Sophia

When Sofia Russo arrived at the DropDead Casino, it was already 9:00 p.m.

At a time like this, it was not safe for a fragile lady to be here alone and to add to the fact that this was Italy, a country controlled by gangsters, but she had no other choice as she had to make deliveries.

If she had it her way then she wouldn’t have shown up. However, there was no other option. Life was not easy, she needed money for her daughter’s needs. She had to admit it was not easy being a single mother, but it was better than being stuck with a man.

She pulled her skirt trying to cover her flesh perfectly before grabbing the delivery box and making her way inside.

DropDead Casino was a famous hangout space for filthy men who come to squander money and also meet with little chicks, it was owned by the greatest mafia lord in the country.

The place was furnished lavishly, and even the elevators were lined with gold and silver. Sophia simply held the box and did not let her eyes wander.

The elevator stopped on the second floor with a ‘ding’. She walked out and quickly noticed this hall was not the same as the one downstairs which was filled with drunk men scattering money over seeds.

Here, it was calm and had closed rooms. She did not expect less from a Casino as such, it was made for naughty and dirty men so a room for their dirty activities was needed.

Even before she could come back to her senses, there were already licentious and fevered moans of men and women coming from each of the rooms. She curled her lips up in disgust as she retracted her phone to dial her client's number as there was no way she was going any further.

Before she could dial the number, she heard footsteps from behind her and quickly turned.

“You are late.” The man stood tall and had a disgusting smile. Two seconds later, she replied hesitantly.

“Tony” 

Sophia was startled as she never expected to meet him ever again, not after she sent him to jail for harassment.

The man standing there was tall, with short hair. He wore a white shirt and black jeans, and under the glow of the corridor light, his face was filled with hatred and lust.

Sophia’s face instantly went cold when she finally understood what was happening, Tony had used an anonymous number to order from their company and he specifically ordered for her to deliver the product.

“How dare you!” Sophia said and clenched her fist tightly.

“Is this the way to say hello to your husband?” he sneered “Ex-husband” Sophia corrected.

“You look even hotter when angry, and guess what? I get aroused real fast” Every word he uttered made Sophia feel like vomiting, but she had to escape from this situation first.

“Jail didn’t teach you any lesson” She turned to leave when Tony pulled her back and then pushed her to the wall, she felt an excruciating pain well up to her head as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“You thought you already got rid of me? I told you this wasn’t over” he crouched and held her neck tightly, she found it hard to breathe and kept pushing him away but didn’t succeed. “Leave…me” She struggled and said few words but Tony’s eyes were filled with lust and hatred. This was the same look he had whenever he attempted to flog the hell out of her, those painful memories came rushing to her.

“You, me, and my daughter will be together again. You hear me?” he asked and she shook her head in denial as she struggled to speak “I do..rather die”

Tony got angry and slapped her hard across the face, Sophia felt her head spin as her vision became blurred, there was no one to help her, and she was no match for Tony.

Unexpectedly, as she was about to lose hope, her sight was met with a pair of deep and dangerous eyes. They belonged to a man in a dark suit. He had a tall and straight figure, rough short hair, and eyes as deep as a bottomless sea of stars. 

In the back of her mind, she thought he looked familiar.

“I need space” his cold voice echoed from behind as the corridor was blocked by them, Tony turned to see the owner of the voice but instead he trembled to see the man, they were two men.

One was Luca Greco, the rude mafia lord who returned to the country yesterday with his three sisters. He was feared by everyone because of his merciless attitude and also the fact that he had the law by his side.

The other man standing a few inches behind him was Marco Santoro, he was known as the ‘Spin man’. He was Luca’s, trusted man.

Tony nodded and used his legs to push Sophia out of the way, he bowed his head slightly and waited for Luca to pass. But instead, Luca’s gaze landed on the fragile lady.

He took a proper look at her and glared at Marco who understood what he wanted.

“I will take it from here,” Marco said to Tony who didn’t understand his words, Luca was known as someone who never puts his nose where it doesn’t belong. So why will his man suddenly want to interfere?

“But…”

“Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Moretti?” Marco butted in and Tony knew better than to go against Luca.

He took a final glance at Sophia who looked miserable on the floor, with a dejected look he finally left.

Luca didn’t stay for long, he clenched his fist and hurried away. Seeing that young lady brought back the memories he had buried deep in his mind.

He could recognize her everywhere.

Sophia gathered her strength and stood up quickly “What do you need in return? I will pay back” she blurted, she had learned never to trust men as they never do anything for free.

Marco shook his head in amusement, his boss had everything ranging from money to women. Just because he helped this lady, doesn’t mean he wants her.

“You are ungrateful,” Marco said before following Luca, Sophia watched them leave and her mind was a mess, what if Tony was waiting for her downstairs? She was too weak to bump into him again so there was no way she will take that risk.

With that thought in mind, she rushed down the corridor and found the lady's restroom, she walked in and closed it from inside before retracting her phone to dial her friend’s number.

She thought of calling her best friend Laura but it was not right for her to call a lady to come to her rescue as she might endanger herself by walking into this casino, so she called her brother, Carlo, but he didn’t pick.

Sophia was at a loss of what to do, then there was a knock on the door “Miss Russo, two guards are here to take you home” the lady from outside said, Sophia was confused, how did they know her name and why will anyone send guards to take her home?