Doomed By Mr. Billionaire's Betrayal

Maya was listening to a recording of one the South American musicians at the arena when her door bell rang. Excited, she rushed over to open the door, Rachel had become a very close friend over the past few weeks and she looked forward to seeing her. The smile died on her lips as she opened the door and stood face to face with her father.

"Is this were I ask if I can come in." He said with mockery written all over his face.

Maya stepped aside immediately. She wanted to say she was sorry but when she opened her mouth, no words came out.

Her father stepped into the house and looked around then without warning, he turned and struck her viciously on her cheek with his open palm. Maya felt her breath leave her in a few seconds as the ground rose up to meet her.

Her father was smiling down at her. "Good, you didn't even cry out, I've trained you well." He bent down and yanked her up by her hair. "I'll ask only once, who were you expecting."

Maya tried to answer but somehow each time she opened her mouth, her breath came out in gasps and she couldn't make a single coherent sound.

Her father smiled. It was one of the usual smiles he had on when he was thinking up a new punishment. Maya could feel hopeless tears burn her eyelids as she shut them against the reality of the pain she was about to face. Somehow her father's torture had been a little bit more endurable with her mother present, it was like her mother lent her silent strength but now, it was just she and her father in their depressing little apartment and she was left totally to his mercy.

"Maya, I know what you need, just a little motivation right? Then you'll tell me without my asking."

Again she opened her mouth to speak but she was unable to make a coherent sound, her teeth chattered uncontrollably as she shivered violently.

Her father's teeth flashed again, the crazy grin stretching into a full blown laugh. "You leave me no choice Maya." His voice was the sing -song voice of a crazy ecentric. He dragged her over and tied one of her hands to a rope that was dangling from the ceiling, leaving her other hand free, he gagged her mouth with a clothe that smelled of petrol then he left the sitting room and came back with a shredded cable that he plugged into a sucket. "Buddy of mine told me about how the police used to do this in his country, brilliant people you know -- the police. They visited me always, probably cause they wanted to ask some questions." His voice slurred. "But my buddies -- they said: hey Jeff, haven't you got any family no one has visited you since you came in. I said yeah I've got. I've got a useless daughter that don't care." He lifted the improvised whip and struck her and through the excruciating pain, Maya tried to scream through the gag on her mouth but even as the pain from the shredded cable threatened to break her, the stench of petrol suffocated her.

Maya woke the next day curled up on the floor with the stench of urine invading her nostrils. She tried to sit up but her bones felt like jelly. Reaching out her arms as she looked for something to support her weight, she felt the wetness of her trousers and understood where the smell of urine came from, she had passed out in a pool of her own urine.

She missed her mother at that moment, they had always had each other after each of her father's gruesome torturing and if her mother had still been alive, her mother would probably have helped her to a bath, a hot meal and would have assisted her to a bed where she would rest better, all the way crooning Bob Marley's 'three little birds.' Her father usually left them alone then, as if he knew they needed some kind of support system after each bout of torture in other not to fall apart.

Maya let her tears fall freely as the pain of her mother's death threatened to engulf her. Unable to muster the strength to stand up, she dropped back to the floor in a semi faint as she felt the darkness close in on her, even though it was around eight o clock in the morning.

At eight o clock in the morning, Gabriel was attending a business family meeting. It was actually called breakfast but Gabriel knew Marcus Di Marco would not call at six am in the morning to order his son to fly over to California all the way from New York and in the morning just because he wanted to have a family breakfast.

His mother was seated beside him looking ever elegant in a blue dress gown and his father was seated opposite him in their three seat dinner table wearing a traditional Italian suit.

"So Gabriel, how do you find work in New York?" His father asked as a maid cleared up their breakfast plates and served coffee.

" New York's fine, for some reason the editor of the daily times seems to be taking an interest in our family." Gabriel said casually.

"You mean besides the Omerta case?" His father asked referring to the case of the young woman who had been murdered in their hotel in New York.

"I mean that the Omerta case was part of it. I gave the editor a hundred thousand dollars and he now asks my permission before he publishes anything about us." Gabriel had his father's total attention. "Only recently, he called telling me he wanted to publish something about the immigration of the Di Marco family."

"And you obviously told him he couldn't do that." His father was not asking but Gabriel still knew he had to answer.

"I did but my point is.... I'm just wondering if the interest in our family is unique to the daily times alone or if it would be picked up by the others very soon."

" You think the interest was sparked by the Atmospheric hotels?"

"I don't know but I'll find out."

" Do that." His father said simply as he got up and placed a kiss on his wife's cheek. Gabriel took the clue and got up, allowing his father to lead him to his office.

