Trapped By The Billionaire Doctor's Debt

Emilia opened her eyes to the murky, gray half-light of the hotel suite. Heavy blackout curtains swallowed the morning, leaving only a thin blade of sun slicing through the gap.

The immediate, searing rip between her legs made her gasp. She sucked in a sharp, ragged breath, her lungs burning as the thick stench of stale whiskey and sour sweat clogged her nose and throat.

She tried to push herself upright. The silk blanket slithered off her shoulders, exposing bare skin littered with dark red bruises-some the size of thumbprints, others raw, angry scratches. Fragments of last night's frantic, suffocating weight crashed into her skull like shards of broken glass. Her stomach heaved, acid climbing up her throat.

She turned her head.

Across the vast, wrecked bed, a tall man stood with his back to her. His silhouette was cut against the floor-to-ceiling windows, the pale morning light tracing the hard lines of his shoulders, the narrow taper of his waist.

He was slowly, methodically fastening the silver cufflinks of his tailored white shirt. His movements were unhurried, precise-the movements of a man who had already dismissed her from his mind.

At the sound of her sharp intake of air, his hands stopped.

Clifton turned around.

His deep, cold eyes cut through the morning shadows and locked directly onto her. They were the color of black ice-flat, impenetrable, utterly devoid of warmth.

The sheer, predatory aggression in his stare made Emilia's skin prickle as if a thousand needles were pressing into her flesh. Panic seized her throat, thick and suffocating. She instinctively grabbed the slipping blanket and yanked it up to her collarbone, gripping the silk so tightly her knuckles bleached stark white against her trembling hands.

Clifton watched her defensive scramble. A cruel, mocking smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth-barely a twitch, but unmistakable. He took slow, deliberate steps toward the bed, each footfall silent on the thick carpet.

He stood over her, looking down. There was no trace of last night's heat in his expression. It was a pure, calculating assessment. The way a buyer inspects a product he's already decided is defective.

Emilia's whole body trembled under that gaze. But the image of her father-pale, gaunt, lying in a hospital bed with tubes snaking from his arms-flashed behind her eyes. She forced her chin up, meeting his terrifying stare with her own desperate defiance.

She bit her lower lip hard enough to taste copper. "The money," she said, her voice a raw, shredded rasp. "You promised ten thousand dollars as a deposit for passing your 'interview' for the egg retrieval."

Clifton's eyes instantly dropped in temperature. A muscle feathered along his razor-sharp jaw. He despised women like this-women who sold pieces of themselves to the darkest corners of the city for a paycheck, then demanded payment with trembling hands and righteous eyes.

He leaned down. His long, cold fingers clamped around her jaw, forcing her head up so she couldn't escape his stare.

"Your performance last night," he said, his voice a low, magnetic rumble that vibrated against her skin like distant thunder, "was not worth the price you are asking."

Heat exploded across Emilia's face, scorching her cheeks a deep, humiliated crimson. Tears of pure, molten shame pricked her eyes, blurring his arrogant face into a smear, but she clamped her teeth together so hard her jaw ached. She refused to let them fall.

She jerked her face away, slapping his hand off her jaw with a sharp crack. "This was a transaction!" she yelled, her chest heaving, her voice cracking. "You have to keep your word. I need that ten thousand. I need it!"

At the number, the mockery in Clifton's eyes deepened into something darker. He straightened to his full, imposing height and casually adjusted his silk tie, smoothing the fabric with infuriating calm.

He reached into the inside pocket of his expensive suit jacket and pulled out a sleek, custom-embossed checkbook. With a heavy gold fountain pen, he scrawled a number, tore the slip free with a crisp rip, and let the check drop.

It fluttered down like a piece of trash, spinning lazily before landing on the nightstand right beside her pillow.

"That is your actual market value," he said, each word coated in ice. "One hundred dollars. Not a penny more."

Emilia stared at the slip of paper. Her lungs stopped working. It felt like he had just driven a steel-toed boot directly into her chest and ground his heel in. Her entire body shook with a violent, blinding rage that whited out her vision.

She snatched the check in her fist, crumpling it, and hurled it as hard as she could straight at his chest.

The paper bounced off his expensive lapel and fluttered uselessly to the carpet. Clifton's eyes darkened into something lethal-a flash of pure, controlled fury.

Emilia didn't care. She was beyond caring. She scrambled off the far side of the bed, mindless of her nakedness, her feet tangling in the sheets. She snatched her crumpled clothes from the floor-her worn jeans, her thin sweater-and dressed in a frenzy, her fingers shaking so violently she could barely work the buttons.

She didn't glance in his direction. Not once. She bolted for the suite door, wrenched it open, and fled into the hallway.

The sound of her frantic, desperate footsteps echoed down the corridor-sharp, staccato slaps on marble-until they faded into silence.

Clifton stood rooted to the spot. He stared at the closed door, his jaw clenched so tight a muscle popped in his cheek. A sudden, inexplicable wave of irritation churned in his gut-hot and unwelcome.

He looked down, bending to retrieve the crumpled check from the carpet. His thumb rubbed unconsciously against the paper's sharp edge, smoothing out the creases she had crushed into it.

A draft caught the heavy door, slamming it shut with a resonant bang. The lock clicked loudly.

Slowly, Clifton walked back to the bed. He looked down at the tangled white sheets.

Against the pristine fabric, a dark red stain stood out in stark, undeniable contrast. Blood. Her blood.

His pupils contracted sharply. His chest tightened-an unfamiliar, uncomfortable squeeze around his ribs.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cheap, black disposable phone. The screen was still open to the black-market egg donation hotline from last night. He stared at it, his thumb hovering motionless over the glass.