Chapter 1

"Hey you, stop!!!" Charlotte held onto her backpack tightly while being chased by the cops.

"Catch me if you can!" She threw kisses at them while running at full speed.

This was Charlotte Ross, a college graduate who had been a petty thief all her life.

She would steal from the rich and feed the poor, she was often chased by the cops but never had she been caught.

Her mother never stopped trying to talk her into stopping, for she was bound to get into trouble one day.

Everything was going smoothly for her until she bumped into a group of men in black, and that changed her life forever.

She fell hard on her butt and hissed in pain while staring at strange-looking men in suits.

"Ms. Charlotte Ross?" The one with the mean face asked.

"Who are you?" She asked but got no answer.

"I'm sorry, but you have to come with us." He added, ignoring her previous question.

"No, I'm sorry but I can't do that. Now if you will excuse me." She tried to walk away but was pulled over by one of the men, then thrown over his shoulder.

She yelled in surprise and kept trying to get away from him.

Were they kidnapping her because she looked really good?

"Put me down, imbeciles, or you'll regret it!" She flung her legs in the air, constantly throwing curses at them.

"Even if you kidnap me, you won't be getting any ransom money from me, so let me go!" She kept screaming like a lunatic at the car.

They opened the back seat door and threw her in like a stack of potatoes.

Before she could try to escape she was knocked out cold.

*

Charlotte felt the pain and opened her eyes., she hissed when she realized she'd been tied up to a chair. Her head felt like it was gonna explode from pain.

She tried to untie the rope but the more she struggled, the more the rope became firm.

Just then the door to the room opened and revealed a lady in flashy clothes.

"Hello Charly, we finally get to meet in person." She smiled sweetly showing only that part of her face, but Charly knew she was more like a fox in sheep's clothing.

The bright light in Charly's eyes made it difficult to recognize who the mysterious lady was.

"Why am I here?" Charly asked coldly, enduring the pain in her hands.

"I'm miss T, oh I apologize for the misunderstanding with my guards." She spoke and sat down on a chair in the farthest corner.

"Listen, I don't know why you brought me here, and if it's Money you want I don't have any. So could you please untie me?" Charly knew her hands had gone numb already.

"Tsh! I have so much money that would last a lifetime. I don't need yours." Miss T spoke Rudely.

"You haven't answered my question." Charly glared. Who does she think she is?

"Ah yes! I brought you here because I want you to retrieve something for me., seeing how petty you can be, makes you the right person for the task."

"Woah! Woah, slow down crazy lady. I don't work for anyone or sh*t! I do things my way, so thanks for nothing can you let me go now?" She scoffed.

What did she take her for? A petty thief who she could boss around like a twig?

"I'm not asking." She rudely cuts her off again.

"You ain't seriously considering forcing me, are you?" Charly needs to get away from the psychopath, for she's having a bad feeling about the whole situation.

"No I won't but I hope you think about your family first before saying anything." She advised and Charly was dumbfounded for a few seconds.

"What do you want me to steal?" She nervously asked as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.

"I want you to steal the coordinates of the gold mines from Henry Fisher." She smiled mischievously after that statement. Charly could tell this was no ordinary woman.

"Wait! You want me to steal from the demon CEO? Are you planning on getting me killed or what? Do you even know how impenetrable his security is?" Charly couldn't believe her ears.

"True, you can't get into his mansion no matter how skilled you 'are and that's why you won't be going in as a thief but someone who's living in there."

"Living with him?" Her eyes widened in fear of the worst to happen to her there.

"Yes, you're gonna marry him, Charly."

She chuckled at the end of her statement.

"Marry what?????

********************************

Charlotte walked towards her apartment where she stayed, as she silently thought about her ordeal at the hands of strangers.

She recalled everything she had been told and could only sigh.

"Oh my goodness, Charly! Where have you been?" Mrs. Laura, Charly's mom who seemed to be waiting all day for her eldest daughter, pulled her into a hug.

Charly just stayed in her mom's embrace, not knowing what to say. She wished she'd listened to her mom and not been unfilial.

"Mom was worried about you, Charly., she wouldn't even move from the gate," Emma added but still, no words were heard from Charly.

After what seemed like forever, she broke away from her mother's hug and faked a smile.

"Nothing much happened today. I'm sorry for worrying you too much." Charly said, trying so hard not to break down In Front of her family who cares so much about her.

"You don't look so good, Hunny. you know you can always talk to me, yeah?" Mrs. Chlo couldn't help but feel Charly wasn't in the best of mood.

"No I'm perfectly fine, Let's go in, it's freezing out here."She immediately changed the topic and went inside their apartment as she raced to her room.

Once inside her room, she finally gave in to the tears threatening to fall as she slumped to the floor and cried like never before.

A FEW MOMENTS BACK….

"Marry what? You gotta be kidding me!!" Charly felt her head was gonna explode from so much anger.

"Yes you're gonna be getting married to Henry and it's not a request. You either do what you're asked to or face the consequences." The mysterious lady smirked and her cold eyes pierced holes all over her body.

"And what if I refused to be part of whatever you want?" She boldly asked and the strange lady burst into ripples of laughter.

"Okay, fine then I have no choice but to pick your little sister., Emma right? heard she's in high school, or should I pick your mom? She's pretty though. " Charly stared at the strange lady in horror.

"Please leave my family out of this." She mumbled.

"Your family will be left untouched if you submit to me and do what I've asked." She spoke emotionlessly.

"You sound so confident that he's gonna marry a nobody like me?" Charly couldn't help her curiosity.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that, when the time is right he'll come to you. I'll make sure of that." The determined look in her eyes made Charly believe this was no ordinary matter.

Charly was at a loss for words as she stared at them, left with no options she finally gave a positive response.

"Can I at least think about it and talk to my family about it?" She cautiously selected her words.

After putting everything into consideration she finally agreed to give Charlie a week to brace herself.

"Remember you can't run from me else I'm gonna crucify your family. Don't forget to keep your mouth shut about this. You never met me."

BACK TO THE PRESENT.

Charly stayed on the floor for a few minutes before getting back on her feet with an expressionless face and walked towards the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, she stood In Front of the mirror after splashing water on her face.

She knew this was the end game for her and there was no going back once she agreed to do their deeds.

Argh! She pulled on her hair aggressively as a lone tear rolled down her cheeks. How did it come to this?

On one hand, she doesn't want to be part of any drama of the rich elites but on the other hand, was the life of her mom and sister.

Charly had always loved her family so much, she was willing to sacrifice her life for them.

She sighs and begins having a cold bath, maybe she will be able to clear her head after this.

On the other side.

"Are you sure she's gonna do it?" A man in an Armani two-piece suit spoke while sipping his drink unhurriedly.

"Everyone has something that drives and keeps them going, something that makes them do what they do. Charlotte is driven by her family, so I'm pretty sure she would make the right decisions." The Lady who stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows said.

She had this confident smile plastered all over her face as she formulates plans in her head.

"What about Henry, would he really marry her?" Another man in the office asked with a mocking smile but she wasn't paying much attention to him.

"You do not need to worry about him because he'll definitely marry her. I want you all to make preparations 'cause it's gonna be one stormy journey." She chuckled and raised her wine glass for a toast.

"Gentlemen, please gather around. Let's toast to the victory at hand." She smiled as she touched wine glasses with the two men present in her office.