Chapter Two: The CEO of BSC Company

A black SUV car rolled to a stop outside the Adams mansion. Not in the driveway. Ivan Vladimir didn’t like to get too close to dirt if he could avoid it. The gleamy tire came to a quiet halt on the gravel.  He rolled down the tinted window as he looked at the mansion with disgust.

The back door opened.

A pale hand with long fingers pushed the door wider with precise, deliberate force. Then came a polished black shoe, followed by a tall figure in a fitted black suit. Every part of him looked expensive and dangerous.

Ivan Vladimir.

He was devastatingly handsome.  His tall, lean frame with broad shoulders looked tempting under the black suit. His chiseled face features his ocean blue eyes, sharp jawline that could have been carved from stone, and his deep oceanic eyes which screams blue that scanned the world like a predator and a nose that looked so pointed that it could pop a pimple. His long hazel hair cascaded down his back leaving his high cheekbones and sculpted face on full display. When he looked at you, it felt like standing too close to lightning.

He is all what the ladies wished for. He is the youngest billionaire in the country and his family is the wealthiest in America.

Two large men stepped out behind him—Poco and Lee, his guards. An extension of him: silent, lethal and invisible.

The man opened the front door of the mansion without a knock. The air inside dropped several degrees.

Wills was already on his knees when Ivan entered.

"M-Mr. Vladimir..."

Ivan stepped inside, his eyes scanning the entire mansion like a critic judging a painting.

"Cheap," he said. "I expected better."

He turned to Wills slowly and deliberately. "Won’t you welcome me Wills?"

Wills tried to stand, but his legs shook so much that he took support from the floor to stabilize himself. His wife dare not support him for fear of angering that devil. "Please... give me more time. Just a week."

Ivan raised an eyebrow. "This isn’t what you promised me, Wills. Have you forgotten? Don’t worry, I’ll remind you. You promised a month. Do you think I forget things?"

"I tried to get the money..." Wills said weakly.

Ivan didn’t wait. In one swift motion, he grabbed Wills by the throat and lifted him off the floor. Wills choked, his feet kicking in the air and his consciousness slipping away.

"Try harder."

"Let him go! You bastard."

The voice was sharp and despite the trembling in the voice it was full of confidence. Ivan turned to see Ellen at the side, staring at him with eyes wide with fear and anger.

She stood barefoot, robe pulled tight, hair falling over her shoulders. Her voice was cracked, but she didn’t back down as she revealed a fierce expression on her face.

Ivan lowered Wills to the floor and stared at her.

"And who are you? Wills’ daughter?" His voice was calm, measured and lethal.

"Don’t talk to me, bastard." Ellen snapped, stepping in front of her father, her hands trembled with trepidation but still maintained her fierce expression.

Rose rushed to her side. "Ellen, go back to your room." Her voice cracked.

Ivan smiled slightly as he turned to Rose, "She’s bold. I like that, what a fiery little bunny."

"She doesn’t know anything," Rose pleaded. "She just got home from college."

Ivan's eyes swept over Ellen again, slower this time. His gaze lingered on her.

Ellen Adams, a slender figure. An exquisite beauty, her small face could be covered by a palm featuring her thick eyebrows, big brown eyes that looked innocent and fiery at the same time. Her small nose looked so cute that it made people want to take a bite and squeeze and her red cherry lips were carved so well that it invited people for a kiss. Her long black hair cascaded down her back. She looked like an angel. Gorgeous is an understatement to describe her.

Her robe hung loosely around her curves. A single tie held it closed at her waist and a single pull will cause her robe to fall. Her bare legs peeked through the slit of her robe. Ivan’s eyes roamed around her body as they gradually darkened as hunger stirred behind them.

Ellen noticed. Her arms crossed over her chest defensively and she glared hard at him, "Stop looking at me like that."

Ivan tilted his head. "Like what? Like I want to pin you to a corner and make you scream my name?"

"You’re sick." Ellen spat, stepping forward despite the quiver in her limbs.

He chuckled, enjoying every expression of her. "Maybe. But that doesn’t change what I want."

Ivan looked away from Ellen and walked slowly in a circle around them. His hands were behind his back. He didn’t shout, his oceanic blue eyes staring coldly like a predator.

The mansion dropped a degree colder.

"No payment and no solution equals offense and so you must be punished." Ivan trailed off.

Wills tried to speak, but Ivan cut him off with a look.

He turned to Ellen and she stared back at him, her jaw tight without fear.

"You’re brave," he said. "But being brave doesn’t always keep you safe."

"You make me sick and disgusted," Ellen said.

Ivan smiled coldly as he stared at her. Then his eyes dipped down her robe as he took in the line of her throat, down to her breast. He looked at those nipples that were calling out to him. Who would blame her? She rushed out of her room upon hearing her parents' cries without wearing any inner clothes. Hence, the stare. His gaze continued to linger on her body- the way her robe clung to her waist, the slight movement of her breath. His gaze raked her body with slow intent, pausing at her legs, her lips, and the curve of her waist.

He let the silence stretch and smirked at her.

His voice was low. "You don’t even know what you’re doing to me."

"I don’t care," she snapped.

He stepped closer. Her back pressed instinctively against the wall.

"You should."

Ivan was surprised. Although, he changes women the same way he changes clothes. In his eyes, women were tools to satisfy his carnal desires without any strings attached. All women come to him willingly without the need to reach out to them as he thought they couldn’t resist him, this became his source of his pride as no woman will be able to resist his handsomeness. When he saw Ellen’s disgust towards him, he felt as if his pride had been trampled on.

He looked back at Wills. "This kind of failure needs a price. You will pay with something personal and something valuable."

"Not my daughter," Wills said, almost whispering. "Please. Not her."

"Oh, she’s not just anything, she is priceless." Ivan said. "She’s your future. And now... she’s mine."

Ellen stepped forward. "You can't just take people like you own them, you bastard."

"Can’t I?"

Ivan walked to the door and paused to look at them with his cold eyes, piercing them and instinctively, they shuddered. "You have seven days till Midnight. If I don’t have the money by then I will take her."

 Rose's voice cracked as her eyes welled up with tears. "She won't go with you!"

"She will," Ivan said without turning to look at them. "When there’s nothing left here."

He snapped his fingers and immediately his personal guards, Poco and Lee followed him out.

The door closed with a heavy thud as they left the mansion.

A heavy silence fell over the room.

Ellen stood in the center of the room, her body stiff with rage and fear. Her arms wrapped around herself as if trying to erase the way his eyes had touched her.

Something inside her had changed.

And deep down, a cold feeling stirred.

It wasn’t just fear.

It was something far more dangerous.