Ch-3: Monster

Miley's POV:

“Just put the gun down, Emily, you can't shoot me on a yacht filled with people—”

“Do you really believe that? Because the deck we're standing on is pretty empty. And if you're planning to shout for help, I don't think anyone is going to hear your screams over the loud music. Even if someone hears the gunshot, it will be too late to save you by then!”

The gun’s dark barrel was pointed straight at me, and fear coiled itself around my heart like a snake.

Emily wouldn't hesitate to ruin her own life to kill me… I had no doubt about that anymore.

So, I slowly took a step back, then another, just like she wanted… keeping my hands slightly raised and my voice calm.

“Why, Emily? Why did you have to take away the only happiness of my life?”

“Oh, please, don’t act like a victim now. Why should I be satisfied with whatever scraps you think I deserve, when I can get the whole world in my palm? And since you brought up the question of deserving, do you think you really deserve everything you got on a silver platter?”

“But why are you telling me all this now…? Why today?”

“Because today is a milestone day in your love story! The day you and Archie are supposed to be engaged in front of the world… so I should be allowed to have a little fun too, shouldn't I?”

Emily giggled, twirling the gun as if it was a toy in her hand.

“How could I let you get engaged without showing you that the life you're planning for yourself is already doomed? Your wedding chamber is filled with maggots from the inside–”

The moment she let her guard down, I lunged. My fingers wrapped around the gun, wrestling it from her weak grasp.

But before I could snatch it, a wall crashed into me.

“Get away from her!”

Archie…

Everything happened in a flash: his body slamming into mine, the gun knocked away from my hands, my feet stumbling backward.

The breath was knocked out of my lungs. Salt water filled my mouth, my vision blurring.

My eyes locked with a pair of ice-blue eyes locked into mine, filled with worry. The little boy… he was here, crouched at the edge of the deck.

And then, the darkness claimed me.

*****

A sterile scent filled my lungs as I gasped for air.

White ceiling, white walls… a machine beeping with my heartbeat.

I tried to move, but overwhelming pain shot through every nerve. How did I end up here?

And sure enough, the memories flooded back… bringing terror, pain, and anger with them.

My throat was burning, and I could barely even move my fingers. I whimpered helplessly, suddenly filled with an intense longing for my dad.

Where was he… had anyone informed him about my condition yet? Did he know what Emily and Archie had done to his daughter!?

Our business associates were also on the cruise– one of them must have told him, right?

“Where is she!?”

Thank God! My father was here at last, he was here to help me! I almost called out to him, until I heard his next words.

"You are so impulsive! I don't care what happened, you shouldn't have made a scene at the engagement party.”

"But she already caught us in bed! What else could I do? If she snitched on us, wouldn't I have lost my dignity? How would I show my face in public?"

This high-pitched voice belonged to that bitch, Emily… sounding absolutely unbothered and slightly irritated, as if my attempted murder was nothing more than a mild inconvenience in her plans.

But why wasn't dad saying anything to her? Didn't he just hear her confess to her crime?

But when he spoke, I wished he hadn't said anything at all.

“I understand your panic dear, but still. It was way too aggressive, and we can't afford any risks. You could have followed the plan slowly, like her mother. But now, you’ve invited trouble into our life.”

“I don't care! I hate that bitch, I just hate her!”

I knew I was on dry land, but I suddenly couldn’t breathe.

‘Like her mother…’

Emily can't be involved in my mother's death, can she?! She was too young back then, just like me… she can't make plans to kill someone. And what about dad…?

My mind screamed at me not to think about it, not to go down that path.

But it was too late.

Was my father responsible for his own wife's death…? Had they killed my mother? And exactly how long had I been stuck in a nightmare?

His voice came again, lovingly coaxing.

“Okay, fine! I'll deal with it, okay? Just don't be upset… you're my good daughter aren't you? I was worried about you, baby. What if you hurt yourself on accident? I'm not mad at you, how can I blame my own child?”

I wanted to throw up.

Dad always claimed that Emily’s mother was his best friend’s widow, and caring for her was simply his responsibility. But the truth was far more complicated, wasn’t it?

Emily was also his daughter.

He had betrayed my mother's trust. He had slept with her murderer, and created this monster.

"But the man who saved her has too much influence in Italy. It’s difficult to handle Miley now–”

“It’s just a mafia! Why should we be afraid of that scum? No matter how powerful he is in his underworld, we have plenty of money to shut him up. Right daddy?”

“Hush! If you knew how he killed his father and came to power… how brutally he dealt with his own brothers, you wouldn’t be saying all that. Now behave, Emily, don't do anything to put yourself in danger."

A mafia man had saved me?

I had been thrown into the ocean like trash, left to die by my own family—and a stranger, famous for brutally killing his own family, had been the one to pull me out?

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest, reminding me that the man I had loved and called ‘father’ was nothing but a monster.

"Didn’t you make an agreement with Mr. Jim to marry Miley off? The mafia won’t interfere with a marriage contract, and we can wash our hands off this mess."

Hot tears spilled on my cheeks.

I didn't know what my father said after that, I didn’t care about his answer.

Just then, I heard footsteps and quickly wiped my tears. I couldn’t let them know I was awake.

The door creaked open, and the demons walked in.