Arranged Mafia Daddy

Chapter 1Sage

1

Sage

T he sound of my dad’s voice is urgent, with a strong undercurrent of visceral fear. “Sage, I need you to come here now.”

I throw my phone down on my bed, rushing across the hallway to his office. He spends most of his time there when he isn’t out playing poker with his friends. I barely ever see him, but I’m not bothered by it. We don’t get along that well after mom died, and he started acting strange a few weeks ago.

I was going to move out, but now I’m glad I didn’t. He could be hurt or in trouble, and I’m the only one who can help him.

“Sage, come right now,” he says as I rush to the door to his office. He opens it before I’m able to grab the knob, and I search his hunched figure for some sign of what he could be calling me in for.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, my eyes moving over his disheveled appearance and the deep lines of worry etched into his face.

There’s no blood or sign of injury. That’s good, at least. I was worried he was hurt, but looking at his face suggests that physical harm would’ve been the better outcome. Something is horribly wrong, and he’s just looking at me, unable to respond.

“Dad, say something.”

He doesn’t respond immediately, just gestures for me to come in and close the door behind me. I do, feeling a knot of anxiety tighten in my stomach. His office is cluttered, papers strewn everywhere, and the smell of stale cigarettes hangs in the air.

He never used to smoke, but since mom died, he’s been smoking and drinking like he’s trying to join her as quickly as possible. The funny thing is, he never seemed to like her much before she died.

“Sage, I’ve made some terrible mistakes,” my dad finally says, his voice cracking. He collapses into his chair, burying his face in his hands. “It’s all coming down on us now, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

“What are you talking about, Dad?” I ask, stepping closer. “What mistakes?”

He looks up at me, eyes red and filled with despair. He must have been drinking, because he only looks like this when he comes home after a night out with his friends.

“Gambling debts. I thought I could win it back, thought I could make everything right again. But I’ve lost everything, Sage. Everything.”

“But… you run a business. You make plenty of money,” I say, laughing despite the gravity of what he’s telling me. It feels like a joke, but I know he wouldn’t look like this if it were.

He shakes his head, putting his face in his palms again. “I’m sorry, but that’s gone now, too.”

“What do you mean gone?” I ask, trying hard not to yell.

“Everything, gone,” he says, looking at me again and smiling like he’s lost his mind. “Poof, like a dream. Gone just like Maria.”

I clench my fists. “Don’t bring mom into your mess. She has nothing to do with it,” I growl, feeling a surge of white-hot anger. I hate it when he mentions her. He always acts like he’s miserable because of her, like she chose to die instead of sticking around to take care of him.

He waves his hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter. It’s all gone anyway. On top of that, I owe money.”

“How much do you owe?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

“More than I can ever repay,” he says, his voice breaking. “And now, they’re coming for me. For us.”

The knot in my stomach tightens to the point where I feel like my entire body is about to cramp up. “Who’s coming for us?”

He doesn’t need to answer. A knock on the door echoes through the house, followed by the sound of it opening. Heavy footsteps reverberate on the hardwood floor, approaching with a measured, menacing pace.

My dad’s eyes widen with fear as he looks toward the office door. “It’s too late,” he whispers. “They’re already here.”

Before I can react, the office door swings open, and a tall, imposing figure steps inside. He’s dressed in a perfectly tailored suit that accentuates his broad shoulders and muscular build. His dark hair is slicked back, revealing chiseled features and a strong jawline. Everything about him radiates power and danger, but it’s his eyes that really draw me in.

They’re cold, piercing, and calculating, yet possess an allure that’s impossible to ignore. When they meet mine, I feel like he’s looking straight into my soul, attempting to pull it out of my body and consume it.

As he takes another step, his presence fills the room, and I feel a strange, unsettling mix of fear and fascination. I’ve never seen anyone like him, but I know that he’s the type of person you regret ever meeting, like a bobcat in the woods at night.

“Good evening, Mr. Thompson,” the man says, his voice smooth and controlled, rumbling deep in his chest with a Russian accent. “I believe we have some business to discuss.”

My dad trembles in his chair, unable to meet the man’s gaze. “Viktor,” he croaks, his voice barely audible. “Please, give me more time. I can get the money, I just need?—”

“Time is a luxury you no longer have,” Viktor interrupts, his tone icy cold, like a frigid wasteland where you’re destined to die from frostbite if you’re not torn apart by a polar bear first.

He shifts his gaze to me, and a shiver runs down my spine. “And who might this be?”

“This is my daughter, Sage,” my dad says, his voice shaking. “Please, she has nothing to do with this.”

Viktor’s eyes narrow as he studies me, a faint, predatory smile pulling the corners of his mouth up. “On the contrary, Mr. Thompson. I think she has everything to do with this. You told me you could liquidate your business, collect your assets, and sell your house, but you never mentioned having a daughter. How old is she?”

