Chapter Three

One year later.

The world had grown quiet for Mirabella Antonio.

Not peaceful or still. Everything just went quiet.

Like the hush that comes after a scream. Or the moment after thunder shakes the ground and all that remains is a tight ringing in the ears.

Her dorm room was sterile white, and the bed she sat on had corners tucked tight like a hospital cot. The bed opposite her was the same, only the bedsheets were different. Her books were stacked neatly in the far corner, and a large window with a very transparent cover cast pale light across her face. Outside, the hum of New York life pulsed faintly; young people were seen walking the streets, horns, footsteps, the constant whir of urgency. But none of it reached her.

Because she was no longer there.

She stared at the email again, the one that arrived at 3:14 AM.

***Don’t come back to Atlanta.

Promise me you won’t come back no matter what.

There’s something very important I need to tell you. I’ll call tomorrow.

Love, David***

She had blinked at the screen for a long time when she first saw it. The message was strange, rushed, almost void, unlike her brother, who always double-checked his tone when talking to her.

She had kept her promise to him, to call every Sunday. Whenever they called, they talked about random things and her brother was always forcing himself to look fine on video calls and sound fine on voice calls. But recently, for the past few months, if she called it would be forwarded to voicemail and he never returned her calls. She had been very worried.

But today, looking at the message on her phone, the urgent tone, she got very uneasy.

She replied and waited. One week. Two weeks. Then three weeks.

He never called back to tell her what was so urgent and important.

The next time her phone rang, it was an unknown number. No name. No hint. But she picked anyway. Who knows, it could be her brother calling with another line.

"Hello?" she said, already on edge.

The voice was female. Tight. Breaking. She recognized that voice.

“Bella… It's me. It’s…Hilda.”

Her breath caught. She hadn’t heard that voice in nearly a year. “Hilda? Where is David? I have called him so many times. Why hasn’t he…?”

“He’s gone, Mira.”

Hmm? Gone? It was like being plunged onto ice. She stiffened for just a moment.

“What do you mean he’s gone? Where?” she whispered, gripping the phone until her nails bit into her palm, already suspecting the answer.

Hilda was sobbing now. Not just crying, she was gasping like she couldn’t breathe. “He’s dead, Mira. They killed him. He told me to call you… he made me promise…” her voice cracked, “to tell you not to come back to Atlanta. Ever. And never to confront Hunter Groves or the likes of him. He said never to come in contact with any Mafia boss or gang. He said... you wouldn’t survive it. And that you should forgive him for not keeping his promises of being here with you.”

No. No. No.

The silence that followed was a dead one. She couldn't even hear her breathing. Her head spinned and so did the world around her. 

One year earlier, three months after their parent's funeral

Her conversation with David had been emotional, quiet, and brief. They sat in their kitchen. The atmosphere was cold and hollow, even with the late spring sun slanting through the windows.

“What did you do?” Mira asked her brother sharply. It was a Sunday afternoon, and she had been in her room all day, so she decided to talk to her brother. 

David didn’t meet her eyes. “Everything’s taken care of.”

“That's not what I asked.”

He exhaled, rubbed a hand down his face. “I said… you’re going to be fine. You have gotten that scholarship, right? The one in New York? That’s all I wanted and prayed for. For you to get out of here away from everything.”

“You’re not answering me,” she snapped. “What did you do, David?”

When he finally looked at her, she saw something there in his eyes she hated so much. Fear. Defeat. Maybe even… regret.

“You don’t need to know.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child.”

“You are a child, Bella, but that's not what I'm doing,” he said gently. “But Mira… if you love me, just let it be. Our parents' debts are paid.”

“But how?”

He hesitated. Then he forced a smile. “Let’s just say I made a deal. And no one’s coming after you now.”

Her fists clenched at her sides. “What kind of deal? With who, David?”

He gave her a knowing look that completely shut her up. 

“Hunter Groves,” he said softly. “But it’s over now. You’re safe. And that’s all that matters.”

She sat frozen for a moment. Her throat tightened.

“And you think I’m supposed to believe that you walked into the devil’s den and walked out the same and untouched?” Her voice trembled with rage. “God, David, are you insane?”

He got down from the kitchen counter where he had been sitting, stepping toward her. “It’s done. I’ve already started working for him. Cleaning his money. Managing tech for his men. It’s dangerous, but it’s something I can do.”

“You promised me—!”

“I promised you’d be safe and free.” His voice was hard now. “And you are.”

She couldn’t stop shaking.

He tried to lighten the mood, wiping at his tired face. “Anyway. Hilda’s almost done with her degree in Vienna. She’ll be back in the fall. You should focus on school. Get away from all this… shit.”

Mira sank onto the couch, hollowed out. “You’re not going to survive this,” she muttered with tears in her eyes.

David didn’t answer.

Back in the present

The voicemail on her phone from her brother some time ago she kept replaying had become both a plea and a prayer.

***Hey… it’s me little sis. Just calling to check if you’re doing okay out there. New York treating you well? Sorry I’ve been so busy lately. Things are… a bit complicated right now. But don’t worry. I’m handling it. We’re okay, Bella. We’re gonna be okay.

