Chapter 2 Debt Collateral

Emily pensively by the side of the window, her face turned out with a blank look. She had been cooped up in this room for four days, with no one giving her an explanation.

The girl didn't experience any mistreatment at all. One might even say she was well served. Every day, this well-built man would regularly bring food and a change of clothes for Emily.

Emily wanted to ask the man for an explanation, but she didn't have the courage. His stature and face made Emily's guts shrink.

The door opened in the middle of Emily's trance, and the man reappeared. "Miss, please come with me. There is someone who wants to see you."

Emily's mind was immediately filled with questions. She walked towards the door, and the man stepped aside to make way.

Emily walked, following the man while looking around. She could conclude that this was a place built on a vast land. The owner must be someone wealthy.

The man stopped in front of a door and opened it. "The person who wants to see you will be here soon. Please wait inside."

While waiting, Emily remembered everything she had seen while outside. The design of this place is very unusual. Even though it has a vast land area, minimal space is used for buildings. In addition, the location of the buildings is far from each other. The room where Emily was locked was a pavilion far from the main building.

Emily heard footsteps approaching. Turning around, she was stunned to see a familiar face.

"Mr Don!" whispered Emily in a trembling voice. "What does all this mean?"

"Emily, I will explain everything to you. I hope you will listen to my explanation calmly until it is finished." He was sitting on the couch right across from Emily.

"How did you bring me here?"

"Emily, I'll explain everything," Don replied with a sigh. He tried not to look into Emily's eyes, making him feel even more guilty. "Firstly, I only pretended to be your client, and I'm sorry."

"Pretend?" whispered Emily in disbelief.

Don tried to avoid Emily's piercing eyes. "My main goal is to approach you and bring you to this house."

"Why do you have to use the very troublesome kidnapping mode?" Emily sneered fiercely.

"Emily, this isn't a kidnapping, and we chose a quiet approach so as not to cause a scene."

"Sneakily taking people without consent isn't called kidnapping?"

"We aren't kidnappers, Emily."

"We?" Emily squinted. "That means you're not alone!"

"I'm just helping someone," Don said with a heavy heart.

"Then what do you want? You will be disappointed if you think you have something to gain by kidnapping me. I am not worth looking for. Perhaps no one is aware that I disappeared." Emily hoped Don would regret choosing the wrong target for the kidnapping.

"We know all that." The Don nodded stiffly. "We know every detail of your life. Nothing escapes our understanding."

Emily gasped at Don's words. The thing he said sounded horrific to her ears. How could someone know all the details about her when they don't know each other? Emily couldn't fathom why they had made her a target for stalking.

"So please give me a chance to explain everything, Emily." Now Don's tone of voice sounded gentler. He hoped Emily would understand and not stare at him in such fear as now.

"Then explain," Emily said resignedly. She chose silence to listen to all while placing her hands together in her lap. Emily wished it would cover her trembling hands.

Don exhaled again before asking, "You know Kevin Jordie?"

Emily just nodded and waited for Don to speak again.

"Kevin Jordie is in debt with our company, and he's taking you as collateral." Don opened the folder containing the agreement and showed it to Emily.

Emily took the file. Her eyes widened at the contents of the agreement. Emily's gaze locked on the bottom of the letter. She saw the name and signature on it. Kevin Jordie.

Shame on you, Kevin Jordie! Until when are you going to complicate my life? Emily cursed inside.

"How could he be in debt to this big?" Emily asked, holding back anger, "Is he gambling?"

Don looked pityingly at the girl in front of him.

"So, how can people be used as collateral? The collateral should be in the form of assets, land or houses." In trembling, Emily continued, "Wait, what about his company? I think that's worth a lot more to serve as collateral."

"That man has no assets to serve as collateral, while his company will not make any profit for us." Don tried to explain, "When it comes to gambling, the answer is yes and no."

Emily frowned. "Why would a big company like the Harrison Company want to lend money to a gambler?"

"Kevin Jordie came to us and made us an offer of cooperation. He wanted to participate in constructing one of our hotel projects. However, in doing so, he broke the agreement. He could not finish the construction on time, which cost us money. Meanwhile-"

"Sir, don't try to fool me," Emily interrupted. She may be very young, but she is not stupid. "How is it possible that a delay in the completion of hotel construction could lead to a debt of this size?"

"Indeed, if you are only late in completing the construction, the amount will not reach this size. However, it's a different matter if the contractor runs away and abandons the construction without providing compensation," said Don, observing the look on Emily's face that looked confused.

"If he has run away, then what about this agreement that was made? If this agreement was made before the cooperation contract was issued, your contract should not be valid. How can humans be used as collateral objects?" Instantly Emily's fear disappeared and was replaced with hatred.

Don looked at Emily and gently said, "This agreement was made after he ran away."

"How can it be?" Emily asked, confused.

"We managed to trace his whereabouts," said Don.

"Then you should hold him responsible instead of kidnapping me like this," Emily hissed angrily.

"When we held him accountable, he said he had nothing. All his wealth is gone at the gambling table." Don shook his head, regretting the man's stupidity. "Kevin Jordie intended to solve the problem by risking his fortune through gambling, but unfortunately, that only made him fall even deeper."

Emily can conclude everything now. "So he handed me over as collateral that he would pay his debts. Is that what you mean?"

***