It takes no effort.
He walks to the glass coffee table and begins to unzip it. He sifts through my clothes—my underwear, my sweaters, then tosses it aside like a rag.
My face burns with humiliation.
He finds my wallet, takes the cash and ID from inside, and moves on to pocket my phone.
"Wait!" I step forward, "I need my phone."
Konstantin walks to the bar, pouring himself a drink.
"You have no need for a phone," he says, his back to me. "You have no one to call."
"What about my father," I ask.
"He sold you," Konstantin says coldly. "He’s currently drinking himself into a stupor to forget that fact. He doesn't want to talk to you. He wants to forget you exist. Because if he remembers you, he has to live with the shame.'"
He takes a slow sip of his drink.
The words strike like a physical blow. They hurt because they’re true.
My father drowns his guilt in whiskey. He has since the accident. He will until the day he dies.
Tears prick my eyes, but I blink them away.
"You can't keep me here," I murmur. "I'll leave. I'll walk out the front door."
Konstantin watches me over the rim of his glass.
"Try it," he challenges before gesturing to the elevator. My only exit to the world below. "Go ahead. But know this," he steps closer. "I have eyes on every street corner. I own the police who patrol this block. And I own the debt your father still hasn't paid.”
My blood turns to ice.
He sets the glass down hard on the bar. "This is the beginning, Helena. You think you can escape?" He shakes his head. “If you run, I won't chase you. I don't run after girls."
He leans in. "I’ll simply make a phone call, and your father pays the price for your freedom. In blood."
He points toward a dark hallway.
"The suite at the end of the hall is yours," he informs. "It has a bed and a bathroom. Food will be brought to you. Don’t leave the room."
I stare at him, burning with hatred.
"Why?" I whisper. "Why me?"
"Because," he says, turning his back on me. "Collateral has to have value."
He picks up his glass again.
"And you are the only thing that man has ever loved."
He waves a hand at Lev.
"Lock her in."
The room is a beautiful prison.
Lev shoves me inside. The door clicks shut.
