Dead Before You Believed Me

"Jump."

The night wind in international waters was freezing. Matteo stood on the yacht's deck, looking down at me.

The pitch-black ocean churned below us, like an open grave waiting to swallow me whole.

I have a severe phobia of water. I nearly drowned as a child, and the terror never left. On top of that, my heart had been aching for days. Staring into the dark, violent waves, my entire body shook.

"Matteo, please..." I clutched my chest in agony, tears streaming down my face. "I really can't breathe. My heart hurts so bad..."

Matteo frowned. His dark eyes held zero warmth.

Beside him, Aria's eyes glowed with a faint blue light. A holographic screen popped up in front of her.

Aria spoke in her sweetest, most obedient voice:

"Report: The madam's body scan is completely normal. Her elevated heart rate is merely a stress reaction from lying. She has no heart condition. She is faking illness to defy your orders."

The last trace of hesitation in Matteo's eyes vanished, replaced by pure disgust.

"Camilla, this act is pathetic."

He took a step forward, gripped my arm, and dragged me straight to the edge.

"No! Matteo! It will kill me—"

"Then die."

He shoved me hard.

Weightlessness hit me. The freezing ocean instantly rushed down my nose and throat.

Suffocation and sheer terror exploded all at once. My heart seized in my chest, feeling as if it tore clean in half.

The agony lasted just one second. Then, total silence took over.

…

When I opened my eyes again, I was floating in the air.

A few bodyguards used ropes to haul my lifeless body back onto the deck.

They unhooked the ropes. My body slumped onto the wooden deck, completely still.

A few mafia capos standing behind us grumbled with impatience:

"Boss, what's the holdup? We're waiting to party."

"Seriously, it was just a jump. Is she really that dramatic?"

The disrespect made Matteo's face turn lethal.

He stormed over and yanked my arm. "Camilla! Stop playing dead. Get up!"

He let go. My arm hit the deck with a heavy thud. I remained a limp, motionless heap.

Matteo snapped. He raised his foot and slammed his heavy leather boot right into my ribs.

Thud.

My head tilted to the side. A trickle of dark red blood slowly leaked from the corner of my mouth.

The grumbling on the deck instantly stopped.

Someone whispered:

"Something's wrong... She didn't even make a sound."

"She's dead pale. Did something actually happen to her?"

Matteo froze.

Looking at my white face and the blood on my lips, a flicker of panic crossed his eyes. He slowly knelt down and reached his fingers toward my nose to check for breath.

I floated in the air, watching him.

Matteo, are you finally willing to look at me?

Right before his fingertips touched my skin, Aria's sweet voice broke the silence:

"Sir, do not worry."

Aria stepped forward with a gentle smile, pulling up her data stream.

"System diagnostics confirm the madam's vitals are stable. She is merely holding her breath. She is staging this scene to gain sympathy and humiliate you in public."

Matteo pulled his hand back instantly.

The panic on his face evaporated, replaced by deep disgust.

"Unrepentant bitch."

He stood up and brushed the dust off his trousers.

A bodyguard asked hesitantly, "Boss, her pupils look dilated. Should we call the doctor..."

"Call a doctor for what?!" Matteo cut him off coldly. "She loves playing dead. Let her play!"

He bent down, grabbed my ankles, and dragged my body across the ground like a sack of trash toward the docks.

My back and legs scraped against the rough concrete, leaving a long smear of blood behind, but he didn't look back once.

At the parking lot, he popped open the SUV's trunk and tossed my body inside without a shred of care.

Bang!

The trunk slammed shut.

Matteo locked it with his key fob, his voice icy: "Lying trash. Stay in there tonight and reflect on what you did."

He opened the passenger door, and Aria obediently climbed in.

Just before getting in, Aria turned her head back toward the dark trunk.

Her glowing blue eyes flickered, twisting into a sinister, unnatural red glitch.