To reach the toilet, Natalie needed to pass through a quiet corridor. There, she deliberately took off her stilettos and leaned against the wall. She sighed wearily. “You know, this hurts,” she complained.
Bryan looked down, noticing Natalie’s blistered fingertips. Those beautiful feet looked pathetic as they were covered in red on the fingertips and heels. “Being a woman is never easy,” Natalie said. Bryan was silent, with a foggy mind. He scrutinized her body from top to bottom. The allure of her body was so strong. He was no Dante who could ignore such a beautiful and sexy woman. “Do you have any ointment or something?” Natalie asked. “No, I don’t. We never carry things like that.” Natalie’s expression became sullen. She bent over until her narrow cleavage was visible from the front. Her hands rubbed the tips of her toes. “I can’t walk anymore.” “Let me help you,” Bryan smirked. He pulled Natalie to her feet and carried her to the toilet. Natalie smiled meaningfully. She hugged Bryan’s solid waist to tease him. He had bad thoughts for her, so she didn’t hesitate to sacrifice him. “Wait here,” Natalie said after they arrived outside the ladies’ room. “Why don’t you let me in? It’s quiet.” Natalie showed a doubtful expression. Bryan suddenly pulled her inside. Sure enough, there was no one in the restroom. The man suddenly pushed her against the sink. “What are you doing?” Bryan bent Natalie’s body over the sink. Her cleavage was clearly visible in the mirror before them. He held her hands behind her back. “Miss Smith, Mr. Vittorio has never been in love with anyone.” “So? Do you think I wish he would love me?” Natalie asked, looking at the man her age in the mirror. She smiled while biting her lower lip. “Bitch.” The man laughed and then kissed her neck. Natalie moaned seductively, making Bryan even bolder. He turned her around and kissed her greedily on the lips. Natalie slowly rotated their positions until Bryan was the one with his back to the sink. Her hand silently reached for the ceramic vase on the edge of the sink. Her eyes flashed with cold light. “Excuse me,” she whispered. Before Bryan could react, she hit him hard on the back of his head with the vase. The man’s eyes widened before he fell unconscious. “Sorry,” Natalie muttered with a flat face. She spat into the sink and then rubbed her lips roughly. The method of teasing was disgusting, but she had no other quicker and more effective way. She quickly stripped off Bryan’s suit and used it to cover her dress. After dragging his body to the corner, she quickly ran out of the restroom, barefoot. Her heart was beating fast. She looked right and left as she kept running. The direction she took was a deserted fire escape. A security guard stopped her there. “Miss, what’s wrong?” Natalie’s appearance was unusual. She was running around like she was being chased by someone. Her feet were bare and covered in blisters. The security guard was wary of a crime there. “Someone is trying to harass me, sir. I have to leave quickly before he catches up with me. Please don’t tell anyone that you’ve seen me!” pleaded Natalie with a terrified expression. “Miss, where is he, and what does he look like? You better... Miss, wait!” Natalie didn’t care about the security guard. She entered the fire escape and immediately ran downstairs. Her steps were so fast that she almost fell many times. Her chest was tight, and she was gasping for air, but she kept on pushing. Arriving downstairs, Natalie held onto the wall limply. Her face was already pale. She felt that she would soon be free, and that made her even more excited. “Hang in there, Natalie. After this, you won’t have to get involved with those vile people anymore,” she muttered as she took a deep breath. She smiled and pushed open the fire escape door. Suddenly, her vision caught a man standing in front of her with his head tilted. A smirk appeared on his lips. “Are you lost, darling?” Natalie’s face turned as white as paper. The hope that had risen in her heart was dashed. Her feet stepped back weakly. She shook her head in disbelief. “How ....” “How would I know?” Dante stepped closer. His hands were in his pants pockets. He looked relaxed, but the look in his eyes was cold. “You can play tricks on others, but not with me. Can fool others, but can't fool me,” he whispered. Natalie immediately turned around and ran for the stairs. However, Dante quickly reached out and gripped her hand firmly. “Cavey, you’re not a fool. Why do you have to do something futile?” “Because I’m not going to stand by and wait for you to torture me to death!” screamed Natalie. She glared at the man. “This pretense is over. You don’t need me anymore. So, let me go.” “Someone sent you to me,” Dante said coldly. “Lucas only wanted money! He sold me for money!” growled Natalie. Her eyes were red. She really didn’t understand why Dante always accused her of that. How to make him believe that she had nothing to do with Lucas? “You’re so paranoid. Are