To Raya her father had been her everything. Since she was little, that man had been there for her. Not like a normal father, maybe, but Raya was grateful for what she had.
But did she really have to sacrifice herself just to prove she loved him? Just to show she was grateful he hadn't abandoned her the way her mother did?
She had no time to decide.
Adrian gave a signal.
Stone and another man walked over and began untying Philip.
The silent man—Grigor, a hulking brute who hadn't spoken a word or even smiled since they arrived—stepped forward. He dragged Philip by the arm, the man still crying, and strapped his wrist down to a table with practiced ease.
A large knife gleamed in Grigor's hand.
"Wait—what are you doing?" Raya gasped.
Adrian stood. "If I don't get my money, I take what's owed—piece by piece. Today, a finger. Tomorrow, a toe. By the end of the week?" He shrugged. "Who knows what's left."
