SARAHI stared at the dress Marco had laid out for me. It was a slinky, revealing dress that screamed for attention. The shimmering fabric, cut low in the front and high on the thigh, made my skin crawl. I hated it. I hated everything it represented. It was just another way for Marco to control me, to humiliate me. My fists clenched at my sides as I tried to summon the strength to put it on.“It’s just for one night,” I muttered to myself, the words barely more than a whisper in the silent room. “You can do this.”I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Each inhale felt like I was dragging a boulder up a hill. My fingers trembled as I unzipped the dress, the sound sharp in the quiet. With a sense of defeat, I stripped off my clothes and slipped into the dress. The fabric clung to me like a second skin, making me feel exposed and vulnerable. I looked at myself in the mirror, hating what I saw. My reflection seemed to mock me, the dress transforming me into something I didn’t
SARAHI stared at her, confused and taken aback. “What do you mean, replacement for a ghost?” I managed to ask, my voice shaky.She smirked, taking a step closer to me. “Oh, you don’t know, do you?” She relished the moment, enjoying my discomfort. “Noelle was Marco’s… special friend, let’s say. She had everything—beauty, class, and sophistication. Everything you lack.”My heart pounded in my chest. I felt a mix of confusion and anger boiling up inside me. “Noelle? “Special friend?” I repeated, my voice trembling. “What are you talking about?”She chuckled, a cold, mocking sound. “You really are clueless, aren’t you? Noelle was the one who mattered, the one who—”“Isabella!” Marco’s voice cut through the air like a knife, sharp and unyielding.She spun around, her demeanor changing in an instant. She threw herself at Marco, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Marco, darling, I was just having a little chat with your… new addition,” she said, her voice dripping with sweetness.Marco bar
The party dragged on, and I did my best to stay out of trouble. I found a quiet corner, keeping my head down and my eyes on the floor, making sure not to look in Daniel’s direction. I had already caused enough problems for myself tonight. The last thing I needed was Marco’s wrath extending to someone else. I stole a glance at Marco, but quickly looked away. His earlier threat of a new punishment played over and over in my head, an annoying thorn looming over my thoughts. What evil ideas does he have waiting for me this time? The very thought made my stomach churn, my mood souring with each passing minute that passed.Marcos people moved around me, mingling and laughing, their voices blending into a distant hum. It felt like I was in a bubble, separate from it all, the noise muffled by the weight of the anxiety I felt. I tried to focus on my tasks, refilling drinks and picking up empty glasses, anything to keep myself busy and out of Marcos sight. My hands worked fast, the routine mot
MARCO I sat in my study, the air thick with the remnants of the party. The soft glow of the desk lamp barely cut through the darkness, casting long shadows on the walls. I fumbled with the lighter, my fingers shaking as I tried to ignite the cigarette. The flame finally caught, and I took a deep drag, the smoke filling my lungs, slowly calming my racing mind. The party was supposed to be a clever ruse, a trap to draw out anyone from the Rossi family. Weeks of planning, careful invitations, and strategic conversations all leading up to tonight. I had hoped to see even a flicker of recognition, a fickle sign sign that one of them had taken the bait. But the night had been a complete disappointment. Not a single Rossi had shown their face. Not a single lead to follow, not a single crack in their facade. I sighed, the frustration boiling inside me. “Che disastro,” I muttered under my breath. This whole charade was starting to feel like a waste of time. As I exhaled a cloud of smoke
SARAH I stepped into the bathroom, the darkness wrapping aroundme as I tried to find the switch. I couldn’t see a thing, and in my rush, I stumbled, nearly losing my footing. “This night could not get any more annoying,” I hissed, catching myself on the sink. I fumbled for the light switch, finally flicking it on. The harsh light made me squint, but at least I could see now. I faced the sink and looked up at the mirror, my heart sinking at the sight before me. The woman staring back looked defeated, her eyes hollow and tired. I barely recognized myself. This wasn’t the life I wanted, and every day felt like a new kind of torture. I turned on the faucet and cupped my hands under the cold water, splashing it on my face. As I worked to remove the makeup, I couldn’t help but think about how much I hated this ritual. Makeup was such a drag. It felt like a mask I had to wear, hiding the real me underneath. And Marco, of course, insisted on it. He loved to control every aspect of my l
SARAH I sat on the desk as Marco instructed, my mind racing. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to find my voice, my words coming out in a shaky whisper. “Marco, I think you’re drunk. You don’t want to do this.” He leaned in closer, his breath warm on my neck. “Oh, I want this, Sarah,” he murmured, his voice low and dangerous. “And you want it too. You know it.” I swallowed hard, trying to push down the conflicting emotions swirling inside me. Marco’s presence was overpowering, his hands gripping the desk on either side of me, trapping me in place. I could feel the heat radiating off his body, the intensity in his eyes. “I’m going to teach you a lot Sarah” he growled, his voice filled with possessive anger. “You need to learn who you belong to.” I tried to protest, to reason with him, but the words got stuck in my throat. My fear mixed with a strange, unwanted arousal, creating a confusing cocktail of emotions. I felt a tingle of anticipation and dread, my body betraying my m
