~Reynold’s POV~
Who needs the devil when you have a family like mine?
For the first time in nineteen years, my parents finally invited me to join them on a family vacation. I was so thrilled that I packed my bags without a second thought.
I actually thought they were finally treating me like their real son.
But on the day we were supposed to return home, everything changed.
The digital clock on the nightstand read 6:35 PM. Our return flight was scheduled for 9:35 PM, leaving us with a comfortable three-hour window before we needed to head to the airport. Since the terminal was just a short drive away, there was no rush.
Two hours before we were meant to leave, my father called my older brother and asked him to send me to his hotel room. When I got there, I saw my father standing by the desk, a file in his hand, waiting for me.
"Reynold, I need you to do something quickly," he said, handing me the file. "Take it to Floor 7, Room 1134, and hand it directly to Mr. Lee."
I didn’t think twice. Mr. Lee was my father’s longtime business partner, the very man my father claimed had insisted I come on this trip with them in the first place. Eager to be helpful, I grabbed my backpack and hurried out of the room, taking the elevator up to the seventh floor.
When I reached Room 1134, I knocked on the door. The man who answered wasn’t Mr. Lee. He looked like an assistant, his expression carefully blank. He ushered me inside and told me Mr. Lee would return in a few minutes.
I should have handed the folder to the man and walked right back out. But my father’s strict instruction echoed in my mind: Make sure he gets it from your hands.
So I stayed.
I sat on the couch, waiting for Mr. Lee to return. The man offered me a glass of water. My throat was dry from rushing around the hotel, so I took a small sip.
That was the last thing I remembered before everything went dark.
When I finally woke up, I was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. A man sat across from me, watching me quietly. He wasn’t Mr. Lee. I had never seen him before. He looked to be in his mid-fifties and heavyset.
For a terrifying second, my mind refused to understand what had happened. The last thing I clearly remembered was the taste of the water, and then everything went black.
I jerked my gaze toward the clock—11:16 PM.
Our flight had left hours ago. I tried to ask who the man was and where Mr. Lee was, but my throat felt dry and raw. All that came out was a weak, gasping wheeze. I tried to push myself up from the mattress, but my limbs felt heavy and barely responded.
"My... my family," I choked out, finally finding my voice. "Where’s my family?"
The stranger didn’t even flinch. He simply reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and tapped the screen.
A voice note began to play.
My stepmother’s voice filled the room. She sounded calm and gentle, as if she were speaking to me about something completely ordinary.
"Reynold, darling, I know this may come as a surprise, but you need to understand that we’re doing this because we have no other choice. The company is going through a difficult time, and your father needs our help. You’ve always been a good son, so I’m sure you’ll understand. Mr. Mike will take care of you, and all you have to do is stay with him and keep him company for a while. Once we’ve managed to settle everything and the company’s situation improves, we’ll come for you. Just be patient and do what you have to do for your family. We’re counting on you, darling."
Before I could process the betrayal, my father’s voice followed.
"Please, son. Help your father."
Then the audio cut off.
That’s when I finally understood. They had never truly seen me as their son. To them, I was nothing more than something they could trade away when they needed to save themselves.
Tears spilled down my cheeks as I stared out the window at a foreign city where I knew no one.
"Please," I sobbed, pressing myself against the headboard. "Please, let me go. Take me back to my family."
Mr. Mike laughed. "Your family already sold you to me. They left hours ago, and now you’re nothing but my plaything."
"Please," I begged again, tears streaming down my face. "I’m too young for you. You’re old enough to be my father."
Mr. Mike chuckled, his eyes moving slowly over me in a way that made my stomach heave. "Young men taste so sweet. And I simply can’t wait to have a taste of you."
Then, suddenly, a strange warmth began to spread through my body. An unfamiliar urge began building inside me despite the fear twisting through my chest. My mind went blank for a moment before I realized the water they’d given me wasn’t ordinary.
He stood, shrugging off his suit jacket and tossing the tie aside. "I’m going to take a quick shower," he said, his gaze lingering on me. "Then I’ll come back and properly break you in."
I was nineteen. I’d never been with anyone. I couldn’t just sit there and let a man three times my age take that from me.
The second the bathroom door clicked shut, fear cut through the drug-induced haze. I forced my weak legs to move, grabbed my backpack, and threw the door open.
I ran.
I tore down the hallway, my breathing ragged and my vision swimming at the edges. I slammed my palm against the elevator buttons, but the indicator lights remained dead. With no time to wait, I turned and bolted through the heavy metal door leading to the emergency stairs.
When I finally stumbled back out into another carpeted hallway, I was running on fumes. The world around me blurred into a dizzying smear of gold and shadow.
I didn’t know where I was going. I just knew I had to get away.
I threw myself against the nearest door and pounded my fists against the wood. At first, it didn’t budge.
Panic tightened a noose around my throat. I turned, ready to drag myself toward the next room, but then the heavy lock clicked and the door swung open.
I couldn’t make out the face of the man standing in the doorway. Everything was a dizzying blur.
"Please help me," I sobbed, my voice cracking as I grabbed blindly at his jacket. "I have nobody here. My family... they left me. Some bad men are looking for me. They’re after me. Please, help me."
For a split second, I thought he was going to shut the door in my face. But then the distant sound of shouting echoed down the corridor. The man glanced toward the hallway before quickly pulling me inside. He slammed the door shut and locked it.
He guided me to a chair, poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the desk, and handed it to me without saying a word.
"I don’t want water!" I cried, my hands trembling as I pushed the glass away, sending a few drops spilling over the rim. "No, I’m not drinking it!"
Finally, the man spoke.
"Drink the water, little one. I’m not going to hurt you."
The sound of his voice stopped me dead.
It was deep, calm, and strangely familiar. I had heard that voice before. Somewhere. Somehow. But with my mind still clouded by the lingering drug, I couldn’t grasp the thread.
Still, there was something about the way he spoke that made me want to trust him despite my fear.
I hesitated, staring at the glass. Holding on to that fragile lifeline, I slowly reached for the glass and took a careful sip.
"Breathe in and out," he instructed quietly. His voice remained steady, anchoring me. "Try to relax."
I tried. God, I tried. But the heat inside me wouldn’t subside. It roared back louder, my body betraying me, screaming for a release I couldn’t control.
Tears streamed down my face as I looked up at him. "Help me," I whispered, the heat threatening to drown my last remaining shreds of reason. "Please... help me."
The man looked down at me, his expression impossible to read. But before he could speak, the desperation clawing at my chest overrode every instinct. I lunged forward from the chair, desperate to get closer, reaching blindly for his lips.
I fully expected him to push me away or shove me back. Instead, his hand came up and gently caught my wrists, stopping me inches away from him.
"What is your name?" he asked, his voice low and steady.
"Reynold," I choked out immediately, panting.
He didn’t move to kiss me back. Instead, his expression hardened. "I don’t touch anyone who isn’t in their right mind, Reynold. If I ever want you, I want you completely aware of what you’re giving me."
"Please," I sobbed, heedless of the warning, my hands trembling violently. "Just help me..."
He was about to say something when a sudden knock sounded at the door.
I flinched. "Please... don’t. Don’t send me back to him."