TOO YOUNG TO BE HIS

Being 17 and working is not easy, but that’s my reality.I finish making the bed, carefully pressing the pillows against the mattress to align them perfectly. I step back and look at the scene, trying to find any imperfection. There is none. Everything here seems untouched.I wipe the sweat from my forehead with the sleeve of my shirt and take a deep breath. The room is huge, much larger than any room in my house. The shiny wooden floor reflects the soft light coming through the huge windows, covered by expensive fabric curtains. The walls are a neutral tone, but the finish is so perfect that even the shadows seem organized.Luxurious. Cold. Impeccable.It’s as if this room is more of a set than a space for someone to live in. Even the smell isn’t welcoming. Everything feels freshly cleaned, exhaling that artificial perfume of polished wood and flowers that probably cost more than an entire month’s worth of my wages.I don’t even know who owns this house.I only know that he is a very

The most common scam was when Sandra pretended to be a prostitute, luring these men to remote places where Daniel would show up armed and take whatever he could get from these idiots. It may not seem like it, but Daniel was very jealous, always showing up at the agreed location before any of the fools had time to lay a hand on Sandra. Sexual acts between her and her victims were strictly forbidden.Sometimes, they just drugged these men with prescription drugs my mother had access to through the friends she made when working at the local hospital. With the victims drugged, everything became easier for them.However, the town was small, and even though they acted in the surrounding municipalities, they were becoming well-known. Even the corrupt police officer, bribed to ignore the reports he received, could no longer control the situation due to the large exposure and attention the cases were getting. So, the option was to stop or at least take a break.But I didn’t believe they would

As if the space between us, or even the furniture in the room, could protect me from them, I positioned myself on the other side of the room, the panic growing inside me, the certainty that if my mother really wanted to inseminate that sperm into me, there was nothing I could do to stop her.“I wouldn’t be asking if there were another way. Look at our situation. A child from that man could change our lives forever. It could pay for a good college for you. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”“Mom, wake up! I’m not going to get pregnant by a man I don’t even know. I’m not going to be part of this.”“You won’t have to do anything,” my mother’s voice whispered, as if she were sharing a dark secret. She moved even closer, her eyes locked on mine, as if I were prey about to be consumed. “When your belly starts to grow, the school year will be over. You’ll lock yourself in the house and won’t leave until the baby is born.”The coldness in her words was overwhelming, each syllable sounding

I lay there, motionless, scared, trying to decide if my injuries were serious, if I had hurt myself more than I realized, and I fervently hoped that the fall had been hard enough to at least induce an abortion if I had been pregnant.Around me, a few passersby stopped to watch the scene, but soon resumed their paths, losing interest, turning up their noses when they realized it was me lying on the ground. It didn't matter to them that I wasn't part of my mother's schemes; being her daughter was enough to make me hated and discriminated against by the entire city.I hadn't yet managed to get up when I heard the car door open and the driver came into view. I couldn't see his face, nor could I identify who he was, because I was standing against the sunlight, the scorching rays blinding my eyes. I only noticed that he was a very tall man, with an athletic build, well-cut hair, and wearing a suit and tie.I didn't know anyone in Santa Clara who wore a suit and tie. Was it someone from out

ADRIANTwo months later...— Mr. Adrian, that lady, Mrs. Soraya, is here again wanting to talk to you — my secretary said, through the intercom.It was the third day in a row that this woman had shown up at the company headquarters trying to talk to me. What the hell did she want? These lazy people thought I had nothing else to do! At the very least, she was there to ask for financial help, like so many others did, as if I were the owner of some charity. That was what happened when you did business in that backwater, full of country bumpkins.— Tell him I'm busy. — I gave the same answer as the last two days.— Sir, she said it's urgent. She's insisting a lot.— In that case, tell him to wait.- Yes sir.After a few hours of waiting, she would surely give up. Annoying people!I turned off the intercom and turned my attention back to the file on my computer. The document that had arrived a few hours earlier contained yet another of that damned man's desperate attempts to disrupt my pla