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It wasn’t Cecilia’s first rodeo in getting kidnapped. The dampness of the trunk. The sticky, fogged up tapes around her wrist, ankles, and mouth. The smell of mold and dust. All of it felt too familiar. Every man who had taken Cecilia had been the same. No-good soundrels trying their luck at snatching a fraction of her daddy’s fortune.
“Why the fuck haven’t they answered the ransom yet?!” one of them shouted. A loud bang followed. “Did we get the wrong bitch?” They kept bickering, but she couldn’t care less.
Then came a deafening screech of a car brake. A commotion quickly building outside the rolling doors. Then suddenly, it got quiet. Approaching her were steps that she had known far too well. That infuriatingly unhurried gait. The clicks of his italian leather soles.
A hulking figure towered over her. She glanced up to meet the violet orbs looking down at her. Did he just smile at this situation? She didn’t want to believe her eyes, but honestly, it was typical of her big brother.
Caleb stayed quiet, staring at her with head tilted and a faint curve brandishing his lips. Still bound and gagged, Cecilia’s heart started thudding.
“Perhaps you’re better like this, Sissy. So docile and pretty.” He crouched, and before she could react he scooped her up over his broad shoulder. Her muffled protest filled the silence as he carried her out and tossed her into his passenger seat.
She twisted around in her seat, trying to shake off the tapes. Caleb only sighed at her sorry state, fastening her seatbelt as if she was a petulant child.
“Brother—“ her voice muffled.
“Quit it.” “You’ve made enough trouble today.” He cut her off before stepping on the pedal.
The car stopped moving in front of a set of tall, menacing black gates. Caleb stepped out first, unhurried as always, then opened her car door. He leaned down, then again hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack. She let out muffled yelp, fists pounding weakly against his back and her feet kicking in the air.
“Fuck, Cecilia! I told you to settle down!” He let out an annoyed yell.
“Mmh!!!”
“That’s it. You’re getting it brat.”
In one swift motion, he hurled her bound body into the pool. The splash echoed through the still night. Water filled her nose and lungs, every desperate movement only dragging her deeper. Cecilia wasn’t too good with memories, but she knew he had done this before. Just not like this. The restrainst biting into her limbs made her feel a new kind of fright she had never experienced before.
Caleb stood at the edge, arms crossed, watching her struggle. He watched as her movements slowed, the fight draining out of her. Only when her gaze turned frantic and her body went slack did he finally move.
With practiced ease, he unbuttoned his jacket, loosened his tie, and rolled up the sleeves of his crisp cotton shirt. Then he jumped in.
In one sure motion, he caught her and pulled her against his chest. His hand ripped away the tape over her mouth. He let her lean on his muscled front as she gasped violently, water and air colliding in her throat as she fought to breathe.
“I’m well aware of your commoner mother, but you are supposed to have some of my genes in you. So why the fuck can’t you act properly still?”
“You tried to kill me!”
“Ah, women and their dramatics.” He clicked his tongue and dragged her body out of the pool.
Caleb pulled out a pocketknife and swiftly sliced through the tapes binding his sister’s limbs. He rubbed her red wrists and ankles before lifting her into his arms, guiding her arms loosely around his neck. Then, he carried her toward the door.
Both now soaking wet, the heat radiating off his body offered her a fragile solace. This faux warmness forced her wanting to put behind everything that he just did.
Clenching her grips around his neck, Cecilia softly whispered. “…sorry your vest got wet.”
“You better be. This is cashmere.”
“Was it expensive..?” She asked, circling a finger around his clavicle hesitantly.
Caleb snorted at her innocent question. His laughs echoed inside the dark mahogany foyer. Cecilia had always adored his amused voice. She could hear her father in it, yet it radiates a warmer tinge that tickles her tummy.
“So what if it was? Do you even know how many zeros are in a million?” The elder shot back at her.
“There’s no way it costed a mil!”
“It didn’t.” He cut in. “You on the other hand, just costed me a mil.”
A lump rose in her throat. That was another million added to her ‘debt’. The gears in her brain started spinning, too fast even. Perhaps daddy was right. That she was nothing but a burden for the family. That her greatest value lies in being her father’s political pawn and probably being sold off to the highest bidder.
Caleb shot her a sly look. He was far too perceptive not to guess what she was thinking. But he wouldn’t correct her regardless. Wouldn’t offer her words of comfort. For he was perfectly happy with the gilded cage she lived in.
“Come now princess,” “Let’s get you warmed up.”