Gina glared at the tall frame of sturdy muscles that perambulated in front of her with utmost venom. He had no right to take her against her will, she seethed, biting her tongue to bridle it from spitting out curses. That method had done absolutely nothing to the cold steel standing a few metres apart from her earlier this evening.

Once he had her safely tucked into his car with a seat belt, he had driven off towards his overpaid abode without a single syllable dropping from his lips. Being immature, she had raved and ranted until her mouth hurt and her cheeks were as dry as a desert.

The man had paid her no mind when he alighted from the car and marched off towards the house, leaving her to follow, and instructions for Dami, his driver. The nice, young man had to get a taste of her pent-up frustration. After much remonstrations, she had sat on a sofa after declining his offer for a drink, while he had paced the length of the room in deep thoughts. She wanted so much to be a mind-reader right now in order to decipher his thoughts.

To distract herself, her eyes found the luxurious decor of his house, loving and hating it simultaneously. Nothing connected to this man should receive an iota of adoration, she jeered.

"Now that you have kidnapped me, what will you do to me?" She opted to be brave and add 'kill me?' but the glint in his eyes had her reconstructing her sentence.

"Convince you."

Stupefaction failed tremendously to hide her bewilderment.

"What?"

He sighed audibly, telltale sign that her ignorance was wearing on his nerves. "I want you to have my child but I want it done right. I've offered you money that you so graciously rejected," he paused when he saw her eyes flicker before she averted them to the pillar behind his frame. "I proposed getting you out of your degrading line of work, and you swept my offer down the drains as if it was filth."

Her mouth opened on their own accord to refute his connotation concerning her stripping business but a morally upright family like his would never understand. Which had her wondering why he sought her out.

"Since you are immune to all these fail-safe methods, I decided to drop courtesy and do it my way. Trust me, you will have no choice in the matter by the time I'm done." His smirk was dark and vile; too sinister, which made a chill run rapidly down her spine.

Suddenly conscious of her state of undress, she adjusted on the sofa she sat, trying in futility to cover her nudity. She soon gave up on the idea, returning her focus to her ambience.

She peaked up when his phone rang, watching with undisguised interest as he spoke into the phone. His voice was deep, guttural and held a timbre of dominance in it. Everything about him screamed control and she wondered again why he was playing safe ball with her. Was he that desperate to have an heir?

She snapped her gaze to his face when he replied 'thank you, officer' and ended the call. For an unknown reason, her heart started to thump painfully in her chest. What was he up to?

He matched her curious peer with a determined stare meant to unhinge her. There was no need. Her trembling lips told her all he needed to know.

"Do you know anyone by the name 'Clarissa Dike'?"

Without deep introspection, she was already rambling. "What did you do to her?"

"Why was I expecting an answer from you?" He mused rhetorically, moving to come sit on the coffee brown sofa adjacent to her mint green own.

Swallowing around the lump that seemed to have logded in her throat, she replied, "She's my elder sister."

He nodded, pursing his lips as he regarded her. She tried to match his gaze yet again but random thoughts concerning her sister wouldn't allow her focus.

The shrill ring of his phone broke the staring contest and he promptly stretched out his open palm towards her. Eyeing the black, flat device with caution, she held it to her left ear when the screen indicated the call had been answered.

"Hello?" Tentatively, she whispered into the phone, whilst preparing herself to receive horrible news.

++++++++++++++

Rissa bit her bottom lip to keep herself from fidgeting. At times, she alternated between nibbling at her delicately manicured nails and attacking her full bottom lips. She heard the angry growl of the dark, bulky man in his traditional black uniform with black beret a few meters ahead of her and a cold shiver slithered across her spine.

"Will you keep quiet there?" The man barked, hitting the baton he gripped in his right hand furiously on the desk. Rissa jumped at the sharp sound as if the weapon was metted on her flesh. Her fear was understandable since that had been the case a few hours earlier.

