Chapter 66 Chapter 66
I stood frozen in the dark; the only thing lighting the room was the silvery light of the moon, which stole its way through the spaces in some of the stacked crates.
My hands reached out, grappling only with air. Had Damien left thinking I was right behind him? My throat suddenly felt dry, and every courage I had worked with until now suddenly disappeared, giving way to the crippling sensation of dread.
Fear grabbed me by the neck, paralyzing my whole body. I weighed my options, eyes darting between where Alexander stood, facing me, and the open door of the warehouse just several feet from where I stood.
"You can only run so far." A familiar voice chuckled before a bag came over my face, and I was plunged into complete darkness.
The sound of my heavy breathing was the only thing I could hear when I woke up. From what I could tell, I was seated in a chair, and my hands were tightly tied behind my back.
The horrible stench from the bag blocked out my senses, and it was hard to cite where exactly they had taken me. Suddenly, the bag was pulled off my head, and a blinding light assaulted my eyes.
"If it isn't the little mouse." Alexander's voice lulled, as if toying with a prey he was about to make into his meal.
His large frame shielded the light, blinding me for a quick second, and immediately, a slap landed across my face. Blood trickled down the side of my lips, and I tasted it
"Did you really think you could betray me and go Scot free?" He asked. I looked up at him. It was already over, but I prayed silently that it wasn't.
That somehow Damien had noticed I was missing early enough and would come for me like he always did, but there was no assurance of that.
"Damien is going to find me," I whispered, even though a great part of me feared that it was a lie.
"Damien? The same man I warned you about? You just never learn." Alexander laughed, and another voice echoed his sentiment. I turned to the side to see who it was, and the figure stepped into the light, revealing a shock I never expected.
Victor and Alexander were working together. "Told you she never learns," Victor said, grinning devilishly at me.
"Victor? It was all a plan? You two were working together all this time?"
"Well, welcome to our world, Lisa. Here, the best alliances thrive. You should have taken my offer when you had the chance." He whispered into my ear.
Ice cold chills showered my spine, as air from nowhere bathed my skin, awakening goosebumps on it.
"What? Are you shocked? Well, you shouldn't be." Victor mocked and taunted me.
"You and Damien must have really thought you had it figured out, didn't you?" He laughed.
"You really are a monster. How could you betray him again?" I murmured, absolutely frazzled with the constant merry-go-round. Nobody was a fraction trustworthy, I knew this by now.
"Well, betrayal is something that is very conditioned. I'll leave you to your plight now." Victor winked at me as he walked out of the room. Yelling the word Coward say at the verge of my tongue, but I was too scared and weary to say anything.
"This is the last time I will give you an option, Lisa. Take it or leave it. Damien is a monster. A beast of a man. Hell, we are all monsters!" Alexander said in a dangerous tone now. Two bodyguards entered the room, and panic rose to my throat.
"Damien is not a monster. He's a better man than you ever were." I replied, glaring at Alexander from underneath my lashes.
"And you chose to believe that. I made him. Do you think a man sits on the Mafia throne without a spirit of brutality, vengeance, and blood? Then you really have a lot to learn about the world you are in."
"The man you call innocent, the man you call decent, is conditioned. He is the man who betrayed everybody to sit on the throne!"
My heart beat accelerated, time seemed to pause, and a dangerous whirring sound echoed in my head at the accusations I feared were true.
This war, this world, Damien Paulo, Antonio, Victor, nothing about this world was innocent. What made me think that Damien was any different? I knew Damien could be ruthless, but he never killed or hurt anybody who did not trample on him first.
"Did he tell you why Victor hates him so much?" He asked. I snapped my head up, boring laser glares into his head.
"Does the name Aria sound familiar to you? Ever heard of it?"
I frowned at him, without responding.
"Oh, I see, this must be new to you. Well, Damien was responsible for the death of Victor's family, his father, and his younger sister, Aria. A very beautiful girl whom Damien claimed he loved and swore to protect. Damien is a monster."
No, no, no, no, I couldn't hear anymore. Not again, not after all this time. Not after everything we had been through. I was depending on him to save me.
"Every single person Damien ever claimed he loved died. He either betrays them or they die trying so hard to remain a part of his life. Take a book from Maria. She had nothing to do with this war, but Damien's evil past took her life."
The mention of Maria's name had me raging from within. Her death was Victor's fault. She had nothing to do with this stupid war. Why did innocent people have to pay the price for loyalty?
"You were never meant to be in the picture, but Damien dragged you into it. How much can he love you if he keeps you close enough to make you a target?
He was right. How much of the lies and treachery could I handle? How much of this running and chasing could one person really take?
Nonetheless, I had been in this world long enough to know when I was being manipulated, despite what was true and what was not. So, I kept a straight face, masking my emotions so that he would not know that his words had the expected effect.
"Well, it's just sad that you're in too deep now." Alexander chuckled, cracked his knuckles, and I looked up, heart beating rapidly in trepidation and anticipation of what torture lay ahead for me.
Suddenly, the door to wherever we were was kicked in forcefully.