by Bella J.
“Vadik, I swear to God. If you hurt her—”
“What then?” He stilled his eyes, his face, his fucking smile mocking me. “What are you going to do about it, Valenti heir?”
My skin burned, the ropes eating away at my flesh. “I’ll fucking gut you from nose to navel.” For a moment, his blue eyes remained pinned on me before he started to laugh like a fucking maniac. Karina moaned through her gag, also desperately trying to free herself while she stared at Doe in horror.
Doe didn’t look up. It didn’t even seem like she noticed me or Karina. I had never experienced rage the way I did now. It consumed me. It felt like a giant volcano threatening to erupt and leave nothing but chaos in its wake. But the worst part. It hurt. It fucking hurt seeing Doe like this. The way her head remained downcast, all defeated, she seemed empty. Ruined. As if she had given up.
“Doe. Doe, listen to me. You fight. You hear me? You fucking fight. Don’t give up.”
“Save your breath.” Vadik sneered. “She really didn’t have a lot in her to fight with. Once I placed that collar around her neck, it was like a fucking switch.”
Karina started to cry, and the sound cut up my spine like glass.
“Vadik, you sick fuck. You let them go. Let both of them go.”
He laughed. “There’s a chance I might let your pretty sister go, but you and Nessuno—you’re going nowhere. As I’m sure you’re aware, Nessuno has something of mine. Something I can’t afford to part with.”
The chip. The motherfucking chip.
“You can take it out of her. Then you can let her go.”
He feigned a look of thought. “This is true. I could take it out, let her go. But that wouldn’t be any fun, now, would it?” He straightened his shoulders then scowled at Doe still on hands and knees. She didn’t even move when the chip was mentioned. It was like she was there, but wasn’t. Just by looking at her, I knew she was back to compartmentalizing. Vadik was right. It was like a switch, only…she switched off from reality, retreating to the farthest corner of her mind. All these weeks of trying to let her see her own strength, this fucker came and ruined it with a simple goddamn collar. The necklace I gave her wasn’t around her neck. She had no weapon. No way of fighting back.
Vadik gave me a sideways look, then back down at Doe. “Stand, pet,” he ordered. And true as fuck, Doe stood from the floor, straightening.
I no longer had a heart. I no longer had air in my lungs. All I had was pain as I watched in horror how easily Doe obeyed him. Her master.
“You see, Valenti heir. You might have enjoyed her for a while, thought you made her yours. But the truth is, she’s still mine. And always will be.”
“Doe,” I said softly. “Look at me. Look at me, Doe.”
Nothing. Not even a flinch.
“Fuck!” I screamed, pulling at the ropes around my wrists so goddamn hard, I clenched my jaw and felt sweat bead on my forehead. “Goddamn you, Vadik!”
He laughed. Karina cried. I screamed. And Doe remained silent.
“Now, to get back on topic.” Vadik let go of the gold chain, letting it hang down Doe’s naked breasts. “I think it’s time our little doll finds out the truth about her, how shall I put it…heritage?”
“Fuck you!” I growled.
Vadik launched forward and slapped me across the face with the back of his hand. It stung but didn’t hurt as much as the sight of Doe being humiliated.
I tasted blood as my head jerked to the side, the sound of his assault resonating around the room. But then, Doe moved. She looked up and right at me, her dark eyes alert, yet scared. Our gazes locked, and everything around me faded to black. It was just us, Doe and me. It was only a second, but it felt like forever—the moment we looked into each other’s eyes.
Vadik started to turn back around, and Doe’s gaze dropped to the floor again, as if she had never moved. But relief flowed through me like a goddamn river of hope. She wasn’t compartmentalizing. She was here, in this room—with us.
She was still my Doe.
Chapter 20
Doe
No one knew Vadik as well as I did. If there was ever someone who had a direct line to his mind, it was me. I knew if I kept defying him, if I kept fighting him, he would only keep retaliating harder, more fiercely. There was no end to his cruelty, and if I had any chance at winning this war with him, I had to play the part. I had to do everything I could to keep him from feeling threatened because if he did, we would have no chance of surviving the devil within him.
