Maya's POV
I slammed my hand as firmly as I could against the car window. "Let me out!" The glass didn't even break when I screamed.
Instead of kidnapping me, Dante Romano sat across from me, as composed as if we were having tea. The rest of the pricey car was occupied by his brothers, trapping me like an animal in a cage.
"Calm down," Marco said next to me. I could hear the warning beneath the smoothness of his voice. "We won't do you any harm."
"You have already caused me pain!" I fired back. "You deprived me of my life!"
Luca snarled from my opposite side, "Your life was about to end anyway." "You get to live at least this way."
I gave the door handle another go. Locked, of course.
"Where are you taking me?" I insisted.
"Home," Enzo murmured from the front seat. He didn't even look at me as he typed on a tablet. "Our house."
"My home isn't yours!"
"It is now," Dante declared. Like a judge delivering a sentence, his tone was decisive.
I was farther away from everything I knew as the car sped through the streets of Chicago. I watched my former life vanish as I pressed my face against the window.
Desperately, I said, "My friend Jessica will look for me." "She'll make a police call."
"No, she won't," Enzo continued to type. "Your phone just texted her to let her know that you had to leave town due to a family emergency. Very convincing."
My mobile phone. My phone was in their possession.
"That is against the law! You can't simply—"
"Maya," Dante cut in. "Allow me to clarify. We were robbed of two million dollars by your father. That's a death sentence in our world. For you and for him."
"I didn't take anything!"
"However, you are his daughter. His blood. Your debt is his debt."
"That's unfair!"
Marco's laugh wasn't a joyful one. "Just? Your father embezzled funds intended to treat children's cancer. He killed children. Do you wish to discuss fairness?"
The words were like a kick to the gut. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Enzo swung his tablet in my direction. Newspaper headlines appeared on the screen: "Children's Hospital Loses Funding." "Missing Donations Cause Cancer Ward to Close." "Three Children Perish While Awaiting Therapy."
The dates coincided. Dad's "lucky streak" ended last month.
"No," I muttered. "Dad couldn't... he wouldn't..."
"He did," Dante stated plainly. "He was employed by our nonprofit organization. He could access the accounts. After stealing the money, he gambled it away."
I was ill. My father's greed caused those kids to die.
My voice cracked as I said, "I didn't know." "I swear I had no idea."
"We believe you," Marco said softly. "You're still alive because of that."
At a red light, the vehicle came to a stop. I could see people going about their daily lives on the sidewalk. Would they hear me if I screamed? Would they be useful?
Luca followed my gaze and said, "Don't even think about it." "These windows don't make noise."
The light changed to green. We continued driving.
I inquired, "What happens to my dad?"
"That depends on you," Dante remarked.
"What do you mean?"
"We employ you. You follow our instructions. You use your service to settle his debt. He is alive."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then he passes away. You also pass away. Finally."
I gazed at him. "You're monsters."
"Maybe," Dante replied. "However, we have a code and are monsters. We don't harm innocent people. We don't steal from kids. We keep our word."
"Unlike your father," Luca continued.
The vehicle entered a driveway with enormous iron gates. We drove through the automatically opened gates. The house on the other side was huge. It resembled a fairy tale castle, but not the kind with happy endings.
Marco said, "Welcome home," as the vehicle came to a halt.
I remained motionless. I was unable to. This was actually taking place. Yes, I was here.
"Maya," Dante said calmly. "We can carry you, or you can exit the vehicle and walk. Your decision."
I left. Even though my legs felt unsteady, I made myself stand up straight.
Up close, the house was even larger. It featured windows that resembled eyes watching me, towers, and stone walls.
Enzo walked toward the front door and said, "Come on." "Let's get you settled."
The house was like a museum inside. Everything was cold, perfect, and costly.
Dante led me to a staircase that curved like a ribbon and said, "Your room is upstairs."
"You mean my prison cell?"
In an attempt at humor, Marco remarked, "It's a nice prison cell."
I didn't chuckle.
The third floor was where the room was located. It had a sitting area with books and a TV, a bathroom of its own, and it was larger than my entire apartment. But there were bars on the windows.
Marco whispered, "I told you it was a nice cell."
I inquired, "How long?"
"How long what?"
"How long must I remain here?"
"Until the debt is paid," Dante stated.
"How can I tell when that is?"
"You'll know."