you so afraid I’ll harm you?” Dante’s eyes grew cold. Natalie laughed mockingly. “You’re big and muscular. But you’re afraid of a weak woman like me? Oh, I just found out that Vittorio is a real coward.” “What?” Dante frowned. “You’re a coward!” insulted Natalie with a glare. Suddenly, Dante grabbed her chin and gripped it firmly. Her head snapped up. She winced in pain. “You’re so brave,” he hissed coldly. “Natalie Hale, if I reveal your identity and whereabouts, do you think you can still live freely?” Natalie’s face paled. She stared at the man hatefully. “Right, you already know my identity.” The man smirked coldly. “I’ve said it before. If you behave well, then I’ll give you a reward. But if you make trouble, I won’t spare you from punishment either.” He grabbed Natalie’s hand and dragged her to one of the hotel rooms. The woman tried to rebel, but she had already lost a lot of energy after being tired of running away. She wasn’t able to fight Dante at all. “What a demon!” hissed Natalie. Dante smiled coldly. He closed the hotel room door with a bang and pushed Natalie down onto the bed. She quickly got up, but he pushed her back down again. “Cavey, I’m not afraid you’ll kill me.” The man looked up at Natalie from where he stood. “But I need to know who’s after me.” Natalie just stared coldly to the side. She was silent. “If you turn to my side, I would appreciate it.” And she remained silent.“How do I get you to say something?” Dante suddenly pinned her body down. He confined her with both hands. “Do I need to force you?”
Natalie finally turned her head, staring boldly at the man above her. “Even if you hit or whip me, there’s nothing I can say. You’ll just be wasting your emotions and efforts.”"Right." Dante looked at her deeply. "So, I won't be cruel."
He stared at Natalie's sexy lips that were red and seductive. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. "Maybe I should force you with something delicious."
Dante suddenly kissed Natalie roughly on the lips. His hands gripped and held both of her hands on the bed.
“Mmhhh.... Let go of me!”Natalie shook her head to avoid Dante’s kiss. He suddenly lowered his head and swept his tongue across her neck. Her whole body was suddenly tense.Gloomy images of the past flashed through Natalie’s head. Images of her ex fucking her, adoring every inch of her body, loving her like an ember, but then throwing her away like she was nothing. Her heart ached.“No,” Natalie muttered, shaking her head. She tried to remove her hands. Her legs kicked. The look in her eyes implied fear.“Don’t touch me!” she snapped.Dante gripped her hand even tighter. He stared at her with a furrowed brow. During their interaction, Natalie had been cold and unfeeling, as if her emotions were long gone. She could control her fear very well. However, this time, her fear was so obvious.Of course, Dante became curious. What was she so afraid of?Natalie was clearly no longer a virgin. That information was even relayed by the host at the auction house. She shouldn’t have anything left
Natalie stood up from the floor on weak legs. Her appearance was a mess, but she didn’t care at all. Her heart was already too messed up and shaken. All she wanted was to close her eyes and hope everything that happened was just a dream.The door to the hotel room suddenly opened. “Miss Smith, it’s time to go home,” Alex said, expressionless.Natalie looked down. She walked out with unsteady steps. Alex took her hand and pulled her along. They didn’t exit through the main lobby because Natalie’s appearance was too conspicuous.Moments later, they arrived in the basement. Alex led Natalie to the car. Dante was already waiting for them inside with a driver who kept a straight face. They just kept quiet and ignored her when she got in.Alex closed the car door for Natalie. Her vision accidentally caught Jayde and a man in black dragging Bryan roughly out of the elevator. The two of Dante’s underlings looked heartless as they loaded Bryan’s body into another car.What were they going to d
Natalie woke up earlier than usual. It was still dark. She got out of bed and winced at the pain in her thighs. The whip wound remained bruised despite Cora’s compresses and ointments.Her brow furrowed, but then she took a deep breath. She was more relaxed, and her mind was clearer after a few hours of sleep.“I’ve had worse than this. Two lashes are nothing,” she muttered without emotion.Her two feet stepped into the narrow bathroom. Moments later, she came out looking much fresher. Her face was plain without makeup.She opened the window and breathed in the cool morning air. It was late summer, approaching fall. Her hard times might be coming soon.At that moment, a car suddenly rolled into the courtyard of the mansion. As usual, Natalie liked to keep an eye on the situation down there. Something immediately intrigued her when she saw a luxuriously dressed young woman get out of the car. It was the first time a woman had come to the mansion during her stay there.The stranger clos
