Chapter 172
"No!" Isabella's tears finally broke free, streaming down her cheeks, mixing with the blood seeping from the wound on her neck, making her look utterly disheveled.
Her whole body was shaking violently, and the hand holding the glass shard started to waver.
The sharp edge cut more tiny wounds on her neck and fingers, but she bit her lower lip hard, refusing to let herself cry out loud, refusing to completely break down.
"Don't you dare come near me!" Isabella repeated her threat in a hoarse voice, but the confidence in her tone was clearly fading, replaced by desperate bluffing.
Aldo saw the cracks in her defenses, saw the stubbornness in her eyes being eroded by overwhelming fear and despair.
He felt smug, thinking this little rabbit was finally scared.
"Let's see about that." Aldo grinned menacingly and took another step forward.
He was certain Isabella wouldn't really dare to kill herself; she was just trying to intimidate him.
How could a beautiful, young woman like her truly be willing to die?
She still had so many good days ahead, with a man like Vitale waiting for her.
However, just as Aldo took a second step and reached out to grab the glass shard from Isabella's hand—
Isabella let out a short, sharp scream, not a plea for mercy, but a desperate cry of someone pushed to the edge, unleashing every ounce of hidden strength.
She closed her eyes and wildly swung the glass shard forward with a frantic jerk of her wrist.
Aldo hadn't expected her to suddenly lash out, let alone with such reckless abandon.
He instinctively tilted his head to dodge, but he was half a beat too slow.
A faint sound.
The sharp edge of the glass shard slashed across Aldo's left cheek.
From his cheekbone to his jaw, it left a long, shallow but clear cut.
A burning sting shot through him, and warm liquid trickled down his cheek.
Aldo froze. He raised a hand to touch his face, and his fingers came away stained with bright red blood.
He was hurt by Isabella?
By this woman he saw as a mere toy, someone powerless, who had now cut his face with a piece of broken glass?
After a brief moment of shock, a wave of blinding rage surged through him.
This wasn't just pain; it was the humiliation of his pride being trampled.
"You filthy bitch!" Aldo roared like a wild beast, the wound on his face twisting with anger, making him look even more terrifying.
He yanked out the gun tucked at his lower back, the dark barrel instantly pointing at Isabella's forehead.
"Try me!" Aldo bellowed, his finger on the trigger, trembling slightly from sheer fury, "Let's see what's faster—my bullet or that pathetic piece of glass in your hand!"
The cold muzzle pressed closer, the shadow of death looming over her.
Isabella's breath nearly stopped, her body rigid, unable to move, tears still silently pouring down her face.
She knew Aldo would really shoot.
This lunatic was capable of anything.
"Don't push me," Isabella's voice was faint, almost a whisper, filled with despair.
"You're the one pushing me, Ms. Lorraine!" Aldo gritted his teeth, nudging the gun forward slightly, "You know, in this crew, I'm all alone. My parents, my sister—they were all killed by those mafia scum long ago. I'm an orphan who crawled out of a pile of corpses. I've got nothing, and I'm scared of nothing."
His eyes gleamed with genuine madness and obsession, "Even if I rape you right now and get shot by Barton right after, it'd be worth it. At least I'd have my fun before I die, got it?"
Those words shattered the last of Isabella's mental defenses.
A man with no family, no fear, who saw even death and punishment as worthwhile—a desperado.
That was the most terrifying kind of enemy.
No threat, no reasoning, could hold any weight against someone like him.
Isabella's body trembled like a leaf in the wind, and the hand holding the glass shard dropped weakly.
The shard fell to the ground.
The light in her eyes quickly dimmed, replaced by a hollow, lifeless stillness.
It's over. It's really over.
Vitale, I'm sorry.
Seeing Isabella completely break down and give up resistance, Aldo's rage subsided a bit, replaced by a more twisted sense of conquest and satisfaction.
He put away the gun and stepped forward, almost pressing himself against Isabella.
