Chapter eight
Sold to the Don
Forced Proximity with Cheating.
“Stella, your father wantsto speak with you,” Tony says from the doorway of my bedroom. Tony is my father’s personal assistant basically. He’s always around. I’m pretty sure he spies on me for my father. I might be twenty-one, but he still treats me like a child. I can’t go out with friends. And when I do, I must have bodyguards with me.
My dad, George Romero, is the head of what used to be a massive crime enterprise. He fucked that up whenever he cheated on my mom, and she took him for everything. I don’t blame her, really. I would’ve done the same thing, but I at least would’ve taken my daughter with me when I left. Now dad is in debt to so many people that he’s afraid someone will hurt me. Tensions have been so high lately. I know it’s just a matter of time before shit hits the fan.
I get off my bed and walk downstairs. Before I can step into my dad’s office, one of our housekeepers grabs my arm and pulls meoff to the side. “He’s selling you. You need to run, Ella,” she says hurriedly.
“Wha… he wouldn’t do that…” I say in disbelief.
“He is. The head of the DeLuca family isn’t giving him a choice. You are to marry him and have his children in exchange for your father’s debt to be erased. Marco DeLuca is getting your father out of debt in exchange for you,” she says.
“Stella, dear,” my father says. “Why are you talking to the staff? Tony told you I needed to speak with you.
“I apologize, Father. I was just asking for fresh linens,” I lie. He nods and motions me into his office. I nod and step in but stay by the door.
“Stella, this is Marco DeLuca,” Dad says.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say with a polite smile. He takes my hand and kisses it softly.
“The pleasure is all mine,” he says with a smile. “She is beautiful, George.”
“What is this about?” I ask Dad when Marco’s eyes travel across my body.
“As you know, we are in a significant amount of debt and I have been working hard to get us out of trouble, specifically with Mr. DeLuca.”
“What does that have to do with me?” I ask.
“He has agreed to marry you in exchange for clearing our debt with him as well as the others. This will give us an opportunity to get back to where we used to be,” he says, as though he didn’t just sell his daughter like livestock.
“No,” I say. “I’m not just a loaf of bread. You can’t just sell me off.”
“I can and I did,” he snaps.
“Fuck you!” I shout at him. “None of this would be happening if you hadn’t stuck your dick where it didn’t belong and forced Mom to leave. You can’t use me to get yourself out of the situation that you created yourself.”
“We will be in contact when the marriage is finalized,” Marco says, shaking Dad’s hand. I turn on my heel and run from the room.
“Thank you, Marco,” Dad says happily.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get her,” I hear Marco say as he steps out of the room behind me. I grab my bag as I run past the coffee table where I left it. When I reach the front door, I throw it open and bolt for my car.
I am positive my car has a tracker, but I will get it off as soon as I can. I can always sell it to some crack dealer for a decent amount of money. Between the cash in my wallet and the jewelry I have on I can easily get away and start somewhere new. I’m not getting married to some mafia boss. When Mom left, I swore to myself, that I was not going to continue being in this lifestyle. I’ve been trying to get out of it ever since.
I get to my Porche 911 and turn the engine over, desperately trying to get away before Marco gets to my car. He reaches my window as soon as I stomp on the gas. I faintly hear him shout at me. “You’re mine, star.”
He doesn’t even know my fucking name and he’s chasing me. This gives me a little hope. Maybe I can just dye my hair if he is that stupid.
I don’t have any friends that won’t immediately go to Dad. They are the type that talk to you when you’re bored, but not when you actually need help. Dad was the one person I had in my life, and I didn’t even want him but now I have no one.
There’s a black SUV tailing me, and I can tell they are about to try and wreck my car. I am thankful I have flats on today, so maybe I can just run on foot. All I have to do is cross the wooded area and I am in downtown. I can easily disappear in the crowds of people.
I decide to come screeching to a stop on the side of the road, then jump out and dart toward the woods before Marco has a chance to get out of his vehicle. I was a cross-country runner in high school, so I’m confident that I can outrun him. The problem is, I can hear him running toward me. He is so much faster than he looks.
I leap over a fallen tree that I’m hoping will slow him down, but this fucking freak uses it as leverage to lunge at me. He wraps his arms around my body and flings me down to the ground.