8

Diana’s POV

"Him! He tore my clothes and he even injected me!" I cried out, pointing at the man. At least I knew Alessandro wouldn't kill me—not yet.

Before I could blink, Alessandro moved. With one swift motion, he drove his knife into the man’s throat. He didn’t stop there. He moved through the room like a shadow, killing the others one by one.

I couldn't bear to watch. The last thing I remember was the world turning black.

When I finally came to, the sound of shouting dragged me back to consciousness.

I managed to peel my eyes open, but I let out a scream of disbelief. What I saw nearly drove me mad: lifeless bodies covered the floor. He had slaughtered them all.

Alessandro was screaming at Alex, demanding to know what these men were doing here and why the women were being treated this way. Was it possible? Did he really not know what was happening in his own house? How could the Boss be so oblivious?

I was still lost in thought when he suddenly hoisted me onto his shoulder like a small girl.

"Leave me alone!" I thrashed. "Please! I don't know what my daughter is facing out there!"

I kept begging, but he remained silent, refusing to set me down. He carried me into a room and slammed the door.

"Please, leave me alone! I’m not interested in you!" I shouted the moment we were inside.

He angrily threw me onto the bed. His jacket, which I’d been using to cover myself, slipped off. I quickly scrambled to grab it and cover my skin.

"Please..." I started to beg him to let me go to my daughter, but the words died in my throat as he began unbuttoning his shirt.

"What are you doing? Oh my God..."

He was drenched in sweat. His chest was broad, leading down to a dangerously slim waist.

"Do you like what you see?" His voice was thick and husky, snapping me out of my trance.

"No, no... please. Ayla needs me."

"It’s the right time to take what I want," he growled.

"No, please don't do this to me! I'm not your mate!"

He moved too fast to follow. A sharp sting erupted on my left cheek as he slapped me, and in one move, he ripped the jacket away from my body.

Alessandro’s POV

Is she lactating? Or had they already turned her into a hucow? No, that shouldn't be possible in just a day. She looked at me with pure disappointment as she realized I could see the milk leaking from her breasts.

God, I wanted to lose myself, I can't imagine sucking them till they become dry, but she was stubborn. I couldn't let her see how much she affected me.

"Please don't do this," she pleaded, sobbing as she tried to cover her chest.

"Unfortunately, I always take 'no' as a 'yes,'" I replied darkly.

"Okay! Please, just do it then!" she snapped suddenly, her voice dripping with desperation.

I smirked as I unbuckled my trousers, revealing the ache she had caused. I usually loathe sleeping with a woman who doesn't want it—I’ve never been a rapist—but today, I felt my self-control snapping. She was too hot, too captivating.

Her pleading only made me want her more. But as I stood before her, she suddenly began to gasp and choke. At first, I thought it was just a dramatic reaction to seeing me.

But as I climbed onto the bed and pulled her toward me, the choking turned violent. She stopped covering herself and grabbed her head instead, slamming it against the edge of the bed frame. She was convulsing; spit began to fly from her mouth and her eyes rolled back in her head.

"Oh my God," I muttered, quickly hoisting her up. It didn't stop. It got worse—a full-blown seizure triggered by panic.

I slammed the alarm button and scrambled to pull my trousers back on. Within a minute, Alex burst in.

"What happened?" He froze, looking at Diana on the bed and then back at my disheveled state. "Damn, how hard did you fuck her to make her react like that?"

"Don't you dare look at her naked again," I snarled. He quickly bowed his head. If he wasn't my oldest friend, he’d be dead for that comment—and for bringing her to the underground house in the first place. "Get out and get a doctor!"

"I’m going, I’m going," he muttered, rushing out.

Diana’s POV

An hour later, I was in a hospital bed. Alessandro stood by the door, looking more terrified than I’d ever seen him. When the doctor walked out of my room, Alessandro intercepted him.

"Is she okay?"

"Yes, Master," the doctor bowed.

"What happened to her?"

"Let’s go to my office to discuss it."

"Tell me here."

The doctor sighed. "It seems she has a traumatic past. The seizure was likely triggered by a memory. She may not even remember what happened minutes ago."

"I don't understand. What traumatic past?"

Alessandro cut him off and entered my room. He found me standing by the window. "How are you feeling?"

"Let me go, or I will expose you to the world!" I shouted.

"Expose me?" He looked confused.

I held up a small camera I had swiped from the facility earlier. "I have everything. I know what you’re doing in the underground—the sex trafficking, the illegal experiments."

"Trafficking?" He stepped toward me. "I don't allow that. We change appearances, yes, but I respect boundaries."

"Let me go or I’ll share this!"

He smirked. "You think you can hurt me with that? I’m only worried my sick mother might see it. But tell me, how do you expect to leave when you're a prisoner?"

"You're playing with the wrong person," I hissed. "I have copies of this buried elsewhere."

It was a lie. I had found the camera in the hospital, and I was praying he’d believe the bluff.

"You have one minute to decide," I threatened.

"You can go," he cut me off.

My eyes widened. "What?"

"If you are still here in thirty seconds, you lose the chance."

I didn't wait. I bolted out the door, sprinting through the hospital corridors. I ran until my lungs burned, still wearing the blue hospital gown. I didn't have money for a cab, so I ran the whole way to Leo’s hotel.

When I reached the gate, the guard blocked my path.

"I need to get to Leo’s room! My daughter is there!"

"You have the wrong place, ma'am."

"What are you talking about? I come here every night! Leo was killed here just yesterday!"

The guard looked at me with pity. "I’m sorry, but Leo traveled two years ago. He hasn't been back since."

I lost it. I grabbed his collar, screaming, until the police arrived.

"I have evidence! My bag is in his room!"

The police finally agreed to check. But when we opened the door, an elderly couple was living there. They claimed they had lived there for years.

"Where is my daughter?" I wailed.

"Ma'am, we received a call about a woman escaping a psychiatric ward," the officer said gently.

"I don't care what you call me! Give me Ayla! I want to be a good mother! I won't be like my mother!" I was hysterical now, the words spilling out of me. "I never should have gotten pregnant, my mother ruined my future, but I love my daughter!"

The officer looked at his tablet. "Records show you entered this country alone.

You don't have a daughter. You aren't even a citizen."

"I came here pregnant! I gave birth here!"

"Where is this daughter, then? Records show you are single. Are you a prostitute? Do you even know who the father is?"

The insult snapped the last of my sanity. I lunged forward and slapped the officer across the face.