All Chapters of My Son’s Girlfriend Locked Me In the Basement: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

1

Elara had just graduated middle school—top of her class, sharp as a whip and twice as headstrong. To celebrate, I planned a small getaway: just the three of us. Me, my husband Dominic, and our daughter basking under the Bermuda sun, pretending—for a few days—that the world was soft and safe.When we returned, I suggested we stop by the Hale for dinner with Cassian. My son. The one I hadn’t seen in nearly a month. He was running the family’s casino now, carrying the weight of our name on his shoulders like he was born for it.Dominic begged off. Said he was tired, needed rest. So it was just me and Elara who made the detour.The Hale had never been my scene. Crowded. Flashy. Thick with money and danger. Even after marrying into a mafia family, I never quite grew used to the shadows it cast. But motherhood has a way of softening your fear. And I missed my son.We had barely stepped through the casino’s polished glass doors when a girl appeared—like smoke. Short dress. Heavy eyeliner. Con

2

Just as the panic started to crawl beneath my skin, the door creaked open again. Lila sauntered in, no longer pretending to play nice.She spotted the phone still in my grip—I hadn’t had time to hide it—and let out a low, mocking chuckle. “Bitch,” she hissed, “you really thought you could call him?”I said nothing. My arm curled protectively around Elara.“He’s upstairs, you know. Entertaining some big-time clients. Even if you did reach him, he wouldn’t bother coming down here just for you. And guess what—I already told him some desperate bitch was trying to cause trouble at Hale. He told me to handle it.”She pulled something from her pocket and held it up—letting it catch the dim overhead light.A diamond ring.No. The ring.The Hale heirloom. Passed from Cassian’s great-great-grandfather down through the generations. Worn only by the women destined to carry the family name.Now glinting coldly on her finger.“This is our engagement ring,” she sneered. “Cassian gave it to me. Did yo

3

My stomach sank.Goddamn it. I’d meant it as a surprise.I should’ve gone to his office. I never should’ve trusted her.Her hand came down hard across my face—another slap, sharp and blinding.She hissed. “You two—watch the bitch. If she so much as breathes funny, shoot her.”And just like that, she vanished through the door.Silence.I looked down at Elara. Her skin was ghost-pale, her pulse weak under my fingertips. Her breathing was shallow, too shallow.Panic clawed at my chest.No phone. No way out.And even if Cassian realized something was wrong… it might already be too late. …The door slammed open not long after, the kind of violent push that made the walls tremble.A man walked in—broad shoulders, tangled beard, and the kind of eyes that gleamed with something foul. Lila’s dad, I assumed.He drawled, sweeping a leering gaze over me. “So this is the bitch trying to steal my daughter’s boyfriend?”Lila followed behind him like a queen triumphant, pointing at me with a venomous

4

I reached for her.Her skin was cold. Her lips had lost their color. Her chest wasn’t rising.My daughter. My baby. The girl who just this morning had talked about high school, and what dress she’d wear to her first dance.Gone.I stared at her. My breath caught in my throat, a scream too big to form.Everything inside me shattered.I stood slowly. Numb. Empty. Then rage filled the cracks.I lunged.My hands wrapped around Lila’s throat, driving her back into the wall.“You killed her!” I screamed. “I told you—I was Cassian’s mother! Why wouldn’t you just believe me? Give her back! GIVE HER BACK!”Lila gasped, her face turning a violent shade of purple. My fingers locked tighter. I wanted her gone.And then—crack.Pain exploded in the back of my skull. The world tilted.Lila’s dad had hit me at the head.I crumpled to the ground, the floor rising to meet me in slow motion. My ears rang. My limbs wouldn’t move.“Damn,” Lila wheezed, coughing, “crazy bitch almost choked me to death.”“Wh

5

Lila didn’t answer Cassian right away. But her face twitched.I saw the panic behind her eyes—the exact fear she’d confessed earlier. That Cassian would lose his mind if someone died down here. And I could tell she was already scrambling to figure out how to clean up her mess.How to take me out of the picture… before Cassian found out.That would be my only chance to escape.Her voice came through gritted teeth, barely managing to sound casual as she lifted the walkie-talkie. “Yeah, right. I finished up with that whore, but now some bastard’s trying to ditch his debt. I’ve got him down here. Bit of a mess. But don’t worry, babe—I won’t do anything too crazy.”Cassian’s voice crackled back through the static. “Got it. Do you want to grab dinner later?”Lila’s voice changed instantly—honeyed, saccharine sweet. “That sounds so good, baby.”“And maybe we stop by the mall,” Cassian added. “I need to buy a gift.”A gift. My chest ached.It was for Elara. It had to be. My sweet girl had been

6

Her dad practically ran.The next second, Lila stalked toward me, steps wild, eyes alight with madness. “Bitch, you are finally going to die! The casino will be mine. Cassian will be mine. Everything—mine!”Her voice echoed off the basement walls like a scream.And then—a bang.Loud. Sharp. From upstairs.“Lila?” It was Cassian’s voice.“My guard just told me you brought your dad here again. Why?”Lila stammered. “It’s nothing! My dad’s helping me punish a guy who skipped payment, that’s all.”Another pause.Then Cassian again, voice low and cutting. “Open the door, Lila.”The banging on the door grew louder. Faster.Then—crack.The door swung open, kicked wide by Cassian himself.Lila spun around and blocked me with her body. “Cassian! You scared me. Are you done with your meeting already?”“Move,” Cassian said, coldly. “I’ll only say this once.” Lila stepped aside, and finally, Cassian was standing in front of me.He didn’t recognize me at first.His gaze flicked over my bloodied bod

7

A short while later, the door burst open.Lila was dragged in by two of Cassian’s bodyguards, “How dare you treat me like this!” she shrieked. “I’m Cassian’s girlfriend. The future Mrs. Hale! I own this fucking family and you drag me like some common criminal?!”She spotted Cassian—and froze.“Cassian?” Her voice faltered. “What is this? Why am I here? What’s going on?”Cassian didn’t answer.He just strode across the room and slapped her. Hard.She gasped, holding her cheek, stunned. “What the hell—how dare you slap me, Cassian?!”“Maybe you can tell me, Lila,” he snarled. “Have you done anything behind my back today? Anything… awful?”She turned, finally noticing me—lying in the hospital bed, an IV in my arm, bandages on my face.“You brought her here?” she spat. “That bitch? Cassian, you felt bad for her? Are you kidding me?”She moved toward me in a blind rage. “I should’ve finished you when I had the chance—”Cassian grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back. “Enough!”His voice

8

A week later, I was discharged from the hospital.Dominic didn’t ask me about Elara. I knew Cassian must had already told him everything—and taken the brunt of the blame from his father for failing to protect us.Dominic was colder than Cassian. More ruthless. And yet, this powerful, untouchable man had red-rimmed eyes when he walked into my room.“Seraphina,” he murmured, gathering me into his arms. “It’s my fault. If I’d agreed to go with you… If I had just gone to dinner—”I rested my cheek against his chest, listening to the steady thud of a heart that had never let anyone close but me. “It’s not your fault, Dominic.”He stroked my back in silence. Then, quietly, “How do you want us to handle her?”He meant himself and Cassian. The Hale men, unstoppable when united, were ready to strike.But I shook my head.“No,” I whispered. “Let me do it. I want to be the one to end it.”Dominic looked at me—really looked—and something shifted in his gaze.I’d never been this cold before.In our

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