His True Color.

"Now listen, baby..." Vincenzo’s voice dropped to a husky whisper, one that curled like smoke around her spine, "if you die... I will torture your pretty little boyfriend. Would you like to know how I'm going to do it?"

Seraphina froze. Her breath hitched as his words clawed into her skin. She couldn’t speak… she could only watch as he leaned in closer, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.

"Come," he said, the words low and smooth like poison. "I’ll show you the trailer…. Um baby, I think live action will be better. What did you think? Wify"

The sound of metal scraped from his back. He was already pulling out his gun, casual, like it was just part of his attire. A weapon dressed in black silk.

“Jude,” Vincenzo turned sharply, his eyes darkened, “light, camera, action. Jude! ….Jude!!…what did you do in my room this morning?”

The room fell still. Jude's face turned white. His legs twitched, but he stood there, trembling.

“I…. I’m sorry, sir,” Jude stammered, his voice brittle as glass. “I made a mistake, sir.”

Vincenzo didn’t blink. He stepped forward slowly, a shadow wearing elegance. “It’s alright. You can look at a secretary like that. You can look at some random piece of meat that way,” he said softly, and then paused, letting silence stretch like a knife.

“But she’s not a piece of meat.” His eyes narrowed. “She’s my fiancée now. "So tell me, Jude… what should I do to someone who dares look at my fiancée like that?” He asked in a dangerous tone while unlocking his gun. “Sir, I swear! I didn’t mean to! Please!” Jude dropped to his knees, panic wetting his voice. “Forgive me! I swear I won’t ever do it again; please, sir, have mercy!” He pleaded in fear of death.

“Forgive you? That’s one luxury you can’t afford. "No use, you should die.” Vincenzo chuckled with an evil smile. His finger twitched.

Jude’s eyes widened. He panicked. In one motion, he shoved one of the guards aside and made a run for the door.

BANG!

It’s not easy to escape. Vincenzo shot him in the leg. The bullet ripped through his flesh and bone. Jude fell down on the floor, his scream loud and bloodcurdling. Jude screamed in pain as blood oozed out from his leg.

“Get him,” Vincenzo ordered.

His guards obeyed immediately. Within seconds, Jude was dragged back, laid out at Vincenzo’s feet. He clawed at the floor, whimpering, crying.

“Please… boss, I’m begging you… please don’t kill me,” Jude pleaded, his voice now choked with agony.

Seraphina stood frozen in the corner, tears staining her cheeks. She didn’t make a sound, but her shoulders trembled.

Vincenzo turned to her, the softness touched his expression….. Almost affection, but it was twisted, malformed by obsession.

He reached for her and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist with deceptive tenderness. She was still sobbing, unable to hide the fear shaking through her.

“Come on,” he whispered into her hair. His lips skimmed over her strands, his breath warm against her ear. “Shoot him.”

Her eyes went wide. “No,” she choked, voice trembling. “I….I can’t… please don’t make me.”

“You can, baby,” Vincenzo whispered. “It’s easier than betrayal. It’s less painful than the hell you’ll face every night… and every day. "What’s one bullet compared to that?” He whispered while biting her neck.

"AHH!" She screamed loudly in pain, her body jerking forward.

Vincenzo took her cold and shaking hand, and wrapped it around his gun. He didn’t ask again. He just guided her finger to the trigger.

Then came the shot.

Jude’s head snapped back and silence followed. His body crumpled.

"It's easy, see, it's easy." He left his gun and his grip on her.

She fell on her knees, sobbing vigorously. Her shoulders trembled like leaves in a storm.

Vincenzo had not killed anyone personally for a long time, just one look and his gang members would carry out his operations smoothly and now his hands were also clean. He stared coldly at the corpse.

"Son of a bitch, how dare he covet my baby."

With a single look, his men already knew what to do with the corpse. There was an eerie silence among the other guards. They knew him too well. Anyone that dared to disrespect him would meet their end, and challenging Vincenzo was equally begging for an honorless burial.

He looked at the body and said coldly, "Burn everything that belonged to him, and also I want his teeth and those ugly eyes pulled out and his fingers….. Chopped."

"Yes sir," replied the guards, and got to work.

Seraphina couldn’t utter a word. She stared at the gun in her hands, her eyes moving slowly from her hand to the body on the floor. Her fingers quivered.

Emma was worse. She sat there shaking like a leaf. She stared at the corpse and Vincenzo in fear. Yeah, she knew too well how evil and cruel he could be, but she had just witnessed his cruelty. ‘What will be my fate? I had just asked him to kill, Seraphina, will he kill me now?’

Vincenzo turned, adjusting his impeccably black shirt, as if he had just stepped out of a fashion magazine. He looked like a model. There was not a single trace of violence in his appearance. He looked still, like early morning water.

With a faint smile, he walked over and scooped Seraphina into his arms. He looked back with an evil smirk formed on his perfect lips. "Hello ...”

She tried to resist, but he held her like something precious and unbreakable.

He took her to his room, placed her gently on the bed. She crawled backward instantly, recoiling from him.

"Tomorrow will be our wedding day baby. And tomorrow night will be our first night as a couple. Be ready to be my wife." He chuckled in a husky tone while kissing her neck.

"Don't defy me baby, all you have to do is submit yourself to me," he said in a threatening voice.

"No, I'll never do this. "I don't want this, please." She cried out, this time joining her hands in front of him. "Please leave me," she pleaded in tears.

"I can't, because you are irresistible. "I can't let you get away." He whispered with an evil smirk.

She felt disgusted. Her whole body recoiled.

--- ONE HOUR LATER ---

Seraphina curled in a corner. The air in the room was heavy and silent. Her breath trembled.

BANG!

The door burst open with a dry bang!

Seraphina turned. Silence fell over the room.

Vincenzo walked to the bed, his eyes locked on Seraphina. He didn’t blink, he didn’t smile, but right there in his gaze there was something brutally hypnotic. Seraphinna felt a chill down her spine.

"This wedding won’t happen," Seraphina said, her voice cold but weak.

Vincenzo walked a few steps towards her. "It’ll, because you belong to me."

Seraphina laughed. "Belong? I’m not livestock, you douchebag."

He smiled and approached Seraphina. She could smell the mint scent of his cologne. It burned her nose.

“You’ll be mine,” he said. “Whether you like it or not. Not even death can save you now.”

She stared at him. And without thinking, she spat. Right in his face.

Vincenzo wiped his face with his finger, looked at the spit and smiled, a twisted and dangerous smile. “This…” he said, his eyes gleaming. “This is why I love you. "And baby, it’s going to be so much fun having you.”

He turned, walked out the door slowly without another word. Because for predators like him, the hunt was just beginning.