Chapter 98 Something like hate
Lina’s POV
The torture lasted the entire day. At some point the hours stopped feeling like hours. Time dissolved into sounds.
Metal striking flesh. Chains shifting. Heavy breathing. And that awful laugh.
Silvio Lacentra still refused to break. Even when his voice grew hoarse, even when the blows became harder, even when blood began to stain the floor beneath the chair, he still laughed.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just that same dry, mocking sound that scraped against the walls and made my stomach twist every single time.
Once… just once… I thought I saw a crack, a crack in his facade.
When his head dipped slightly forward after a particularly brutal hit. His breathing changed. His jaw tightened. For a second I thought this is it. The moment he breaks.
But then he lifted his head again.
And smiled.
By evening his face barely looked human anymore. One eye had begun swelling shut, dark bruises spreading across his cheekbone, his lower lip split open. Blood streaked the collar of his ruined shirt. Cuts in his body were visible.
Still… he said nothing. Not one plea. Not one confession. Just silence. Or laughter.
I couldn’t take it.
The smell in the room had turned unbearable, iron, sweat, something sour that made my stomach churn violently.
The first time I threw up, it happened so suddenly I barely made it to the bathroom.
The second time was worse.
By the third time, my body felt like it didn’t belong to me anymore. Everywhere in my body felt weak. My hands trembled. My knees wouldn’t stop shaking.
When they finally stopped the torture for the day, Silvio didn’t even collapse. They had to unchain him and drag him into his wheelchair before wheeling him out of the room.
He passed by me as they moved him toward door to another place.
For a moment his swollen eye opened slightly. And he looked at me. Then he smirked. Even after he was… beaten nearly into unconsciousness… he still smirked.
It sent a cold shiver down my spine.
The door closed behind them.
Silence swallowed the room again.
I sat there on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing, trying not to breathe too deeply because the smell made my stomach turn again.
My head spun.
Everything felt wrong. It didn't just fee wrong, it was indeed wrong.
Completely wrong.
After a while, minutes, hours, I had no idea, but I heard voices outside.
One of the guards mentioned something that made me blink in confusion.
Pathy.
“Ma’am Pathy is alive,” someone muttered. “She ust passed out from the beating.”
My stomach twisted again—but this time in a good way. So Kailen hadn’t killed her. That knowledge should have relieved me. But strangely… it didn’t. Because after everything I had seen today, I wasn’t sure if alive was better.
The door creaked open suddenly.
I turned sluggishly, my movements slow and heavy, to see who it was.
Damien.
He stepped inside carrying a metal tray. For a moment, I simply stared at him. When Pathy and I had tried to escape earlier… I hadn’t seen him anywhere.
“Where have you been all day?” I asked, my voice hoarse from dryness. My curiosity slipped out before I could stop it.
Damien didn’t answer.
He walked across the room and placed the tray on the small table near the bed. Then he looked at me.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, his hand going into his pocket
“It was very stupid of you,” he said casually, “and ma’am Pathy… to think you could leave without Boss Kailen knowing.”
My jaw tightened. “You were watching us?”
Damien chuckled softly. “Watching?” he repeated. “No.”
He leaned slightly closer.
“We were waiting. Boss Kailen knew she was trying to do something fishy.”
The words made my stomach drop. He took his hand out of his pocket and nudged the tray toward me.
“Eat.”
I looked down at the food.
A small portion of rice. Some bland-looking stew. A cup of water. Simple. The kind of meal you’d give someone just to keep them alive.
“We’re moving out of here tomorrow,” Damien added.
My head lifted slightly. “Moving where?”
He was already walking toward the door. “You don't ask questions.” He said, walking out, the door lock clicked shut behind him without another word.
I stared at the tray again.
The smell wasn’t good. Actually… it smelled horrible. But the hunger that twisted inside my stomach was worse. It felt like every meal I had eaten yesterday had vanished completely. Like my body had burned through everything.
My hands trembled as I picked up the spoon.
I ate it anyway. Every bite tasted awful. But I kept eating. Because hunger was stronger than pride.
When the tray was empty, exhaustion finally crashed over me.
I lay back slowly on the bed. The moment my eyes closed— I saw him.
Carlino.
