Chapter Seven

I slowly sank to my knees, bringing my hands down to cover my bare pussy.

Alexander and his ruthless minions casually went back to the discussion they were having before I walked in, as if they didn't just grab every part of my bare skin. I battled with the cold that was ravaging every part of my exposed skin. Every minute seemed like pure torture, my teeth clattered so violently with cold, I was so certain I would be losing a tooth before the day comes to an end.

After what seemed like ages, a man who looked half-dead was dragged into the room by four guards dressed in black.

Alexander and his friends didn't blink. They all watched in silence as the men in black dropped the half-dead man on the floor.

“Did you get any useful information from him?” Alexander asked, staring down at the man who had begun rolling agonizingly from one side of the floor to the other.

“Oh my goodness!” I choked out, a gasp ripping through my throat as I saw the captive's face. He was missing an eyeball and half of his face had been slashed with what was probably a very sharp blade.

Alexander immediately shifted his dark eyes to glare at me, silently warning me to stay quiet, before turning back to his men.

“He didn't say anything, Boss," one if the men said. "He swore he'd rather die than disclose such classified information,”

“Then grant him his wish. Right now,” Alexander commanded, grabbing a fork and stabbing it into a salad as if he didn't just sentence someone to death.

As one of the guards drew out his blade and approached, the one-eyed captive on the floor held up his bloody hand, causing the guard to stop in his tracks

“I've fought alongside Dons, consiglieres and commanders. I am the second in command to the Capo of my familia," the man rasped breathlessly, choking on his own blood with every word he spoke. "I shall only die by the hands of a Don, not some miscreant who just got initiated a year ago." The man scrambled up to his elbows, staring directly into Alexander's eyes. “Please, do me the honour of killing me with your own blade,”

“Where are my parents?” Alexander asked calmly, his tone low and dangerous.

“I can…I can't tell you. Please, I can't.” The man sobbed. I've never seen a man cry, only in movies. And this man was around my father's age. The rumours were true. Alexander Hawkthorne truly had no heart.

Alexander slowly dropped the fork in his hand and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “You won't die by the hands of a miscreant who just got initiated a year ago, Marco,”

Marco let out a deep breath of relief, smiling as he prepared to face an honorable Mafia death.

Alexander stood up from the table, walking towards the man who had already spread his hands and closed his eye in total surrender. But instead of striking, Alexander grabbed a blade from one of his men and walked past Marco. He stopped right in front of me, his cold eyes staring intensely at mine.

I completely froze, my heart thumping loudly against my chest. Was he going to kill me?

He grabbed my arm, hauled me to my feet and forcefully placed the dagger into my palm. Before I could realize what was happening, he dragged me across the floor until I was standing right in front of Marco.

Marco snapped his eyes open, his eyes darting between me, Alexander and the dagger in my trembling hand.

“Do you know what is worse than a man of your status dying by the hands of a newly initiated miscreant?” Alexander whispered, leaning down till his lips were merely inches away from Marco's ear. “It's dying in the hands of a naked, backstabbing, whore."

“No…no, please, no,” Marco stammered, his valiant-warrior act, dropping like a bomb as he began shaking like a drenched leaf during a storm.

I mirrored his terror, mine ran down my spine, making my legs grow weak.

“Slit his throat, Aria. You have a minute,” Alexander ordered.

My fingers immediately went numb, letting the metal fall to the ground. “I can't. I can't do it,”

Alexander stood up straight, his eyes turning darker than they had been. He grabbed a cup, and hurled it across the room. It completely chattered against the wall, making my heart jump right out of my chest.

"What did you say?” He asked, stepping closer to me.

Sweat beaded my forehead even as every part of my body suddenly became extremely cold.

“I even find it hard to kill mosquitoes," I sobbed. "Please, I can't do this. I can't take a person's life,”

“And she's suddenly a saint,” one of his colleagues sneered from the table.

I didn't dare to look up. I kept my head down as I trembled with fear.

“So you've suddenly forgotten how to kill?" Alexander asked, his voice filled with irritation. "I'll gladly remind you then."

He lunged forward, grabbing my upper arm and dragging me down with him until I was mere inches away from Marco's ruined face.

He snatched the dagger off the floor, gripped my wrist tightly, and forced my fingers around the hilt. He guided my hand until I placed the razor-sharp edge of the dagger directly against Marco’s Adam's apple.

Marco thrashed widely, trying to get up, but he was immediately held down by Alexander's men.

Alexander let go of my wrist, but didn't move an inch away from me.

“If you don't slit his throat this instant, your precious mother would lose a finger tonight and every other day until she's left with no fingers at all, and that's if she even survives till then. A life for a life, Aria. Which one would you choose?”

I remained silent. My hand shaking against Marco’s throat. Even though my parents had been nothing but mean to me my entire life, I couldn't let my mother be tortured. She was my mother, and she gave birth to me.

I knew the real Aria wouldn't be shaking like a pathetic leaf over an order to kill, she was the Mafia princess for a reason. And as much as I tried, I couldn't bring myself to be Aria, even for a day.

I let go of the dagger once again, and it dropped to the floor.

Alexander grew furious. He raised his large hand to slap me, but stopped, suspending his hand in the air. After a moment, he lowered his hand, picked up the dagger again and placed it back into my palm.

“You have a minute, Aria. You brought this upon yourself when you sided with my enemies. If you don't slit his throat in the next minute, someone else will, and your mother's punishment would begin,”

“She's...she's part of the fa…familia. You wouldn't hurt her. This marriage is an alliance,” I breathed out, hoping that invoking the only Mafia law I knew would be enough to stop him from carrying out his threat.

He didn't say a word to me, instead, he slowly told up, his eyes devoid of any emotion. He gave a silent hand signal to two of his men who were standing closer to the door.

I didn't understand what the signal meant, but I knew it had to be something wicked because I felt a sudden dread engulf my entire body.

“Stop!” I cried out desperately. “I'll do it.”

The men stopped in their tracks, folding their hands behind their backs.

I slowly turned to Marco, my eyes brimming with tears. If not for my new dark hair and exact resemblance to Aria, these people would have probably started having doubts about me. It was barely forty-eight hours in this hell hole and I was already blowing my cover.

“I'm sorry…I'm so sorry,” I whispered to Marco, before pressing the blade deep into his throat.

“Bitch!” He gurgled out, his entire body thrashing against the floor.

His blood erupted from the cut and splattered across my bare skin and face. I was completely drenched in it. I felt irritated by the blood dripping down my bare skin, a wave of nausea hitting me instantly.

I tried to hold back the strong urge to puke, I gripped my knuckles tightly till the turned white.

After a minute, I slowly looked up. I met Alexander's gaze as he watched me with an unreadable expression on his face.

I quickly bowed my head, avoiding his penetrating gaze. When I dared to look up again after another minute, one of his friends was grinning at me.

I could already tell, that this was only just the beginning.