LOGIN~MARCELLA~No.No… no… no…This isn’t happening.This can’t be happening.My entire body is shaking so violently that the chair beneath me creaks, my wrists burning against the ropes as I struggle uselessly.“Lucas…!”My voice breaks the moment his body slams against the floor.The sound…God, the sound of it….It echoes in my head like something snapping.Like something ending.“Get up,” Xavier says lazily.And I watch him.I watch Lucas try.I watch his body tremble as he pushes against the floor, like every single bone in him is screaming in pain.And then…“Beat him.”My heart stops. “No…!”The first punch lands, and I flinch violently.The second punch lands, and I scream.The third punch, tears blur my vision completely.“STOP! PLEASE STOP!” I cry, my voice tearing out of my throat. “PLEASE DON’T DO THIS TO HIM!”But they don’t stop. They don’t even hesitate.It’s like they’re not even human. They keep on punching, kicking, and blowing him over and over ag
~LUCAS~“Hold him and bring him to his knees before me,” Xavier commands.Three men step forward instantly, and they grab me forcefully.I struggle hard, refusing to knee to the bastard.“Let go!” I snap, trying to break free.But they’re persistent.One of them twists my arm painfully behind my back, forcing a sharp grunt out of me.“You’re stronger when you’re running your mouth, huh?” one of them sneers into my ear.Marcella screams again in pain, and I freeze…. just for a second.That’s all they need as they shove me down hard.My knees hit the floor, and anger shoots up instantly within me.“Good,” Xavier says, clapping slowly again. “That’s better.”He walks in front of me, looking down like I'm nothing.His shoe nudges my shoulder, almost playfully, like I’m some stray dog he’s inspecting.“Now…” he says softly. “Apologize.”I stare up at him with rage in my eyes, but I'm silent.“And not just that,” he continues, voice turning darker. “Cry.”Marcella
~LUCAS~The air in the room changes the moment they step in.It doesn’t just shift….it tightens, like something invisible has wrapped around my throat and started squeezing.My eyes lock on them.Xavier and Albert.For a second… just a second… everything inside me goes still.Because I knew.Deep down, I knew Xavier could be behind this.The threats. The anger. The way things ended between him and Marcella.It all pointed to him.But knowing… and seeing it… are two completely different things.And Albert…My jaw tightens slowly, painfully.That part….I didn’t expect.Not him.Not like this.Not standing beside Xavier like they’re partners in this madness.Confusion, anger, and disbelief twists in my chest.All crashing into each other at once.Marcella lets out a broken sound behind me.“Lucas… please…” she whispers weakly, her voice trembling with fear.I don’t take my eyes off them.Xavier grins….that same disgusting, arrogant grin.Like this is all a game
~LUCAS~Something is wrong.I feel it before I even understand it.It starts as a small, uneasy feeling in my chest as I step out of the bathroom, drying my hands on a towel.“Marcella?” I call casually, walking into the room. “Who was at the door?”No answer.I frown slightly, glancing around.She was just here….literally just here.She had said she heard a knock… said she wanted to check who it was.“Marcella?” I call again, louder this time.Still nothing.A strange tension creeps up my spine.I step further into the apartment, my eyes scanning every corner like she might suddenly appear out of nowhere.“Marcella, this isn’t funny,” I mutter, though there’s no humor in my voice.But the silence that replies me is thick and uncomfortable.My heartbeat starts to pick up.I walk toward the door, and I see that it's locked.I open it slightly, but see nobody there.That alone makes my stomach drop.“Marcella?” I push it open wider and step into the hallway.It
~MARCELLA~Lucas is in danger.“No!” I suddenly shout, my voice cracking as I push myself to my feet. “You’re not touching him!” The room goes still. Xavier raises a brow. “And how exactly are you going to stop me?” he asks softly. I step forward despite the fear clawing at me. “Let her go,” I say, my voice shaking but firm. “This is between you and me… not her… not Lucas…” Xavier’s smile fades slightly… not completely… but enough to turn colder. “Oh, Marcella…” he murmurs. “You still don’t get it.” My heart pounds violently. “This isn’t a negotiation,” Xavier says.His eyes darken slowly… dangerously.And then, his expression shifts into something far more cruel.“Take her and tie her up,” he says.The words fall flat and final.Before I can even react, two men move toward me at once.“What…..no….don’t touch me!” I snap, jerking backward instinctively.Rough hands grab my arms hard….too hard.“Let me go!” I struggle immediately, twisting vio
~MARCELLA~The moment I step out of my house, everything inside me explodes into motion.The hallway blurs around me as I rush forward.The elevator is right there.I slam the button, once, twice, three times, but it's too slow.“Fuck!” I breathe out, already turning away.I don’t have time for this, so I take the stairs, and I run.My feet hit each step hard, fast, almost slipping as I descend too quickly.My breathing becomes uneven, matching the wild rhythm of my heart.Stephanie’s face flashes in my mind….her tears, the ropes, the fear in her eyes.“Please don’t hurt her…” I whisper desperately, over and over again like a prayer. “Please don’t hurt her… please don’t hurt her…”My hand grips the railing so tightly my knuckles ache, and for a second, my foot misses a step.I stumble forward, catching myself just in time.“Shit…” I gasp, panic clawing up my throat.My mind betrays me with worse images now….Stephanie screaming, begging… bleeding.“No… no… no…”
~MARCELLA~The rude girl is still yapping her mouth.“Okay, I think I have heard enough and I'm done watching,” I tell Stephanie and take a step forward without thinking.But Stephanie is already moving.She grips my wrist firmly, nails pressing into my skin, grounding me befo
~MARCELLA~I don’t go to school the next day.I wake up to sunlight spilling through my curtains, my phone buzzing with notifications I don’t bother checking, and a strange hollowness sitting right in the center of my chest.For the first time in a long time, it isn’t money, clothes, or playing game
~ELENA~That night, when the house finally grows quiet, reality settles in.Not the fear kind, but the good kind.The kind that hums softly in your chest and tells you this….this moment….is real.The nursery light glows faintly down the hall.I sit in bed, pillows stacked behi
~TWENTY TWO YEARS LATER~ ~MARCELLA~I weave my way onto the dance floor with Stephanie, my best friend, finding the beat as I sway my hips and lose myself in the groove, erupting loud cheering noises from the hungry crowd whose hungry eyes are ravaging all over my body.I'm p







