PROPER WELCOME

Rose was brought to her knees and forced onto the stage. Marcus stood behind her while Drake sat in front of her, lazily playing with a small knife in his hand.

Then he suddenly stopped, his attention fully on Rose.

Her head was lowered, but her body trembled. She knew exactly how ruthless he could be.

His eyes never left Rose.

“Which hand did you use to throw the boot?”

Rose looked up sharply.

“Boss…” she muttered nervously.

“I wouldn’t like to repeat myself.”

Slowly, she stretched out her hand.

“If this hand drops, I’ll throw you into the piranha pond and make the entire mob watch you get eaten alive for ten straight minutes. Then I’ll drag you out before you die so you can live with the scars forever.”

His voice was calm, but every word carried cruelty.

Rose knew better than to test him. Drake never joked about punishment.

Using the knife, he slowly drew lines across her palm, cutting into her skin bit by bit. Blood streamed down her arm.

Rose bit down hard on her lip, forcing herself not to scream or lower her hand.

“Bring the charcoal box,” Drake ordered.

Rose’s eyes widened in horror as she swallowed nervously.

She glanced at Amy.

“If I survive this, I’ll be the reason you die,” she whispered under her breath.

The burning charcoal box was placed beside Drake. He pulled out a metal rod glowing red with heat.

Without hesitation, he pressed it against the cuts on her hand.

“ARGHHHH!”

Rose screamed in agony. Her body shook violently as the flesh burned beneath the rod.

When Drake was done, he stood up and walked away as though nothing had happened.

Rose collapsed unconscious onto the floor.

Burned into her skin was one single word:

FOOL.

Blood dripped from each scorched letter.

As Drake walked past Amy, he paused beside her and glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

“I hope you enjoyed the show. Think of it as a proper welcome.”

Then he walked away.

Amy felt chills crawl down her spine.

“How can someone be so ruthless?” she thought, trembling slightly.

“Give them the information. I’m no longer in the mood,” Drake said to Marcus before leaving completely.

Rose still lay unconscious on the floor, but no one dared touch her without permission.

From where the top members stood, Mandy was already thinking of ways to make Amy suffer.

“Listen up,” Marcus announced. His voice was calm yet commanding enough to silence the hall instantly.

“As for the prisoners, treat them as slaves for the mob. But no one is permitted to leave a mark on this one.”

He looked directly at Amy.

“Prepare for the next mission in two days. Those selected will find their names on the wall tomorrow night.”

With that, he turned and walked away, stepping right over Rose’s body.

Then he paused.

“Take that thing away.”

Without another word, he left.

“Fuck you,” Mandy muttered under her breath before rushing toward Rose.

She ordered one of the lower mobsters to carry Rose and quickly took her to the infirmary.

As she passed Amy, she shot her a hateful glare.

“Watch your back,” she threatened.

“Look at her. Good thing Boss brought us a new slave. My underwear is dirty,” one female mobster mocked.

“Let’s untie her,” the other suggested.

They untied Amy and immediately dragged her out of the hall.

“Hey! Let me go!”

Pak!

A slap landed hard across her face.

“One more word from you and I’ll make you eat my underwear, you wench.”

Amy went silent after that.

From another corner, Kate silently watched everything unfold.

“Hey.”

Kate heard someone behind her and already knew who it was.

She turned around.

“You feel bad for her?” Bluey asked, crossing his arms.

“I kinda do too… but honestly, Rose deserved what she got.”

Kate stared at him for a moment before walking away without saying a word.

“Ouch,” someone laughed nearby.

Bluey turned and saw Hayden approaching.

“Bro, was that your attempt at making her talk to you?” Hayden laughed loudly.

Bluey ignored him and started walking away.

Hayden rushed after him, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

“Come on, bro. Forget Kate. I can hook you up with someone hotter.”

“Get away from me, Hayden.”

Bluey shoved his arm off and kept walking.

Hayden watched him leave with amusement.

“Is he actually a virgin?” he asked no one in particular.

Elsewhere in the mob headquarters, Amy was already being treated like a servant.

“Here are my underwears.”

A pair landed on Amy’s face. She quickly threw them away.

“Hey! How dare you?” one of the girls snapped, yanking Amy harshly by the hair.

“The Boss said not to injure you, but that doesn’t mean you can act stupid, bitch.”

She shoved Amy roughly to the floor.

“I hate her hair so much.”

“Should we cut it?” the other girl asked, stepping closer.

“No, please! Not my hair! I’ll wash them! I’ll wash everything!” Amy pleaded desperately.

“Good dog.”

The girls laughed cruelly.

“Girllll, you’re so bad. There are lots of handsome guys in this mob, you know?”

“Nah. I only want Hayden. You can literally tell he’s huge through his pants.”

They burst into laughter as their voices slowly faded As they walked away.

Amy remained seated on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

“Is this what my life has become?” she sobbed quietly.

“I can’t even find Rita… I wonder if my baby is still alive.”

After crying for a while, she finally picked up the underwear and started washing them.

In the training room…

Theo kept throwing punches at the boxing bag, each hit filled with anger.

The heavy sounds echoed beyond the walls of the training room.

He continued until exhaustion finally caught up with him. Breathing hard, he grabbed the punching bag to stop it from swinging and leaned against it to catch his breath.

Slow clapping suddenly came from behind him.

Theo turned around and saw Marcus standing there.