“Twenty-three,” I respond for my terrified dad. “I’m twenty-three, and I’d like to know what you’ve done to my dad. Are you the one who is taking advantage of him during poker nights?”

Viktor looks at my dad and chuckles. “Is that what you’ve been telling her? Really? Poker nights? That’s cute.”

I look toward my dad, but he refuses to make eye contact with me. He’s hunched over in his chair, trembling like he fears for his life. Has he been lying to me?

Either way, I don’t think it’s fair to come here and terrorize him over gambling debts. Anyone who takes advantage of a broken man like that is as wicked as they come, and doesn’t deserve any of the money they won. Besides, I wouldn’t expect a man like Viktor to play fair. I can see in his eyes that he’s clever and ruthless, hardly the type to let another man win.

“I’ll be taking Sage,” Viktor announces, taking a long step toward me.

I jump back, letting out a gasp. “No, you most certainly won’t.”

“Sage, please,” my dad mutters.

I shoot him a vicious look. “Please what? Go with Viktor? Are you serious?”

My dad still refuses to make eye contact with me. He’s ashamed of himself, but he sees a way out through giving me to the Viktor. How can someone do that to their own flesh and blood? How can he trade me to save himself?

“I will let Sage make the choice,” Viktor says, a smirk dancing across his lips. “Marry me, or I will kill your father.” He pulls a silver revolver from his suit jacket and points it at my dad. His finger is already on the trigger, ready to blow him into the afterlife.

“No!” I scream, my heart racing as I watch the color drain from my dad’s face.

“Sage, please,” my dad begs, his voice shaking. “Just do what he says. Please.”

I feel a wave of betrayal wash over me, mixing with the fear and desperation already sitting deep in my gut. He’s been lying to me, hiding the extent of his troubles, and now he’s ready to sacrifice me to save himself. The realization hits me like a brick wall, but I don’t think I can watch him die for it.

And Viktor could be lying. This could be a trick. I can’t side with a stranger over my dad, especially not one who is threatening to take everything away from us.

Tears blur my vision, but I refuse to let them fall. The room feels like it’s closing in on me, the walls moving closer as Viktor’s gaze burns through me, waiting for my decision.

“I don’t want to die, Sage,” my father whispers, his voice filled with a pathetic, self-serving plea. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise I’ll make this right.”

“You can’t make it right,” Viktor says, his voice deep and reprimanding. “You’ve dug yourself into such a deep hole that someone else has to get you out. You have nothing to show for the twenty-million dollars you owe. Your business is worth only a fraction of the price you must pay, but I’m willing to settle if Sage agrees to my terms.”

I look at Viktor, his expression calm, the revolver steady in his hand. He’s watching me with a mixture of amusement and something else, something darker and more intense. There’s a cruel satisfaction in his eyes, knowing that he’s already won. His hand was aces before the cards were even dealt.

My mind races, searching for a way out, but there’s nothing I can do. If I refuse, Viktor will pull the trigger and kill my dad in front of me.

And despite the pain I feel from his betrayal, I can’t let that happen. My moral obligation is to save him, no matter how undeserving he is, and it overrides my own fear and resentment.

Would mom have wanted me to make this choice? I’ll never know.

I suck in a deep breath, pulling my shoulders back and meeting Viktor’s cold eyes with my own. “Fine,” I say, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me. “I’ll marry you. Just don’t hurt him.”

Viktor’s smile widens, his teeth shining like expensive pearls in the low light. He lowers his revolver, tucking it back into his jacket and patting the spot where it’s hidden. “You’ve made the right choice, Sage. I’d rather not take your father’s life, no matter how much a fool he is. What would I gain?”

My stomach sinks so low that it feels like it’s going to fall through me onto the floor. My mouth is so dry that when I open it to speak, I can’t get the words out.

Not that I would know what to say, anyway. I’m stunned by the sharp turn my evening has taken. One minute, I’m in my bedroom, scrolling through posts online, and the next, I’m being stolen from my family by a towering beast with a Russian accent and not a hint of empathy in his frigid stare.

I have no clue why he would want to marry me, only that I’ve agreed to do it, and that entails much more than holding hands and kissing on the altar. The implications send a chill through my core, and a slight warmth in my groin that’s hard to explain.

I push it away, ignoring the weird feeling I get when Viktor continues to stare at me.

“You are a lucky man to have such a beautiful daughter,” he says, stepping toward me and grabbing my arm. He grins at my father. “Expensive new toy. I’ll try not to break her.”

My dad doesn’t say anything. He just whimpers in his chair, unwilling to defend me or even look at what he’s done. I hate him with everything in my body, the realization that he just ruined my life flooding over me like cold water.

But as Viktor takes me out of the room, joined by two bodyguards with rifles over their chests, I know that I can’t take this back. I saved my dad’s life, but I’ve ended my own.

And things will never go back to normal.