[Anasatsia’s Point Of View] I peered at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, the vivid red line on my neck was blood-curdling. It had only been a day, but it was already fierce as fuck; it seemed as though it had no intention of leaving any time soon as I stared at it in dread. I sighed, took a moment to look away from the mirror, and when I stared back I was met with the fierce, noxious red eyes of Enzo staring back at me with his hand firmly around my neck. I gasped and the image cleared but I felt like my breaths had been knocked out, inhaling and exhaling like I had galloped for an hour. I rested my head over my chest and aimed to steady my breathing. When was this vision going to fade out? And how long was I going to withstand it? His eyes were not blue; they were bloodshot and filled with animosity and looked like they wanted the entire world to bleed while they grazed it on. He looked insane. Enzo was crazy and he nearly killed me! The thought made me quaver. The rest

[ANASTASIA’S POINT OF VIEW]It was a Saturday. And the sun was blazing up in the sky, liberated, but I should have known that the last part of my day wouldn't be so brilliant. The day, too, gave way to the night. Except for the soldiers that waited at almost every corner one turned with their hawk-like eyes, the mansion seemed deserted. I ignored them as I made my way to the bottom floor, continuing straight until I strolled into an open pool. I realized I'd never gone to this side of the mansion before. The pool is surrounded by grey, brown, and black walls and flooring with a blue accent hue. There was a white pole in the center that stood out against the dark surface. On the other side of the room, there was a window with a houseplant placed in front of it for decoration and there were chairs around the edge of the pool as well as other furniture pieces scattered throughout the area. It was stunning. I went to the pool's edge, the desire to jump in was as high as a fan as the

(Anastasia's Point of View)I should have known there were repercussions for every action, but I am to blame for this. I experienced the worst kind of cruelty in life. I was just a victim, but nobody cared that I had no other options, and neither were they listening.I knelt there in front of the Mezzelsalmas like some common criminal, hands bound behind my back and head bowed, covered in the blood of the man I would just kill.I was being evaluated, and my fate was being decided. All of them, minus Enzo, were present.He would come to my rescue like he always did, right?"Lift your head," came the order I could not ignore, and I slowly lifted my head.They looked at me as though I were the world's most difficult puzzle, one that they were desperately attempting to crack. I studied each person's face in turn.Galileo watched me with one leg crossed over the other and a smirk on his lips and an odious gleam in his eyes. Giovanni also flaunted the same luminesce in his eyes that scream

[Anastasia’s Point of View]When I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry, and there was a constant ache in the back of my neck. I groaned, and when my vision returned, I took a moment to scan my surroundings. It was a dark, empty room with little light; it had an old door and no window. The room had concrete and plaster walls, a tall ceiling above my head, and a foul vomit odor permeated the room. The ceiling had several surface cracks from aging and decay. Where was this?I tried to get up, but I could not because my legs were tied to the chair I was sitting on and my wrists were bound behind me.I almost let out an exasperated groan until my gaze was drawn to Enzo, who was equally tied to a chair with both hands and legs. His head was lowered, indicating that he was still unconscious. “Enzo," I called, hoping he would wake up, but I got no response. "Enz-" I began again but was cut off when the door slammed open with a loud cracking sound, revealing a man in a suit walking in with

[ANASTASIA'S POINT OF VIEW]I had no idea where we were, but I pulled over to the side of the road, jumped out of the driver's seat, and opened the door to the passenger's seat, where Enzo was still conscious...fortunately. As soon as I sat down next to him, I undo his shirt's buttons, revealing the messy stabbed wound on the side of his stomach. I stifled a violent shudder at the gruesome sight of it, “This is going to hurt.” I muttered as I reached for the first-aid kit.“Get on with it, doll. This is nothing," he declared, and I assumed he was joking. However, his face evinced no signs of pain as I started to clean the parched and fresh blood off the wound, and his expression remained blank as I continued to clean it with alcohol. I was almost tempted to press hard on the wound in the hopes that he would feel more human, but he was still a human, despite how good he was at masking the pain and giving the world an air of nonchalance.I helped him take off his bloody shirt before st