Chapter 2 2

The silk tie hit the thick carpet without a sound.

Boyd stared down at her. His eyes were completely black in the dim light of the bedroom. "Come here," he ordered. "Unbutton it."

Elinor pressed her back against the mattress. Her hands were shaking so violently she couldn't even form fists. The alcohol in her system made the room spin, but the terror kept her painfully awake. She couldn't move.

Boyd's jaw clenched. He stepped forward, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her off the bed. She crashed against his solid chest.

"Do it," he hissed.

He forced her trembling hands flat against his chest. She could feel the rapid, heavy beat of his heart through the expensive cotton of his dress shirt.

Elinor swallowed a sob. Her clumsy fingers fumbled with the top button at his collar. Her hands shook so much that her fingernail slipped, scraping sharply against his collarbone.

Boyd grabbed her hand, stopping her. His grip was like a steel vice. "Are you this incompetent at pleasing a man?" he mocked, his voice dripping with disgust.

The tears finally spilled over her lashes, hot and fast. "Please, Boyd," she begged, her voice cracking. "Don't do this..."

Boyd looked at her tears. A flash of deep irritation crossed his face. He let go of her hand, grabbed the lapels of his own shirt, and ripped it open. The small pearl buttons popped off, scattering across the hardwood floor like hail.

He shoved her backward. Elinor fell onto the soft mattress. Before she could scramble away, Boyd's massive frame covered her, blocking out the ceiling, the light, and the air in the room.

The night fractured into pieces of sharp pain and suffocating weight. Elinor squeezed her eyes shut, biting the inside of her cheek until her mouth filled with the taste of blood. She didn't scream. She just lay there, letting the darkness swallow her whole.

When the gray light of dawn finally crept through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Elinor was staring blankly at the wall. Her body felt like it had been shattered into a thousand pieces and glued back together wrong. She was numb.

She heard the rustle of fabric. Boyd was standing at the foot of the bed, already dressed in a fresh, perfectly tailored suit. He looked immaculate. The beast from the night before had vanished, replaced by the cold corporate king.

He walked around the bed and sat on the edge. He reached out. Elinor flinched, her breath catching in her throat.

Boyd's hand didn't stop. He traced the pad of his thumb over the dried tear tracks on her cheek. The gesture looked gentle, but his touch felt like ice.

"Do not forget," Boyd said quietly, his eyes locked on hers. "Your adoptive father's life is still in my hands."

He turned and picked up a thick manila folder from the nightstand. He tossed it onto the bed. It landed heavily against Elinor's bruised hip.

Elinor slowly pulled her gaze away from the wall and looked at the document. The bold black letters at the top read: Medical Debt Transfer and Personal Liberty Agreement.

Her eyes dropped to the bottom of the page. The total amount was printed in bold. One billion dollars.

Elinor's pupils dilated. The air rushed out of her lungs. She knew her father's treatments were expensive. She knew Boyd had paid for them. But she never knew it was this astronomical, impossible number.

"I bought all the debt from the hospital," Boyd explained, adjusting his cuffs. "I bought not only the hospital's debt, but the entire pharmaceutical patent that keeps him alive. Every single dose is now billed through me. One billion is just the start. You are the sole collateral."

He leaned in closer, his breath brushing her ear. "Every time you 'please' me, I might consider reducing a fraction of the interest."

The words hit her like physical blows. Her heart sank into a bottomless ocean of ice. This wasn't a one-night punishment for going to a bar. This was a life sentence.

A sudden surge of desperate anger broke through her numbness. She grabbed the thick stack of papers with both hands and tried to rip them in half.

Boyd caught her wrists instantly. He pinned her hands to the mattress with effortless strength.

"Don't be stupid, Elinor," he said, his voice flat. "You have no choice."

He released her, stood up, and smoothed the front of his jacket. He walked toward the bedroom door and opened it.

His executive assistant, Alex Stone, was standing in the hallway, his face completely blank.

"Take her to the private suite on the top floor," Boyd ordered, not looking back at the bed. "Let her reflect on her behavior for three days."

He paused, his hand on the doorknob. "She does not leave that room. She does not touch any electronic devices. No one speaks to her."

Elinor tried to sit up, to fight, but her muscles screamed in agony. Two female maids entered the room. They grabbed her by the arms and hauled her off the bed. Her legs gave out, and they dragged her out of the master bedroom.

They took her up a private staircase to the highest floor of the penthouse. They pushed her into a room and locked the door behind her.

Elinor stumbled and fell onto the thick white carpet. She looked around. The room was massive, decorated in gold and cream. It had a massive bed, a luxurious bathroom, and huge windows overlooking the city.

But there was no door handle on the inside of the heavy oak door. The windows were sealed shut, made of thick bulletproof glass. It was a gilded cage.

Maria, the older maid, walked in through a side door carrying a silk nightgown. Her face was a mask of stone. She stripped Elinor of her ruined clothes and dressed her in the silk, handling her like a lifeless mannequin.

Maria left, the lock clicking heavily behind her.

Elinor dragged herself to the bathroom mirror. She stared at the reflection. Her neck and collarbones were covered in dark purple bruises. Her eyes were hollow.

She turned and ran to the heavy oak door. She slammed her fists against the wood. "Let me out!" she screamed, her voice tearing her raw throat. "Boyd! Let me out!"

She pounded on the door until the sides of her hands bruised and bled. No one answered. The silence of the penthouse swallowed her screams.

Her legs finally gave out. She slid down the solid wood, her knees hitting the floor. She curled into a tight ball, her desperate sobs echoing off the high, golden ceiling of her prison.