Chapter 5 The Currency Of My Existence

I wish I could say that if I’d done things differently, I wouldn’t be here. However, the unfortunate truth is that even if I had done things differently, it feels as though this was destined to happen. I guess that’s what happens when your parents leave a mess for you to clean up. My hand grips onto the balled bed sheet in my fist as though it’ll keep me grounded to my body should Marcel choose to put a bullet through my head this time like he said he would. With crippling anticipation, my gaze follows him as he moves from the doorway to stand just before the foot of the bed. Despite very notably feeling my heart pounding in my chest, it isn’t until I register the increasingly shorter pauses between each beep from the vital signs machine that I realize that the spike of my heart rates’ doubled. My hands tremble on my lap, the veins on my arm dilating as my blood pumps faster and harder. It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. … No the fuck it’s not. The smirk dancing on Marcel’s lips shifts ever-so-slightly as his eyes flicker to the monitor beside me. He brings his hands up to the handles at the foot of the bed before him, his gaze shifting to meet my own as he breathes out, “Relax, love. No one’s getting hurt today.” He pauses for a moment, glancing at Levi who looks like he’s at the brink of snapping before adding, “Well, that is unless you or your brother decide to do something stupid.” While nothing he says will be enough to reassure me that neither he or his men will deal us any more damage than they already have, I’m certain of at least one thing: he won’t do anything that causes a scene because that’s not his style and he prefers to be discreet. Thus, if we play by his hand, at the very least, he won’t do anything here—a public place. Still, for a moment, just a moment, my gaze falls to the nurses’ call button. I don’t have the opportunity to so much as attempt to reach for it, because before I can, it’s as though Levi has direct access to my thoughts and he takes it into his hand. My eyes snap up to lock with his as he moves it out of my reach. With a stern look on his face and a calmer composure, he shakes his head at me ever-so-slightly, silently advising me to do as I’m told. I furrow my eyebrows with hopelessness, my eyes glossing as a shaky breath parts my lips. My eyelids fall shut for a second, my attention shifting to my breathing as I attempt to settle my nerves. I draw the inside of my cheek between my teeth, chewing nervously despite the distinct irony taste of blood in my mouth. When it seems like nothing is working, I breathe out sharply in defeat, turning to the monitor before reaching to shut the beeping off. “Well then,” Marcel’s voice resonates, my gaze shifting to look at him as he states, “I’m glad we’re all on the same page.” When one of his hands moves away from the handle at the foot of the bed, he draws it back into his pocket, the other never relinquishing its steady hold. As utterly controlled as his composure is, his presence remains absolute. I guess that’s the thing about powerful people: the smallest gesture, as insignificant as it may seem, is enough to assert their superiority. “Believe it or not, after I went home, I just felt sick about this entire…ordeal.” He almost sounds genuine, his tongue clicking before he proceeds, “You see, I got to wondering: what would happen if I let you walk out of here with your sister and a four and a half million dollar debt?” He pauses for a moment, shrugging his shoulders with a thoughtful look on his face. Finally, a sigh parts his lips, his gaze flickering to meet Levi’s, speaking directly to him as he says, “Then I got to wondering how much it would cost to keep a…beautiful young woman like her clothed, fed, safe? So I did a little research, and as it turns out, Mercy Carter is very popular in the research field of mathematics and physics at her university.” Again, he pauses, averting his gaze to me as he states, “You should be very proud.” He looked me up..? I know where he’s going before he gets there, and as I’m watching it happen, my mind goes blank. I’m hearing the words come out of his mouth, but somehow, my analytical mind is having a hard time processing it. “And then it hit me: it’s a small price to pay for someone who may very well be a textbook genius—a brainiac. In my line of work, you don’t come across those too often.” Levi doesn’t wait for him to say it, interjecting with a dangerous tone in his voice, “No.” He’s almost growling animalistically, his voice trembling with rage as he says, “You’re not fucking taking her anywhere! Y—” “Oh, but I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet, and trust me, you’re gonna want to hear this,” amusement lingers in Marcel’s voice as he cuts Levi off. “Given her talents, in today’s market, someone her age with her skillset is worth five million dollars, give or take half a million.” He begins pacing thoughtfully, bluntly admitting, “Before, she was of no use to me so I was just gonna kill her, regardless of whether or not you paid off your debt. However, I’m feeling…generous.” He halts his movements abruptly, stopping