Chapter One
Once upon a time, there was a man, Mr Miller, who had a beautiful daughter. The problem with him was that Mr Miller loved to drink and gamble. He was addicted to the rolling of dices and tossing of cards to the point he was dirt poor. He soon used his daughter as a way to get back onto the tables. He would brag about her beauty and many men would try to gamble to a win a night with her. The issue was, as soon as they won, they found out Mr Miller had no idea where his daughter was. He would then get a right beating from his opponents, before they tossed him out onto the streets, moving on their next game.
The thing was, his daughter had left as soon as she could. She secretly saved up and worked odd hours until she finished school and left without a note. It had taken Mr Miller a few weeks to notice but by then, he had a grand idea to remortgage his house for money. The house was soon repossessed and Mr Miller would find another cunning tactics to get another bottle and live in the alleyways. He soon found a comfortable method of living and happily continued his pitiful existence in between gambling rooms and bars.
Mr Miller would go on for days with the same tactic until another fool fell for his bragging and played a game. It wasn't until he run into a young man did his luck change. He had been bragging about his daughter, as per usual, when he caught the interest from him. He asked for more information, but Mr Miller was a greedy man and asked for money. He gave the money and more information was given about her. Some night, Mr Miller, would make up lies and others he would truthfully tell him what he remembered.
The young man took interest in this girl. He wanted her. He last relationship had just burnt down and he was looking for someone new. This girl, she seemed perfect for him. He could simply make her his queen but first he would test her, to see if she was as resourceful and clever as Mr Miller had mentioned. Only then, would he be certain that she was the girl for him. He asked to meet her and Mr Miller promised a meeting next time, after taking some more money.
The next meeting, Mr Miller never showed up. The man was furious. He hated being made a fool of. The room he was in, had been decorated to show his anger.
He sent his men to go look for him. What Mr Miller didn't know was that this young man was very powerful and not someone to cross unless you had a death wish. The men returned with new of Mr Miller's death, apparently he had died at the hands of someone else who had a gambling debt to settle with him. It seems like he was too late. They searched for his home and daughter, they didn't find either.
The thing about powerful men, is they always had contacts to help them stay in place. He was not going to waste time with sending his men to search. They had already taken too much time up with searching for the dead Mr Miller. He had plans to carry out and he was an impatient man, at times. The young man already knew who to call to find the girl. He dialed the number and waited.
"It's been long, what do you want from me?" a familiar voice replied.
"I need you to find me someone, what is your prices?" the young man replied. He knew he would be expensive but this man always got the job quickly and seeing as he hated to wait, he was willing to pay the price of his services.
"Mmm, this sounds might important, I think we should leave this as another IOU." It was always a bit dangerous to be left with a debt with him, but the young man was impatient. He couldn't get further with his plans for the girl, if he didn't know where she was.
"We have a deal." He hoped this wasn't going to cost him too much. This was just another IOU added to the list of things he owed him.
"It was lovely doing business with you, friend," he replied. They were anything but friends. Just two men, who knew each other, for a very long time.
"Don't mess this up for me, I need to find her soon. She owes me something..." The young man referred to all the promises her father had made to him. He wasn't so sure what type of girl she would be anymore, but he had to at least try.
"Oh, so she's a rebound for-"
"Don't mention her," he harshly cut him off. He was still bitter after the last meeting with her, and didn't want to talk about her anymore. She had made her feeling very clear.
"I see, well send over the information you do have about her, and I will go find her," he instructed before hanging up. The information was quickly sent over for him to start the search.
The man, who had been enlisted to look for the girl was no older than the young man, wanting her. He waited until the information had been sent through. The search for Dawn Miller and she was soon found.
Dawn was used to waiting in long lines for overpriced coffee for her boss. She always specified which hipster cafes to go to and the order always the same; black coffee, no sugar for the boss and anything strong to keep her awake for any demands thrown at her. Her job was taxing but she wouldn't trade it for anything, because it was one thing that kept her afloat financially. There was nothing appealing about living on the streets.
Everyone referred to her boss as Her Majesty. It started off as a joke when the fashion magazine was started but it soon stuck and Her Majesty was branded as her official nickname. Her demands might as well as been as high a the real Queen of England with all the inconveniences Dawn had gone through since she started the job, but she couldn't really complain because the pay was worth it. She got paid more than the average personal assistant and she was sure she wouldn't find a better job with her lack of qualifications. The was also a few perks that came in the form of high fashion clothes.
She had been lucky so far, to have got a decent job and a roof over her head. It beat having more than one job and then being at odd hours. She was starting to get by and was finally happy after the struggles she had been through since she had left home. Little did she know, that her happily ever after, was about to be ripped away from her again.