"Nonsense people," the man continued, attempting to scribble inside the open booklet in front of him while giving her and the crowd behind her the stink eye. "You know you can only shed tears yet you went to an illegal party without ID cards. Stupidity of its highest level."

A hiss from behind her left ear had her whipping her head around to stare at the owner of the acoustic rendition. Dija had a formidable scowl on her face as she glared evilly at the man at the desk.

Dija's eyes met hers and she hissed again. "You self are not helping matters. Will you stop crying like a baby already? I told you they will let us go soon enough."

The girl's promise did nothing to soothe her already frayed nerves. It was because of her they were in this mess in the first place. Had she not gotten greedy, they'd have been on their way home by now.

Reserving her condemnation for later, Rissa riveted her back to the dozen or so girls standing behind her in the cramped cell made up of rusting metal bars and a small open at the top that served as ventilation vents. She thought about praying for good fortune but the decrepit condition of the ambience had her clutching her hands by her side.

"Why would you arrest us? What did we do?" A girl at the middle voiced out boldly, stirring the others into quiet murmurs and grumblings.

Rissa wanted to ask that question too but she didn't have the guts. If Gina were here, she'd not hesitate to say her mind. She wouldn't cry, heck, she'd probably be trying to wreck the cell bars any way she could. But situations outside her control made Rissa a sitting duck. It was at times like this that she weighed the pros and cons of her life and tried to see if the creator above would have mercy on her. Right now, the cons far outweighed her good works. She knew she shouldn't have lied to Gina about how long she was staying as an escort but they really needed the free cash.

"Who is Rissa? Anybody here named Rissa?" Boomed the officer impatiently, his eyes roving the inmates dispassionately. He looked like he hated his job. His countenance betrayed the fact that he despised the usual charge-and-bail cases even more.

Rissa raised up a trembling timid finger. "Me," she blurted out, trying to keep the waterworks at bay.

He eyed her thoroughly, a look of lust flashing through his dark irises at her bodycon red sequined off-shoulder gown with a plunging neckline that accentuated her voluptuous breasts. She was sex on nude strap heels alright.

"Eh, you have a call. It's like you have friends in high places since you've barely been here for an hour." He informed her, his scowl depicting his dislike of the situation.

Rissa hardly cared for his opinion, she wanted out of here as soon as it could be arranged. Without a backward glance at her partner, Dija, she followed the junior officer who came to free her from the cell towards the main office.

Once he handed her the phone after dialing the number, he exited the small compartment to give her privacy.

"Gina, I need your help," she blurted out immediately she heard her sister's voice over the speaker. Her release from this hellhole was paramount. She would accept any form of condemnation later on.

"Why? What happened?"

"I got arrested."

"What?!"

Gina's response had been a string of curses to someone in the same proximity as her but she eventually calmed down to convince her that she would be released soon. She then rattled off a set of instructions for Rissa to follow. She didn't question it since she was in no position to do so.

That was one hour ago. Presently, she was in the back seat of a sleek, black Bentley headed towards the ridiculously expensive Banana Island area of Lagos State. All through her years of stripping, she had only stepped foot in this lush environment twice, both times being a sleep over at a client's house, so it came as a shock when Gina had let it drop during their phone call that a friend of hers who lived here requested the honor of her presence at his home. Rissa could smell the bullshit from miles away.

The car pulled up inside the compound and the driver ran around to help her exit the car. Plodding on bare feet while holding her heels in her left hand, and her clutch under her arm, she reached the front porch, then past it until she was standing in the parlour before she paused her steps.

She saw her sister first, albeit dressed seductively in a bikini. Gina was sat on a sofa facing the doorway but her focus was on the man who sat with his back to the door. They were engaged in a staring contest.

"You're very bold. I like that." The deep resonating chuckle made Rissa shiver involuntarily, her mind scrambling at all the random possibilities of this particular scenario ever occurring and found none. How cruel could fate be?

An uncontrolled gasp from her lips dragged her sister's gaze to her face and she was up on her feet striding towards her but Rissa's eyes were glued to the back of the man's head.

