Lahat ng Kabanata ng Switched at the Mafia Auction: Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

~ Avelyn ~Since I signed up for this, I should live through this. I told myself. I wanted it quick and done with but Xander had other plans. I could tell he enjoyed the thrill of the moment like a predator savoring his prey before consuming it whole. As expected, his hands didn’t spare me any dignity as his fingers slowly ran down my right hand, leaving goosebumps trails that mocked me. I didn’t move an inch, the heat emanating from his body was enough to ground me in place. All I tried to do was stable my heaving chest while his hot breaths fanned my nape from behind. With his palm gripping my shoulders he leaned in and planted a kiss in the dip of my neck. I found myself closing my eyes instinctively as his lips lingered, grazing in a slow torturous motion as though any moment from now he would grow fangs and bite my neck off. He didn’t. His mouth grew hungrier, steal more kisses faster than I could breathe. I flinched the moment the wetness of his tongue touched me. I could t

— Xander —The call came before the sun cleared the estate walls.Dominic was already in the study when I arrived, tablet resting against his forearm, posture straight, expression neutral. He waited until I took my seat. He always did. The men who survived around me learned patience early.“Kyle moved again overnight,” he said. “West corridor. Roman territory.”I didn’t react. I poured coffee instead, slow, deliberate.“So they’re still hiding him,” I said. “That means he’s bleeding.”Dominic nodded. “He is. The gunshot wasn’t clean. He collapsed twice during relocation.”Good.Pain made people careless.“How long before they realize keeping him costs more than trading him?” I asked.Dominic glanced down at the screen. “They already know. They’re just deciding who they want to anger more. You, or their own allies.”“They’ll choose wrong,” I said calmly.I reached for the phone on the desk and dialed without announcing the number. The council liked to pretend hierarchy existed among us

~ Avelyn ~I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving and that alone felt like rebellion.The mansion had always to felt like a sealed box and I was sick of how quiet and controlled it was. Every step watched even when no one was visibly present. Since the title shift, the rules had loosened in appearance, but I wasn’t naïve enough to think that meant freedom. It only meant the leash had gotten longer.I dressed carefully. A black turtleneck that brushed my jaw. Long sleeves. Thick pants. Clothes meant to hide everything I didn’t want seen and everything I didn’t want explained. My reflection looked calm enough. My body didn’t feel calm at all.The collar marks along my neck burned faintly beneath the fabric. My wrists were tender. My lower back ached every time I shifted my weight. There were places I didn’t even want to think about yet. Sitting was uncomfortable. Walking took effort. Breathing too deeply reminded me of things I wasn’t ready to replay.I could have called a doctor. Could’ve

~ Avelyn ~They didn’t call an ambulance.I realized that the moment Ariana was lifted into the back seat of one of Xander’s cars instead of a stretcher. Blood had already been wiped. Guns were gone. Bodies stayed behind like they never mattered. Someone shut the warehouse doors as if closing a chapter instead of a crime scene.Police would come. Eventually.But not before we were gone.Ariana was unconscious, her head tilted awkwardly against the leather seat, her breathing shallow but steady. One of Xander’s men pressed a cloth to her mouth and nose, murmuring instructions into a phone. I didn’t understand the words, just the urgency.I rode in a different car.Of course I did.Xander didn’t follow either of us. He gave orders, short and final, then disappeared into the night like this was just another mess he had already finished cleaning.That hurt more than I wanted to admit.The drive to the hospital blurred. Streetlights streaked past the window. My hands shook in my lap, stai

~ Avelyn ~I found out the island was real when the helicopter dipped low enough for me to see it.It looked surreal, green, untouched and almost arrogant in how beautiful it was.Mine.Glaring back at my terrible decisions, the one I’d bought on impulse months ago, during one of those rare moments when money felt unreal and consequences felt far away. A private listing. Clean paperwork. My name alone on the deed. I’d never visited it. Never even planned to. It had been nothing more than a reckless yes signed in ink.Now Xander was bringing me here like it had always been part of the plan.The helicopter blades thundered above us, drowning out thought. I sat stiffly across from him, my hands folded in my lap because I didn’t know what else to do with them. My body still felt hollow from the hospital. From Ariana’s face. From the way the doctor’s words had landed and never left.Xander didn’t look at me once during the descent.That was worse than if he had, I could tell he was still s