Chapter 3: Beg for my mercy

~ Scarlett ~

A thick silk blindfold swallowed my vision, turning the world into an endless, suffocating black.

The ride was dead silent, save for the hum of a heavy engine and the faint smell of polished leather and sharp mint filling the back seat. Two silent guards sat on either side of me, their presence looming like stone walls. I didn't bother begging.

I didn't waste my breath asking where they were taking me. My jaw was set, blood long dried at the corner of my mouth, my heart hammering a steady, furious rhythm against my ribs.

When the car finally rolled to a stop, cold hands guided me out, up a flight of stone steps, and through heavy double doors. The air shifted instantly—cool, expansive, and smelling faintly of cedar and expensive cologne.

"Leave her," a smooth voice ordered from somewhere ahead.

The blindfold was snatched away.

I blinked against the soft ambient light, my vision adjusting to a soaring, grand foyer wrapped in dark marble and floor-to-ceiling glass that overlooked the sparkling city below. Gold chains clinked around my wrists as I brought my hands down. My eyes immediately searching the room for an exit like a caged animal.

But all I found was the man who had bought me sitting behind a massive mahogany desk.

He leaned back in a dark leather chair, a glass of amber liquid resting loosely in his fingers. The soft light caught the razor-sharp line of his jaw, his pitch-black hair, and suit so tailored it looked like armor. But it was his eyes that made my blood run entirely cold.

Dark, icy, and dead calm.

My breath caught in my throat. The room seemed to tilt beneath my bare feet as I stared at the face of a ghost.

Nikolai.

It couldn't be…

The fifteen-year-old boy with the quiet smile who used to follow me through my father’s gardens. The same boy who had slipped a ring made of woven grass onto my finger and promised to marry me when we grew up.

Looking at him now, that boy was gone. In his place sat a ruthless, towering mob boss whose very aura radiated danger and absolute control.

"You..." My voice cracked, raspy and barely audible. "Nikolai?"

A slow, cold smirk touched his lips, but the warmth never reached his dark eyes. He didn't rise. He merely swirled the liquid in his glass.

"You remember my name," he said, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that sent a shiver straight down my spine.

"How sweet. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten the boy whose family your father destroyed."

The accusation hit me like a slap to the chest. "My father didn't destroy your family! He was betrayed too—he vanished!"

"Your father ran like a coward after bankrupting mine," Nikolai cut in, his tone dropping an octave, sharp enough to bleed. He set his glass down on the desk with a heavy, final click.

"My father died in the dirt because of your bloodline, Scarlett. And now, here you are. Sold on a block like common debt."

"I didn't know," I hissed, taking a defiant step toward the desk despite the golden cuffs weighing down my arms. "I didn't choose this! My uncle tricked me—"

"I don't care about your excuses," Nikolai said smoothly, standing up to his full height. He loomed over the desk, his broad shoulders casting a dark shadow over me. He was so tall, I gulped at the sight.

"I bought you for one hundred million dollars. That makes you mine. Every breath, every second of your existence now belongs to De Santis."

He slid a leather-bound folder across the sleek wood. Inside lay a single printed page: Personal Service Contract.

"You will serve as a maid in this house,"

Nikolai commanded, his eyes burning into mine.

"You will answer my calls, clean my space, and stand at my side when ordered. You will obey every command without question.”

My hands shook as I stared at the paper.

My mother's pale face flashed in my mind. I have to find a way to survive to save my mom. Who knows what Richard plans to do now that I was gone?

My blood boiled just from the thought.

Looking up, I locked my eyes with his, refusing to let him see the fear clawing at my throat.

"A maid?" I asked, a bitter, dry laugh escaping my lips. "One hundred million dollars just to make me scrub your floors, Nikolai? Is that what your little revenge is worth?"

Nikolai walked around the desk, his long strides closing the distance between us until he stood inches away.

The heat radiating off his body was suffocating. He reached out, his long, calloused fingers gripping my chin, tilting my face up so I had no choice but to look at him. His thumb brushed over the bruise on my cheek, his grip firm and unyielding.

"I bought you to break you, Scarlett," he whispered, his dark eyes consuming my entire vision. "I'm going to make your life a living hell until you beg for my mercy. And even then, you don’t deserve it.”

"Good. Because I will never beg you for anything," I whispered back, my jaw clenching against his grip.

Nikolai's eyes flashed with something dark and unhinged, a flickering storm of something ancient masked as hatred. A faint, dangerous smile touched his lips.

"We'll see about that, little siren. Sign the paper."