"I want you to get engaged tomorrow." His father waived his hand to stop him from speaking when he started to. "I'm not done yet Gabriel. I want you to get engaged tomorrow but it's okay, you can break up with the lady after a few months." Marcus paused, giving his son time to ask questions. They both knew he could have gone on explaining instead but Marcus Di Marco had always liked to pretend he was in a conversation with his adopted and only son even if in reality, he was just giving out orders.

Gabriel humored his father. "Why would I need to get engaged tomorrow sir?"

His father nodded as if he had been expecting the question. "Jean St. James -- he's the owner of the Atmospheric hotels and suites at New York. He's building one here at California too and threatening to build one at Iowa, Montana, Georgia, Ottawa, ever state we have a hotel and in the same city too."

"And if I get married to his daughter he'll stop?"

"Engaged. If you get engaged and pretend to want to marry his daughter, he promises to stop.

He said he just wants to be accepted into the aristocratic circle -- whatever that means."

"Aristocratic circle! Is this the fifteenth century or what."

His father laughed, one of the rare times he showed an unguarded emotion. "He seems to think we get our guests at the hotels because of our clout and level of influence in the society and he wants a piece of the fame, he thinks he'll get that by getting his daughter engaged to you even if it's for just a few months."

"And we just -- dance to the tune of his demands?"

"He's threatening to get the media to rehash certain things that are not good for our publicity, we don't need that."

"And instead of fighting, we give in?"

"We don't fight Gabriel, we fuck him up, appearing to give into his demands would give us the time we need and while he's still gloating over his supposed victory, we fuck him over."

Gabriel smiled slowly, danger creeping into his eyes. "You have yourself a deal Father."

Gabriel had flown back to New York feeling strangely excited, he was surprised to find out he was looking forward to the scheme. He picked up Ms St. James, a small curvy brunette at the Atmospheric hotels and flew with her to his for their first date.

As Gabriel sat opposite Laura St. James in a candle lit corner of his dinning lounge, he felt mildly amused, Laura sat with her hips slightly curved towards him, no doubt to accentuate their fullness, she was sucking from a straw, her eyes dim with obvious desire and she was looking at him. No doubt she was her father's daughter as he was his father's son and yet she seemed to believe that not only her father but she as well had him where she wanted him.

"You look quite lovely today Laura." Gabriel said not bothering to hide the huskiness in his voice.

"And what are you going to do about that?" She asked, slowly tracing the rim of her glass with the tip of her tongue.

Gabriel raised a brow sardonically. "I see the lady is no lady at all." He got up slowly and walked over to her, watching her eyes get heavier with emotion.

"This is what I'm going to do Ms. Laura." He brought his lips slowly to her's, skimming over them lightly so that she pressed her mouth to his, trying to capture his elusive lips but he remained just a bit out of reach he bent his head and whispered to her, further addling her brain. "When was the last time, a Man took out time to kiss you Laura, when was the last time you actually made love instead of just having sex?" All Ms St. James could do was to moan and attempt to draw him closer and he smiled sardonically. Instead of deepening the kiss, he reached his hands into her very short dress and started working the very sensitive folds of her flesh. In no time, she was panting and trashing about where she sat. Ignoring her feeble efforts to draw him closer to her, Gabriel continued working on her with skilled fingers, he could feel the tension pulsating through her flesh as he slowly built her to a climax then he felt as well as watched as she exploded in ecstasy.

In the heat of her climax, he lowered his mouth to her ears "This arrangement, it wouldn't end well for you my lovely Finance." He removed his hand from under her dress and wiped his fingers on her dress. Standing up, he left her like that, trashing about in the throes of her passion, with her dress hiked up and her underwear hitched to the side when the pressmen her father had paid to accidentally stumble upon their romantic dinner date showed up and started flashing their cameras.

A little part of Gabriel's mind told him Laura hadn't deserved such treatment but then -- he had seen the look in the little bitch's eye a few minutes ago, she had thought she had him pegged. Part of what had angered him, spurring on his heartless treatment had even nothing to do with her and everything to do with the fact that he had gone to the arena that evening, hoping to see Maya, had actually looked forward to seeing her again, teaching her to fight but when he arrived, she had stood him up. He had waited even after everyone had gone home and the musicians packed up their gear, yet she hadn't shown up. In his anger, he had driven over to pick up Laura St. James, planning to drawn his feelings for Maya in her welcoming embrace and then the St. James lady had looked at him with the expression she had on her face a while back and Gabriel Di Marco changed his plans.