"Thank God. Rissa, are you okay?" Gina fussed over her, pulling her into a fierce hug to console her. Being arrested by the national police was never a pleasant tale to recall.

Rissa was far from being okay, especially not now when the man stood to his full height and turned to regard her. If he was surprised to see her, the suspicious lift of his thin lips did not betray that fact.

"Hello, Rissa. Lovely to see you again."

Same here was not a phrase Rissa would ever utter to this man.

+++++++

Rissa had refused vehemently to sit, mumbling quite darkly about the house being tainted by his evil blood. While Gabriel had scoffed at the absurdity of the simpleton before him, Gina had been skeptical. Her doubts arose because of what she had agreed to hours ago.

With baited breath, she had watched her sister and her solicitor glare at each other with venomous vibe that made her staring contest earlier on pale in comparison. Rissa loathed the man with everything in her and with good reason, which made the situation more complicated.

Gabriel had smirked at her before excusing himself to retire for the night, leaving the girls the ample freedom to enjoy his hospitality which Rissa declined vocally. There was even a damned chauffeur to drive them back home. While Rissa would not be swayed by his riches and kindness, Gina wished she could convince her sister to be dangled, even just a little bit.

Once they were alone in their apartment, Rissa erupted, her eyes brimming with fire and her nostrils flaring.

"Are you mad? Isi ana emebi gi?"

For her sister to rant in their native tongue meant she was absolutely livid. The question ultimately verified her mental state. Of course, no one would agree she was right in the head if she was now partners with their bane of existence but her hands had been tied.

"It's not what you think." Even her excuse sounded weak in her ears.

She scoffed, her lips contorted up in an ugly scowl. "Tell me something that I can believe, Gina."

Not one to take hints and try subtlety, her mouth flew open with gushing words. "I had no choice. He told me he was angry I rejected his offer so he was going to take drastic measures to punish me. I didn't know he could get them to arrest you or that he had that much power over what those people would do to you."

She scoffed again, seemingly acting aloof about the precarious situation. No matter the circumstance, Gabriel's help had been unwanted. "There is nothing he could have done to me. He's not the police."

"Now you sound like an idiot." Gina rolled her eyes in disbelief at her sister's naivety. "You have met him before and you've already forgotten how cruel he can be?"

The rhetorical question had her avoiding her eyes and sighing in despair. Were they never to be free of this man's influence? She wondered briefly.

Suddenly tired, Rissa went to sit on the derelict sofa, purposefully avoiding the topic. Gina rolled her eyes again and went to sit next to her sister, both allowing the serenity to encompass them.

Out of the blues, a few seconds later, Rissa piped up. "You said you rejected his offer and that's why he got me arrested. What was the offer?"

Biting her lips and wringing her hands together, Gina focused her stare on the wallpapers adorning the walls of the room. When she felt eyes boring into her right ear, she recounted her dealings with as much sadness over the helplessness of the situation as she could muster. Rissa was not convinced. In fact, her reaction was contrary.

"How could you be so stupid, Gina?!" She raged, her teeth clenched, her fists furled.

The blubbering mess beside her ran the back of her hand across her eyes and sniffed. "I'm sorry. I had no choice."

That had Rissa's lid flipping. "You're sorry? Do you have any idea what you've done?" To her, no amount of apology could compensate any dealings with that evil man or his family.

"What have I told you about the Asikas? What did I knock so deep inside your head since you were 15 about them? I made it your litany. I told you every single day what those people are capable of, what Gabriel Asika is capable of. I told you Amelia's tragedies like it was a bedtime story every night until you knew the words by heart. I warned you to be careful and not get mixed up with him or his family. And what is the exact thing you do when you see him? Sleep with the spawn of Satan himself! My God, Gina!" Rissa cried, running a frustrated hand across her hair as her emotions had drained her physically.

"I didn't know he would do this," she sobbed, fiddling with her fingers since excuses had since abandoned her.

