Captured.

Daisy's Pov:

I slowly come to, my head throbbing and my mouth dry. Peering through a blurry vision I take in my surroundings.

I'm in a luxurious bedroom, the curtains are thick and drawn, shrouding the room in shadows. The air is heavy with the scent of expensive perfume and polished wood.

I wince as I sit up on the huge bed, swallowing back my nausea. I recall the previous night's events: a handkerchief being pressed into my nose and falling unconscious onto a warm body.

Kaiden Nikolaou.

The door opens, a maid walks in carrying a tray. The scent of the food tickles my nose and there's a corresponding grumble from my stomach.

Noticing I'm awake, she quickly places the tray on the side table and scurries out. I look at the bottle of water placed beside the food, gulping around my parched throat.

I don't trust it, it could be drugged. Tearing my eyes away from it, I throw my feet over the bed and stumble towards the door.

The door opens, and Kaiden walks in.

"Hm, you're already on your feet", he comments, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

I glare up at him through my headache, and the corner of his lip twitches.

"Get out of my way", I grumble at him, trying to sound braver than I feel.

Sighing he bypasses me and sinks into a chair, adopting a comfortable posture.

"Sit down Daisy", he orders.

Ignoring him I continue towards the door, wrapping my hands around the handle I twist it open. I stop abruptly as I come face to face with the end of a gun.

One of his lackeys stands there, the gun trained on me. My breath catches in my throat.

"The safety's off by the way", Kaiden informs me with a casual tone.

Turning around, I feel exhaustion seeping in as I make my way back to the bed. Defeat washes over me and I slump into the bed.

"There, now that wasn't so hard", he drawls in a condescending tone.

"Why am I here?"

"I think you already know that. You're here to repay your cousin’s debt."

Shaking my head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "I don't know about any debt,"I reply

Kaiden's expression turns cold. "Don't play dumb, Daisy. Your cousin stole from me and you're going to pay the price."

I open my mouth to retort but he cuts me off.

"I mean, sure if you don't want to do it I could let you go." He pauses, watching me intensely. I maintain eye contact even as my heart threatens to beat out of my chest.

"But whatever would happen to your mother, Aunt Mercy, was it?" He continues, his tone dripping with false sympathy.

"She just lost her son and now she's about to lose everything else. She has a bakery, right? She's worked so hard, and saved so much money to get it started. She even has a few loans taken out."

Sighing as if the thought of it truly bothers him, Kaiden rises to his feet.

I can't move. I feel like I'm drowning, the weight of his words crushing me.

"So, What will it be Daisy? Would you like to leave?", he gestures towards the door adopting an air of sainthood.

"No", I croak out.

"Eat, you'll need your strength", he says

He strides towards the door and engages in a conversation with the guard posted outside. I don't understand what they're saying, they're conversing in a different language.

Turning back to address me he says, "Get comfortable, you'll be here for awhile."

He leaves, shutting the door behind him. I hear the click of a lock being turned.

Kaiden:

I step out of the room, locking the door behind me. I need to move her, she can't stay in my room. I don't know why I put her there, it was an unconscious move on my part.

"Keep a close eye on her", I order the guard. " I don't want her doing anything... creative".

"Yes sir"

I turn to leave, but pause, looking back at the door. Daisy Johnson. A spark of curiosity ignites in me.

I make a note to dig deeper into her life. She intrigues me, her defiance even with the cloud of fear in her eyes. I've had men break from the mere weight of my presence but this woman glares at me, it's deliciously infuriating.

Pushing her to the corner of my mind, I make my way to the conference room.

Everyone stands at my arrival. Alexandros, my second, Dimitris, the head of security and Andreas, the head of enforcement. He's in charge of torture.

I sit at the head of the table and wait as they take their seats.

There's a subtle sense of unease in the air. These men a loyal to me, but in this line of work loyalty only goes so far.

Regarding Andreas, I notice the subtle twitches in his face as he tries to maintain his blank mask. Smiling inwardly I address him.

"Kostas escaped under your watch, Andreas. Obviously, he didn't work alone. So tell me, please, how a man that has been subjected to nonstop torture managed to carry out a successful escape plan right under your nose", I say through gritted teeth.

Andreas eyes flicker, his mask slipping for a second. He steadies himself and clears his throat.

"I understand, sir, that Kostas's disappearance has put a wrench in our investigation. But I assure you that I had nothing to do with his escape."

He pauses, his eyes locked on mine and a hint of defiance seeps into his gaze.

"I believe that he had outside help or maybe he was aided from the inside..." he trails off as he turns his gaze to the other men sitting at the table.

His accusation weighs heavily in the air.

"We should investigate further, question more guards. This was no easy feat, it was too clean and calculated and they knew the secret passageways in the chamber. Somethings not adding up, there's a traitor." He concludes strongly.

I nod. This possibility is not far-fetched, the recent series of events proves Andreas's words to be correct. In this world loyalty is a luxury and betrayal is always right around the corner.

Someone is coming for my position, someone close. Foolish of them, everyone knows better than to mess with a Nikolaou. I inhale as I feel rage coursing through me.

A war is coming and it's starting right at my doorstep.