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He’s right.
“Exactly. It changes nothing. We go on as planned.” I lean over the blueprints. “We split into two teams. One drops at the property’s front, the other at the back. And we go in and steal back what’s rightfully ours.”
Edoardo brings a bottle of whiskey over. “I’ll drink to that, sir.”
I nod in response, and he pours us all a large glass. It reminds me of how I used to criticize Ella for pouring me such a large drink at the start. She was always so compliant though, never talking back. It’s clear she’s a people pleaser, perhaps to her detriment.
We all raise our glasses, clinking them with a hollow, melancholy sound that echoes throughout the room. As one, we down our drinks. The burn of whiskey is hardly noticeable in the rush of anticipation coursing through my veins.
Each of us is lost in our thoughts, sitting in silence and contemplating the enormity of the task ahead. The quiet in the room hums with determination and the shared understanding that tomorrow could end in victory or disaster.
40
ELLA
The door to the room I’ve been locked in swings open, and Alex marches in.
I can’t believe I thought he was charming. He’s a fucking abusive asshole. He hit me so hard in the face that I’ve got a bruise on my right cheek.And then he thought I’d fall for him acting like the nice guy on the jet afterward.
“Morning, princess.”
I glare at him. “Don’t call me that. What do you want?”
His smirk widens. “Oh, just to check on my future wife.”
“Never in a million years will I be your wife,” I retort.
He strides over to me and grabs my arm, his fingers digging hard into my flesh. “You don’t have a say in it.” He moves his hand onto my thigh, and I’m thankful I’m wearing jeans when he moves it upward, making my skin crawl. “I bet you’re gagging for it.” When he’s almost between my thighs, I bring my knee up and slam it into his balls.
“Fuck!” he cries out in pain, letting me go as I scramble away from him desperately.
“I will never be your wife. You’re nothing but a monster.”
Alex recovers quickly and charges at me with a feral look. But I’m ready for him. As he reaches for me, I lash out, striking him with my only weapon. My hand.
The diamond ring on my finger slices across his face. It’s the ring Dad gave my mom when they got engaged. She hadn’t worn it for years before she died, so I began wearing it as a memento to remember him by and to stop her from pawning it.
Alex’s expression turns dangerous as he clutches his bleeding cheek. “You bitch. I’ll enjoy breaking you and whoring you out to the Bratva.” He bares his teeth. “It will be fun watching my brothers tear you apart at the same time while you scream for mercy.”
A cold shiver skates down my spine at the thought. This man isn’t just a monster. He has no heart. “I thought you said you only said that because you were angry.”
He advances toward me slowly, and there’s nowhere for me to escape. “I lied. I would enjoy nothing more than watching you become a plaything for the Bratva. In time, all you’ll crave is cock and drugs. You’ll be nothing more than a toy.”
It’s a stark promise of a future filled with terror. The words hang heavy in the air, tainting the atmosphere with a poisonous dread that I can almost taste.
His eyes gleam with savage satisfaction as he continues. “I’ll find immense pleasure in witnessing your transformation.” He is so close now, making me shake in fear.
Alex strikes me hard across the face with a swift, brutal movement. The impact is so forceful that it sends me to the floor, my cheek ablaze with pain. For a moment, everything spins, and I can taste the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. His fury is palpable, a dark energy that fills the room, making the air heavy with fear.
Alex grabs my arm so tight I know he’ll leave more bruises, yanking me up. And then he pulls me out of the bedroom I’d been locked in.
The mansion is like a freaking maze, with all these identical hallways. He drags me through corridors, past rooms filled with fancy furniture.
A sick sense of dread creeps over me as he stops in front of a door that opens to a dark set of steps descending below ground level. I almost trip over the first step.
“Pick up your feet!” He snaps.
I shiver as we go deeper and the air grows colder and damper. Every step feels like I’m moving away from any hope of escape.
