THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB

I stared at the clock that read 6:00 p.m., and I rubbed my sweaty palms on my hoodie once more.

My nerves were all over the place as I thought of facing the man to whom my dad owes so much money.

I sighed. Why the hell would he squander roughly five million dollars on gambling?

I didn't even know what I was going to do about the company that gave him the contract.

I packed my hair into a tight bun behind my head, and one glance at the mirror told me that I was as hideous as they come.

I contemplated whether or not to lock the door.

When I got back home some hours ago, my dad was nowhere to be seen.

I was at least expecting him to be around, hovering around the door, anxious to hear the feedback I got from the lawyer.

I sighed, just shut the door behind me, and made my way to the address of the casino that the Golden Lawyer had sent me.

I chuckled; I didn't even ask him for his name.

When I got to the casino, a guard directed me in. Leading the way through the casino.

Everywhere was buzzing with music, and so many colors of light illuminated the place that I almost had a headache trying to see them.

A blush stained my cheeks as I watched male strippers dance for their female viewers, and on the other side of the casino were the female strippers giving one hell of a show to their viewers.

I pulled my eyes away before I saw something I wouldn't have.

We took the elevator up to the last floor.

"Last door." The guard said this as the door of the elevator closed. I was the only one in the massive hallway.

I could barely hear the blasting music from the casino below.

I walked slowly through the hallway and knocked on the third door.

Another guard opened it from inside.

There were three of them, and they gestured to the door behind them.

Why are there so many doors?!

When I walked in, I saw Noah sitting there already, and I noticed he was the only one.

I quickly ran to him with a smile.

" Hey,"

He looked at me with a cool expression and said, "Have your seat."

"Thank you." I sat opposite him, as I looked around the room to admire its lavish setting.

"Where is the casino owner?" I asked. 

I was very uncomfortable with confrontation, which I'm sure is going to go down.

I just want to end it all and go home.

"What do you mean?"

I snapped my gaze at him as I watched him reach for a file and flip through it.

"You said we were meeting the casino owner tonight." I answered.

"Oh, he's here." He answered, still not looking up at me.

" Oh!" I looked around, searching for a room that he might be in.

"Where is he?"

"In front of you."

I turned to look at him and asked, "What?"

"It's me, Noah Gold. I'm the casino owner."

I blinked furiously; this has to be a joke. "That's not possible. You're a lawyer."

"It doesn't mean I can't have a job on the side." He shrugged and finally looked at me.

When I first saw him, I was captivated by his eyes.

They looked like hazel gold.

Those eyes were now staring at me coldly, with a ruthlessness that can only be accustomed to a man like Noah.

"Let me break it down for you, so you can understand."

He stands up, tucks one hand into his pocket, and paces before me.

"Your father is a greedy man; do you know that?"

He went on, "He asked me for a million dollars to waste it all on gambling, even after I'd given him three million, and he had wasted it all on gambling."

I blanched. "What?"

"Oh, sorry. I didn't tell you that my company gave him that contract, did I? My apologies. I should have."

"Wh-what do you mean? My father told me that he was given a contract by someone else, not your firm."

He shrugged. "I never said my firm gave it to him. I said my company gave it to him. Two different things."

"If you knew he was greedy, why the hell did you go ahead and lend him money from your casino?"

"Because nothing is sweeter than watching your enemy suffer and crumble to pieces." He smiled.

"What the—my father isn't a bad man!" I deadpanned.

"And yet you don't believe it. Your eyes betray you."

He smirked and sat down before me again.

"Let me tell you just how bad he is. When he was asked to drop collateral, he didn't drop his house; he didn't drop any other physical or material property he owned, since he owned nothing."

He slowly raised his hand and pointed it at me. "He dropped you."

" Wh…what!" I whispered.

I was shocked that he'd used me and lost everything we had in our name.

"Although all of this I did, to have your sister Vivian..."

I snapped my gaze to his.

Vivian? What does Vivian have to do with this?

"He offered to drop Rayna, but I was adamant on wanting Vivian. He signed it under her name but dropped you instead." He slammed the file in front of me, and I hurriedly reached for it.

I covered my mouth with my palm, and I gasped, not believing what I read.

"But my dad…he would…"

"Never use both his daughters as collateral? Well, welcome to the real world, my dear. You've just been used as a sacrificial lamb." He chuckled.

"With your cheeks and eyes so innocent like that, you do look like one."

I raised an eyebrow at him, swatting away the tears that dropped down my cheeks. "What do you mean by both his daughters? He used me to replace Vivian, so that's that, right?"

"So you want to replace your sister, huh?"

I didn't want to, but if this man was adamant on having her, then it couldn't be good. I'd rather not allow it.

"Yes, so forget ever having my sister."

"I'm afraid that's not possible. She was promised to me; you were just an extra. A bonus. Like it or not, I'll have your sister."

"You are an asshole! Why won't you just take me instead? Please leave her out of this."

He chuckled, showing no sign of pity even as I bawled my eyes out.

"Vivian is the root of all these anyway. It's only right if she suffers for it."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He sighed, "That's a story for later. Now, you'll be my fuck toy and my escort."

I winced at how straight and direct he was. 

"I refuse!" I glared at him.

He rolled his eyes and said, "I'm afraid you don't have a choice, little lamb. Besides, I wasn't asking."

He stretched out his hand and said, "Give me your panties."

I did a double take, hoping I hadn't heard him correctly.

"Excuse me?"

"Panties. Now."

I blinked furiously before bursting into laughter.

My boss messed with my head days before I came back to Italy.

My dad used me as collateral, and the man that was supposed to save us was the one behind it all, and now he's asking for my underwear?

Fuck you, Fate!

"I don't think I've said anything that's funny." He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.

"Strange, because I'm sure what you said earlier was a joke. It's obvious you're a psychopath!"

I grabbed my bag and stood up to leave.

"Hand it over to me, or I'll have my men retrieve it."

… And that was how I got here.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me. I'm not a nice person, little lamb. If my guys get a hold of those pants of yours, I promise you, you'll end up on a stripper's pole faster than you can blink."

The chill in his voice sent bad shivers down my spine.

" I..i"

"Time is ticking." He waved his finger in the air.

"Why are you doing this to me? Whatever Vivian did to you wasn't my fault!" I cried out.

"And I don't give a fuck. What's your choice? Don't let me pick for you."

" Please. I promise, I'll get your money back for you. Just let me go this once." I pleaded and begged.

What the hell did Vivian do to him?

" Fine." He tapped the side of his chair and spoke out, "Come in."

I watched in horror as the four guards from earlier walked in.

Oh no!

I stood up from the chair immediately and backed away slowly as they approached.

"Okay, I'll do it. I'll give it to you myself." I panicked.

"Too late, little lamb."

" What! Wait, hold on! Stop!" I began to thrash around when one of the guards grabbed me by the waist.

"Let me go. Noah! Please tell them to stop." I pushed, shoved, and scratched, but he didn't even budge.

He placed me on the sofa and held my hand above my head to pin me down.

I used my legs to kick at the one that bent down in front of me..

The other two grabbed onto my legs and spread them wide.

This can't be happening.

My heart was beating extremely fast now, and I was feeling dizzy from my panic.

"Noah, please. I promise, I'll give it to you. Stop!" The last one shoved my hoodie up and unbuttoned my jeans.

" STOP! PLEASE!" I yelled as he grabbed the band of my jeans.