Chapter 11
A man grabbed his wife by the hair, yanking her backwards with a force that made her yelp in pain. She stumbled, gasping, before he shoved her down onto the floor.
“You dumb bitch!” he roared, “Didn’t I fucking tell you not to go near her? Didn’t I say no goddamn food, no water, not a fucking crumb –unul ! say so?”
The woman, trembling. Her glassy eyes fill
filled with tears as she looked at her husband. “She’s just a child! Your own daughter! She was starving- crying! I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing!”
“Shut your fucking mouth!” he spat, his voice venomous. “She ain’t a kid no more. She’s gonna be what I make her. She’s gotta learn to stop whining, to take pain, to obey every fucking order without a second thought.”
“She’s twelve!” the woman screamed, “You want her to be your little puppet, your goddamn pet, but that’s never gonna happen! She’s got a heart, you’ll never beat that out of her!”
He leaned down, his face inches away from hers, eyes burning with cruelity. “A heart?” he sneered. “I’ll rip that outta of her chest The women eye widen while, she regret the day she married this manic. “I won’t let you do that to my daughter” She screamed while tears flow down freely from her eyes.
You don’t get it, do you?” He said while taking his gun out.
The man’s grin as he barked toward the doorway. “Bring her in.”
The wife’s breath caught in her throat, “No–please, no!” she begged, scrambling to her knees, her voice breaking with desperation.
Two men dragged the struggling twelve–year–old girl into the room. Her wild sobs echoed through the space as she kicked and thrashed, trying to break free.
“Let me go!” the girl shouted, twisting against their iron grips. “Mama!”
“Stop it!” her mother screamed, rising unsteadily to her feet. “Let her go! She’s just a child!”
The little girl eyes darted frantically between her mother and father.
“Today,” The man drawled, waving the gun between his wife and daughter, “I’m gonna rip every last ounce of weakness outta this family. Starting with you” He tilted the barrel toward his wife’s tear–streaked face.
“No!” the girl screamed. ” Leave my mama !” while glaring at her father.
See the look in her eyes. This little bitch is glaring at her own father. He laughed.” My little darling. You will know what is the consisusin of disobaying me.”
The wife’s chest heaved with sobs as she pleaded, ” Please Macro, don’t do this to your daughter.” She pleaded on her knees.
His voice was venomous, dripping with contempt. “This, all of it–is your fault.” He jabbed the barrel closer to her head. “If you’d just done your job, given me a real heir for my empire instead of a weak–ass daughter and that crippled little boy, we wouldn’t be here right now?
“The little girl’s chest rose and fell rapidly, her fear giving way to a strange numbness as she stared at her mother kneeling in front of her father’s gun. The tears had stopped, her lips quivered she understand something terrible was about to happen. The wild gleam in her father’s eyes told her everything she needed to know.
Her heart screamed, but her voice was weak, shaking as she stumbled forward. “Please, leave her alone, Father. I–I won’t disobey you anymore,” she pleaded desperately. “I’ll be good. I’ll do whatever you say. Just please–don’t hurt her.”
The girl’s words cracked like fragile glass.
Macro tilted his head, dark amusement flickering in his cold eyes. A cruel smile tugged at his lips. “Did you hear that, Rose?” he sneered, turning briefly to his trembling wife. “She finally learned how to be an obedient little girl.”
The girl’s legs buckled, but she didn’t fall. Her mother sobbed softly, choking on pleas of her own.
“You proud of yourself, Rose?” he growled, pressing the barrel harder against her temple. “Let’s see just how tough she gets after this.”
The girl’s scream tore through the room. “No! Please!”
The crack of the gunshot echoed, freezing time.
Her mother collapsed onto the cold floor, her lifeless body sprawled in a growing pool of red liquid. The girl’s breath caught in her throat, her entire world shattering into silence.
The mafia boss lowered the smoking gun with a twisted look of satisfaction. He turned his icy gaze to the trembling child, who stood paralyzed,
11/9
10:02 AM
Chapter 11
eyes wide with disbelief and terror
He took slow, deliberate steps toward her, his voice low and venomous. “You listen to me, Elara “he spat, each word sharp and cutting “If you ever disobey me again, then next time it’ll be that crippled brother of yours lying in his own blood, just like your mother”
I gasped, sitting up suddenly in bed, my heart racing so fast it felt like it might burst from my chest. Sweat drenched my face and neck, clinging to my skin like a suffocating second layer My breath came in shallow, uneven gasps as I struggled to calm myself.
My trembling hand clutched the thin sheet tangled around my waist. The room was quiet, eerily still. But the echoes of gunfire continued to ring in my ears, and the phantom memory of Marco’s cold words sliced through my chest like razors
I stepped out of bed and walked toward the bathroom to freshen up. Since the day I was brought back to Dante’s place, these nightmares had never stopped. Not a single night had passed where I slept peacefully.
Reaching the attached bathroom, I splashed cold water onto my face, hoping to shake off the lingering fear. My reflection stared back at me, tired eyes, pale skin, weighed down by exhaustion.
It had been a week since I last saw Dante. After storming out of the private room on plane, he disappeared from my life. We hadn’t crossed paths since. He wasn’t even in the car that brought me back to his mansion.
was glad Dante wasn’t there. After our last encounter, I was terrified of him. The thought of meeting the same fate as my mother haunted me day and night.
My mother had been forced into submission by my father, and now Marco was trying to do the same to me. He wanted to break me, to turn me into his slave.
Physically, I had healed. All my wounds were gone, and I was free from pain, thanks to Miss Milly. She cared for me like a mother. But mentally? I was exhausted.
After freshening up, I wrapped a towel around me and stepped out of the bathroom. But the moment I opened the door, the main door of my room swung open.
I was sure, I had locked it from the inside last night.
A chill ran down my spine as Dante walked inside.
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