SARAHMarco’s eyes bore into mine, a mixture of intensity and something I couldn’t quite place. He moved closer, his touch electric. I felt a shiver run down my spine as his fingers explored my skin. I wanted to resist, to push him away, but my body had other ideas. The wetness between my thighs was undeniable, and I hated myself for it.“This is just a one time thing,” I told myself, trying to maintain some form of control. “Just one time, and then it will never happen again.”Marco’s hand trailed down my side, his touch firm and possessive. He was in control, and he knew it. I bit my lip, trying to suppress a moan as he continued to edge me closer and closer to the brink.“Do you like this, Sarah?” he whispered, his voice low and dangerous. “Tell me you like it.”I glared at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing me admit it. But my body betrayed me, a soft moan escaping my lips as he increased the pressure.“Stubborn as always,” he murmured, a smirk playing on his li
SARAHIt had been a week since Marco’s cruel stunt, and I did everything in my power to avoid him. Every time I heard his voice, a chill ran down my spine. I couldn’t even bear to look in his direction. Our last encounter was still painfully fresh in my mind, and the humiliation and anger I felt had not subsided.I had become an expert at timing my movements around the house. If I heard his footsteps coming down the hall, I found a reason to be somewhere else. If he entered a room, I made an excuse to leave. It was exhausting, but the alternative—facing him and risking another encounter like the last—was unbearable.“I can’t keep doing this,” I muttered to myself, trying to summon the courage to face him, but my resolve crumbled every time I thought of his mocking laughter. The memory of him edging me, leaving me on the brink, then walking away with that smirk on his face, still haunted me.I sat in the kitchen, pretending to read a magazine, but my mind was elsewhere. The maids bustl
BANG.BANG.BANG.I heard the shots before I even realized what was happening. And then I saw her fall.“Sarah!”Everything froze.Her body hit the floor like something snapped in me. Blood poured out too fast. Too red. My heart dropped straight out of my chest.I didn’t even look at Marcel. I knew Petrov and Tony had hit him. I saw him slump to the ground in my peripheral. But all I could focus on was her. Sarah. My wife. My everything. Lying there in a puddle of blood, her stomach bleeding out.“No… no, no, no…”I dropped to my knees, my hands trembling as I reached for her.Her blood was everywhere. It soaked into her shirt, into the carpet, onto my hands.“Sarah—hey, baby. Hey.”Her eyes blinked, slow and weak. She looked like she was slipping. She reached out and grabbed my jacket with what little strength she had left.“I’m here,” I said, holding her hand. “I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”Shots rang out behind me again—Petrov and Tony going after Isabella as she r
MARCOI knew I had a second, maybe two. That was all it would take. I just needed the right opening. If I could shift my hand just a little, maybe fake like I was dropping the gun but catch Marcel off-guard—put a bullet right through him before he pulled the trigger on Sarah. That was the plan in my head. Fast. Clean. Over.I looked at him. Then at the gun pressed to her skull. My hand twitched.His eyes narrowed. “Don’t.”Sarah screamed as he pushed the gun harder into her.“Try to act smart again,” he said, voice calm, but not in a good way. “Try anything and I swear, her brains paint this floor.”My plan died right there.I bent down and set the gun on the ground. Real slow. Real careful. No sudden moves.He smiled. Sick bastard looked like he just won.I tried to glance to the side. Give Tony or Petrov some kind of signal. A nod. A blink. Anything.But Marcel caught it. Of course he did.He laughed. “You still think you’re running the show, huh?”He raised his voice. “Tony. Petrov
MARCOBullets flew the second that door blew open.I didn’t even have time to think. My ears rang, the lights flickered, and glass shattered somewhere behind me. I ducked low, pressing my back against the chair, as my heart pounded like a drum in my chest. I couldn’t tell who the hell was shooting, all I knew was it wasn’t Marcel’s crew. That was enough.Just then Marcel screamed something, I couldn’t hear it over the gunfire. He grabbed Isabella and yanked her down behind the bar cabinet near the side wall. Coward. Took cover with a bottle of scotch while the world burned.I’d been wriggling the damn cable tie on my wrist ever since his speech started. Flexing, turning, rubbing it against the sharp edge under the armrest. My skin was raw and burning, but I didn’t stop. Not once. And now it finally paid off.One last twist — the tie snapped. I yanked my left arm free, then the right, pain tearing through my shoulder as I moved. I didn’t waste a breath. Dropped low, rolled to the side,
