Chapter 1
**ARIA**
The call came at 11:47 PM.
I knew it was bad the second I saw Dad’s name flashing on my screen. He never called this late. Never called at all actually, not since Mom died, the money dried up and he started spending more time at underground poker tables than at home.
My stomach dropped before I even answered.
“Dad?”
“Aria.” His voice cracked, rough and wet like he’d been crying. “Aria, baby, I need you to listen very carefully.”
Ice flooded my veins. I sat up in bed, heart already hammering. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
“I need you to come to the Apex building. Downtown. Fifty-second floor. Right now,” he begged.
“What? Dad, it’s midnight, I have work in the morning—”
“*Now*, Aria.” Something in his voice made my skin crawl. “Please. I’m begging you. Just... just come. And don’t tell anyone.”
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone, hands shaking, a sick feeling spreading through my gut like poison.
I should have stayed in bed.
I should have blocked his number months ago.
Instead I threw on jeans and a sweater, called an Uber, and headed straight into whatever fresh hell he’d created this time.
The Apex building was all black glass and steel, the kind of place that screamed money and power and people who could make you disappear without a trace. The lobby was empty except for a single security guard who barely glanced at me before waving me toward the elevators.
“Fifty-two,” he said, like he’d been expecting me.
My pulse kicked higher.
The elevator ride felt endless. I watched the numbers climb, each one tightening the knot in my chest.
When the doors opened, I stepped into a nightmare.
The hallway was long and dimly lit, expensive art on the walls, but all I could focus on was the scene at the far end: two men in dark suits holding my father between them like a prisoner. His shirt was torn, blood trickling from his nose, one eye already swelling shut.
“Dad!” I started running.
“Stop.” One of the men held up a hand. “He’s fine. Just a little... disagreement about payment terms.”
I skidded to a halt, chest heaving. “What the fuck is going on?”
Dad wouldn’t look at me. His head hung low, shoulders shaking.
The man smiled, cold and professional. “Your father will explain. Inside.”
He gestured to the massive double doors behind him. Carved wood, brass handles, the kind of doors that cost more than my entire apartment.
“I’m not going anywhere until someone tells me what’s happening.”
“You don’t have a choice, Miss Finner.” The second man spoke now. “Your presence was requested. You can walk in on your own, or we can carry you. Either way, you’re going inside.”
My father finally looked up, and what I saw in his eyes made my blood run cold.
Shame. Guilt. And something else I couldn’t name.
“Please, Ari,” he whispered. “Just... just go inside. I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” I asked, my heart hammering behind my ribs.
But they were already opening the doors, and the second man had his hand on my elbow, firm enough to hurt, guiding me forward.
The office was massive. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, modern furniture that probably cost more than a car, and a conference table in the center made of dark polished wood.
Two men sat waiting. They looked like lawyers maybe…I couldn’t tell.
“Miss Finner.” The one on the left stood, extending a hand I didn’t shake. He didn’t seem bothered. “Please, sit.”
“I’ll stand.”
“Suit yourself.” He slid a thick manila folder across the table toward me. “We have some documents that require your attention.”
I didn’t move. “What’s going on?... Where’s my dad?”
“Being attended to. He’ll join us shortly. But first, we need to discuss the terms of your father’s debt.”
My mouth went dry. “His what?”
The man opened the folder, revealing page after page of contracts, signatures, legal jargon I couldn’t process. “Your father borrowed a substantial sum from Mr. Black. Twelve million dollars, to be exact. The terms were very clear, repayment within six months, with interest, or collateral would be collected.”
Twelve million. Jesus Christ.
“The deadline was yesterday,” the second man added, almost gently. “Your father has been... unable to fulfill his obligations.”
“So what?” My voice came out higher than I wanted. “You’re going to take his car? His house? He doesn’t have anything left, you can’t—”
“We’re not here for his car, Miss Finner.”
The first man pulled out another document and turned it to face me.
My photo stared back at me. Driver’s license information. Date of birth. Social security number. Medical records.
And at the bottom, my father’s signature.
My breath caught in my throat.
