Page 57 of Protected By Her Daddy

“Yes!”

I’m thankful I asked Gabriel not to throw it out when I first got here. I was poised for flight in those early days, expecting to have to run from this life that seemed too good to be true. My backpack may be tattered and torn, but it was my only possession while living on the streets, a reminder that I’d survived.

Fumbling with the zipper, I open the small pocket, and my fingers close around the USB drive I stashed there what seems like a lifetime ago. The one I picked up in a rush that fateful morning, knowing it probably belonged to Gregory. The cold metal feels heavier than it should, as if it carries more than just data.

I dash back to the living room and grab my laptop from the coffee table. My heart pounds as I plug it in. The screen lights up, showing a single folder.

A shiver runs down my spine. This isn’t a random USB drive. This is something important, something Gregory must have dropped by mistake.

My fingers tremble as I tap on the folder, revealing a long list of video files. With a deep breath, I press play.

The screen flickers to life, revealing a grainy video shot in a dimly lit room. My heart nearly stops when I see Gregory’s face. The camera pans to show Jerry and two other men, neither of whom are familiar, deep in conversation. The angle shifts again, focusing on what’s on the table between them—piles of cash, guns, and small bags of white powder.

My stomach lurches. Drugs. Lots of them.

The conversation becomes clearer, and my nausea increases as I listen to them discussing a deal—one involving a significant amount of money and a dangerous gang. This isn’t a minor crime; it’s something far more dangerous, something that could ruin lives.

I hear Gregory’s voice from behind the camera, clear as day. “We’ll use the girl. It’s time she paid her debt to me. Nothing like virgin pussy to sweeten the deal.”

The girl. Me?

The realization hits me like a punch to the gut. They weren’t simply selling me—they were tossing me in as part of a deal. Like a sex toy for their pleasure.

The camera pans again, and bile rises in my throat as it reveals a cage in the corner of the room. A cage containing girls. At least ten of them.

Tears pour down my cheeks. “Oh, God, no.”

The fear simmering in the background now crashes over me like a wave. I barely make it to the kitchen sink before I lose the contents of my stomach, heaving until I’m empty. When the spasms finally stop, I splash cold water on my face and rinse my mouth.

Returning to the laptop, I eject the USB drive and shove it into my jeans pocket. I sink onto the sofa, questions circling my mind like vultures. This is why they want me so badly. They suspect I have the drive, evidence they desperately need to keep hidden. Evidence they’ll stop at nothing to get back because it could incriminate every man in that room.

I grab my phone. I need to speak to Gabriel. The call goes straight to voicemail. I try again with the same result. Next, I try Ed. No joy. Calling Gabriel again, I leave a quick message, telling him what I’ve discovered.

I stand and pace again, praying Gabriel will call me soon, jumping as the security panel on the front door buzzes.

Calm down, Wren. You’re safe. Gabe has everything under control. They can’t get in here.

I hit the screen by the front door, and Ethan’s face pops up.

“Mrs. Burns, I’m sorry to disturb you, but there’s been an incident.”

My heart stops. “An incident? Oh, god, Gabriel! Is he hurt?”

“Gabriel’s been shot. He’s been taken to the medical facility. Ed asked Luther and me to accompany you down there.”

Punching in the security code, I throw open the door. “Ethan, what?—”

My gaze falls on Luther, slumped against the opposite wall, blood oozing from a wound on his bald head. An unfamiliar man stands beside him, his gun trained on Luther’s still form. The man is huge, built like a brick shithouse, his hair cropped short, his arms covered in tattoos. A scar runs from his left eyebrow to the corner of his mouth. He sneers at me, and I stumble back, my mind racing to figure out what’s going on.

Ethan points his gun at me and smiles. “Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be, Wren.”

I freeze, every instinct screaming at me to run, but my legs are made of lead. Ethan’s smile is cold, calculated—so different from the man I thought I knew. The realization that he’s been playing us all along hits me like a ton of bricks, but there’s no time to process it. I have to think, to find a way out of this.

“Ethan? What…Why are you doing this?” My voice shakes, betraying the fear coursing through me.

Ethan’s smile widens as he steps closer, the gun steady in his hand. “Let’s just say family loyalty runs deep.”

“Who are you?”

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