"Who are you? You must move your hand," Mary said, trying to force the door to close, but her efforts were useless.
From where Victor stood, he had a good view of Kate and her husband. Since it was becoming hard to keep track of Warrn, they were just the two people he came to see.
Noah stood up to address the stranger. "Who are you? You don’t have any business being here."
Victor pushed Mary out of the way and entered the home. "I do have business here. Not with you, but rather your son. Where is he?"
Victor didn’t like late payments, as it was a sign he wasn’t going to be paid. Victor had taken a quick liking to Warren, and there was so much hope for Warren until he made the mistake of not returning to pay.
Men entered the home behind Victor.
"Won’t anyone answer me? I was polite to wait for your return instead of coming to speak to your wife alone. She is beautiful," Victor said, admiring Kate’s beauty. "She falls short of her sister, but she’s a beauty. What a shame you cannot walk, or is it a blessing?"
Victor could think of quite a few men who would still enjoy Kate’s company. Whilst many of the women in the brothel put on an act for their customers, Kate was the real deal. Kate was the lady who had everything, but was now left to depend on a man for everything.
Noah moved to block Kate from the stranger’s eyes. "I advise you to watch what you say about my wife. What business does my son have with you? Who are you?"
"My name is Victor, and I am the man your son borrowed money from. I want some of it back now as we promised. Where is he?" Victor asked, snapping his fingers for the men with him to begin their search. "I hope he didn’t run off and is leaving his poor mother to pay me off."
Why would Warren need to borrow any money?
"I have proof of our deal," Victor said, revealing the paper with Warren’s blood. "He has to pay back what he borrowed plus a little more for the time my money was in his hands. If he can’t pay with money, he can work it off with his body. I would take land or a big home."
Kate held onto Noah as she realised where these men came from. "You’re from the red light district," she said.
Victor smiled, happy that he noticed his work without him having to say it. "I like to think that I own the district, but it’s only a matter of time before the other owners work for me. So, now that you realise who you are dealing with, where is your son?"
"I wouldn’t tell you even if I knew where he was," Noah replied.
Noah’s concern for Warren’s whereabouts was replaced with anger. Not only was he angry that Warren was so foolish to go to a man like Victor for money, but Warren was nowhere to be seen, and Kate had to meet such a man.
"Well, that creates an issue for me. I have to get paid one way or another," Victor said, his gaze lingering on Mary. She was pretty, but wouldn’t be worth much. "Search the home for something of value to make up for the first payment."
"I wouldn’t do that," Victor advised Noah, who moved like he wanted to fight. "Your hands won’t win against my guns. I’m not the bad guy here. Your son is the one who failed to pay me."
Victor made himself comfortable by sitting on a chair where he could get another good look at Kate. He was curious how she ended up with a man like Noah.
Noah could only watch as men he didn’t know searched his home. He couldn’t move to stop them since it was more important to guard Kate from Victor’s eyes.
Without Victor speaking, Noah knew exactly what was going on inside Victor’s mind when he looked at Kate.
"We’ll pay you what my son owes, so tell your men to stop. We weren’t the ones who made the deal with you, so we shouldn’t be treated this way," said Noah.
"We should call the guards," Mary suggested, but it was a grave mistake.
Kate glared at Mary. It wasn’t smart to mention the guards when these men were in their presence. Now they could be killed to keep this visit a secret.
Victor laughed. "Is that so? You want to get the very guards who are my good-paying customers involved in this? When they come, should I tell them of the offer your son made to me? I should have Penelope Castro in my arms right now."
Warren made mistakes during the years, but Kate refused to believe he would go so far as to offer a lady to a man like Victor.
It was something Kate would do in her prime, but now, she knew how wrong it was.
"You are a liar," Kate accused Victor.
"Am I? Or is it that you didn’t know your son well? The deal I made with him is all here. I would offer him money, and in return, not only would he pay me back, but I would have the duke’s daughter. I am still waiting to have her," Victor said, his hands itching to hold Penelope.
Warren filled Victor’s mind with a fantasy about a noblewoman, and Victor wasn’t going to rest until he got what he was promised.
"If you go to the town guards or court, I will deal with them. The duke might not be so pleased to hear what your son did, so why don’t we settle this amongst ourselves? Until he returns, you two will pay me," Victor proposed.
Victor smiled, revealing his crooked teeth as Kate glared at him. If only she knew how much he enjoyed it when a woman looked at him with so much anger. It was a joy of his to break them.
"I am a generous man, so I provide plenty of ways to be repaid. Your maid is worth a second glance, but I am quite more interested in you," Victor said to Kate.
Victor didn’t flinch when Noah started coming toward him.
Kate lunged to grab Noah’s hand to stop him. While she was grateful for Noah wanting to protect her, they were outnumbered, and she saw one of the men present flash a gun.
"Noah, don’t," Kate pleaded.
"You should listen to your wife. If not your wife, I will give you the chance to complete your son’s end of the deal. You can get me, Penelope Castro. Along with what my men have gathered, that would be enough to settle the debt. Do we have a deal?" Victor asked, offering his hand to Noah.
Noah stared at the hand before him. What he wanted was to kill Victor, not to shake his hand.
"We’ll pay you what my son owes," Noah said, refusing to shake Victor’s hand. "Tell me where your business is and I will come to see you."
"No," Victor said, walking around looking at the interior of the home. It was his first visit to the former baron’s home. "We’ll do our business here until you pay me off. I like it here."