“What the fuck is this?”
“A collateral agreement,” the man said calmly. “Your father offered you as payment. One year of service in Mr. Black’s household, in exchange for debt forgiveness and a grace period to gather funds.”
The room tilted.
“Service,” I said. “What kind of service?”
“Whatever Mr. Black requires.” The man’s face remained perfectly neutral. “You’ll live in his penthouse. Follow his rules. Serve his needs. For three hundred and sixty-five days, you belong to him.”
“No.” I backed toward the door, heart slamming against my ribs. “No, this is insane, this is illegal, you can’t just—”
“It’s all legal, Miss Finner. Your father signed the contract. He had full authority to offer you as collateral. You’re twenty-two, unmarried, no dependents. The agreement is binding.”
“I didn’t sign anything!”
“You don’t have to.” The second man stood now too, and something in his eyes made my knees weak. “The debt is your father’s. The payment is you. Refuse, and we’ll collect in... other ways.”
The threat hung in the air like smoke.
I thought of my father’s bloody face…the way he’d begged me to come.
“Where is he?” My voice cracked. “I want to see him. Now.”
They exchanged a glance, and the first man nodded toward the door.
It opened.
My father stumbled in, supported by the same two men from the hallway. He looked worse up close, bruises blooming across his jaw, blood crusted under his nose, hands shaking so badly he could barely stand.
“Dad...”
“I’m sorry.” Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the blood. “Aria, I’m so sorry, I didn’t have a choice, they were going to kill me, I didn’t know what else to do—”
“You sold me.”
Heat burned through my chest.
“You sold your own daughter, Dad.”
“It’s only a year,” he sobbed. “One year and then you’re free and the debt is forgiven and I’ll get the money somehow, I swear, I’ll fix this—”
“You’ll fix this?” Something inside me snapped. “You haven’t fixed a goddamn thing in five years! Mom died because you couldn’t pay for her treatment, we lost the house because you gambled it away, and now you’re trading me like I’m a fucking used car!”
“Aria, please—”
“Get him out of here,” I said. I couldn’t look at him anymore. “Just get him the fuck out!”
The men dragged him toward the door, and I heard his voice breaking as they pulled him away: “I love you, baby, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...”
Then the door closed and I was alone with the lawyers and the contract.
I was collateral now.
Property.
Owned.
“We understand this is difficult,” the first man said, like he was talking about a parking ticket instead of my entire fucking life. “But Mr. Black is not unreasonable. Follow his rules, fulfill your obligations, and the year will pass quickly.”
“And if I refuse?” I forced myself to meet his eyes. “If I walk out right now?”
“Your father will be held responsible for the full debt. Plus penalties. Plus interest.” He leaned forward slightly. “They’ll find him, Miss Finner. And what happened tonight will seem merciful compared to what comes next.”
My hands curled into fists, nails biting into my palms.
I thought about running, changing my name, leaving the city and never looking back.
But I knew they’d find Dad. Knew they’d make him pay for my freedom in blood.
Goddamn him. Goddamn his weakness and his debts and his fucking cowardice.
And goddamn me for still loving him enough to care.
“What happens now?”
“You’ll be picked up at midnight tomorrow,” the first man said. “Pack light—one bag. Leave your phone, your laptop, any communication devices. Mr. Black will provide everything you need.”
“How generous,” I spat.
“He can be, when his property behaves.”
Property. The word made my skin crawl.
I looked at the contract, at my own face staring back from that document.
This couldn’t be real. Things like this didn’t happen in the real world, people weren’t bought and sold, women weren’t traded for debt—
Except they were.
In Jade Black’s world, anything could be bought.
Including me.
“Do I have a choice?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“You always have a choice, Miss Finner.” The man’s voice was almost kind. “But some choices have consequences you might not survive.”
My stomach turned.
“The car will arrive at your apartment at 11:45 PM tomorrow,” the first man said, handing me a card with an address. “Be ready. Don’t be late. Mr. Black doesn’t appreciate delays.”
I looked like prey.
And tomorrow night, I’d meet the predator who owned me.
