Knight

Prologue The young woman looked around wildly, she only had one concern, that is to leave that place as soon as possible. She could hardly believe her step mother. The ground hasn't cooled off after her father's death a week ago, and already her stepmother took her and her younger siblings to this hotel with the intention of selling her to a brothel. As soon as she saw the man her stepmother met from behind the large potted plant in the corner of the restaurant, she immediately understood. She quickly took her suitcase, carried her baby brother and took her sister's hand. "We have to leave. You two must be quiet so that mom doesn't hear us." She whispered and lift her chin up to walk out as if nothing had happened. They almost passed the lobby when she saw the pimp's guard outside smoking. She immediately pulled her sister and walked quickly to the toilet, where they will be safe, at least until her stepmom realised that they were missing. "Hey! " The smoking guard called her and took a chase. She quickened her pace, clutching at her sister's hand and thought quickly. The elevator opened, the sole man outside entering. She rushed in after him and immediately pushed the button to close the door. The guard was only a slip second too late, the door closing in front of his outstretched hand. Knees weakened with relief, she slid down on the floor and hugged her sister who cried in fear. "Are you alright? " The man inside asked from the other side of the elevator. "I… I…" She bursts to tears then, the shock finally worn off and her fears and relief finally caught up with her. "What floor are you heading to? " The man asked kindly. "I don't know… I just had to get us away… " She sobbed. Darrel sighed wearily. Of all the times to have a drama. He eyed the panel and pushed the top button, worriedly watching the crying trio in his elevator floor. His secretary stood there staring as the door opened at 34th floor. "Ava, change of plan. " He said as he hold the door. "Fetch me the files for the Berau Royal Grand Suites and Mall, and clear my schedule for today. Postpone any appointment until tomorrow. I want the files and my briefcase in my penthouse as soon as possible. Oh, and don't forget to put my laptop in. If Ryan or James asked, I'm taking a break today." Ava nodded obediently "yes sir. " And turned to the direction of his office even before the elevator door closed.  The door reopened at the penthouse, and he looked down to the still crying trio. " Come on, get out of the elevator." Wiping her tears, the young woman shakily stood up and take her sister out, following the man to one of the room. He opened the door and held it open for her. "Get in." He said, then closed the door. Then he led them to a sitting room, gently pushed her to sit on the sofa and called for a tea service. "Are you in trouble? " He asked gently. "I assumed that you were running away from that man." She nodded tearfully. "What's your name? " "I… I'm Callista Darmawan. That man… he's a guard of Mr. Wong, he's a pimp of high class prostitutes. My stepmom… she told me to pack my things and brought us here. She… when  I saw her with him… I know that I have to leave." " I'm Darrell Santoso. So you think your step mom sold you to that pimp? " Callista nodded. "She took me to a woman's health exam three days ago, and was exceptionally please that I'm… " She blushed deep red. Darrell looked exceptionally mad. He pulled his phone out and called. "Steve. There is a human trafficking transaction going on in the lobby. Why is there a human trafficking transaction in the lobby?" He asked coldly. "I don't want to know" He described the guard tht chased Callista and the children to his head of security. "I want them to become an example. No RDJ Hotels will be implicated in a human trafficking thing. Get the police, whomever you think can help. I want them caught with the maximum exposure. And the next time something like this happened in any of my hotels, you can kiss your job and any other job you wanted to work goodbye." He closed the phone.  "They will be taken care of, but I think it's better if the three of you stayed here for the time being until it died down. If the pimp had a guard, it meant that he's connected. Here you will be protected." He said as he stood up to open the door for the room service. The maid pushed in a cart. "Have you three eaten lunch?" Callista shook her head. "Mom said that we will eat here as a goodbye feast. Oh, Sierra and Felix's suitcases!" "Where is it? " "In my mom's car." "What is the car and the number? " He texted it to his security head as he ordered some luncheon, seeing as Callista was in no state to think it herself.  He read the answer from the security head and frowned. "Hmm… are you a local? Or are you coming from out of town? " Callista shook her head. She's still a bit confused and shocked. "We're from Sumba actually, we just arrived here today." "Okay" Darrell sighed. "Here's the thing. Your stepmom is making a fuss down there saying that someone kidnapped the three of you. She insisted on a search. You don't need to worry because they won't be searching this level. It's rarely used, and were supposed to be unoccupied at the moment. Only that you'd be housebound for a while because people will talk if they saw you coming in and out of here with a guard. I don't want you to be a prisoner here. The other solution is to marry me." Callista blinked and stared at him. "I'm sorry, I thought I just heard… " Darrell looked at her, then away "your name, Callista Darmawan. If you marry me, you can legally changed your name to Callista Santoso. It also allowed you room to breath. There will be no question of why you have an RDJ guard escorting you and why you are allowed to use our facilities. It also freed you to go anywhere. That pimp, because of his connections, the next logical move would be watching all access of exiting the city. He might get an exposure now, but his connection would bail him out. I can only do so much like this, but as your husband, I have rights to make decisions and to protect the three of you. " "I… I can't impose on you like that… " Darrell stood up and looked out the window to the horizon. "Neither can I in good conscience let anything bad happened to you." He looked back and gave her a wry smile. "Part of it is my fault anyways. I insisted on exposing them with a bang. Our hotel needs to keep our credibility as a reputable family hotel. Not a brothel." He looked out again. "After we married, we will adopt your… brother and sister? " Callista nodded. "They will be our children, and so securing them from your stepmother." "Why would you do this for us? " Callista asked in disbelief. "I feel responsible, for one, and I absolutely miffed that your stepmother could do this to you. I really hated people like that." She looked down. "Is… is this a paper marriage? " Darrell looked back and smiled. "It's up to you. Either way is fine by me. If you're worried about that, we are married, so it's a normal thing." "But… what about love? " She couldn't help but ask. "We can try? " He tilted his head. "We only knew each other for about thirty minutes after all. Whose to say that we won't fall in love with each other soon? "