in front of Levi, just a few feet short from him. He tells him, “You bring me six million dollars in one week’s time, and I give you my word that I’ll return her to you safe and sound. She’ll get to go back to school, continue working on her little research projects, and live out the rest of her days without any interference from me…unless you try to screw me over again.” He pauses once more, the smirk once plastered on his face fading into an unreadable expression as he finalizes, “Fail to deliver and the price goes up to ten million…for a month.” My heart drops to my stomach and I feel my face flush. If I didn’t feel queasy from the loss of blood from the gunshot, I do now, and if I wasn’t pale before, I’m almost certain that I am now. It’s as though I’m moving in slow motion, turning to look at Levi who looks as hopeless as I feel. He doesn’t have six million dollars, does he..? … Marcello Saldívar officially owns me… This is it. This is where my ransom mind has met his merciless heart. I never thought that the day would come where I’d find myself wishing that I wasn’t as intelligent and academically disciplined as I am. Altogether, I never thought that the day would come where I would be equally as grateful at the same time. It’s a double-edged sword. Without it, I’d be dead in a week. With it, I’m no longer a person but a mere tool—a slave. Levi parts his lips to speak, but before he can mutter a sound, Marcel brings his wrist up to his sight, looking at the shiny watch wrapped around it as he says, “Oh! And your time starts…now.” He lowers it from his view, looking at Levi as he tells him, “Time is money, Carter. Clock’s ticking. If I were you, I’d get back to work.” In this moment, I don’t care anymore. I don’t care that I’m going to spend the rest of my life paying for my parents’ mistakes. I don’t care that my brother’s never going to buy my freedom back. In this moment, I just don’t want to lose my brother again. “Levi..?” My voice cracks as he turns to look at me, his sorrow-filled eyes holding mine. He doesn’t have to say it. It’s written all over his face: he’s going to go and try to make the money by whatever means necessary, because just like me, I’m all the family he has left. I’m the only thing in this shitty world that he still cares about. And he’s not giving me a say. “No…” my voice cracks. I can’t stop the tears from falling uncontrollably, hard sobs tearing from my lungs as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him. I bury my face into his chest, crying out, “Don’t leave me! Please, don’t leave me again!” I wrap my healthy arm around him, clinging onto him tightly as I ball the back of his shirt into my fist. “I’m sorry, sissy,” he murmurs into my ear and it only breaks me more. He plants a loving kiss at the top of my head, reiterating with a broken breath, “I’m so sorry, Mercy.” It isn’t until his arms slowly loosen from around me that it hits me even harder, and I’m pleading out between hiccups, “Please, d-don’t l-leave me!” I cling onto the back of his shirt, fighting his attempt to pull himself out of my hold as I cry, “You’re all I have…” It’s like I’m a child all over again crying over my parents’ dead bodies, begging them to wake up. Only this time, somehow, it inexplicably hurts more. And despite holding onto him like my life depends on it, he manages to break away from me. He should’ve never came back… I resent him. I resent him for coming back into my life and making me believe that I had gotten my brother back. I resent him for giving me hope. I resent him for making me remember what it was like to have someone when I had no one else. Mostly, I resent him for the fact that I still love him like it hasn’t been a day since I haven’t seen him. Without looking back, he walks away from me. I try to go after him, climbing out of bed only for Marcel to move and stand in front of me, putting his hands on the sides of my arms to stop me. “Easy, love,” he hums. “No!” I scream, pushing out of his hold as I tear the needle connected to the IV bag out of my arm. I hardly feel the pain from shifting my wounded shoulder, my shaky hands ripping the electroids transmitting my vitals to the monitor from my chest. But it’s useless. In the seconds that it takes for me to free myself, Levi’s moved past Marcel’s men, pushing the door open as Marcel wraps his arm around my waist, holding me flushed against him. His deathly grip tightens, making it harder for me to breathe than it already is. “Levi!” I cry out, but he doesn’t stop. He walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him like that day, 5 and a half years ago. “Alright, that’s enough,” I hear Marcel say between the uncontrollable sobs that adamantly part my lips. I feel it: the sting from the needle that he drives through the side of my neck. The effects are almost instant, my muscles going slack as he pins me back into him, holding me up. My knees buckle, my vision exponentially growing hazy as my head’s thrown back without the strength for me to hold it straight. I can hear my own breathing through the ringing in my ears, the sound of my erratic heart slowly subsiding as I drift away into the merciful darkness.