Today, there was a break in Dawn's usual routine which caused her to get frustrated. Usually she would place her order over the phone and collect it quickly but a new coffee barista was working on the orders and seemed to be behind on all the work. She tapped her foot impatiently, wishing he had actually listened to her when she originally called ten minutes earlier to place her order. At least she was always early so technically she wouldn't be in trouble because she always made sure to arrive before Her Majesty.
The coffee shop was full as usual. Apparently, the prices didn't dissuade any customers from buying but then again, the customers consisted of the hip and trendy youth, whom rejected the mainstream coffee shops. She felt out of place in her formal, professional wear whilst most of them were university students in ripped jeans and graphic t-shirts. This caused a lot of people to through judgmental stares in her direction, making her feel more out of place than before.
Her blue eyes constantly drifted to the clock, hoping that this new guy would hurry up and hoped he wouldn't mess up the simple orders she had given. A plus side to working for Her Majesty, was that she had accounts all over town so Dawn didn't have to worry about paying. The new barista sent a smile in her directions as he handed another customer their order and Dawn had to hold back the glare she wanted to through him. She remembered how tough it could be on her first day at a new job. Tomorrow, I would order earlier, Dawn made a mental note.
Dawn stopped tapping her foot to try and keep an appearance of someone more calm and collected. She smoothed her black blouse and tucked a blonde strand of her behind her ear. She mindlessly started playing with the ring on her finger. The ring was a simple gold band with a pinkish-red oval stone perfectly set in the middle. A family heirloom. A constant reminder of Dawn's past, one she would rather forget.
"That's a lovely ring," a voice jolted Dawn out of deep thought.
Dawn immediately went defensive. He eyed the attractive young stranger. He stood tall, with an easy going smile that didn't quite fit in with his predatory gaze. His eyes were dark and calculating, but calculating what? The charcoal suit sat perfectly on his broad shoulders, clinging to his lean figure. It was tailor-made, Dawn noticed as she took his appearance in. He was definitely from money and someone to be careful of. He didn't look that much older than herself, but he had definitely experienced the world.
Dawn wanted to run, something was off about this guy and she had learned that it was always better to trust her instincts but despite her better judgement, she stayed stuck to her spot.
"Thank you," she replied politely. She turned to face away from the stranger, in hopes of cutting the conversation short but luck wasn't on her side today.
"Would you be willing to sell? I'm sure it could fetch a lovely price," he suggested, staring intently at the ring. Dawn could've easily ignored him but something told her not to.
"No," she sharply replied. She removed her finger out of sight, as if he would suddenly forget the conversation. Dawn wouldn't let him have it, she was all set with her current job and had no problem with the bills, with her careful spending to avoid debt. There was no reason to sell her ring, plus it was one of the few things she took with her before she left.
His eyes snapped from her hand to her face, searching for something. His eyes had hardened but the easy going smile stayed plastered to his face. To on goers, it would look like a friendly conversation was taking place between them, instead there was something sinister brewing beneath the surface but poor Dawn had no idea yet.
"Oh, what a shame..."
He started to scan my appearance from head to toe. It should've looked like a guy simply checking out a girl but there was something mechanical about his movements.
Dawn tensed up, in confusion about his actions. She watched him carefully to see if he would give his motives away but nothing. Had she got it all wrong? Was he interested in her ring, enough to ask try and date her? What did he want from her?
"HM," the barista called out. Dawn removed her attention from him and turned to grab the two steaming cups of coffee. The moment with the stranger was forgot as her mind raced ahead to all the things she needed to do today. She just hoped they didn't taste bad or she would have to make another coffee run some place else.
Unfortunately, the stranger wasn't going to let go easily. He leaned over, pressing his muscular front to her back and then whispered into her ear, "If you change your mind, be sure to give me a visit."
Dawn could feel his hot breath against her neck, her body tense again. She watched his two gloved fingers placed a business card in the cup holder, between the two cups. He stepped back.
Dawn shook her head, ready to decline his invitation, but when she turned around, he was already out the door getting lost in the morning rush. There was no point in chasing him down like an idiot now.
Dawn instead scanned the crisp white business. The cursive font was a shimmering gold that reflected the light. The middle of the card held an address with the name Gold in bold, above a simple catchphrase; 'Turning hay into gold for generations.'
There was no email or number, only a place to meet him. It would be unlikely that should would ever need his services but it was always good to keep a decent amount of contacts in her job. The card was safely placed in her bag and rushed off to work. She was going to be late if she didn't get a move one and Her Majesty hated tardiness. She banished thoughts of the stranger and continued her day as usual as she joined the morning rush. Little did she know that this was the start of a long streak of bad luck.
Meanwhile, the stranger watched Dawn from across the street in the shadows. A predatory smile had replaced his easy going smile. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"I found the girl."
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