Chapter 101 - ONE HUNDRED AND ONE

Chapter 101: Chapter ONE HUNDRED AND ONE

ANGEL

Vincenzo’s casino was all dark wood and leather. It was my first time visiting his workplace, as he had always refused in the past.

I loved it.

It was a new side of Daddy I was privileged to discover. The way men stepped aside when he walked through. The way conversations died mid-sentence when his shadow fell across a doorway.

My daddy. The most dangerous man in every room he entered. And I was the most dangerous thing in his.

Right now, I was in his VIP room on the top floor. A private suite with a leather couch, a flat-screen, and a view of the gaming floor through one-way glass. His little girl was in her glass tower, safe and visible, while Daddy conducted business downstairs.

I knew he was still paranoid about leaving me alone. He thought I was safest where he could see me, even though the threat was already gone.

I wasn’t complaining, hell no, I enjoyed being taken everywhere. It meant Daddy couldn’t stop thinking about me. He couldn’t breathe properly unless he knew exactly where I was and that no one was touching me and that I was sitting pretty in my glass tower waiting for him to come back.

His paranoia was just another word for obsession. And I wore his obsession the way other women wore diamonds.

A server entered the VIP room. She was a middle-aged woman who set a tray on the table — finger sandwiches, fruit, and a tall glass of something clear and fizzy that was definitely not what I wanted.

"I asked for a drink. An actual drink with alcohol in it." I scowled.

The server smiled apologetically. "I’m sorry, Miss Hale. Mr Hale was very specific. No alcohol for you."

She bowed and left.

Miss Hale. Mr. Hale. Two names that rhymed. We sounded like we belonged together on a wedding invitation, or a headstone.

The thought flickered through my mind, but the happiness curdled as quickly as it came as I realized that these men had worked with Vincenzo for long, they must have known Jillian. As his wife.

I was just his daughter. And as far as anyone in this building knew, that’s all I was. Their boss’s kid. Not the girl who’d ridden his cock this morning on the kitchen table.

I wanted to be Mrs Hale. Not the daughter version. The wife version.

The one who stood beside him publicly, and wore a ring that told every woman in every room to back the fuck off.

My stomach curled with something hot and possessive. Mrs. Hale. Angel Hale. My name wouldn’t even change. The thought made me laugh — a small, slightly unhinged laugh that echoed in the empty VIP room. I’d go from Miss Hale to Mrs Hale and nobody would even notice the difference. Just one little letter.

One little ring on my finger and the whole world would know that Vincenzo Hale’s daughter had become Vincenzo Hale’s wife and there wasn’t a single thing anyone could do about it.

I wondered if he’d thought about it too. If he lay awake at night imagining me in white. Walking toward him down an aisle. Saying vows that meant something different to us than they did to everyone else. I take you, Daddy. To have and to hold. To fuck and to breed. Till death do us part.

I stood up, needing my spiraling thoughts to calm down. I was fucking bored and the sparkling water wasn’t helping. I wanted to find Vincenzo.

I left the VIP room even though he’d strictly instructed me not to leave until he came for me. Obedience had a shelf life with me. Daddy should know that by now.

The hallway outside was quiet, my footsteps were silent against the floor. I was walking toward the elevator when I heard it.

Two bodyguards. Standing near the other hallway with their backs half-turned to me.

Their voices were low but not low enough.

"—boss’s daughter, man. You seen her? Fucking gorgeous."

"Yeah, no shit. Looks just like his ex-wife."

I stopped and pressed myself against the wall. I looked like Jillian? They must be fucking joking, she wasn’t even my mom. The comparison made something ugly and hot rise in my throat. But the men kept talking.

"Speaking of the ex — you hear what happened?"

"Everyone heard. Nobody talks about it."

"Right, right. But like — what do you think she did? Cheated?"

The other man gave a low whistle. "Had to be something bad. The boss doesn’t do what he did over nothing."

What he did? My brows pulled into a frown, what were they talking about? Vincenzo had told me Jillian was gone. That they had a divorce and I didn’t need to worry about her.

I hadn’t thought much about it because at that time I had bigger things on my mind. Like getting him to fuck me.

"My cousin went to one of those places. Executive slave clubs, they call them. Some sick shit happening there." The other man said.

Silence followed, and then a response "You’re not saying—"

"I’m saying my cousin went to one of those clubs last month and he saw her. The boss’ ex wife. On the fucking floor. Collared. Tagged. Like she was merchandise."

My heart froze in my chest and for the next few seconds, my lungs completely forgot how to work.

Vincenzo hadn’t divorced Jillian.

The thought exploded in my brain like a flashbang. He’d trafficked her. Sent her to a place with collars and floors that women knelt on.

The woman who’d made me call her mommy. Who’d fucked him while I listened through the wall. The woman who’d stood between my father and me for years.

She was on her knees somewhere. Satisfaction surged through me instantly. A pleasure so deep. Dark. That it settled into my bones like something corrosive.

She deserved it. For every night she got to sleep in his bed, and every time she touched what was mine and smiled at me with his taste still on her lips.

I stepped out from my hiding spot and walked towards the two men.

They saw me coming and they looked nervous even though they tried to hide it, probably wondering how much I’d heard.

"Miss Hale, we were just..."

"The club," I said impatiently. "Where your cousin saw her. What’s it called?"

They looked at each other, then at me. "We don’t, we weren’t talking about her..."

"Tell me the name." I stepped closer, my lips stretched into a smile I hoped was sweet, "Or I walk downstairs and tell my daddy that his men were standing in the hallway talking about how gorgeous his daughter is." I cocked my head, waiting.

The first man’s mouth moved but no sound came out.

"The name!" My voice was raised now.

"The Scavenger’s Club." The second man gave in, mumbling the name, his voice was barely audible. His eyes were on the floor. His hands were shaking at his sides.

"Thank you. You two have a wonderful day." I beamed brightly before skipping away, my heart thrumming with excitement.

The Scavenger’s Club. I tucked the name into the back of my mind.