Kill her!

The ride back from the wedding was awfully cold and silent. 

Marco barely looked in my direction, his fingers were tapping against the steering wheel while his phone kept buzzing nonstop. 

Something felt off, but I didn't dare ask, we got back to the estate, I was barely out of the car when he muttered, "I have to travel, there's something urgent I need to attend to."

"Now?" I asked, still in my wedding dress.

He didn’t answer, he just walked past me, his phone already pressed to his ear. 

Within minutes, a car came to pick him up, and I was left standing in the driveway.

That night, I couldn't sleep, what I overheard Marco say earlier in the wedding kept echoing in my head. 

My father, who I had believed was just a retired businessman, now appeared to have been tangled in the same dark world Marco was immersed in,  world of power, violence, and secrets.

I stood up from my bed and searched everywhere for answers. I went to the library, I searched his office, drawers, files, his bedroom, but there was nothing. 

It seemed like Marco had hidden everything well. Just when I was about to give up and go to bed, I heard the sound of the main doors creaking open.

It was nearly midnight, I peeked out from the hallway, hiding behind a pillar. It was Isabella.

The same woman who had glared at me during the wedding. She wasn’t alone, two guards were with her, and they were carrying a heavy box between them. She didn’t make a sound, her heels clicking softly on the marble floor as they headed straight for Marco’s study.

What was she doing here? And why now while Marco was gone?

I followed them quietly from behind, the way she moveds she didn't think I was was around. 

Silently, step by step, I crept down the hallway, staying close to the wall. The door to the study was slightly ajar. I peered through the small gap. Isabella stood in front of Marco's safe, typing something into the keypad. 

The guards placed the box on the desk and opened it. Inside were what looked like tools, small tech devices and wires.

It seemed like they were trying to break in, my fingers tightened around my phone. I backed away a few steps back into the hallway and quickly texted Marco: "Isabella is here. She's trying to open your safe. With guards."

I silently prayed that he got the message, I had to stall them. I couldn’t just stand there and watch them rob Marco. I looked around me, thinking very fast. 

I ran to the breaker box on the wall near the hallway and yanked it open. My hands trembled as I flipped the switch to cut the power.

"What the hell?" one of the guards growled from inside the study.

I crouched low and slipped back to the door. I found a small vase on a nearby side table and hurled it into the opposite hallway.

Crash!

"Go check it out," Isabella ordered.

One of the guards left the study, heading toward the sound I’d created.

I slipped into the room silently, keeping to the wall. The other guard was busy fumbling with a flashlight and didn’t notice me right away. I grabbed a thick book from the shelf and hurled it at the floor near the desk.

"What is going on?" Isabella hissed, spinning around.

"Ma'am, I think someone's here," the guard said.

She narrowed her eyes and turned to him. "Find the person. Now!." She barked. 

I was almost at the when I suddenly tripped and fell. This made the guards point the torchlight in my direction. 

“There!” The guard shouted. I tried to run, but he caught me in the arm and dragged me forward. 

Isabella turned slowly, and I saw the full extent of her hatred. "You," she spat. "You just can’t keep your nose out of where it doesn’t belong."

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded, trying to yank my arm free. "This is Marco's house. You're the one who shouldn’t be here."

She let out a humorless laugh and tilted her head.

"And you think that means something? Do you think being his little plaything makes you untouchable?"

"He'll be back soon," I bluffed.

"Good," she said coldly. "Then he can see your corpse firsthand."

She looked at the guard. "Kill her."

There was no emotion in her voice, it was Like she was asking someone to take out the trash, the guard reached into his jacket.

My heartbeat sped up. was this how I was going to die?

I jerked back, kicked the edge of the desk, and screamed, "HELP!"

The guard pulled a knife from his belt and moved toward me. I scrambled backward, trying to find anything I could use to defend myself. My hand brushed against the heavy box they'd brought in.

I grabbed the closest object inside, a metal rod and swung. It hit the guard in the shoulder, but that seemed to have angered him. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him.

I screamed again, fighting, twisting, kicking. Just as he raised the knife—

A gunshot split the air.