RICARDO Pacing back and forth in my office, rage enveloped me, my blood rose in anger, and my chest constricted with rage.How was I so oblivious to the disgusting activities that was happening right under my nose?How had I been completely blind to my mother’s wickedness?How did my father get away with constantly playing the victim?Questions after questions plagued my mind. I was losing my grip on the last string of sanity I had left. My life was a mess. My life was a complete mess.Desperately needing to calm my present disorderliness, I continuously poured myself one glass after another of scotch. The burning liquid hadn’t helped me at all.Nothing seemed to be working in my favor.I was doomed. My life was doomed.Human trafficking?Human fucking trafficking?!How could they do this? How could those monsters that birthed me do a thing like this?And I had been a fool. My papá must’ve been having a good laugh all those years when he had successfully played the victim, when in tr
GINEVRAOne week later.“Oh. . .Hi, Cassie! Why’re you just standing there? Come in.”My personal assistant strutted into my office and began assisting me with the files I had to organize before I retired for the day.With Cassie by my corner, my work ran smoothly. She was an angel, specially sent my way to make my life a little easier than it had been. She had always been there to help me whenever I ran into any unforeseen problems with the business.Cassie cared for me like a sister, and it hadn’t taken too long before I began letting her into my deepest, darkest secrets.Of course, not every information was shared, but she knew enough. Enough to know that the legal businesses my family ran was a front for something far more dangerous.Letting Cassie into that part of my life was my way of baiting her—I threw her a bone and waited for her to fall into my trap, but she instead proved herself worthy enough to earn my trust.Cyrus’s distrust for her was just his paranoia and she had pr
GINEVRA Ghost’s body had been a place of extreme comfort. I snuggled into him, my body wanting to merge with his. Wondering what it was about the young man that made me weak, a scoff escaped me. I had never shown weakness before any man, I had never opened myself up to anyone in the manner which I had done with Ghost. But with this dazzling young man who had just saved me from my poor excuse of a father, I desired to be protected. I wanted to be a girl for him. “Can I ask you a question?” He chuckled. “You just did. . .but go ahead.” “What’s your name? Your real name.” Ghost fell silent. His jaw ticked and his eyes glazed with anger. He placed me on the backseat of his car, his thumbs stroking my cheeks. His face inched close to mine. “You don’t wanna know, Ginevra.” ‘I want to. That’s why I asked.’ The words hung on the tip of my tongue, but Ghost had slammed the door shut before I got the chance to speak. With a heaving chest, I watched as Ghost slid into the driver’s seat
GINEVRA I jerked awake to heat, my heart plummeting my ribcage.My body had tightened with want beneath the sheets, my lips eliciting strained gasps.I had woken from the same dream—a nightmare, perhaps. It had been the same dream that had had me dreading sleep in the last seven days. The same dream that was filled with the face of the man whose essence had seeped into my bloodstreams. Like he was a part of me.Figuratively, I was born with a weak heart.It had only been a few days since Ghost was here. Only a few days since his hands were on me. A few days since his lips had peppered across my skin, unraveling every inch of me. Only a few days, and yet, I missed him desperately. I yearned for him. I desired his touch—his absence aggravated me.I needed him like he was my oxygen. As though I couldn’t breathe without him.It was foolish, I knew. I was foolish, and my heart had been the most foolish of all my organs.Frustrated by my disoriented state, I slipped off the bed and headed
GINEVRA I had bolted out the door the moment I heard the whispered words that were shared between my siblings.They had confessed to tampering with someone’s car.That someone had been Julia.When I zoomed off in my car, my fingers had begun moving against my phone’s screen frantically. I had been dialing Julia nonstop. To no avail.With a groan of frustration, I threw my phone to the passenger seat, seemingly giving up dialing the number. In a split second, my foot was pressed firmly against the accelerator.I drove like a crazed woman.Long minutes passed and my phone buzzed. It was Julia.“Aunty, you have to get out of that car!” I panicked. “It’s. . .it’s. . .”My cry had been foolish. I could hear it, the chaos.Tires screeching, her driver’s grunts, Julia’s strained breaths—it had begun.I had been too late.Julia hushed, “remember what I told you, Ginevra. Be smart, be aware, give them hell.” She breathed a shaky breath. “Be good for me while I’m gone, si?”“You’re not going a
GINEVRA Windows wind down, the cool breeze of the evening caressing my skin, opera playing in the background, and my eyes darting around in awe, taking in the beauty of the city. It was one evening. I had craved to live normally for just one evening, I had desired freedom only for one evening–to be alone, to drive alone, to enjoy my own company without constantly looking over my shoulders. I had desired to be with my own thoughts for one evening, but the universe–my enemies perhaps–had other plans.The hours spent at the office had proven to be calming to the soul—with a few joints burnt, and a few bottles of red wine emptied, I had surfed through a few documents smooth and easy like it meant nothing. Got a few minutes of sleep at some point even.It had been a smooth evening until I decided that I had to drive around town. I needed to take in the beauty of Sicily’s sunset without my soldiers hovering over me and scaring away some unsuspecting locals.That too, had been a success.
GINEVRA The morning after a cloud of darkness was dreadful. The brightness of the morning, which I loathed the most, was striking my eyes with such viciousness when my body jerked awake from yet another nightmare. These days, it was Julia who taunted me the most. Memories of her, her voice, the softness of her—she was all over the place. When I woke up, it was Julia. When I slept, it was Julia. Even in my sleep, Julia tormented my dreams. It was unnerving. I had begun going crazy with anxiousness. So crazy that I developed profound hatred for the break of dawn. Since the sun rose this morning, I had been in bed. My eyes wide against the gray ceiling, my head ringing with numbers, desperate to calm my raging nerves. At intervals, sleep had seized me, and I had succumbed to the call of nature. And yet, I couldn’t last longer than five minutes in my sleep.My body was sore all over—too sore that it had become impossible moving my limbs. How possible was it to move when I had be
GINEVRA My body had instantly stiffened with tension when a subtle chaos ensued. The soldiers in the hall shuffled around, more soldiers filed into the hallway, their stance firm, steady, at alert, their hands against the guns that was still tucked into their waistbands. They were prepared for whatever was to come. My eyes met with Cyrus’s rigid form. He had his hand pressed against the earpiece in his ear, and his lips pursed. A few seconds of silence passed, he nodded once. “Stay here. I’ll be right with you.” He whispered. Without allowing me an opportunity for questions, he stormed out the hall. Soldiers followed. Cassandra stepped forward and intertwined her fingers with mine, squeezing gently as though providing me support. As much as I appreciated her gesture, I couldn’t stop my restless mind from running wild with crazy imaginings. With a clear of her throat, Cassandra announced. “Due to an emergency that has presented itself with an urgency to be attended to, we’ll have