Behind the Closed Door

A strong smell of blood filled the air as I walked down the corridor of the east wing. In front of Enzo’s room, two guards looked tense as they blocked anyone who intended to force their way inside.

“Open the door quickly.”

“Miss, Don will surely be angry if you force your way inside.”

“Papa isn’t here, what are you worried about?” I looked at them coldly. “Or… don’t tell me you are already brave enough to defy me?”

The faces of both guards paled. One of them immediately opened the thick door, allowing me to enter Enzo’s room.

“Miss, you could kill him,” Maria whispered when she saw me step into Enzo’s dimly lit room.

“Just wait outside if you’re afraid,” I said while glancing at her trembling hands. “I have to teach him an additional lesson so he learns his lesson. Papa is too lenient with him even though he failed to secure the cargo shipment at the port. Ten lashes are still not enough to pay for his mistake.”

“But Miss, his back must already be covered in wounds.”

“He won’t die just because he receives a few more lashes from me,” I interrupted impatiently.

I immediately slammed the door shut with a loud sound, then turned the double lock from the inside.

Maria and the two guards outside the room must have been trembling at the thought that I was ready to skin Papa’s trusted man alive.

They would never have expected the whip in my hand to immediately slip and fall when I saw the sight on the bed.

My chest felt as if it were being crushed by a huge stone, making me gasp for breath when I saw Enzo’s back covered in lines of wounds.

For more than a decade, Enzo had to endure a great deal of torture every time Don Moretti became angry. This time, he had also received repeated lashes until fresh blood continued to drip without stopping.

I hurried to pick up the whip from the floor, then approached Enzo. My right finger wiped away my tears so they would not burden him any further.

“Groan a little louder,” I whispered while striking the whip against the pillow repeatedly.

Enzo did it well, making me certain that anyone eavesdropping outside would wince while closing their eyes.

“I’ll treat you now. It might sting a little, but I’m sure you can endure it.”

“Do it now,” he said calmly. He did not sound like he was suffering at all, making my heart ache even more.

His back only tensed slightly when my fingers pressed alcohol-soaked gauze against the edge of his wound. He growled slowly because of the painful sensation that must have been burning his skin.

“Your voice still isn’t dramatic enough, Mr. Valentino,” I teased while whispering near his ear.

Enzo turned his head slightly. His blue eyes looked at me from only a few inches away. “You must be very angry with me to press it that hard.”

I pressed my lips together, hiding the tremble in my hands as I poured the antiseptic. “This is my punishment for you acting carelessly.”

“Any other suggestions to keep her from suspecting the two of us?”

My voice sounded bitter as I said, “You could have made up another alibi without sacrificing your back until it was ruined like this!”

I was not lying when I said I was angry with him. However, that anger was also covered by a feeling of helplessness every time I saw him injured.

It seemed that Enzo realized what I was feeling. The man turned around, ignoring the pain in his body. His face looked calm as he reached for my wrist, which was slightly stained with blood.

“Don already suspects there is a traitor among the upper ranks,” Enzo said. “If I had managed to come out of yesterday’s cargo failure without a single injury, Don would have immediately pointed his gun at me. This wound is nothing compared to the fact that we only have one life.”

“But I hate seeing you hurt,” I whispered honestly. The mask of the vicious miss completely fell away every time the two of us were alone.

“I already told you I’m fine.”

“Why does it always have to be you who gets hurt every time my plan succeeds?”

The plan to sabotage the smuggling of thirty young girls had indeed come from me. Enzo was only tasked with carrying it out in the field according to our agreement.

However, the success felt a little bitter because once again, Enzo became the victim of Papa’s anger.

Enzo stared at my pursed lips, then a low chuckle escaped his mouth. “Then finish your treatment quickly. We don’t have much time. Don’t let Maria and the guards outside become suspicious of why this ‘torture’ is taking too long.”

I sighed, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the edge of my own dress sleeve. My fingers, which usually danced nimbly across the piano, were now carefully holding a needle.

Every time the needle pierced his skin, Enzo clenched his hand tightly. He hid his pain, not allowing even a single sigh to escape so I would not feel guilty.

To deceive the people outside, I deliberately reached for the porcelain flower vase on the table. “You don’t like this one, do you?”

Enzo opened his eyes, which had been closed while I stitched his wound. “Do whatever you want.”

CRASH!

I threw the flower vase against the wall until it shattered into pieces.

“Next time this thing will hit your head if you dare look at me with that arrogant gaze again!” I shouted in a shrill voice that pierced the ears.

As Don Moretti’s spoiled yet cruel beloved youngest daughter, I had become skilled at screaming in a shrill voice that pierced the eardrums.

Enzo laughed silently, shaking his head as he looked at me. “Your acting is becoming more impressive, Selena.”

“Of course. I practice every day in front of the mirror,” I replied proudly.

“It’s done. Don’t move around too much tonight.” I spoke while looking at my hands covered in blood.

“Selena, I managed to convince him that the chaos at the port was sabotaged by another group. But it seems he feels that you are interfering too much in internal affairs.”

“Then what is Papa’s plan?”

“He ordered me to watch over you personally,” Enzo replied. He smiled crookedly, full of meaning. “Starting tomorrow, I will be your personal bodyguard.”

I raised one eyebrow, immediately understanding where this tactic was going. My hands quickly messed up my hair to make me look like someone who had just vented her anger.

“Then I’ll wait for your arrival tomorrow.”

I turned around, putting on the most vicious facial mask I had as I opened the door wide.

Maria looked at me as I came out, breathing heavily, then glanced inside the messy room with pieces of the porcelain vase scattered everywhere.

“Clean up the mess in there,” I ordered coldly, then walked away from Enzo’s room, which still smelled of blood.