“Hey, man,” Theo muttered between breaths.

“Your punches got stronger. At this rate, you might kill me one day, you know,” Marcus teased.

Theo chuckled lightly.

“Everyone already knows you’re the next ruthless person after the Boss. You literally walked over Rose’s body.”

Marcus smirked.

“You hate her that much?”

“You hate her too,” Marcus replied immediately.

Marcus grabbed a long wooden stick from the corner of the room.

“I’m glad she overstepped her boundaries with the Boss today.”

Then he pointed the stick toward Theo.

“Let’s duel.”

“Sure.”

Theo grabbed his own stick, and soon the two men began sparring.

Their sticks clashed loudly against each other. Theo took the lead at first, striking aggressively while Marcus blocked and dodged every attack with ease.

But after a while, Marcus suddenly became serious.

As though he had only been entertaining Theo before, he charged forward and quickly took control of the fight.

The duel continued fiercely.

At Rose’s room…

The mob doctor had already treated her and left.

Rose sat on her bed with an IV drip attached to her arm. Her newly branded hand was wrapped in thick bandages.

Her face burned with anger.

Every thought in her mind revolved around Amy.

Mandy paced back and forth around the room.

“Why would Boss specifically order us not to hurt her?” she complained.

No one answered.

“What exactly is she?”

Mandy kept ranting while Rose remained silent for a while before finally speaking.

“So the Boss really did this to me…” she muttered bitterly. “I thought I was special to him.”

“You are,” Mandy quickly replied. “You’re the first woman he personally picked and trained among the top mobsters.”

“He takes you on every mission with him. That means he trusts you enough to always keep you by his side.”

Rose slowly relaxed.

“Yes… you’re right,” she said with a faint smile. “He was only angry because I disrespected him in front of everyone.”

But the smile soon disappeared.

“But it’s all because of that disgusting girl.”

Hatred filled her eyes again.

“Let her wait and see how I’ll make this mob unbearable for her.”

“You’re covered in blood,” Mandy said softly. “You should clean up.”

Rose removed the drip from her arm and stepped down from the bed.

She stripped off her clothes, standing completely naked.

“Girlll you’ve got the hottest body! No one can beat that!” Mandy praised her, gushing over her huge boobs.

Rose smirked “I know that, Bitch”

Then she cat walked into her bathroom. Mandy’s eyes not leaving her boobs. When Rose went into the bathroom. Mandy started touching her her self and slowing fingered her self on Rose’s bed.

Amy…

Amy was done washing the clothes. She sat quietly in a corner, thinking about Rita.

Then suddenly, an idea crossed her mind.

She quickly stood up and began walking around, checking different corners and hallways, searching for where Rita might have been kept.

“Hey.”

Amy turned around at the sound of the voice.

A boy who looked slightly younger than her stood there with a playful smile on his face.

“Shouldn’t he be in school or something?” she thought.

“What are you looking for?” he asked. “I saw you wandering around.”

“Where’s the infirmary?” Amy asked carefully.

Bluey raised a brow.

“Oh… so you’re looking for your friend.” He shrugged lightly. “Sorry, I can’t help you.”

He turned and started walking away, but suddenly stopped.

“One piece of advice,” he said, glancing back at her. “Try to get on the Boss’s good side. If not, you won’t survive long here. A lot of slaves survived because they learned how to please the mob.”

Then he continued walking.

“As for your friend… only Marcus can help you.”

“Marcus?” Amy called after him. “Who’s that?”

“The second scariest person here.”

His voice faded together with his footsteps.

Amy remained standing there, deep in thought.

“How am I supposed to approach someone like that?” she wondered.

Just then, she noticed a girl walking toward her.

The girl’s clothes were worn out and her hair looked rough and untidy. She clearly wasn’t one of the mobsters.

When she finally reached Amy, she spoke quietly.

“I was assigned by the head maid to show you the slave sleeping quarters.”

Without waiting for a response, the girl turned around and walked away.

Amy followed behind her.

They left the main building and headed toward a smaller building behind it.

Inside was a large hall filled with bunk beds stacked in rows for two people each.

The lighting was dim, just like the main building, as though bright lights were forbidden there.

Different women moved around the hall silently, some entering while others left carrying different things.

“That’s your bed,” the girl said, pointing toward a top bunk near the entrance.

Then her expression turned serious.

“The rules are simple. You must not be caught sitting around doing nothing until 10 p.m. You must wake up before 6 a.m. every morning. You must complete every task assigned to you without complaining.”

She paused briefly.

“You only get one meal every day at 11 p.m. Failure to obey the rules is punished by death.”

And with that, she walked away.

Amy lost her balance slightly and grabbed the bunk bed for support.

“I need to leave this place before I die,” she thought fearfully. “I can’t stay here.”

But another thought immediately followed.

“How can I leave when I don’t even know if Rita is alive?”

“Arrgh!” she shouted in frustration.

Some of the slaves turned to stare at her, wondering if she was losing her mind.

Amy clenched her fists tightly.

“I guess I’ll have to meet that bastard myself.”

Without wasting another second, she stormed out of the slave quarters and headed back toward the main building.

Marcus had just finished training.

Sweat covered his body as he walked down the hallway toward his room to clean up.

“Hey, Marcus.”

He stopped walking and slowly turned around.

Amy stood there staring directly at him.

“Take me to your Boss.”