It was easy to pretend, especially after he placed the collar around my neck. It felt familiar—too familiar—and playing the part of his slave came naturally. For years, I obeyed him. For years, I acted the way he demanded of me. It was the only way to protect myself. But now I wasn’t doing it for me. I was doing it for them—Antonio and Karina. The risk had never been this high, and there was no margin for error. But when Vadik slapped Antonio, I forgot my role and looked up. The ache that spread through my chest was too great, and in that moment, all I wanted to do was rip Vadik apart.
Our gazes locked, and for a second, Antonio and I stared at each other. It was only a moment, but it was all I needed to make him see, to make him understand. And he did. I saw it in his eyes, the recognition…the hope. With one simple look, the connection between Antonio and me sparked, and it was all we needed. That, and a little faith.
Vadik turned, and I looked down. My heart was beating inside my throat, my stomach feeling as if it had been turned inside out.
“I think it’s time our little girl found out who her real father is…well, was.”
My eyes remained downcast.
“So, are you going to tell her, or should I?” I heard him ask, and my curiosity piqued. My father? Did they know who my real father was?
“Don’t do this, Vadik,” Antonio pleaded. “She doesn’t need to know.”
“You’re right,” Vadik replied. “She doesn’t need to know, but does she want to know? Let’s find out, shall we?”
My chest tightened.
“Nessuno, look at me.”
I didn’t hesitate. Not for a second. I lifted my head, staring straight at the devil who had kept me prisoner in his hell for so long. My hate for him only intensified as I stared into the blue pits of his soulless eyes.
“Would you like to know who your real father was? And take note in me using the word was. But we’ll get to that shortly.”
“Jesus. Stop, Vadik.” From the corner of my eye, I saw Antonio struggle. Blood was smeared over the skin of his wrists as he tried to free himself.
Vadik kept my gaze. “Do you want to know, Nessuno?”
It was a trick question. I knew that. Even if I didn’t want to know, the right answer was yes. It was the answer Vadik wanted, so I nodded.
“Thought so.” Vadik turned to look at Antonio. “I think you should tell her. No, wait…let me.”
Up and down he paced, the keys to my cage and collar swinging around and around his fingers. “I’m sure since you’ve spent the last few weeks with the Valentis, you’ve heard the name Mancuso before?”
There it was again. That name. The name of the man Antonio told me was their enemy.
I nodded.
Vadik continued to pace. “Good. Okay, so let’s make this real easy. Why don’t you tell her what her name is?” He faced Antonio. “Her full name.”
Antonio looked my way, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking back at him. Vadik was too preoccupied with his theatric bullshit to notice.
“Tell her!” Vadik yelled, and it sent a jolt of fear down my spine.
Antonio’s eyes grew sad, the grooves on his forehead telling me how hard this was for him. All I wanted to do was run to him, to throw my arms around him. I didn’t care about the truth, about the fact that he knew who my father was. The night at the beach I told him I trusted him—and I did. So, I knew he had to have had a good reason why he never told me who my real father was.
But Antonio mad
e a mistake—a mistake no one could afford to make when it came to Vadik. He hesitated.
I heard the familiar sound of Vadik’s folding cane, and then I felt the burn. It took all my strength not to fall to the ground, the skin on my thighs seared by his cane. I bit my tongue, desperate not to scream from the pain. But Antonio did. He screamed. “Stop! You motherfucker!”
And then I felt another lash, just above my knees. This time, my legs faltered, the agony of my burnt flesh almost sending me to the ground. But I righted myself, still biting my tongue, tasting my own blood.
Vadik held out his cane, placing the tip just below Antonio’s chin. “I suggest you start doing as you’re told, and you show me some motherfucking respect.”
Antonin’s jaw ticked, and I saw the anger in his eyes as he glared at Vadik.
“Now, tell her, her real fucking name,” Vadik bit out between clenched teeth. “Or I swear to God I’ll beat her until she bleeds.”
“Alessia,” Antonio said without hesitating this time. “Alessia Mancuso. Just don’t fucking hurt her.”
