Rest in pieces.

Rosella’s POV

“Bloody bitch!” Lucien snarled, launching himself at me without a second's hesitation.

I threw myself off the bed, the duvet tangling and sliding away as my bare feet struck the cold floor. Pain flared up my leg sharply, but I pushed through it without hesitation. Pain was the least of my problems.

Lucien lunged, his hand shooting for my hair, but I ducked sharply, slipping out of his grasp.

I drove my elbow hard into his ribs and felt something crack. He grunted, pain flashing across his face, but he didn’t go down. He was bigger than me, stronger, trained.

But so was I.

Mag had enrolled me in combat classes when I was fifteen. Back then, it had felt more like punishment than preparation. I’d been forced to learn how to fight, how to react, how to survive. I never thought I’d need it, until this damn mission proved me wrong.

I swept his leg out from under him. He staggered, and I drove a kick into his chest with everything I had. The force sent him crashing onto the table, scattering my drives and devices across the floor.

I bolted for the door. My fingers had just closed around the handle when a hand clamped down on my wrist and yanked me back.

Still him.

Before I could react, his grip shifted to my throat, lifting me off the ground and slamming me against the wall. My feet kicked uselessly in the air as pressure tightened around my neck. His blood-streaked lips curled into a smirk.

I clawed at his hand, my lungs burning, breaths coming thin and broken.

“Magdalene Ricks did a good job raising you… little bird,” Blake hissed as he stepped closer.

What the fuck! He knows Mag?

He bent to retrieve the fallen gun, inspecting it with calm precision, as though the chaos around us didn’t exist, and placed it back on the table.

“Rosella… Rosella… you’re dangerous,” Blake continued, his gaze settling on my flushed and strained face, lips parted as I fought for air, eyes wide and teary as Lucien’s grip tightened around my throat.

“Even when recovering from a dose of ketamine. Even cornered… you are chaos.”

“P-please… I can’t— I can’t breathe…” my voice cracked, dissolving into ragged, desperate gasps that never made it past Lucien’s grip.

My legs kicked harder in the air, strength fading fast, every instinct screaming for release that wouldn’t come.

“You’re out of chances now…”

“P-please… Blake…” I choked out, the words breaking apart as Lucien's grip pressed tighter against my throat.

“I’ll… I’ll do whatever you want… I’ll… t-t-the game… pleaseeee…”

Hot tears streamed down my face recklessly as my fingers clawed at Lucien’s hand, nails digging in hard enough to hurt him, but it did nothing at all.

My lungs burned—hot, suffocating fire spreading through my chest as my vision flickered at the edges. Each breath I tried to take shattered before it could form.

“P-please…” I rasped again, weaker this time, my body trembling against the wall as my strength started to slip.

“Ah… so now you want to play my game?” Blake drawled.

“Y-yes… I c-can’t breathe…”

“But you’ve just proven you’re too dangerous to keep.”

He closed the space between us, stopping just inches away, with Lucien between us.

Lucien didn’t utter a word. His smirk only widened from time to time, his grip tightening in rhythm with it, as though he were savoring every second of my agony.

Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision, pulling me under. I was seconds from giving in when Blake tapped Lucien.

The pressure on my throat vanished. Air rushed back in violently as I crashed to the floor with a heavy thud, pain exploding through my waist.

I coughed hard, curling slightly as my lungs fought to remember how to work, each breath dragging in like broken glass. My throat burned, raw and aching, as I tried to steady myself.

Heat prickled across my naked skin under their stares—four of them, all watching in silence. I sat there completely bare except for the thin silk panties clinging to my hips, the fabric barely covering my genitals.

I forced myself to inhale again, shaky and uneven, lifting my head just enough to meet their gazes through blurred vision.

Lucien stood above me as if nothing had happened, while Blake remained calm and unreadable. Roman and the other guard were still, just watching.

“Well… well… well… I’m in a good mood today,” Blake murmured, stepping closer as he slowly pulled off his hoodie. He tossed it toward me. “Cover your shame… slut.”

I caught it quickly, pulling it around myself and wrapping it snugly against my body. It was warm, and it carried his scent of Tom Ford Oud wood—dark, smoky, and strangely calming against the chaos in my chest.

I swallowed hard as I held it tighter.

