He took her into the ballroom so theyâd conclude this business with her boss, and he could have her all to himself again.
Eliana spooled away from him, flashing him an exquisite smile. âIâll go finish my own mission.â
Before he could stop her, an erratic movement caught his eye.
Ferreira.
Rafaelâs enemy was on a collision course with them.
Before any of them could move, Ferreira was pulling Eliana into his arms.
Aggression erupted, almost bursting Rafaelâs head. He was her boss? And he was on hugging terms with her?
Then the words Ferreira kept saying as he clutched Eliana sank into Rafaelâs mind.
Ellie, my baby girl, youâre okay.
Rafael stared at the woman heâd lost his mind over, in the arms of the man he was here to destroy.
And everything crashed into place.
* * *
From Enemyâs Daughter to Expectant Bride is part of The Billionaires of Black Castle series: Only their dark pasts could lead these men to the light of true love.
OLIVIA GATES has always pursued creative passions such as singing and handicrafts. She still does, but only one of her passions grew gratifying enough, consuming enough, to become an ongoing careerâwriting.
She is most fulfilled when she is creating worlds and conflicts for her characters, then exploring and untangling them bit by bit, sharing her protagonistsâ every heart-wrenching heartache and hope, their every heart-pounding doubt and trial, until she leads them to an indisputably earned and gloriously satisfying happy ending.
When sheâs not writing, she is a doctor, a wife to her own alpha male and a mother to one brilliant girl and one demanding Angora cat. Visit Olivia at www.oliviagates.com.
Prologue
He woke up in darkness again.
His cheeks were wet, his heart battering his chest, and his screams for his mother and father still shredding his throat.
âGet up, Numbers.â
The vicious voice had terror expanding in his chest. The first time heâd heard it, heâd been terrified, thinking it was a stranger in his bedroom. But heâd soon realized it had been even worse. Heâd no longer been at home, but somewhere narrow and long with no windows and no furniture. Heâd been on the freezing ground, hands tied behind his back. That voice speaking heavily accented English, the language he knew so well, had said the same thing then.
And that had been how this nightmare had started.
âSeems Numbers wants another beating.â
That was the other man. He believed heâd never see anyone but these scary men ever again. And they called him Numbers. It was why theyâd taken him. Because he was good with numbers.
Heâd been offended when theyâd first said that about him. He wasnât âgood with numbers.â He was a mathematical prodigy. That was what his parents and teachers and all the experts whoâd sought him had said he was.
Heâd corrected them, and heâd gotten his first ever slap for it. It had almost snapped his neck, sending him crashing into the wall. As the shock and pain had registered, heâd realized that this was real. He was no longer safe and protected. Anything could and would be done to him.
At first, that had made him angry. Heâd said if they returned him to his parents, he wouldnât tell them theyâd dared lay a hand on him. The two men had laughed, just like heâd always imagined devils would. One had told the other that this Numbers kid might take longer to break than theyâd thought.
Heâd still insisted his name wasnât Numbers, and the other man had backhanded him on his other cheek, even more viciously.
As heâd lain on the ground, shaking with fear and helplessness, the men had told him what to expect from now on.
âYouâll never see your parents or leave this place again. You now belong to us. If you do everything we tell you, the moment we tell you, then you wonât be punished. Not too bad.â
But heâd disobeyed their every order ever since, no matter how severely theyâd punished him for it. Heâd hoped theyâd give up on him and send him home. But theyâd only grown more brutal, seemed to be enjoying hurting and humiliating him more, and the hope that this nightmare might end had kept dwindling.
âShall we give Numbers a choice of punishments today?â
He heard his tormentors snickering, could barely see their silhouettes towering over him out of the eye that wasnât swollen shut. And in that moment, he gave up.
It finally sank in that what heâd endured their abuse so long for would never happen.
This nightmare would never end.
His captors would never stop their cruelty, his parents would never rescue him and no one else would ever help him. It would never stop getting worse.
And if this was what his life would be like from now on, he no longer wanted to live.