Vadik let out a squeal like the fucking maniac he was. He turned to me. “You hear that, Nessuno? You’re the daughter of loverboy’s enemy. Talk about a modern Romeo and Juliet tale. But,” Vadik held up his hand, “that’s not the best part. Tell her the best part, Valenti heir.”
I wanted to look at Antonio. With every fiber of my being, I wanted to look into his eyes while I listened to the truth falling from his lips. But even now I was too aware of the risk.
“Jesus,” Antonio cursed, and Vadik pulled his cane into the air, aiming at me. I closed my eyes, anticipating the blow, when Antonio cried out, “It was him!”
I opened my eyes, and Vadik held his cane in mid-air. “Go on.”
Antonio let out a breath. “It was him. He was the man who came for you that night. The man you thought rescued you.”
Tears stung the back of my eyes, the truth hurting more than I ever thought possible. I wanted to look at Antonio so badly, it took every ounce of strength I had not to.
“And?” Vadik urged, and now I wished Antonio would hesitate. I would rather endure Vadik’s cane than listen to the rest of what Vadik was forcing Antonio to tell.
Antonio screamed. Hard. Loud. The agony echoing in his cry. “It was him,” he cried, and I could hear the pain in his voice. It felt like a million pieces of glass sliced through my heart, tearing it to pieces. I couldn’t fight it anymore. I looked at him. I wanted to see Antonio’s eyes. His face while the truth knocked the wind right out of me. “It was him…Alessia,” Antonio continued softly, our gazes locked. “It was your father, my enemy, who sold you into the hell you’ve been living for so long.”
I swallowed, tears rolling down my cheeks.
My own father. My own father was behind my mother’s murder and the one who ruined my life. That was why the name sounded so familiar. It was a name I heard my mother say in the past, only a few times. But I never knew the name belonged to my father. I never knew how important that name was to me…until now.
Antonio’s face turned hard, his eyes dark and heavy with hatred. “I killed him. I killed Stefano Mancuso. I took my motherfucking knife and I tore it through his skull.” Every word he spoke was laced with disgust, revulsion, and there was no trace of remorse, no sign that he regretted killing…my father.
I leaned my head to the side, the sorrow I felt spreading to the marrow of my bones.
My own father.
“He was a bastard, Doe,” Antonio continued. “Mancuso was a fucker who didn’t deserve to breathe. And I don’t regret killing him. I would do it again in a fucking heartbeat.”
Karina whimpered from where she sat on her knees next to Antonio. When I looked at her I saw tears streaming down her face, black mascara smeared across her cheeks. This had all gone far enough. No one should suffer any further because of me.
“Let her go,” I whispered.
Vadik snapped his head in my direction. “What did you say?”
“I said let her go.”
Vadik walked closer, so close I could smell the familiar stench of vodka on his breath. “How dare you talk out of place?”
I met his glare, not cowering away this time. “Let Karina go, and I won’t fight you.”
He snorted. “Fight me? You can never fight me.”
“I can. And I will. I will fight you until my dying breath. I will defy you every chance I get, no matter what you do to me.”
“Doe, don’t,” Antonio pleaded, but I ignored him.
“If you let Karina go, I swear I won’t ever try to fight you. I’ll be the most obedient goddamn pet you’ve ever had, the perfect puppet. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
Vadik’s light brown brows slanted inward. “You’ll be the perfect puppet no matter what, Nessuno.”
I shook my head. “If you hurt her, I’ll destroy it.”
His face remained stoic. “Destroy what?”
I raised my chin, leaning my face closer to his, biting out the words. “Whatever the fuck it is that you put inside me.”
Seconds passed. He didn’t look away, and neither did I. See, he thought I had retreated into myself earlier. That I wasn’t aware of what the hell was going on around me. But I was. And I heard it. I heard him and Antonio talking about how I had something of Vadik’s, how Antonio told him he could take it out of me. I managed to put it all together, getting all the puzzle pieces to slide into place.
