Chapter 3 - THE INVITATION
By three o'clock that afternoon, the pressure in Diane’s chest had built to an unbearable climax.
She had spent the morning running across the city—paying the landlord three months of overdue rent in cash, securing Sadi’s position in the after-school program, and dropping off the initial deposit at the dental clinic. On paper, her life was finally stabilization.
In reality, she was being hunted.
Everywhere she went, the black sedan followed at a discreet distance. When she took the subway, a broad-shouldered man in a leather jacket stood three feet away on the platform, his arms folded, his eyes never leaving her face. When she bought groceries, another man in a tailored dark suit stood near the registers, pretending to read a newspaper while taking mental notes of her movements.
They weren't trying to hide. They wanted her to know she was in a cage.
At 4:00 PM, Diane walked Sadi home from school, holding her hand tightly the entire way. Once they were safely inside the apartment, Diane locked all three deadbolts, drew the heavy curtains, and turned to her sister.
"Sadi, I need you to stay inside tonight. Do not open the door for anyone. Not the landlord, not the neighbors, no one. Do you understand me?"
Sadi looked at her with wide, frightened eyes. "Diane, what's happening? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, sweetie. You did nothing wrong. I just... I have a secondary shift tonight. A private client." Diane crouched down, placing her hands on Sadi’s shoulders. "Mrs. Gable from next door has the spare key. If I'm not back by eight tomorrow morning, I want you to go to her apartment immediately."
"Diane, you're scaring me," Sadi wept.
"Don't be scared, baby. I promise you, I'm going to fix this."
Diane kissed her sister’s forehead, grabbed her coat, and stepped out into the hallway.
She didn't even make it to the front door of the apartment building.
As soon as she reached the ground floor lobby, two men in identical charcoal suits stepped out from the shadows near the mailboxes. One was middle-aged with a heavy scar running across his chin; the other was younger, built like a lightweight boxer, with cold blue eyes.
"Miss Harper," the older man said. His voice was shockingly polite, almost courtly, though his hand remained rested inside his suit jacket. "Mr. Greedy requests your presence."
Diane stood her ground, her back pressed against the brick wall of the lobby. "And if I say no?"
The man smiled warmly, though his eyes remained as cold as ice. "Mr. Greedy didn't frame it as a question, Miss Harper. And we would prefer not to disturb your little sister upstairs."
The mention of Sadi acted like a physical blow. Diane’s posture collapsed slightly.
"Don't touch her," Diane whispered, her voice trembling with raw venom. "Don't you dare go near her."
"Nobody is touching anyone, Miss Harper. As long as you get into the car."
The younger man stepped forward, opening the heavy glass entrance door and gesturing toward the curb.
Parked right at the steps was a brand-new, bulletproof Maybach. The rear door was held open by a third guard.
Diane took a deep breath, adjusted her thin jacket, and stepped down the wet concrete stairs. She didn't look back at the fourth-floor window. She knew that if she looked up, she would break down and cry, and she refused to let these men see her break.
May you like
She slid into the leather interior of the Maybach. The heavy door shut with a solid, airtight thud, sealing her off from the rest of the world.
The car pulled away from the curb, merging silently into the rain-slicked afternoon traffic, carrying her toward the center of the city—toward the lair of the dragon she had dared to touch.
