Chapter Five

The whips landed hard on her bare thighs, and she cried out again. 

She was tied to a chair and was being viciously whipped in a cold, single-lit room. 

The lashes came harder on her thighs, leaving bloodied lines. 

She was exhausted and every part of her body ached. But there wasn't an end to her misery. There didn't seem to be. 

The door opened and two figures walked inside. Three more lashes landed on her thighs and then they stopped. 

Her eyes were weakly shut and her breathing was very laboured. At this point, she feared she might die. 

“Is she ready to speak?” The calm, reverberating baritone spiked up something inside her. 

She forced her eyes open, staring at the figures. And then slowly the taller one came closer, until the light shone on him. 

Lucy couldn't believe her eyes. It was him — the man at the balcony. He still had the shades on. 

“I’ll take it that you're ready to speak.” He said, looking right at her. “How long have you been working here?”

“Th…three days.”

“Right. So I'm guessing you're one of those rejected girls from the nightclub. The ones who couldn't appeal to the customers.”

“Yes…”

“So how the fuck does a slave girl who hasn't been here for a week have in her arms a Stone ledger?!” The man barked, making Lucy flinch. 

“I…I…” Lucy was struggling with her words. She didn't want to talk. Because whatever she'd say would put her in a lot of mess. 

“You're not ready to speak.” The man snorted with a cold tone. “She's not ready to speak. Maybe a few more lashes…”

“No, please….”

“Then fucking speak!!” The man yelled in her face. She gasped, panting heavily. 

“I don't know anything about the ledger. I was just running an errand. Please spare me…”

“An errand?” The man repeated, backing off. “By who?”

“I…I…” Lucy couldn't say. 

“Do you know who I am?” The man asked with a laid-back tone. 

“No…”

“Domenico Stone.”

It did the trick. Lucy could feel the chaos erupting inside her. 

“You must have heard of me.”

“Ye…yes.”

“Good. Now tell me something about you. Who are you? Where did Gabriel pick you up?”

“I'm…I'm…Lucy Davis.”

“Davis?” Domenico repeated the name. The man behind him whispered something into his ear and he smirked. 

“Right. The debtor's daughter.” Domenico taunted. “Ain't you a bit concerned about your mother? According to Gabriel, he left her in a certain abandoned house.”

“Wh…what?” Lucy couldn't believe her ears. 

“Don't you wanna make it out here alive to go see her? Are you stupid enough to sacrifice your life here over something as trivial as this?”

“Please spare my Mother. She didn't do anything wrong.” Lucy pleaded in tears. 

“Sure. In exchange, give me a name.”

“Nicole. Ma'am Nicole.” Lucy blurted out. She'd give more than a name. She'd burn the whole city to save her mother. “Ma'am Nicole asked me to take it out the main gate.”

Domenico's jaw clenched. “How did the ledger fall into Nicole's hands? She's just a bloody sex toy.”

Lucy quivered at the viciousness behind his words. 

“I…I don't know.” And then she recalled instantly. “Blaze! It was him and her in the room…”

Lucy stopped talking. The man's face had gone way too rigid. It was terrifying. 

With no more questions, he turned around and left the room. The other man trailed behind him. 

Lucy's heart raced like a marathon. What has she done?!

*

*

The gym was a common place for the brothers to meet. 

Gabriel was there first. He was hitting a punching bag, dressed in a pair of joggers, sneakers, a scarf around his hair, and his hands were padded. 

Lars walked in with a bottle of water, dressed almost as identically as Gabriel. Except he was missing the scarf. He went for the dumbbell. 

“How did your mission go?!” He started the conversation. 

“Great. Captured 30 girls. 25 have been sold out. Five had been turned into maids.”

Lars smiled. “What did Domenico say to you?”

“You know him, he'd never notice my efforts. And honestly, I don't care anymore. It's tiring waiting for his validation when all he wants is to get rid of me. To get rid of all of us.”

That part met silence. Neither of them said any more words. The door opened and they looked in that direction. 

Blaze was walking inside, dressed in just jogger pants, no top.

“Get away from the punching bag.” He said briskly. 

Gabriel slowly walked away from it, going to the treadmill. He wouldn't dare oppose Blaze's order. He wouldn't be able to handle the heat. 

“Where's our obnoxious older brother?” Blaze began. “Does he feel too superior to join us on gym day? Or don't blind folks work out?”

Lars exchanged glances with Gabriel, but neither of them said a word. In the battle between Domenico and Blaze, they never dared get involved. They'd be eaten up if they dared. 

“How much longer before he realizes that he's handicapped and can't be Don? A blind man ruling the Stone Brotherhood would make us laughable.”

Again, the other two stayed silent. Blaze glanced at them and chuckled. Cowards. They were too terrified of Domenico to even say anything mean behind his back. 

He wasn't though. Domenico might be the oldest but Blaze believed he was the most prominent of the brothers. His Mother came from a big American Mafia family. The others had paupers for Mothers. 

“Are you still fucking Nicole?” Lars chipped in, breaking the tension. 

Blaze scowled at him. “Why?”

“Well, she's been eye-catching lately. And I'm being tempted to have a taste.”

Blaze wouldn't dare admit that Lars just hit a nerve. So he pretended to not give a fuck. 

“Sure. She's all yours.” He would never be that guy to act possessive over a woman. Women were their toys. And toys are to be shared. 

He landed a more aggressive punch to the punching bag. But halted as the door burst open. 

Domenico. But he was dressed in a suit. So clearly, he wasn't here to work out.

He had his walking cane, and his sidekick, Locke, behind him. 

“Blaze is at the punching bag,” Locke whispered to him.

Domenico knew his way to the punching bag. He'd been here countless times before losing his sight.

Blaze awaited his approach with a smirk on his face. But that smirk disappeared as Domenico waved his cane, hitting it right across Blaze's cheek. 

“You bloody swindler!” Domenico released a fist, punching him right in the jaw. 

Gabriel and Lars stood frozen watching the fight unfold. Again, they wouldn't dare get involved. 

Blaze retaliated, throwing a fist but Domenico dodged it. Another fist landed on his face and a kick to his gut. 

His knees hit the ground while Domenico stood tall in front of him.

“Embezzling family funds? I didn't expect less from you, asshole!”

“What nonsense are you spitting?!” Blaze backfired heatedly. 

“I have your damned ledger! And the slave girl you asked to take it outside the main gate!”

Now that was news to Blaze. He didn't know any slave girl. He'd handed the ledger to Nicole.

“I had her tortured until she said your wretched name!”

“I don't know any slave girl!”

“The hell you don't!” Domenico kicked him again. Blaze grunted at the impact. But didn't retaliate. He couldn't, not when Domenico had all the infinity stones to ruin him. 

“I swear to God, I don't know any slave girl.” He insisted. At least, that much was true. 

“Lucy Davis, that's her fucking name.” Domenico spat out. 

“Lucy Davis? The debtor's daughter?” Gabriel chipped in. 

“The girl with the body filled with gashes?” Lars added. He was there when that man stripped her. There was a camera in the room, and he was watching alongside Nicole. 

Domenico laughed humorlessly. “I see every one of you knows her, except the main person who should.”

“I know, right? How the fuck do I not know this lying bitch?” Blaze spat out.