Chapter - Eight

Aleena—POV

The paramedics took Mr. Bellini’s body away. I stared at the spot where it had been moments earlier. I closed my eyes, and an image flashed through my mind: my mother lying lifeless in a pool of blood on the floor.

When I opened them again, the image faded, replaced by the banquet hall. Taking a steady breath, I saw people talking, police

Officers questioned the guests, and Nico spoke with one officer.

I walked toward him. I turned at the sound of footsteps behind me. Caldwell stopped, understanding my silent signal not to follow.

I heard Nico say, “Officer, I’ll wait for the postmortem report.”

The officer nodded. His eyes were critical and suspicious as he looked at Nico. I glanced at his name tag: Carter.

“Aleena.” I turned to see my father approaching us.

“Can we speak for a minute?”

I nodded and followed him to his study for privacy. He seemed more on edge than usual, pacing the room.

“What’s wrong, Father?” I asked.

“Everything is fucked up,” he hissed. “Angelo shouldn’t have died.”

He looked shaken. I had never seen him like this before.

He grabbed my shoulders and looked at me with desperation in his eyes.

“You know what this means. Angelo is dead. Nico will become the head of the Bellini family, and that asshole won’t be easy to convince lending us more money. We’re already drowning in debt. If that drug fails, we’ll be under the Bellinis’ thumb.”

His hands slipped from my shoulders.

As I watched him unravel, I wondered why part of me felt happy about it. This was the man who had watched me suffer alone. I remembered the night I was nearly raped by his useless henchmen. That was when I started wanting revenge. Instead of protecting me, he tried to make me feel irrational about my reaction. He told me I was being dramatic.

“Father, you’re being dramatic,” I said.

He froze at my bitter words, just as he had in this very room years ago.

“What did you say?” he hissed.

“You’re being dramatic, Father. I don’t care if this family rots in hell,” I muttered.

“Are you forgetting that you carry the Caruso name?” His eyes burned with anger.

“I know. I’ll survive somehow,” I said. He scoffed.

“You really think it’s possible to escape this hell? You’re engaged to an asshole who won’t let you go and keeps you by his side as a debt collector.” His words sounded more like a warning than a question.

“I’ll survive, Father. I’ll repay him somehow. What about you? I’m sure Nico isn’t exactly a fan of yours,” I said calmly.

Throughout the party, Nico had been shooting my father with hateful looks.

“I knew it, you ungrateful wench of a daughter. You went behind my back. Did you make some kind of deal with that asshole?” he demanded.

He grabbed my jaw roughly. I slapped his hand away and glared at him.

“You think you’re the only one with leverage, daughter?” His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.

A chill ran down my spine.

He pulled out his phone and played a video.

My stomach dropped.

The footage showed Elanor’s maid mixing something into her food. Another clip showed Elanor eating the meal. Then another. And another. The maid had been doing it repeatedly.

I looked up at him, fury and fear warring inside me. My hands shot toward his collar, but he shoved me away. I stumbled and landed hard on the floor.

“What did you do to her?” I asked, my voice trembling with rage.

A cold smirk spread across his face.

“We’ve been testing our new drug on her before releasing it to the public.”

There was no remorse in his voice. Not even a hint of guilt for using his own daughter as a test subject. I should have protected Elanor better. I should have watched the maid more closely.

“You may have increased security around your sister, Aleena, but you’re still under my control.” He crouched slightly, staring down at me. “I can always find your weakness and destroy what you cherish most.” Every word made my heart sink. Elanor’s smile flashed through my mind.

“You should help me, Aleena, if you care about your sister’s health.”

I glared at him.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re smart enough not to provoke me.”

Fear tightened around my chest. Elanor was the only bright thing in this hell. The only reason I had endured it for so long. Before she died, my mother had made me promise to keep her safe. And I was failing.

“You don’t want Elanor to die, do you, Aleena?” he asked.

I stared into his dark eyes. The sinister look in them terrified me, but I had to stay calm. Somehow, I had to find a way to save my sister.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked. He smiled.

“In a week, I’ll ask you to marry a man who can change everything.” He said in cold tone, but there was hope in his eyes, as though he had been planning this for a long time and was only now putting it into motion.

“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m engaged to Nico Bellini,” I said, holding up my engagement ring.

“Aleena, engagements can be broken. If you’re legally married to another man, that’s what matters.”

“If I do this, you stop drugging Elanor,” I asked firmly.

“I will. I’ll also give her the antidote to help manage the withdrawal symptoms.”

He said it so casually, as if he were discussing the weather instead of ruining his daughter’s life.

This bastard shouldn’t have been a father. An evil man. One way or another, I would have to stop him.

“Who is this man you want me to marry?” I asked.

“You don’t need to know who he is, Aleena. Just continue acting like that asshole Nico’s fiancée. That’s all.”

With that, he turned and left me alone in the study room. Tears welled in my eyes with frustration.