Sacrificial daughter

My younger sister Chloe and I pressed our faces against the narrow crack of the living room door, squishing together in the dark hallway. Down the hall, three massive men in tailored black suits stood over our father. He was on his knees, his hands clasped together in desperate prayer.

"Please, just give me one more week," Father begged, his voice high and thin like a child's. "I will get the money. I promise!"

We could not hear what the men were saying. They spoke in low, dangerous whispers, their posture cold and relaxed. I did not need to hear them to know the truth. Father had gambled away his life again, and this time, he had borrowed from the dark underbelly of the city.

The tallest man in the middle reached into his jacket, pulled out a long, silver blade, and grabbed Father's left hand.

"No, wait!" Father shrieked.

Before I could even blink, the man brought the blade down. A sickening crunch echoed through the hallway. Father let out a bloodcurdling scream, curling into a ball on the floor as dark red blood pooled on the worn carpet. The men turned without a word, stepping over him, and walked out the front door, slamming it behind them.

"Father!" I gasped, shoving the door open.

Chloe and I rushed to his side. The smell of copper filled the small room. My stomach turned, but I immediately ripped off the hem of my shirt to press it against the bloody stump where his pinky finger used to be.

"Get off me!" Father roared, shoving me back so hard my hips slammed against the coffee table.

"Father, let me help you," I cried, reaching out again.

"They gave me a choice," Father wheezed, clutching his bandaged hand against his chest, his eyes wild with pain and fear. "One of my daughters goes to work at The Velvet Lounge tomorrow night. To pay off the interest."

My blood ran cold. Everyone in this city knew about The Velvet Lounge. It was an elite, dangerous sex club owned by the city's most feared mob boss, Lorenzo Moretti.

My mind instantly began to race. I looked down at my own body, at my broad shoulders, soft waist, and heavy thighs. I was plus size, far too large for the tight, revealing outfits those girls wore. No club owner would ever put me on a stage.

Then I looked at Chloe. She was everything I was not. Slim, petite, with smooth skin and striking features. But she was frail, constantly sickly with severe chest infections that kept her in bed for weeks.

Chloe stepped forward, her voice sharp and dripping with sudden poison. "Kate has to go."

I blinked, staring at my sister in complete shock. "What?"

"Look at you, Kate," Chloe said, waving a thin hand at me with utter contempt. "You are ugly, fat, and dispensable. No one is looking at you anyway. You do not have a future here."

"Chloe, how can you say that?" I whispered, tears burning the back of my eyes.

"I am the one with beauty," Chloe spat, turning to Father with wide, dramatic eyes. "Father, if I stay here, I can find a rich man to marry. I can marry into wealth and clear all your debts forever. But if you send me to that filthy club, my health will ruin me, and we will all starve."

I looked at Father, waiting for him to shut her down. I waited for him to remind her of everything I had done for this family.

Father looked up from the floor, his pale face hardening as his eyes landed on me. "Chloe is right."

The room seemed to tilt on its axis. "Father, no," I choked out. "You cannot be serious."

"You are going, Kate," Father said, his voice cold and final. "You will work at the club and buy us time."

"I cannot go!" I yelled, my hands shaking violently. "I have worked three jobs to put food on this table I paid for Chloe's entire college tuition while she sat at home, and she is already done with her degree I am the one who's yet to have one"

"You owe this family" Father barked.

"I have my scholarship exam tomorrow morning" I screamed, tears finally spilling down my cheeks. "It is in another city I have to leave town at dawn It is my only chance to go to college and build a real life"

Father pushed himself up off the floor, his face twisting into a ugly, furious mask. "You selfish, ungrateful pig"

Chloe stood behind him, crossing her slender arms, a tiny, satisfied smirk touching her lips.

"Selfish?" I snapped, my chest heaving as years of built up rage finally boiled over. "I gave up my entire youth for you two, I even left the man I loved standing at the altar two years ago because you cried that you could not survive without me, I ruined my own happiness for this family, and you are tossing me to the wolves"

"Shut your mouth" Father screamed, his body trembling with rage.

"I am not going to that club," I said, stepping back toward the door, wiping the tears from my face. "I am taking my bag, and I am leaving for my exam."

Father's eyes went dark with absolute fury. With his good hand, he reached down, unbuckled his heavy leather belt, and pulled it free from his pants loops with a sharp, terrifying crack.

He raised the leather strap high in the air, his face inches from mine as he glared down at me. "You will do as you are told, or I will break you myself”