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The chill in the basement room seeps into my bones as I’m dragged inside. Emma, huddled across from me, looks more like a ghost than the vibrant friend I know.
Rough hands loosen the ropes tying my wrists together.
“Enjoy your stay,” a sneering goon says before leaving, the door slamming shut after him. He took my stun gun and my phone but there’s one thing he missed.
“Emma!” I say, running across to her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. “Did they hurt you?”
She looks up at me, her eyes swimming with guilt. She chokes on her words. “I didn’t realize it was a trap until it was too late.”
“It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry you got caught up in this.”
She shakes her head. “It’s not your fault. It’s your dad’s fault.”
My heart stops. “My father?” The disbelief in my voice mirrors the turmoil inside me. “He’s here?” The question dies on my lips, the truth too painful to voice.
The man who’s supposed to be my safe harbor orchestrating my nightmare? It’s a betrayal that cuts to the core.
She reaches out, her hand a small warmth in the pervasive cold. “I’m so sorry,” she says, her voice thick with tears. “He’s working with Garibaldi. Getting paid handsomely to bring Alessandro in to be tortured then killed.”
My thoughts race — my father, leveraging my life, our lives, for what? A grudge? Greed? The thought sickens me.
Anger bubbles up, hot and fierce. “How could he?” I whisper, more to myself than to Emma. The betrayal feels like a wound, deep and festering.
She squeezes my hand, her own form of comfort. “We’ll get through this,” she says with a conviction I desperately want to share.
Anger begins to simmer beneath the shock. How could he? The man who raised me, who was supposed to protect me from the monsters under the bed, has become the monster himself. Is this the price I pay for Alessandro turning from monster to man?
As the silence settles around us again, thick and suffocating, I make a silent vow. No matter what happens, no matter how deep this betrayal cuts, I won’t let it break me.
Alessandro has taught me to be strong, to fight back against the darkness. And fight I will, not just for my own survival, but for Emma, for Tony, for the life Alessandro and I are supposed to have together.
The darkness around us may be suffocating, but I refuse to let it extinguish the light within me. My father may have set this trap, but I’m not beaten yet. Not by a long shot.
The damp, chilling air of the room clings to my skin, making every breath feel heavy. Emma and I huddle together, the dim light casting long shadows that seem to dance menacingly along the walls.
The fear is palpable, a thick fog that threatens to choke us, but it’s the betrayal that cuts the deepest.
The sound of the door creaking open shatters the eerie silence. My father walks in, smelling of drink as ever.
“I’m sorry, Jess,” he begins, his voice a soft echo in the cold, hard space. “I’ve made a good deal.” The words hang in the air, heavy with meaning. All my life I heard him talk about making great deals. They never meant anything but trouble. “Going to solve all our problems.”
My mind races, trying to comprehend his words. “A deal?” I echo, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me.
"Yes, with Garibaldi. Half of your husband’s money for my cooperation. Once he appears, they kill him, and then you’ll be set free.”
The casual way he speaks of Alessandro’s death, as if it’s a mere transaction, ignites a fury within me. “We’re talking hundreds of millions, maybe billions. We’re going to be rich, my girl. Aren’t you proud of your old man for once?”
“Garibaldi will kill you,” I spit out, the words fueled by a mix of fear and defiance. My father’s only response is a laugh, a sound that chills me to the bone. “Once Alessandro’s dead, you really think he’d split the profits with you?”
“Why not?” he says with a smirk. “You see, I know Alessandro better than you do. I knew he was obsessed with you, God knows why, you’re nothing special. He only went to save Emma to please you. That gave us the chance we needed to get hold of you and him.”
He sniggers. “Plus, I know you so well. I knew you’d come for her, so stupid you’d walk straight into a trap. Always were a dumb fuck.”
“Dad, you need to make this right. Help us out of here, help my husband. It’s your only chance to survive this.”
“Yeah, right. Like I’d listen to you. Settle in, get comfortable. We’ll come get you once your beloved husband is dead. He’s fifteen year’s older than you, Jess. He’s manipulated you into thinking he loves you. He was using you. Wake up, see the real world. It’s a piece of shit and a man’s got to take what he can get.”
“He loves me. He’ll save me and you’ll die unless you help.”
