4

Chapter 4:

MAYA

“Speak up, Maya. The whole family is waiting.” Lorenzo’s voice snapped me out of my shocked silence.

I looked at Michael and Carl standing there like this was some kind of game. An empty, broken chuckle slipped out of me.

“I… choose them?” I asked, my voice small at first, then rising with disbelief. “You really expect me to pick one of your sons like I’m choosing a dress?”

Lorenzo gave me that dark, heavy look that was supposed to scare people into submission.

I just sighed, tired and shaking inside. These two were bad news. Michael was a pathetic playboy who chased anything in a skirt, and Carl… everyone knew he loved men more than he would ever love a wife. Neither of them wanted this any more than I did, but Lorenzo didn’t care.

Michael stood there like this was all some kind of entertainment, relaxed, and almost amused while Carl stood beside him quiet and unreadable, like none of this even concerned him, which made sense because everyone knew he didn’t even like women in the first place.

I let out a slow breath, my head still aching, my chest still tight, and I shook my head again.

“These are my choices?” I asked, my voice flat now. “One who can’t keep his pants on and one who doesn’t even want me in the first place.”

A few people shifted.

Some looking amused and others annoyed.

Michael chuckled lightly, like he enjoyed being called out. “Careful, little genius,” he said lazily. “You might hurt my feelings.”

I glanced at him, unimpressed. “You have feelings?”

A few quiet laughs slipped out from the side, but it didn’t last.

“Enough,” Lorenzo said calmly. “Choose.”

I looked at him then and something bitter rose in my chest.

“You want a choice?” I said quietly. “Fine.”

My eyes moved back to the two men, and for a moment I just stared at them, then I let out a small, dry laugh.

“I choose none.”

The hall shifted slightly, murmurs starting, but I didn’t stop.

“I’m not marrying either of them,” I continued, my voice stronger now, even though my hands were trembling slightly. “I’m not marrying anyone in this family.”

But deep down I already knew my words wouldn’t change anything. The hall felt smaller air heavier, and my future was slipping away faster than I could fight it.

Lorenzo leaned back in his chair, his face calm but his eyes sharp.

“You have no choice, Maya. Since you refuse to pick, I will choose for you. Guards, take her away and lock her up until the wedding.”

The two guards behind me grabbed my arms roughly and yanked me to my feet. Panic flooded me and I twisted against their grip, tears spilling hot down my cheeks.

“Mom!” I cried out, looking straight at her. “Please, help me. Don’t let them do this!”

She just crossed her arms and looked away. “It’s for your own good, Maya. Stop making a scene.”

Lucy stood beside Luca with a smirk on her bandaged face, clearly enjoying every second. No one moved to help.

No one ever did in this family except my nanny and right now, she's helpless.

The embarrassment burned deep in my chest, mixing with fresh anger and that old familiar pain of being invisible again. I fought harder, kicking and pulling, but the guards were too strong.

Then something snapped inside me. Luca had trained me in self-defense for years, back when he still pretended to care.

I twisted fast, elbowed one guard in the gut, and snatched the gun from his holster. Before anyone could react, I fired two quick shots into their legs. They dropped with loud grunts of pain. I turned and ran, my feet slamming against the marble floor.

“Catch her!” Lorenzo growled behind me, his calm voice finally breaking.

I ran blindly through the halls, shooting over my shoulder to slow them down. Bullets echoed and shouts filled the air.

I knew my chances were tiny, but I kept going, heart racing, tears blurring my vision.

Guards poured in from every side. When they started closing in, I skidded to a stop in the middle of the big courtyard outside the hall and I pressed the gun to my own temple and spun around to face the family rushing out after me.

Lorenzo’s eyes widened for the first time I could remember. “Put the gun down right now, Maya!”

I let out a shaky, bitter chuckle even as tears streamed down my face.

“Why should I? So you can dress me and give me to one of your monsters? I’d rather blow my brains out than let any of you own me. You think you can trap me here forever? Go ahead and try. But I swear, if I die today, I’ll haunt every single one of you bastards.”

Luca stepped forward, hands raised. “Maya, calm down. Please. We can talk about this.”

“Stay the fuck away from me, you monster!” I snapped, my voice raw and shaking with rage.

“You only think with your cock, you idiot. Four years of lies, and now you stand there like you still have the right to tell me what to do? Fuck you, Luca. Fuck all of you twisted family.”

My mom started cursing loudly. “Your death means nothing, you ungrateful little...”

“Enough,” Lorenzo cut her off sharply.

He suddenly clicked his fingers and more guards dragged three people out into the open, an older woman and two young girls around my age.

My stomach dropped. It was my nanny, Rosa, the only person who had ever truly cared for me since I was a child, and her twin daughters, my only real friends in this nightmare house. All three had guns pointed at their heads. They were crying, eyes wide with terror.

Lorenzo grinned when he saw my face change. “Be a good girl and throw the gun away, Maya. Or they all die.”

The guards cocked their weapons and the sound made my blood run cold.

Rosa looked at me through her tears, her voice trembling but strong.

“Run, my sweet girl. Run far away. This family doesn’t deserve even one more day of your light. You’ve given them everything and they’ve given you nothing but pain. I love you like my own daughter. Please… live for yourself. Don’t let them break you.”

Her words hit me harder than any slap. Tears poured down my face. I lowered the gun a little, my hand shaking so badly I could barely hold it. “Rosa… I can’t… you’re all I have…”

Before I could say more, Lorenzo’s face twisted with anger. He grabbed a gun from the nearest guard and fired without hesitation.

The shot rang out loud and sharp. Rosa’s body jerked backward as blood bloomed across her chest and she crumpled to the ground.

“No!” I screamed, dropping the gun and rushing forward.

I fell to my knees beside her bleeding body, pressing my hands to the wound like that could fix it.

“Rosa! Please, no...stay with me! You can’t leave me too. You were the only one who ever saw me. You taught me how to smile when everything hurt. You stayed when my own mother didn’t. Please… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

Her twin daughters screamed and cried, struggling against the guards who held them tight.

Rosa gasped for air, blood bubbling at her lips. She looked up at me with fading eyes and whispered one last time, “Run… away…” Then her body went still in my arms.

I screamed again, hoarse and broken, rocking her gently as if that could bring her back, guards immediately grabbed me but i kept screaming

The pain was so deep it felt like my soul was tearing apart. All the years of quiet loneliness, all the love she had quietly given me when no one else did, it was gone in one cruel second.

Lorenzo stepped closer, still angry at my stubbornness. “Enough of this.” He raised the gun again and blasted two fast shots straight into Rosa’s head. Her body jerked once more and went completely cold.

I could only scream until my throat felt raw, watching the woman who had been my real mother bleed out on the cold ground. The sound tore out of me like something wild and dying.

“Behave,” Lorenzo said coldly, “or the twins are next.”

The overwhelming mix of pain, rage, and helplessness crashed over me all at once.

My legs gave out and I slumped forward into the guards’ arms, my vision going black as everything faded away.