Chương 1: They Were Loan Sharks
The sound of items crashing and breaking startled Arianna from her sleep. She didn't have time to groan and stretch because she was already on her feet thanks to the racket coming from downstairs.
With a frown furrowing her brows, she stared out at the wall clock, it was barely six in the morning. Arianna sighed, running her hands through her hair, hoping to God it wasn't another of Claudia's fit of rage.
Claudia was no other than her uncle's only child and daughter - the princess of the family. Thanks to the fact that she was a spoiled brat, Claudia never takes no for an answer. She's a bitch who thinks the world revolves around her and when she doesn't get what she wants, the girl begins an outburst. Arianna likes to call it "episodes'' because she could swear, the girl was losing it.
And yes, Arianna's an orphan, neither does she know what her mother looks like. Her father had died from cancer when she was ten and ever since, her father's brother, her uncle, has been acting as her guardian. But then, living here was equivalent to living in hell.
They abused her to the point it was quite a miracle she had lived up to this age under their roof. Although her uncle has never laid a finger on her since he brought her into his household, he was greatly aware of what his wife and daughter used her for - a maid, a punching bag to pour out their frustration.
Thanks to that realization, Arianna didn't bother to go downstairs. If Claudia was having another of her meltdowns, she would want to be as far away from her as possible. Trust her, Claudia was the type who hurls whatever she could get her hands on and she - Arianna- wasn't a sucker for pain.
However, Arianna hardly put her head back down on the pillow when a knock came on her door. It wasn't just a knock; it was hurried, hard, almost a bang.
"Young lady!"
She shot up to her feet, something was not right. That was the voice of their housekeeper and the only one who treats her like a human being here. For her to sound panicked means something was not right.
"Susan!" She opened the door at once, "What's going on? I hear noises,"
"I'm sorry miss, but you have to come down and see for yourself," Susan said, already dragging her along before she could think of a response.
They covered the flights of stairs in a hurry, rushing down the spiral staircase. With each step she took, the noise from downstairs became louder and her heart leaped in her throat. What was happening?
Arianna didn't have to wonder for long because as soon as she made it downstairs, she saw them. A group of hooligans destroying stuff in the living room. Her heart began to pound in her chest, how had they bypassed the security?
Moreover, gangsters don't just come into someone's home unless they are offended or do business with them? Now, which was it? What did her uncle do this time?
A look to the left showed her aunt and daughter, Claudia huddled at a corner of the room shivering in fear on the sofa. They screamed in fear each time something was smashed against the wall and she was sure these troublesome-looking men did it on purpose to scare them.
Although she was frightened, Arianna took a deep breath and stepped out. As much as she would love to mind her business in this situation, this was her home as well, plus she would be the one to bear the brunt of her aunt's anger.
"What is going on here?" She asked.
However, no one replied to her. In fact, it seemed her question aggravated the whole thing because the gangsters went about their destruction, behaving as if it was a mere air that spoke. One of them smashed the flat-screen television with his hammer while the other broke the large flower vase.
That attitude infuriated Arianna and she stomped her feet mentally. Rage flowed through her veins like molten lava and she spoke louder this time.
"Sec. 19-77. - Entering property of another for purpose of damaging it: It shall be unlawful for any person to enter the land, dwelling, outhouse, or any other building of another for the purpose of damaging such property or any of the contents thereof or in any manner to interfere with the rights of the owner, user or the occupant thereof to use such property free from interference. Any person violating this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor!" she said in one breath.
This time, she garnered the attention she wanted. The gangsters turned to her, at least half of them - the rest that didn't look at first followed after the others. Their heated gaze stared at her with probing intensity and Arianna wished the ground would swallow her at this point. What person in their right mind would cause trouble with these delinquents.
They stared at her.
Arianna stared back.
It was awkward.
What was she going to say now? It was not like she prepared an opening speech for this epic moment.
Suddenly, one of the gangsters walked out of their midst, slowly clapping with a mocking smirk tilting his lips.
"Finally, a lawyer in her midst," He said.
Arianna lifted her head, "I'm not a lawyer but every citizen knows their rights. Now, what's the meaning of this madness? You can't just come into someone's place and exert your dominance just because you can," she couldn't even believe she was the one saying those words fearlessly. She means, look at those people, they had weapons -hammers and daggers- in their grasp - and probably guns were hidden in their waistband. One of them could easily shoot her in the head or something.
"Yes, you're right, I can't," the arrogant man said, "But then, the law should have taught your family never to take a loan without paying back,"
"W-what?" Arianna croaked, "A loan?" her face paled. And then it dawned on her that these people weren't gangsters, to be precise, they were Loan sharks. God, this couldn't be true.
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Chương 2: You Would Make Beautiful Wife
Reality hit Arianna hard, her uncle had not only taken a loan, but from loan sharks? What the hell was he thinking?
Shock stricken, she turned to her aunt and cousin still shivering in fear, "Is that true?" was her question, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Father put all of his money into the company research which we hoped would have paid off by now, unfortunately, there were some delays and he had to resort to this method," Claudia was the one who managed to speak. And God, who knew she had such a meek voice - she was always yelling at her.
"Why didn't you tell me? You know how delicate this matter is and yet you all kept it from me?" Arianna couldn't believe it.