He crouched in front of me, so close I could smell tobacco and mint on his breath.

“Do you think fighting him changes anything?”

He paused, his gaze dragging deliberately from my thighs all the way back, up to my eyes.

“No… it doesn’t,” he added coldly. “It only proves Magdalene has been using you as nothing other than a disposable tool.”

My chest tightened.

“You… you know Mag?” I breathed, holding his gaze as I rubbed my aching neck.

“What if I told you your master sent you to me with no way out?”

My stomach dropped.

“And what if… you were a message?”

I shook my head slowly, my hands visibly trembling.

“You’re lying,” I managed.

“Am I?”

Silence pressed heavily against my ears. Then he leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to an octave.

“Do you want proof?”

A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. “Proof of how useless you were to Magdalene Ricks?”

“I’m not useless to Mag…” I choked out, blinking back tears.

“Then, call her.”

I swallowed. “Why?”

“For proof.”

His fingers gripped my chin, forcing my face up as he turned it from side to side, studying me like I was something to be judged. “Proof that a pretty thing like you was nothing but a useless tool. Call her. Tell her you’re trapped.”

“I’m… I'm not useless to Mag.” I whimpered.

“Okay… fine.” He let go of my chin, lifting his hands in mock surrender as if he agreed.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black iPhone, tossing it toward me without warning.

I fumbled, nearly dropping it before clutching it tightly against my chest, my fingers trembling around the edges.

“Put it on speaker.”

He straightened abruptly, shoving his hands into his pockets, his gaze dragging slowly over my body, sharp and hungry, lingering on the thick fabric of his hoodie barely covering my thighs and ass.

My fingers felt weak, but I forced them to work, dialing the number I knew by heart.

It rang once. Twice. Then the line connected—no response, just silence.

In the background, a man’s voice broke through.

“Just go…” he muttered, rough and annoyed.

“Mag?” My voice came out softer than I intended.

A brief pause.

“Who is this?” Her tone sharpened, cautious, edged with irritation.

I swallowed, lifting my eyes to meet Blake’s gaze. “It’s Rosella.”

Another pause, longer this time.

“Rosella? Why are you calling me from a different number?”

“I…” I swallowed hard. “I’ve been caught… I’m trapped… Blake Luca has me.”

I held my breath as a second of silence stretched.

She let out a short, cruel laugh. “Pathetic. And you’re calling me for this bullshit?”

My chest tightened.

“Bullshit? Mag...”

“Yes! It is.” she snapped instantly. “You failed, and now you want to drag me into your mess?”

Tears I’d been holding back finally spilled over. “But you sent me here. You knew it was dangerous… didn’t you?”

“You were warned! Never involve me when things go south.”

“Mag?”

“Oh yes! Don't you dare!”

“Mag, you–”

“Fuck you!” She cut in before I could finish.

My throat tightened, though I pushed the words out anyway. “I gave you everything, Mag… I took risks for you.”

“And you were fucking paid.”

“Mag, I–”

“Don’t ever! Ever! Call me again… I don’t know you.” Her voice came down like ice.

My lips trembled.

“T-they’re going to kill me, Mag…”

A cold scoff cut through the line.

“That’s your problem. Rest in pieces then.”

The line went dead.

The phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a dull thud. My body went hollow, like every ounce of strength had been drained out of me. My hand quivered uncontrollably, and my ears rang as if the world had gone distant.

Blake crouched down again, picked up the phone, glanced at the dark screen, then tossed it casually to Lucien. Lucien caught it with ease, barely even looking at it before slipping it into his grip.

Blake's eyes returned to me. “You heard her clearly. She doesn’t want you anymore.”

I lowered my head, tears spilling freely now, my breathing uneven as I sniffed back a quiet sob that I couldn’t hold in anymore.

“You were loyal,” he went on, voice calm but cutting. “You were useful. And the moment you became a problem… she discarded you.” A pause. “Tell me… what does that make you now?”

I couldn't speak.

“A goddamned useless tool…” he spat, followed by a slow, short laugh that held no warmth.

“You tested my patience when you attacked him.” He tipped his head slightly toward Lucien. “I gave you a choice… and you wasted every bit of it. So now, tell me...”

His gaze hardened. “What should I do with you?”