Chapter One

Isabella's POV

“Get the door open!” The hoarse voice of the man dreaded more than the devil himself was accompanied by a loud knock on the door that caused the entire room to reverberate with terror.

I could already hear the cries of our unfortunate neighbours from the cramped tenement, the people he mercilessly ripped off their homes because they couldn't afford to pay the rent. He is here now to eject us from our one-bedroom apartment, since we haven't paid ours yet and I'm sure no amount of pleading would soften his steel-hardened heart.

My heart thumped at the thought of being homeless soon. I wish he would listen to us and let us stay a few weeks more, so Mum would be able gather some money and pay off the rent.

I was raised by my mum alone. Dad cheated with his mistress and divorced mum and ever since then, he has never been a presence in my life. Mum bore the pain of raising me single-handedly with her meagre salary that didn't always come when due just as now ever since dad left, more than ten years ago.

“Mum!” I reached for her shaky hands and gave them a gentle reassuring squeeze.

“What do we do now, daughter?” She asked in a whisper, fear and anxiety evident in her features.

I was speechless. I didn't know what we were going to do myself, but I knew we needed to do something. We needed to do something real quick in order to save our face from the shackles of homelessness.

“Get the fucking door open!” He growled terrifyingly, kicking at the door wildly.

The door shook vigorously, like it would fall off soon. My heart skipped.

“Mum, don't worry. I'd go get the door first, then we'd fall to our knees and beg him. Perhaps, he might listen and have mercy on us this once,” I muttered, although I knew full well that things wouldn't work that way.

“No, don't! Don't go yet!” Mum halted me on my tracks.

Soon, the door fell open and I stumbled for safety, clutching tightly at Mum's arm, fear gripped me intensely. Giovanni, our ruthless landlord barged in together with two heavily-built thugs. He wore a stern look on his face that reeked of power, a dominating aura hovered around him.

With clenched fists, he trudged closer, squinting his eyes at me.

“How dare you defy my orders?!” His thunderous voice sent shivers down my spines.

“I… I'm sorry. It… it won't happen again,” I shook with fear, clutching tightly at mum, like she was my refuge.

A sly smirk curled up the corners of his lips as his gaze lingered on me. I felt uneasy under his intense gaze and couldn't make out why he stared at me that way.

“You think you'll owe the rent forever? Now, it's either you pay off your debts or I whisk you out of this place!” He spoke with a cold menacing tone.

“Please, have mercy on us sir. My salary hasn't been paid yet. I'd pay you as soon as it drops. Please,” Mum begged, falling to her knees at his feet.

I followed suit, hoping that he'd give us this one last chance. My heart pounded hard as I lifted my gaze to meet his intimidating ones.

“Please, we'd settle the rent. Please give us some more time,” I pleaded, my lips trembling.

“Time, you say? I've given you two weeks already. Isn't that time enough?” He sneered.

“I'm sorry, I haven't been paid yet. I promise to clear off the debt once the money comes, by next week, hopefully,” Mum mumbled, her eyes glistened with tears.

I stole a knowing glance at her. We both knew that her pay most of the time doesn't show up until the very last week of the next month. We still had three weeks to wait and to survive through before we expected her to get paid.

“Last I checked Mrs Winslow, I don't run a charity organization. So, you had better leave, now I'm still being gentle with you.” He said icily.

Mum hesitated for a while, still on her knees pleading. Tears brimmed in my eyes as my eyes met mum's quivering frame.

Gesturing to the well-built men that were ever ready to execute his orders, he said,

“Kick them out! Right away!” He howled, devilishly.

The men bowed and advanced towards us, their faces stoic and devoid of emotions. One of the men gripped my hand tightly and yanked me up, tossing me towards the exit, while the other did the same to Mum.

“Move it!” He threatened, kicking me recklessly like I was some football, each time I slowed down.

I winced in pain at every hit, but didn't give up easily.

“Please sir, have mercy on us. we'll pay you your money soon,” I further pleaded, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.

The huge muscular young man didn't stop until I was completely out of the room. I stood by the sidewalk and trailed my gaze to the inside of the room. My eyes met Mum, crying helplessly for mercy while the thug struggled to pull her away. My eyes hurt from seeing her so pathetic. I couldn't help but wish we were never in this condition. Mum was tossed out of the room and knelt pleadingly beside me.

“Please sir, just this once. I swear I'd settle the debts next week. Please don't do this to us!”

“Get all their belongings trashed, this instant!” Lord Giovanni ordered the two men, who obeyed promptly.

They began flinging away all our baggage and belongings recklessly. In a matter of minutes, the room was emptied and we were homeless.

“This is what you get when you decide to play games with Giovanni, the most powerful Lord of the city!” He smirked boastfully, grimacing an intimidating grin.

He walked out of the room and turned to move away.

“Get off my way!” He yelled at me, posing a metal rod at me, ready to hit me.

Just as Lord Giovanni was about to strike me with the steel rod, I heard an unfamiliar husky voice from across the hallway, causing him to pause suddenly.

“Stop there, you fool! How dare you?!” The baritone masculine voice commanded, demanding attention.