"Are you ignoring me?" Victor asked me, though it sounded more like a statement

Yes, I was.

He kept bombarding me with his supposed advice to help me, which in reality were nothing more than insults to me. At one point it felt like dealing with a toxic ex-boyfriend who was trying to convince me that the best thing for me was to stay away from my friends. Apparently I was the fool who couldn't see it.

Having friends is being weak according to Victor. It's not that he really cared what was going to happen to me, but it was obvious that he didn't want to make any extra effort and for that he needed to get rid of any minimal threat, even if that meant leaving me locked up in my father's mansion.

I didn't need to answer him, he didn't need me to say anything to confirm his suspicions. I preferred to pick up my empty plate from the table and take it to the kitchen.

"Oh no, you're so evil, giving me the silent treatment." Victor followed me to the kitchen and leaned against the counter while I washed the plate. "You do know we have a cleaning service right?"

"Do you ever shut up?" I snapped, tired of listening to his nonsense for days.

Victor took the plate out of my hand and grabbed a rag to dry it. "People say I'm a pretty quiet man, maybe there's something about you that makes me talkative."

"Well, learn to control those impulses because I don't need your opinion."

"I'd beg to differ, considering your stupid decisions I'd say you really need my advice," he said, putting the plate away. "I still can't believe you're considering accepting the conditions of a nobody."

"You're talking about the creator of the most coveted drug right now, I think I have enough reasons to take her into account." I turned around and walked out of the kitchen.

And of course Victor couldn't leave me alone. "It could be a trap. I'm not going to let you enter a building alone if I don't know if someone is waiting inside to kill you."

"I can defend myself." I felt stupid having to say that in the halls of the mansion.

"You have fire in you, I won't deny that, but it won't be enough to bring down a group of specialized assassins."

That was a pretty far-fetched scene, there was no doubt that Victor had a great imagination when it came to creating possible dangerous scenarios for me.

"Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?" I asked him for the fifth time that day. It was impossible to break free from the torture.

"Actually, I have a meeting with your father in fifteen minutes."

I didn't expect to hear that, it was like the universe was sending me a miracle carved especially for me.

If my father distracted him for long enough I could talk to Olivier in peace. Maybe I could even implement an escape plan.

To top off my good luck, we arrived right at my room.

"Have fun with my father, then," I said, hiding my excitement as I closed the door leaving Victor in the hallway.

"There are still fifteen minutes left, don't try to get away from me so quickly." He put his hand on the door preventing it from closing completely.

"I'm going to be alone in my room. Can't you give me a minimum of privacy?"

"Fine, but I want to see you before I leave with your father."

×××

I never in my life thought I would have to sneak out through my balcony. It wasn't my first choice either, I wanted to sneak out the door but Victor had the great idea of putting Jacob, aka his right hand-man, in his place while he went to the meeting.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity, especially when Olivier had gotten Mila to agree to see me on such short notice. I had to get out of the mansion at all costs even if it meant I had to act like a horny teenager sneaking out to party.

Once I reached the floor I circled the mansion, covering myself with the shadows until I reached the gate. Outside, Xander, one of the guards who owed me a favor, was waiting for me with the car ready to escape.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Xander said as I settled into the backseat. "Victor is going to kill me if he finds out."

"My father would have killed you years ago if he found out you stole one of his late wife's jewels. Let's go, or do you want to get caught?"

"This is the only favor I'm going to do for you." Xander glanced at me in the rearview mirror before pulling away.

Once we drove away from the mansion everything went perfectly and by the time Olivier met me in front of the abandoned building at the port I felt like a champion.

"You got rid of Victor, I see," Olivier said, hugging me. "Come on, Mila is waiting for you inside."

It turned out that no group of assassins was waiting for me inside the building. The only threat to me was the dubious state of the corroded walls which looked ready to collapse.

"This way." Olivier led me to the only room that still had a door. "Mila is nice, I'm sure everything will turn out perfectly."

It was not unusual for him to speak well of his childhood friend, yet all my doubts were dispelled when Olivier opened the door and the young woman entered my field of vision.

Mila was the kind of person who just looked sweet. Her big lips formed a gorgeous smile and her round brown eyes had a curious sparkle behind the oval glasses. She was also petite, and the way she stood, with her hands clasped over her stomach as she rocked back and forth, made me think she was more nervous than I was.

"It's nice to finally meet you," I said smiling to help her relax. "Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"It's alright, I was already done with my work today anyway." She looked down. "Olivier said you're interested in the flare."

I nodded and waited for Olivier to approach her first so I could follow him, the last thing I wanted was to scare her off.

"I'll get straight to the point so I don't waste your time. I want exclusivity. Without you they can try to recreate the drug but it won't be the same." I stood in front of her. "I'm sure I can offer you a better deal than my uncle, just tell me what you want and I'll give it to you."

"I want four hundred thousand dollars per month for as long as you keep distributing my drugs and a lab and equipment of my own." Mila was more than clear about what her request was. "I also need protection, if I'm going to work only for you no one can guarantee that your enemies won't come looking for me."

"I'm guessing that you want to choose your team members?" I asked her.

"I already have a few people in mind, to be honest." Mila scratched the inside of her wrist. "And I forgot something, Olivier is the one who will be in charge of our communication."

She had more than reasonable conditions, for being the only person who knew the formula of the most revolutionary drug of recent years, Mila was being quite austere.

"I'll send my lawyer to draw up the contract if that's okay with you." I jumped to accept her offer immediately, I couldn't miss such an opportunity. "Why me? You could have asked the exact same thing to my uncle."

"Well, I never would have gone to college if it wasn't for the scholarship your father gave me. He did a lot for me, I guess it's my time to give something back."

Bless my father. Thanks to him, what could have been an endless negotiation took less than half an hour. I didn't even get to process my success and I was already outside the building hugging Olivier in gratitude.

And Victor was so worried about this, I thought, waving to my friend through the window as the car pulled away.

"That was fast," Xander said, completely relaxed.

"I told you we were going to be okay, now we just need to get back before Victor notices."

"Good luck with-."

That was the moment everything went to shit.

A car came out of nowhere and hit us, knocking Xander off balance. He managed to regain control just in time to stop us from crashing into the light pole, but it was too late to escape.

The car crossed diagonally in front of us and another behind us. Suddenly we were caught in a hail of gunfire, one after another until a bullet managed to break through the reinforced glass and graze Xander's arm.

"Stay down," Xander ordered me, starting the engine once more.

I lowered my head and reached for my gun, preparing for the worst. No matter how hard he tried, Xander couldn't move the car, they outnumbered us, and we didn't have time to call for help either.

At that moment I could think of only one thing: Victor.

I knew he wouldn't get there in time but a part of me thought I would feel safer if I could hear his voice.

What a weak girl I was. Instead of trying to fight like Xander, I looked up Victor's contact on my phone and pressed call.

Straight to voicemail.

My mind began to accept defeat while my heart wanted to insist on contacting Victor.

What was he doing that he wasn't answering me?

My answer came in the form of gunfire. Three cars that I recognized as part of the Barone fleet surrounded our attackers.

I couldn't see much because of the bullets that kept flying in my direction. After some minutes they slowly diminished and the group led by Victor became visible.

For the first time, I was able to witness Victor in action. He walked straight towards his enemies with a big smile on his face. The happiness he felt when shooting at their heads was evident, and the more he laughed the more nervous I became.

My stomach closed the instant Victor killed the last of my attackers. I should have been relieved to be alive, but I was terrified of what lay ahead.

"I told you not to go anywhere without me." Victor's voice was low and deep as he opened the car door.

I was so dead.