“I guess Alex’s warning last night was just a wind-up for you,” Dante said expressionlessly. His cold, piercing gaze seemed to pierce Natalie’s back to her solar plexus.Natalie was silent, not reacting.Laura, on the other hand, turned around. She asked, “What warning?”Dante ignored his little sister’s question. He walked over to Natalie and stopped behind her. His right hand held her tense shoulder. He leaned down, whispering in her left ear, “Don’t take advantage of others, or the punishment for them will be more cruel than you deserve.”“She’s your little sister,” Natalie muttered expressionlessly. She remained staring straight ahead, not turning her head toward the man at all.“You think I can’t be cruel to my sister?” The corners of Dante’s lips curled up. He smiled crookedly. “I don’t mind eliminating a stupid girl like her. I didn’t like her to begin with.”Natalie tensed up even more at that. She immediately turned her head to stare at Dante’s face, which was so close to her
Natalie’s whole body was tense. Her heart was beating erratically. Dante was on top of her. He silenced her mouth with the palm of his left hand while his right hand opened the nightstand drawer to retrieve a gun.Shots from outside came raining down on the bed. It was so quick and short, as if they just wanted to kill the owner of the bed, and that was it. There was no sound whatsoever.Dante’s expression was cold. His gaze was watchful. The door to the room suddenly opened. He immediately raised his gun.“It’s me!” Alex shouted in the doorway while raising both hands. Natalie, who saw him coming, felt a little relieved. At least she had survived the shooting incident.“Are you guys okay? Is anyone hurt?” Alex asked anxiously.Dante lowered his gun. He closed his eyes as he looked down deeply. “Who are they?” he asked coldly.“Not sure yet. Our men are chasing them,” Alex replied.“Who are they?” Dante asked again, that time looked at Natalie, who was still pale-faced. He gripped her
Dante rushed out of his office and went to his grandfather’s winery on the edge of town. On the way, he called Jayde.“Stop looking for those people. Jayde, go back and help Alex investigate who Alfonso Verga’s henchmen are hiding in our mansion,” Dante ordered Jayde.“So, Don Verga was the one acting up this morning?” Jayde asked.Dante leaned his back casually. The corners of his lips lifted. “Yes, but I think I can take advantage of him. Just do your job. I'll take care of the rest.”“Okay.”“Don’t forget to keep a good eye on Natalie. I wonder if she has any dealings with the Verga family,” Dante added.Jayde immediately replied, “Understood.”Dante finally hung up the phone. He thought back to the text message Alfonso had sent. Why did the old man say he should be careful with the women around him?His suspicions were, of course, on Natalie. Perhaps Alfonso had arranged for Natalie to be by his side. That wasn’t impossible. However, Dante wasn’t so sure. After all, he’d met Natal
After Cicero left, the door was closed again. The room became silent. Roberto chuckled casually as he shook his head. “You’re quite tolerant of them,” he commented to Dante. He knew all too well how his grandchildren fought each other for power and influence in the underworld. It wasn’t just Dante’s younger siblings. His other grandchildren were the same way. They were family, but really, their relationship was more like competing royalty.Roberto sighed. “Your father’s inheritance was not small, but you didn’t take any of it. And even after all that, Anthony still doesn’t like you.”“I did that not because I wanted them to like me. Who cares how they pay me back?” Dante picked up the empty glass and poured himself some wine.“That’s good,” Roberto said softly. He was a man with five children. In the past, he had tried to be fair to them. However, divisions and disputes within the family persisted. One of his children had even died because of it. Dante had to be more careful than him
Natalie fell asleep with her hands still tied. The door to her room suddenly opened, startling her. She expected it to be Dante coming to untie her, but it turned out to be Cora.Cora entered and began to organize Natalie’s few belongings. It was the stuff that Dante had provided during Natalie’s stay.“What are you doing?” Natalie got up and asked in surprise.“Mr. Vittorio wants to move you tonight,” replied Cora, without looking at Natalie.“Move? Do you know where?” Natalie continued to probe.“No.”Natalie didn’t know if that was good or bad news. Inwardly, she wondered, Where would Dante move her to? What if the next place was worse than this mansion?“Can you untie it?” Natalie asked as she stood up from the bed. “Just let me.” Another voice suddenly sounded from the direction of the door. It was Laura, walking in with a pair of scissors. Cora immediately blocked her.“Miss, you shouldn’t do this, or Mr. Vittorio will be angry!” Cora said in a slightly bluff tone.“Nevermind.