I went to the window and peered out. A lake was adjacent to the house. I could make out the lights of Chicago in the distance. It could have been on the moon, but it was so close.
I said, "I want to see my father."
"Maybe later," Dante replied. "If you behave."
"I want to see him right now."
"Maya, that's not how this works. You don't demand things. You obey commands."
I turned to look at him. "I'm not your slave!"
"No," Dante said coolly. "You are our visitor. A visitor who is unable to depart until she has settled her family's debt."
"I despise you."
"I understand. Hatred, however, will not bring about any change. It will be simpler if you accept your circumstances as soon as possible."
His brothers followed him as he turned to go.
"Wait," I yelled. "What should I do in this situation? Simply remain in this room all the time?"
"We'll discuss your responsibilities tomorrow," Dante stated. "Relax tonight. At seven o'clock is dinner. You'll be picked up by someone."
"And if I don't want dinner?"
"Then you'll be hungry," shrugged Luca.
Closing the door behind them, they departed. The lock clicked, and I heard it.
Pulling on the handle, I dashed to the door. Locked, as I had anticipated. I was confined.
At last, I collapsed onto the bed and started crying. For my father, those children who have passed away, and my former life that is forever gone.
I eventually stopped crying and began to reflect. These were not merely criminals. They had rules, were well-organized, and were intelligent. This implied that they were predictable. Perhaps even outwitted.
I had to find out as much as I could about them. Their habits, their flaws, their secrets. And I had to figure out how to get out.
I had to make it through dinner first, though.
At precisely seven o'clock, there was a knock on the door.
"Maya?" Marco's voice was heard. "Time for a meal."
The lock clicked open, and I heard it. Without his suit on, Marco stood in the doorway. He appeared less menacing and younger.
"I'm not hungry," I declared.
"You haven't eaten since this morning. You must eat."
"I need freedom."
"First, food. Later, freedom. Perhaps."
While I made a decision, he waited. I could go downstairs and find out more about my captors, or I could remain in the room and starve.
"Fine," I replied. "I won't pretend to be happy about this, though."
"I wouldn't expect you to."
Together, we went downstairs. With a table that could accommodate twenty people, the dining room was enormous. But it was just me and the four brothers tonight.
"Maya," Dante said as I walked in. "Please take a seat."
I took a seat as far away from him as I could. I felt as though I was sitting on needles, despite the chair's comfort.
I could hardly taste the delicious food. I was too preoccupied with observing the brothers and attempting to understand them.
The leader was Dante. He planned and controlled everything he did. Despite his charm, I could see sadness in Marco's eyes. Luca was the muscle; he was protective of his family but also easily enraged. Enzo was the brain; he was constantly calculating and thinking.
During dessert, I inquired, "How long have you been planning this?"
"What are you planning?" Dante inquired.
"Kidnapping me."
Enzo stated, "We have been observing you for three weeks." "Learning your dreams, your friends, and your routines."
"That's eerie."
"That's business," Dante clarified. "Before deciding how to handle you, we needed to know who you were."
"And what did you decide?"
Marco remarked, "That you're nothing like your father." "You are truthful. Diligent. You genuinely have empathy for others."
"So why am I here?"
"Because debt is debt," Dante stated. "Family is family. Both are more important in our world than personal innocence."
Marco led me back to my room after supper. As we arrived at my door, he said, "I know you're scared." "However, we won't harm you. We're not like that."
"What kind of people are you?"
"The kind that honor their commitments. The type that defends their property. Those who take the difficult decisions so that others don't have to."
"And I'm yours now?"
"Yes. Whether you like it or not."
He abandoned me to my thoughts and my anxiety.
I lay in the pricey bed and gazed up at the ceiling. I could hear the sound of the lake crashing against the rocks outside. It ought to have been quiet, but all I could think about was getting away.
I must have dozed off because I heard my door open when I woke up. I had a visitor in my room.
With my heart pounding, I sat up. In the doorway stood a silhouetted figure.
"Who's there?" I muttered.
A recognizable voice said, "Don't be afraid." "I'm here to assist you."
The figure entered the moonlight that was pouring in through my barred windows. My dad was the one. However, there was a problem. He had a new face. He had icy eyes.
"Dad?" Uncertainly, I said.
He grinned, but it wasn't his own. It was sharp and cruel.
"Hello, daughter," he said. "Are you prepared to discover the truth about your family?"
It dawned on me then that the man in my room was not my father.