I remembered a conversation Vadik had with the plastic surgeon when they operated on my mutilated ear. I remembered Vadik asking the doctor if it was secure and safe. I didn’t know what it was back then, and frankly, I didn’t care. There was just too much pain, too much humiliation knowing I had been injured and maimed for life. But the doctor confirmed it was well hidden underneath the skin…my skin. I just never thought about it until now since it was something I had compartmentalized. The memory of how I had my goddamn ear sliced off wasn’t something I liked to think about.
Vadik licked his lips, and I could practically see all the vile images playing off inside his head. “You don’t even know what it is.”
“I know it’s something worth a shitload to you.”
He continued to look me in the eye, and I scraped together every ounce of courage I had not to look away. Seconds of silence turned into eternity, and with my shoulders squared, I tried my best to let my determination show. My defiance. I no longer feared his retaliation. I would gladly embrace hell if it meant saving Karina, and hopefully Antonio as well.
Vadik lifted a hand, and I wanted to cower away, expecting a blow. But I continued to hold my head high.
He snapped his fingers, and the moron who stood by watching from the other side of the room rushed forward.
“Yes, sir?”
Without breaking eye contact, Vadik said, “Take the Valenti girl. Make sure she gets to the harbor…safely.”
The stone expression on my face didn’t falter even though relief slowly spread through me. My skin was damp, sweat slipping down my naked back.
Antonio watched as the guy helped Karina to her feet. “If you hurt her, I’ll cut off your balls. You hear me?”
The guy snarled then escorted Karina out of the room. The door closed behind him, the sound making me aware that now it was just the three of us.
Vadik. Antonio. Me.
And the reality was that there was a slim to none chance that all three of us would walk out of here alive.
Vadik’s head tilted, his eyes studying my face. “I have to say, my dear Nessuno, I do love this new fight you have.” He lifted his hand, dragging a finger along my jaw. “It’s going to be fun breaking you. All. Over. Again.”
“Vadik!” Antonio demanded. “Take your hands off her.”
The smile that tugged at the corners of Vadik’s mouth sent a chill down my spine. The way his blue eyes darkened, his eyebrows knitted. I’d seen this look on his face so many times before—a foreboding of what was to come.
<
br /> With a sly grin, he glanced over his shoulder at Antonio. “Take my hands off her?” He moved around me, stilling by my back. The second his hands touched my shoulders, I shuddered. Slowly, with purpose, he dragged his fingers across my skin, down my arms. “Why would I ever want to stop touching such a pretty flower like this one?”
“Vadik,” Antonio warned. But he didn’t stop. Vadik continued to touch me, brushing fingertips over my skin. It was like insects crawling all over my flesh, my body rejecting the touch. I swallowed hard when his hands came back up as Vadik placed his chin on my shoulder, peeking down. “I always thought she had the most beautiful tits. Don’t you, Valenti heir?”
As he finally palmed my breasts, I gagged. Bile was crawling up my throat, the urge to vomit almost uncontrollable. My jaw clenched, tears stinging my eyes, threatening to show weakness.
Antonio roared like a demon-possessed animal. “Stop!”
But Vadik just continued the show by rubbing my nipples between his fingers. All I could do was keep my eyes on Antonio. I watched as his anger morphed into helplessness—his rage turning into desperation. He was such a powerful man. Strong. Resilient. The epitome of confidence. But right now, Antonio Valenti was defenseless. Vulnerable. Seeing the man I love so powerless hurt more than enduring the humiliation of Vadik’s touch.
It was excruciating.
“Do you know how many times I’ve had these in my mouth?” Vadik continued before pinching my nipples, causing me to groan. His touch was like poison, a disease infecting me little by little. “I’ve sucked and bitten these nipples almost every time I fucked her.”
“Stop it,” Antonio demanded between clenched teeth.
Vadik let go of my breasts, and I took a breath, but the second his hands moved down my stomach, I bit my bottom lip. It was agony, torture, having his hands on my body. And having Antonio witnessing it, the way Vadik slowly defiled my body, I never wanted to die as much as I did right that very moment.
Vadik’s hand dipped between my legs, and a tear slipped down my cheek when he dragged a finger through my slit.