Chapter 1
After four consecutive night shifts and barely a few hours of sleep this week, I finally had a night off. Taking time off was never really my habit, but the past few days had drained me. I’d been working days and nights, just trying to make ends meet. I am the only one working in this family . My mother passed away two years ago, and since then, my father became a completely different person. Grief and despair had consumed him, turning him into an alcoholic and a gambler. Money became his sole obsession, while family—the very people who needed him—became an afterthought.
To protect my five-year-old sister from the terror he’d become, I had no choice but to send her to a boarding school.
I jumped into my bed, running my fingers along the smooth satin mattress as I pressed my cheek against the comfortable crimson pillows. I let the darkness envelop me, surrendering to a deep, soothing sleep.
A few hours later, I was jolted awake by the sound of someone pounding on the front door. My eyes snapped open, wide as flashlight beams, and for a moment, I convinced myself it was just my alcoholic father.
Like a shot, I sprang out of bed and made my way toward the door. But then, I saw a long, thin figure standing in the middle of the living room. It was my father. So, it wasn’t him pounding on the door.
Who could it be, then?
I froze, torn between opening the door or staying where I was. My mind raced in confusion, but before I could decide, I saw my father moving toward the door.
“Dad, I think it’s safer to let the door close,” I murmured.
“Shut up! You disgrace! Do not tell me what I should do!” he yelled.
My father unlocked the door, and in an instant, two massive men slammed it open and stormed inside.
Fear gripped my father’s face. A strangled cry for help rose in his throat, but he couldn’t find the words. Tears streaked down his cheeks, his hands and legs trembling uncontrollably. I had never seen him like this—never seen him so small, so vulnerable. He had always been the one who instilled terror in my life, the one who made me feel powerless.
But now, he was the one being afraid.
He knew these men. They were no strangers to him.
Adrenaline surged through me, jolting my nervous system and making my heart race in my chest. Who are these men? The question echoed in my mind, but my voice was too weak to form an answer.
“Who are you?” I screamed, my voice cracking with fear.
No one responded.
Without hesitation, they grabbed my father by the collar and shoved him against the wall. My entire body trembled with fear. I felt a wave of nausea rise in my stomach, a cold sweat breaking out across my skin. They came for him.
What had he done this time?
I couldn’t even count how many times I had to pull him from the messes he’d made, the countless times I’d saved him from his vices. Yet here we are again.
“Let go of my father!” I yelled with a cracking voice.
Nipped toward them. I grabbed the man’s arm and tried to pull him away from my father, but he was stronger than my expectation. Annoyed, he smacked and threw me on the floor.His five fingers stamped on my face causing a burning sensation on my cheek.
““Where’s the money, Johnson?” the stranger roared, his voice deep and menacing.
“I...I...I don’t have it yet” my father busted in tears.
“Do you know what that means?” The other man slapped my father. “We will kill you!” he shouted in my father’s ear, enough to make his eardrums explored.
“Please, don’t hurt my father,” I pleaded, clutching at the men’s feet in desperation.
Infuriated by my persistence to save my dad, the massive man grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me to stand face-to-face with him. Pain coursed through me as if my hair might be ripped from my scalp, but it didn’t matter. All I wanted was to save my father from the edge of death. No matter what kind of man my father had become, I couldn’t abandon him to his fate.
“Little girl, your father borrowed money from our boss for gambling and he did not return it. It’s the law of the mafia to kill the one who does not respect our protocol,” he whispered near my ears.
“Tell me how much he owes you and I will return the money,” I pleaded.
“Give us two million rupees then!” he ordered.
“Millions! How could you do this dad? I give you money every month, I sacrifice myself for you and you just keep on becoming worse every day,” I busted in tears.
The more I cried, the louder was the laughter. They seemed to take twisted amusement in the father-daughter arguments.The black man ran his fingers through my soft brown hair, his gaze lingering on my dark blue eyes before slowly lowering to my pink lips and then scanning my entire body. He drooled at my nightgown in such a malicious way that I felt naked. He was full of lust for sure.
“What’s your name?” he asked me. His lips were so close to mine that I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin.
“Alysia” I whispered back.
He continued to glare at me for what felt like an eternity, his gaze making my skin crawl. Then, with a flick of his hand, he signaled to the other man to release my father’s collar. The other man was taller, with short, soft blond hair, a pale complexion, and a muscular build. He stared blankly at his partner for a moment, clearly confused, before reluctantly obeying. A glimpsed of hope rose into my heart and goose bumped my body.
“What if we make a deal?” The black man smiled maliciously at my father.
“What deal?” my father asked curiously.
“Exchange your daughter for your debt!” .
“NO! NO!” I shouted. “ “Dad, please don’t accept this offer! I’m your daughter— you can’t sell me for your debt!” ”.
“Shut up!” he shouted back
Oh, my god! Is my father going to sell me? His own daughter! After my mother passed away, I kept caring for him, despite his abusive behavior.
I hate him now! Oh God, please save me, I kept praying desperately...