His image appeared in my mind so vividly it almost felt real.
That tall, powerful body wrapped in a perfectly tailored suit that looked like it had been made specifically to worship his frame. Piercings glinted in both ears. His dark hair—thick, styled effortlessly. And those eyes.
God.
Those eyes.
The most dangerously seductive eyes I had ever seen.
Even with that cold, unreadable expression he always wore… nothing could dull the striking beauty he carried so effortlessly.
A beauty that didn’t beg for attention. It commanded it.
I hated him. I should hate him. But as I lay there staring into the darkness, another thought crept quietly into my mind.
Did I really?
Did I actually hate him?
Or something felt something… close to it?
The question lingered.
I searched inside myself for an answer. But I found nothing. Just confusion. And exhaustion.
And eventually sleep dragged me under.
\~~~
Morning light crept into the room through a narrow window. I tossed restlessly on the bed. My head pounded. It felt like someone had taken a hammer and was slowly smashing it against my skull. I groaned softly and pressed my fingers against my temples.
“What’s happening to me…” I muttered weakly. My thoughts spiraled.
Just as I forced myself to sit up—
The door clicked open.
Damien stepped inside.
“Up,” he said. His voice was sharp. “We’re moving.”
I wanted to protest. Ask questions. Demand answers. But the throbbing pain in my head swallowed the words before they could escape.
I slowly stood and followed him outside. The cool air hit my face instantly. Outside, several vehicles were already waiting. And two familiar figures stayed near one of them. And the third figure was already inside.
Kailen.
Malder.
And Silvio.
Silvio was already at the back of the car.
His face looked even worse in the daylight. Bruised, swollen, one eye nearly closed. Yet when his gaze lifted and met mine—
He held an unmistakable look that his son always had.
My stomach twisted.
“Stop looking and get in,” Kailen barked. His voice snapped through the air like a whip.
I flinched slightly.
“Damien,” Kailen added without looking away from me. “Take Pathy back to the kids.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Move,” Kailen ordered me again.
I didn’t.
My feet stayed planted.
His gaze hardened instantly. “Get in the car,” he said coldly.
“What if I don’t?” The words slipped out.
For a moment the air went still. Then Kailen stepped closer. “Then you’ll be punished,” His voice lowered.
Something in his tone made my spine stiffen. I held his gaze for a few seconds longer. Then… I got into the car.
Kailen and Malder followed.
The door slammed shut.
\~~~
The drive felt endless.
Eventually we reached a secluded area filled with towering stacks of shipping containers. Rows and rows of them. Cold. Industrial. Empty.
“This is the new location,” Malder muttered.
Kailen said nothing. One of the containers was opened. And that’s where they put me. Inside. Alone. The metal walls made the space suffocatingly hot.
Hours passed.
Or maybe only minutes.
I couldn’t tell.
The headache I had that morning slowly faded. But something worse replaced it. Hunger. A sharp, gnawing hunger that twisted inside my stomach like claws.
No food came.
No water.
Just silence.
Eventually night fell. Everywhere became too silent, that was how I could tell. Sleeping was a luxury I couldn't afford. I slept in intervals.
Morning came again. The noises moved around. Everything felt exactly the same.
Until—
Gunshots echoed somewhere outside. My entire body froze. More gunfire followed.
Shouting.
Running footsteps.
Then suddenly—
The container door flew open.
Kailen stood there.
Damien behind him.
“Move,” Kailen ordered sharply.
Before I could react they pulled me outside. Silvio was there too, still in the wheelchair. Kailen grabbed my wrists and tied them together with a long rope.
“What are you doing?” I snapped.
He ignored me. Then he tied the other end of the rope to Silvio’s wheelchair.
My eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Walk,” Kailen ordered.
We moved fast, before I could tell, we were already inside a massive abandoned industrial factory. Footsteps echoed through the building as we moved deeper inside. The air smelled like rust and dust.
Behind us—
More footsteps.
Getting closer.
Kailen suddenly stopped. I looked over at him, and for the very first time, I saw fear in his eyes. Who is following him that he's scared… Kailen never gets scared.
Slowly… he began turning around.
I followed his gaze. That's when I saw him.
Carlino.
Standing in the entrance of the factory. My heart skipped violently.