I love you.***

She had memorized every pause. Every lie.

David was dead now. And everything in her life was gone. No more family to run to.

She walked to the bathroom of her dorm and stared into the mirror.

The girl staring back at her was a stranger.

Her long dark curls pulled into a messy knot, brown eyes dulled to the color of ash, her skin pale under the overhead light. She was sixteen now, but her face looked hurt. Angry.

With so much hatred. Hatred for the man who made her lose her only family in this world.

There was nothing left of the girl who used to dream of inheriting her family’s business empire along with her brother. That princess was buried beneath sadness and agony.

Now all that remained was a girl with no family, no future, and no answers.

And maybe… a fury she didn’t know how to quench. Hot tears rolled down her eyes freely. Her head spun so badly like it was going to fall off her neck.

***

Meanwhile, in Atlanta...

Hunter Groves stood in front of the long window of his penthouse suite, shirtless, cigarette burning low between his fingers.

The city was painted in amber dusk, skyscrapers casting shadows over the clubs and concrete below.

He wasn’t thinking about the meeting he had just finished, which turned into a little bloodbath nor the bags of bloodstained cash on the floor behind him.

He was thinking about her.

Mirabella.

Her brother, who had sacrificed his life for her safety, was dead. He got involved with Dicksen Kar, who deals mainly with women trafficking. 

Hunter became enemies with Dicksen through Victor, one of his friends and allies. Victor met his woman, Clara through Dicksen’s auction, and she was traumatized when she was bought as a sex slave. So he, Victor and Storm paid Dicksen a visit and burnt his multi-million auction house to avenge Victor's woman. Since then, they became enemies and Dicksen was always looking for ways to get back at him.

David became rebellious after a while working for him and decided to side with an enemy to frame him. Giving out information to Dicksen about their shipment, they were ambushed by the police. 

Things didn't work out as they had planned because he was the king of them all, and he knew how to remove leaches from his back. No one passed through him freely.

So, Dicksen had sent his men to eliminate David, perhaps to keep his mouth shut forever.

Mirabella, the girl he should have killed.

But instead of killing her, he would use her in other ways. She would serve him with her body and soul when the time comes. 

He doesn't feel sorry for her. If Dicksen hadn't killed her brother, he would have done it himself. Her brother betrayed him and he never forgives betrayals.

She had no idea what her brother had given up to keep her safe.

She had no idea what she and her brother owed him.

And when she came back, Hunter knew she would. He’d make sure she paid it in full. Both her father's and brother's debts. With interest.

Just then, the door opened and Ashley came in.

“Big brother, you abandoned your little sister at home all alone, huh?” She said, stroding in. 

She was putting on a white tight top and blue demin pants. Her blonde hair was packed in a tight ponytail, giving a clear view of her forehead.

“Ashley, why are you here? And who said I abandoned you?” he asked, giving a light scratch to his forehead. He knew she would go on and on about how he wouldn't come home and leave her all alone with the house helps and how she was going to remove him as her favorite big brother and replace him with Damian aka Scorpion.

“But you did. I am the one being abandoned. Do I need a third party to tell me I have been abandoned?” She pouted her mouth. That's her specialty.

“Alright, alright. I can never abandon my own sister. You know how work is for me. I have been busy. Plus it is easier I stay here at my penthouse than back at the mansion. You know these things, Ash. Moreover, you have company at home,” he said, turning towards her for the first time since she came in. She was already sittung, with her legs crossed, giving him a death glare.

“You know I could easily replace you with Damian, right? He would be my favorite brother and not you anymore. Damian is attentive and caring. He even wants me to stay with him." 

Here we go… he chuckled and shook his head. He had been waiting patiently for her empty threats, and here it goes.

“I am dead serious Hunter,” she was now sounding frustrated.

“Ok, little sis. I promise to come home. Ok? Give me some time, then I will come home so you don't have to replace me from being your favorite brother,” she was now shaking her head.

“No, I would just stay here with you then. I will go home, pack some things and come back,” she said firmly.

“That's not happening Ash… this is a club. A penthouse in a club. It's not a place for any young girl to stay. Go home and I promise you to come back home. I promise.”

“You promise… promise?”

“Yes, I promise, promise. And very soon you will be going back to school, right?” he asked with a little confusion as to why she would want him home when she would soon be going back to school.

“That is exactly why I want to spend time with you, dummy. I will miss you alot when I go back,” she said as she rolled her eyes at him, like he was asking a dumb question.

“Oh, I would definitely come home to wifey,” he said sarcastically. 

Just then Tobias came in. He nodded in Ashley's direction. “Hello princess, you good?" 

"I'm good Tobs, only that my brother is a pain,” she said disappointedly.

Tobias gave a light laugh and turned to Hunter to inform him that Santos Groves, his father, wanted the whole family for dinner.

“Santos wants dinner with the whole family this coming Sunday, he…” Ashley's face lit up, but before he could finish, Hunter already declined.

“I would not be

part of the gathering, Tobias,” you should know by now.

Of course, he always avoided the Santos mansion and family dinners. It had been long since he ever stepped foot there, and he wasn't ready even now.