Ciro full control of me. It forced me to live at his private house for a whole year. It meant he owned me.

I turned to the last page.There, at the bottom of the page, was my signature.

But I never signed this.

I stared at the blue ink. It looked exactly like my handwriting. Every letter was copied perfectly.

"You faked my signature," I whispered. My hands shook so badly the papers rattled in the quiet room. "You signed my life away to a monster, and you did not even tell me."

"I did what I had to do to save us!" Esperanza shouted. She tried to grab the papers, but I stepped back out of her reach. "The deal is done, Karol! The lawyers filed it a few hours ago. Its just a one year contract!"

I looked at the woman who gave birth to me. Finally, I saw the ugly truth. I was bleeding for a family that did not care about me at all. My sister Valeria wanted to ruin me in secret, and my own mother just sold me for money in broad daylight.

I dropped the fake papers. They fell all over the floor.

"I have no family," I said. My voice was dead and empty.

I turned around and ran out of her office. I did not listen to her screaming my name. I ran down the stairs, my heart beating very fast. I pushed through the front glass doors of the clinic and stepped out into the cold morning air.

The big, black SUV was still parked by the sidewalk. The engine purred quietly.

As I walked toward it, the heavy back door slowly  opeNed.