MARCOThey dragged me in like a dog. Wrists tied behind the chair, ribs throbbing from the last round of hits. Two of Marcel’s boys kept my arms tight while another threw a punch right into my stomach. I grunted, leaned forward, and caught a second one across my jaw.I didn’t scream or beg.I just looked straight ahead at him.Marcel.Sitting in his chair like some king, legs crossed, drink in his hand. There was a sick grin across his face like he was watching a comedy show.The guards landed another hit. One to my shoulder. One to my gut again. My body was wrecked, but my mind stayed sharp. I kept staring at him. Letting him know I wasn’t broken.When they were done, I coughed and spit a mouthful of blood to the side, then looked right back at him.“You done?” I muttered.He laughed. “You still got that mouth on you.”I didn’t reply. I just kept staring. Waiting. Hoping. Begging for anything — an opening, a mistake. I wasn’t dying in this chair. I’d kill him. Somehow, some way. He w
MARCOSmoke swallowed everything. Thick, sour, crawling down my throat. I couldn’t see five feet in front of me. Couldn’t hear anything but that damn ringing — sharp and endless like it was coming from inside my brain. Felt like the world cracked in half, and I was standing right at the center of it.My knees buckled as I took a few shaky steps. My hand went straight to my head, gripping tight like that’d make the noise stop. But it didn’t. It only got worse. I couldn’t even tell if I was walking forward or in circles.“Gio?” My voice came out broken. Dry. Weak.“Petrov?”Nothing.“Tony?” I tried louder. “Denis!”Still nothing.My heartbeat was the only real sound now. That, and the crunch of debris under my boots as I stumbled ahead. My eyes burned — from smoke, from panic, I didn’t know. I blinked hard, over and over, until the haze started to shift.Then I saw them.My heart dropped. I mean really dropped — like the floor disappeared underneath me.All four of them were down. Flat
MARCOWe moved slow down the corridor, shadows thick around us, every step tight and careful. The walls felt like they were closing in more with every turn. My gun was warm in my hand, not from use, but from how long I’d been gripping it. I didn’t loosen my fingers. Couldn’t. Not now.Denis came up beside me, pressing closer to the wall, breathing heavy but steady. His sleeve was darker than before — the blood still hadn’t stopped. But he kept moving. That’s the kind of man he was.“Its clear now Marcel knows,” Denis said, voice low.“I know that, Marcel right?” I responded, even though I already knew the answer.He nodded. “Maybe he thinks its not you. But he knows someone’s here. He’s spooked. Movement in the north wing, checkpoints locking up tighter.”I looked ahead, eyes narrowing at the half-lit hall we were creeping down. “What where Sarah is being kept?”“That’s the thing,” Denis said. “Still no extra traffic to the east side. Either Damien doesn’t believe it’s you, or he’s wa
MARCOThe door clicked shut behind us as we got into the warehouse, the sound barely louder than a breath, but it made my shoulders tighten anyway. No turning back now.Inside, the hallway stretched ahead, cold and narrow, concrete walls sweating under dim, buzzing lights. Shadows shifted along the floors, long and slow like they were alive. We kept close to the edges, moving low and tight, every step thought out. No wasted moves. No wasted noise.Denis was right behind me, eyes glued to the small handheld device strapped to his wrist. The screen flickered every couple of seconds, showing black and white camera feeds from inside the compound. He tapped the screen twice, then waved me over with a sharp flick of his fingers.“Straight two halls, take a left,” he whispered, voice so low it barely stirred the air. “One guard at the station. He’s sitting, not moving.”I gave a tight nod. Lifted my hand and gave the signal. Two fingers. Tony and Gio caught it instantly, adjusting their posi
MARCELI kicked back in my chair, boots up on the desk, glass of whiskey hanging loose in my hand. The oak groaned under me, but I didn’t give a damn. I earned this seat. I earned everything. Sarah was mine now. Marco? That bastard was a ghost, a scared little whisper hiding in the dark, too broken to come for her.I took a slow sip, letting the burn roll down my throat, and smiled to myself. All the noise, all the fight she had when we first grabbed her… it was fading. Day by day. I saw it in her eyes. Less spark. Less bite. She was still holding on to Marco, sure. But that wouldn’t last. It never did. Not when you had no one left to believe in. Not when all the walls closed in.All I needed was time. Time and a little patience. Women like her, they didn’t fall easy — but when they did, they fell hard. I’d treat her good once she saw it. Once she stopped looking at me like I was the enemy. She didn’t get it yet, but she would. I’d give her everything. New clothes, good food, no more
MARCOAs we moved closer to the warehouse, the world around us shifted. No more breathing room. No more second chances. I lifted my hand, fingers moving in sharp signals the team knew by heart. Petrov and Gio broke off fast, slipping into the tree line to handle the chaos. Their job was simple: create enough noise, enough blood, to keep Marcel’s eyes off me. My job was simpler. Get to Sarah. Bring her home.I moved ahead, leading my half of the team. Tony and Denis stayed tight behind me, heading toward the wing where Denis swore they kept her. The woods around us swallowed the sound of our boots, every step careful, every move sharp. The cold night clung to my skin, biting a little, but I welcomed it. It kept me awake. It kept me locked in.Up ahead, a small light flickered behind a tree line. I crouched low, holding my fist up to stop the others. Two guards patrolled near the inner fence, walking lazy, rifles slung low, no care in their step.I looked at Tony and jerked my chin towa