Darius's POV

Freya's agreement to become my slave until they would be able to pay off the debt, which was most likely never going to happen, brought me some unimaginable joy, and I smirked at her response.

I didn't know if she agreed because she was stupid or she was just desperate to save her father, but she had just signed a deal with the devil. 

"Let him go," I ordered the cops who seemed to be waiting for our final decision before dragging Mr Vinter away. 

They released him immediately, and Freya stood up to hug her father. She cupped his cheeks with so much affection in her eyes, and I just watched how they both argued among themselves.

"Freya, it's not too late to change your mind. I don't mind going with the police if it means securing a better future for you. You shouldn't sacrifice your dreams for me, it's not worth it," Mr. Vinter sobbed, and I rolled my eyes in disgust.

He should have considered himself lucky for having a daughter who was stupid enough to sacrifice her freedom.

"I will be fine," Freya promised.

"I know that I have always been a burden to you, and I apologize for being such a useless father, but you have done enough. You deserve all the good things out there, not slaving here to pay a debt I didn't even owe," he whispered but we all heard him loud and clear.

"Don't say degrading things to yourself out of pity, we will be fine," Freya assured her father as she tried to muster up her courage, but she failed woefully. 

Streams of tears flowed down her cheeks, and she sniffed back, trying to hold them back, but it was too late.

"Mr Ravenhall, please, just let the cops take me instead," Mr Vinter turned to me, begging with a running nose.

A pathetic display indeed.

Without giving him a response, I clicked my tongue and left for my room to grab the file I had forgotten in the morning.

That was the reason I came back home in the first place, before meeting with their melodrama and shenanigans.

I thought they would be a good distraction which was why I interrupted in the first place because usually, I wouldn't have given a fuck whether her father rot in the house or died in prison.

The responsibility on my shoulders ever since the death of my father kept on growing wider, and I was starting to get overwhelmed by the pressure.

It was always one issue or another. The board of directors wanted me to take charge and continue from where my father left off —not that it was an issue because I had been preparing for this day my whole life, but with the way funds kept on getting missing from the company's account without anyone to hold responsible, the task was becoming increasingly impossible.

People were starting to say maybe my father was the one that embezzled all of that money before he died but if that was true, that money would either be with me or my mom, but from all I know, the money didn't even exist.

Anger and frustration were the only emotions I understood these days so when I saw Freya and her father earlier, I forgot my problems for a while and just used them as a distraction.

I drove back to the office having picked up the file I needed, when Lila, my secretary, followed after me the second I got to work.

"Welcome back sir, you have a guest waiting in your office."

"A guest? Why would you allow anyone into my office when I am not around? Do I need to remind you about how to get your job properly done, or would you rather learn your lesson by getting fired?" I glared at her, and she shook her head nervously.

"I'm sorry sir, but it is Mr Malik. I told him that you were not around but he insisted on waiting."

My eyes rolled at the mention of the old lawyer.

"I knew how close he was to you, so I couldn't turn him down—"

"One more excuse, and you will be dragged out by the security," I hissed and that was enough to shut her up.

I went into my office angrily and met Malik sitting comfortably on my chair.

"Mr Malik, is there a problem?" I frowned at the sight, and he stood up immediately.

"Mr. Ravenhall, I didn't know you were back," he said, joining me on the couch, and I felt irritated by how he roamed around my office freely as he owned it.

I didn't like this man and he knew this, yet he didn't cease to give me more reasons to hate him these days.

"I heard you have been struggling to keep everything in place." He broke the silence, and I studied his demeanor.

"It's going to take time before I get used to things," I keened.

"Yeah, that is right. While you are at it, why don't you just sit back and allow me to handle things for you? Even when your father was alive, I handled most of the things, business-wise," Mr Malik said with a gentle smile, but I didn't trust his intention.

He acted a little too good to be true. I hated people who acted like they didn't care about the material stuff, in fact, it was what they craved for.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think I can handle things just fine. I have been preparing for this for years, I think I will do just fine." 

"I'm glad you think that way." Mr Malik smiled, and it disgusted me.

I wondered how long he would be able to hide his true intention.

"Why are you here anyway? Judging from how you insisted on staying, according to Lila, it must have been important."

"All the paperwork needs attention, and since you planned on handling it, I suppose you get to work already." 

"Right? I asked Lila to ask you to send some documents over. I need to monitor the company's account because nothing seems to make sense as we speak," I said, and he nodded.

"Right. I will send it to your mail before the day runs out." He said, before taking his leave.

I knew accepting his help would help me go a long way, but I was not my father, and I didn't trust people blindly.

As soon as he left my office, I went back to my chair and began to stroll through them, trying to find out what my father was up to before he died.

None of the paperwork contained any useful information other than a bunch of papers waiting for my signature and proof that the people we paid a fortune monthly couldn't do their job rightly.

I hissed for the umpteenth time that morning and brought out my father's laptop once again. I have been trying to unlock it, but I couldn't think of what his password might be.

After several attempts, I was finally able to unlock it, and I beamed at myself proudly.

I went through his documents and when I stumbled upon a chat he kept under documents to show its importance. I opened it, only to find out that he had lost a very rare stone and no one knew about it other than Mr Malik.

My suspicion grew at the thought, and I wondered why Mr Malik never informed me about the stone.

Judging from the chat, it was very precious and might even be worth billions of dollars in the black market.

"This fool thinks I am here to play!" I hissed under my breath as I pushed myself off the chair and marched down to his office.

But as I got to his office, my legs froze at the door.

He was having a conversation with someone and the familiar voice shocked me.

"All you have to do is stay in that house and follow my order. I will pay your father's debt, and you can go back to your normal, I just need you to find that thing for me, and we are good."

I leaned closer to the door, confused about what was going on and I waited patiently for the other person to speak. 

"I'd do anything you ask of me as long as my father's name gets cleared in return," Freya's voice echoed through the room, and I staggered back out of shock.

What game was Mr. Malik playing at?