"Why?" Claudia snorted, the usual contemptuous look crossing her features, "What could you have done? Give us your trust fund?"
Of course, why wouldn't they have their eyes on her trust fund? This greedy lot of people!
Before Arianna's father had died, he set up a trust that she would control once she clocked Twenty-four. Sadly, she was twenty-three, and fortunately for her uncle and his greedy wife, she was just a year away from claiming her fortune.
Arianna's father had been a business mogul right before he died and those businesses were taken over by his brother. Upon the fact that her uncle had reaped huge benefits from her father's death, they still claimed she owed them.
"You ungrateful bitch! If not for the shelter we provided, you'll be out there in the streets like a street rat!" her aunt would yell and hit her in the name of discipline.
"No, I only took what belonged to me! Those businesses were my fathers!" She would always retort
"Fine, go and take it up! Let's see how you manage it! This is why raising someone else's kid is hard nowadays, because they would grow up rude and unappreciative!" She would say at the top of her voice just so the neighbors could hear and tag her as a "good woman" and she "the bad ungrateful niece". What a great hypocrite.
But then their greediness grew and currently, they were awaiting her trust money so they could bill her - claim they raised her for years and want compensation. She could already see through their plans.
"What an entertaining family," remarked the arrogant man from earlier and he seemed to be the collector or something, "As much as this has been interesting, it cannot provide our money," He said.
"You assholes!" Claudia couldn't take it anymore and said in an outburst, "The loan would have been paid halfway by now if you guys hadn't charged us at a ridiculously high-interest rate of forty percent per fortnight. You all are sharks in the ocean that prey on their victims!" She stared at them fiercely.
Why were they called "Loan sharks" in the first place? Pun intended.
The collector simply rubbed the inside of his ear with his finger as if he was bored to death, "Hey," he called to one of his men, "Shut her up, she talks too much. My ear is beginning to hurt."
"What?!" The color left Claudia's face, fear finally setting in. But it was too late.
"Mother!"
"My daughter!"
Mother and daughter both cried and struggled but the man broke them apart, suppressing Claudia until he successfully gagged her mouth with a cloth.
"Now, that's better," The collector smirked at Claudia whose scream was muffled, before turning to Arianna whose heart leaped out of her chest. Was he going to gag her as well?
"Now, let me speak to the reasonable one in the family," He said.
"Oh," That was unexpected.
"Your father pledged this house as collateral. Now his payment is overdue, I should collect, right?" he was teasing her, trying to see what her reaction would be nor did Arianna bother to clear his assumption of her being her uncle's daughter.
"Of course you should take the house, a deal is a deal," Arianna replied. She was dealing with a criminal here and had to think like one.
"You ingrate!" her aunt fired up upon hearing her comment, "I should have known this is how you would reward me for raising you!"
"Gag her as well," Mr. Collector ordered without even as much as a glance her aunt's way.
"What?!" the woman couldn't believe what she just heard, "Hey! Don't touch me! Don't you know I'm an elder!" yet her protest fell on deaf ears. They tied her mouth the same way they did to her daughter.
For some strange reason, the scene made Arianna feel good. It was not every day she gets to see her uncle's family in a discomfiting situation. It was satisfying. This little punishment was nothing compared to the years they maltreated her.
"You know," the collector brought her attention back, "You could solve your family's problem easily,"
"What? I could?" her eyes shone with hope, "That is possible? How?" she couldn't wait to hear his suggestion.
However, Arianna narrowed her gaze at him when he reached out and grabbed her chin in a not-so-tight vice, checking her out, "You're a very beautiful woman mademoiselle and our boss Big Joe is in need of a wife. You would make a beautiful bride, what do you say to that?" He sounded hopeful.
Arianna couldn't understand how things could turn around that quickly. One moment she was thinking of saving her uncle's family and the next, she was being proposed to?
"No," was her answer. Another firm reply, "No, I'm not offering myself nor my body to this Big Joe or whatever you called him. Now get your hands off me!" She shot him a glare that would have vaporized the man on the spot if that was possible.
"You have a temper as well, spitfire, I'm sure Big Joe would love that…" He let her go, "Now, how do we get our money? My patience has run out," his gaze darkened, hinting of the storm brewing if they didn't provide what he wanted.
"Give us some time," Arianna pleaded.
"Time?" He chuckled, the mere sound sending shivers down her spine, "That I don't have anymore,"
"Please, I'll make sure my Uncle provides the money,"
The man gestured, "I don't see your uncle anywhere - thought he was your father by the way,"
"Well, you thought wrong," He wasn't the first person that thought so anyway. Her uncle's family had a way with their pretense that could even fool a trickster; they assumed one happy household.
Arianna continued, "My uncle is away on a trip. He wouldn't abandon his family." she hoped so, else she's toasted. It was not hard to notice the Collector had eyes for her.
"Fine." The collector gave a sign and his men straightened up, the fight in them vanishing.
The collector turned to her saying, "We'll be gone but we'll be back," his tone held a dark promise, "Let's go, boys!"
And just like that, they left the room one after the other until there wasn't a trace of them. But the ruins that lay in their wake remained. Arianna released a breath she didn't know she was holding in, the worst was over. Or so she thought.
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