The 900 Billion Dollar Heir

Chapter Seven - The Choice

Duane's eyes locked onto Maya, his baby sister, he girl he'd protected her entire life. 

Now she stood there in that degrading dress, feet bleeding, her face streaked with tears and her body shaking with exhaustion from hours of dancing like a trained animal.

He looked at the blood on the white carpet. Her raw, destroyed feet. 

His chest felt like it was being crushed. His vision blurred.

This was his fault. He should have protected her.

His entire body trembled with rage and anguish.

"How dare you," he said, turning to Gloria, his voice low and shaking. "How dare you sell my sister like she's some kind of object?”

Gloria's smile didn't waver. She set down her champagne glass and looked at him with cold amusement. "Sell her? I didn't sell anyone, Duane. I simply provided an opportunity. Your sister came here willingly. I never forced her to do anything."

"Liar."

"Am I?" Gloria tilted her head. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Duane turned to Maya, his heart breaking at the sight of her. She was still wrapped in his jacket, her face streaked with tears and her bleeding feet leaving marks on the carpet.

"Maya," he said softly. "Tell me she's lying. Tell me you didn't agree to this."

Maya's face crumpled. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as she looked at him, her voice barely a whisper.

"I'm sorry, Duane. I'm so sorry."

"No." Duane shook his head. "Maya, no."

"It's true." Her voice broke on the words. "Gloria told me... she said Mr. Brown would pay a lot of money if I just danced for him. That's all. Just dancing. And we needed the money so badly. Mom was dying and you were trying everything and I just... I just wanted to help."

"By doing this?" Duane's voice rose. 

"It was the only way!" Maya's voice cracked. "It was the only way to raise enough money to save Mom. What else was I supposed to do? Watch her die? Watch you destroy yourself trying to save her?" She wiped her face with shaking hands. "Please, Duane. Just leave. Don't... don't look at me like this. I don't want you to see me like this."

Richard Brown laughed and the sound of us made Duane's skin crawl.

"Richard Brown's eyes lit up with excitement. He sat forward eagerly, looking at Duane like he was the most entertaining thing he'd seen in years.

"Oh, this is wonderful! Gloria, you didn't tell me the brother would actually show up!" He laughed, sharp and delighted. "This is exactly what I love to see! The desperation! The fury! Brother and sister, both suffering for each other. It's absolutely exquisite!"

Gloria smiled and walked closer to Richard. "Oh, Richard," she said smoothly. "The best part hasn't even started yet."

Richard's eyebrows rose with interest. "Oh?"

"Just wait," Gloria said, her smile widening. "Watch what happens when he begs his sister to stop selling herself. And she refuses because she's desperate to save their dying mother." She gestured elegantly. "That's the real show. That's what I brought you here to see.”

Gloria leaned back on the sofa, looking thoroughly satisfied. "See, Duane? I told Mr. Brown I could provide excellent entertainment. Your sister has been perfect."

She stood up and walked toward Duane slowly, her heels clicking on the floor.

"I always said I'd satisfy you, didn't I?" Her smile was sharp and cruel. "I keep my promises."

She stopped in front of Duane, close enough that he could smell her expensive perfume.

"So now you have a choice to make, Duane. A very simple choice, really." Her voice was light, almost playful. "Your sister stays here with Mr. Brown, and I'll pay for your mother's surgery. Every cent of it. Your mother lives, and Maya just has to entertain an important man for one evening. That's not so bad, is it?"

Duane's jaw clenched.

"Or," Gloria continued, "your sister comes home with you right now. You walk out of here together. But then you have no money for the surgery. Your mother dies. And Maya's sacrifice will have been for nothing."

She stepped even closer, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"So what's it going to be, Duane? Your sister? Or your mother?"

The room fell silent.

Maya was crying quietly, her shoulders shaking. Richard Brown watched with interest, swirling his champagne. Gloria's family stood awkwardly in the corner, not meeting anyone's eyes.

Duane looked at Gloria, disgusted by the cruel satisfaction in her eyes.

Then he started to laugh, but it had no humour in it. 

""Your family," Duane said, his voice shaking with barely controlled fury, "truly aren't human."

His hands trembled at his sides. His entire body was coiled tight like a spring ready to snap.

Gloria's smile faltered slightly.

"None of you!" Duane's voice rose, raw with rage and pain. "You take someone's desperation and you twist it like a knife! You take their love for their family and you use it to destroy them!"

"You sit there drinking champagne while my sister bleeds! You laugh while she suffers! You enjoy this!" He took a step forward, his eyes burning with hatred. "You're not human. You're monsters. All of you. Every single one of you is rotten to the core.”

He turned to Maya and held out his hand.

"Come home with me."

Maya's eyes went wide. "But Duane, Mom –"

"Is fine." His voice was gentle now. "She's going to be fine. I already paid for the surgery. The full amount. She's in the operating room right now."

For a moment, nobody moved. Nobody spoke.

Then Maya's face lit up with desperate hope. 

"Really? You're not just saying that to –"

"I'm not lying. I paid. She's safe."

Everyone else in the room stood frozen in stunned silence.

Gloria was the first to recover. Her face twisted with disbelief and anger.

"That's impossible," she said flatly. "You're lying. You were on your knees begging me for money just hours ago!" Her voice rose. "You were desperate. You had nothing. How could you possibly have paid for the surgery so fast? Oh, Duane, do you really think lying in front of us will save your mother?"

 Gloria shook her head, turning to Richard. "He's making all of this up to save his sister. He thinks if he acts confident enough, we'll just let her go."

Duane's eyes locked onto Richard Brown with cold fury.

"I'm not lying," he said, his voice steady and dangerous. "My mother's surgery has been paid for. Every cent of it. She's in the operating room right now being saved by the best surgeons in the hospital."

He took a step closer to Richard, his expression hardening.

"And as for you," Duane continued, his voice dropping lower, "the man who apparently enjoys watching my sister suffer, who thinks it's

beautiful to see her dance until her feet bleed – I can make you go bankrupt. Right now. On the spot.”