He could smell the faint scent of blood on her, the saltiness of her tears, and an air of despair.
It excited him even more.
"Wouldn't it have been better to just behave from the start?" Aldo's voice turned slimy, laced with a coaxing tone, "Look, why do we have to make things so messy? Let me kiss you, touch you, just for a little while. I promise, once I'm satisfied, I'll leave right away. I won't stay a second longer. Otherwise…"
He dragged out his words, his gaze sweeping over the cuts on Isabella's neck and fingers, then to the glass shard on the ground, his meaning crystal clear.
"Otherwise, I'll stay right here with you. We've got plenty of time until you completely break and beg me to fuck you."
In Isabella's hollow eyes, the last faint trace of her own consciousness struggled. No, no, this can't happen.
With the last bit of strength she had, she jerked her head up, her gaze not on Aldo but past his shoulder, toward the locked iron door.
Her lips trembled, and with a faint, desperate whisper of hope, she hoarsely called out, "Eva, Eva, help me, please. I know you're out there, please."
Aldo, tricked by Isabella's sudden cry, instinctively turned to look at the empty doorway. In that split second—
Isabella moved!
Fear, anger, humiliation, and the instinct to survive fused into an explosive force at that moment.
Like a cornered animal, she burst forward with astonishing speed, charging at Aldo.
Isabella even forgot her body's weakness and the pain in her shoulder, her eyes locked on that devilish figure and the largest glass shard on the ground.
Aldo heard the rapid footsteps and the rush of air behind him, realizing something was wrong. He tried to turn around.
But it was too late.
Isabella, with all her strength, gripped the sharp glass shard with both hands and aimed for the unprotected side of Aldo's lower back.
She remembered roughly where the kidney was from anatomy charts and stabbed with all her might.
A sickening, muffled sound of a sharp object piercing flesh!
Aldo let out a gut-wrenching scream.
Intense pain exploded from his waist, spreading through his entire body.
His body stiffened, and he stumbled forward, instinctively clutching the wound. Warm, sticky liquid gushed out, soaking his clothes and hands.
Isabella, having landed the blow, immediately let go as if the glass burned her hands. She staggered back until she hit the cold wall in the corner, stopping with a heavy thud.
She gasped for air, her chest heaving like broken bellows, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst from her throat.
Her hands burned with pain.
She had gripped the glass shard so tightly that its sharp edges and jagged sides had cut into her palms and fingers. Blood dripped from her fingertips, pooling on the ground in stark, shocking red spots.
The pain shot through her, connected to every nerve, turning Isabella's face pale. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and her teeth chattered uncontrollably.
Aldo struggled to half-kneel on the ground. He turned his head to look at Isabella, trembling in the corner, her bloodied hands and fierce glare fixed on him. His face was filled with disbelief, rage, and humiliation.
He had actually been hurt by Isabella, this seemingly powerless woman!
And in such a cowardly, sneak-attack way!
"You damn whore!" Aldo spat out vicious curses through gritted teeth, his face twisted in pain and looking like a demon, "I'm going to strip you bare, hang you up, and fuck you until you're begging to live or die!"
He tried to stand, but the searing pain in his waist and the dizziness from blood loss slowed him down.
Despite trembling with fear and her hands aching to the point of numbness, Isabella felt a surge of courage mixed with anger and contempt at Aldo's vile, disgusting threats.
"Try it!" she rasped, her voice laced with sobs but surprisingly clear.
She even bent down, her bloodied, shaking hands reaching for another smaller glass shard on the ground, "You filthy, disgusting man!"
Aldo was completely enraged by Isabella's defiance, murderous intent flaring in his eyes.
He let out a low growl, ignoring the pain in his wound, and braced himself with one hand on the ground, ready to lunge at her.
But just as Aldo was about to move, a cold, powerful hand reached from behind without warning and grabbed the collar at the back of his neck.
The grip was incredibly strong.