"How could you even know what he'd do or won't do when you know absolutely nothing about the man?" She chastised, getting incensed and helpless simultaneously. "Couldn't you have just stayed away from him?"

"I didn't expect him to take interest in me."

"Yeah, well, that is to be expected after you entertained him the first time." Rissa mocked her.

She chose not to reply, her thoughts drifting to the matter at hand. Her fear about Gabriel had been squashed when she inferred how important a child was to him, if his persistence was taken into consideration, and she had decided there and then to utilise the opportunity maximally. He had, unknowingly, given her a foot in the door, and getting revenge for her family's sake became her priority.

She would use Gabriel's money against him. She would manipulate him and his family using his money. She might have spared him if he had considered her refusal to bare his child but he had forced her hand by getting her sister arrested, so she would focus on hurting him too.

Now the problem was convincing her sister to support her cause.

She wiped her crocodile tears and sniffed. "It's not as bad as you think, Clarissa," she started, watching her sister closely.

"It is as bad as I think. Those people are heartless. They'll use you, all the while telling you you're special. Then they humiliate you and ruin you before getting rid of you when they are tired. Take Amelia for example."

Gina stopped herself from rolling her eyes in front of her elder sister. She was getting awfully tired of using Amelia as a study case.

"But I'm not Amelia, Rissa. I don't have feelings for Gabriel Asika or any member of his family. They can't hurt you or use you if they can't get through to your heart."

Uncertainty brimmed in Rissa's eyes, clear evidence she didn't like where Gina was going with this. "Whatever you're thinking about Gina, I cause you to cease and desist from it this instant!" She was forceful. The last time her sibling had braved the Asikas, she had returned looking worse than a ghost.

"I can get revenge for Amelia. I'll pay them back in their own coin."

"I forbid it!" Her tone rose.

"I'll let Gabriel think he has the upper hand but when the time is ready, I'll take him down. He won't even see it coming." Gina was adamant, the plan unfolding quite nicely in her mind.

"That is madness, Gina. Stop it this minute!"

"Yes, it is madness but I'm ready for it. I'll go mad, running around on the streets if I have to but I'll get our family's fortune back. I'll get us out of this wretched life that we're living. This is not who we are, Rissa. Those people made us like this and I'll make them eat the same soup that they prepared for us."

Rissa had had enough of the insanity. "I said, stop it this instant!" She grated, smacking her hard across the cheek.

Her reaction was to place a hand on the hurting cheek with a gaping mouth, but Rissa could care less. Somebody needed to knock back sense into her head.

"You will stop with this craziness, Gina. You will not accept his offer. You will not have his child. You will not move into his house or meet his family. You will not try the same foolishness Amelia did. I forbid it!" She spat out.

Gina stood up from the sofa to glare at her sister. Now, a different type of determination brimmed in her eyes. This was the opportunity she had been praying for since she turned eighteen and started working at that adult bar.

Every night after sleeping with a client, she would sneak into the bathroom to scrub herself clean while sobbing about her predicament. It helped when she pretended those men were the man she had a crush on. Thinking about him, whether with good or bad intentions, helped her survive these past three years and she was not about to let it slip away. She wouldn't let her sister's fear overshadow her resolve.

She locked her heart and her emotions firmly when she declared unequivocally.

"Do not slap me again, Rissa. You are neither my mother nor my father. You will not forbid anything. I will do it because I want to, because I need to, because I chose to. I'm not Amelia, so your fears are baseless.

"Tomorrow, I'll tell him I've accepted his offer. I'll move into his apartment as soon as he demands it. You won't see me for nine months if all goes well but don't worry. By the time I return, I'll be rich and I would have given that man and his family what they deserve."

Rissa started to cry, despite herself. "Please, Gina. Think about this carefully. You could get killed. That man will kill you!"

She was stubborn and she knew it, reveled in it even. "Not if I kill him first."

Of this statement, she was completely sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I love her determination. I'll say now that Gabriel needs a stubborn ass chick like Gina to mess up his world nicely.

Vote and comment if you enjoyed the chapter.

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