Chapter 64 - SIXTY FOUR

Chapter 64: Chapter SIXTY FOUR

ANGEL

He extended his hand like he expected me to simply take it.

I stood frozen, staring at his palm like it was a venomous snake coiled to strike.

I couldn’t take it. Taking his hand would mean leaving. Abandoning Damien. I couldn’t betray the one person who’d ever truly wanted me.

I shook my head, the movement small and jerky.

"No."

"Angel—"

"No." My voice grew stronger, fueled by rising panic and desperate loyalty.

"Daddy’s coming for me. He’s coming to get me and I’m not going anywhere without him."

Something darkened in Vincenzo’s eyes, a look like grief and fury was fighting for dominance.

Then, all of a sudden his hand shot out and clamped around my wrist.

"NO!" I exploded into motion immediately, twisting and yanking, trying desperately to break his iron grip. "Let me go! Daddy! DADDY, HELP ME!"

Vincenzo’s fingers were unbreakable, his hold absolute as he pulled me toward the door. I dug my heels in but it made no difference.

"Daddy!" The scream tore from my throat, "DADDY, PLEASE! HELP ME!"

Damien would hear me. I knew he’d come bursting through that door any second now, fury in his eyes, ready to take back what belonged to him.

But the hallway was empty when Vincenzo dragged me through.

No.

It wasn’t empty at all.

My screams died, strangled in my throat.

The walls were painted in blood, so thickly that it looked like wallpaper.

Bodies littered the floor—men in suits I’d seen at the auction, they’d been alive and breathing just minutes ago.

Now, their eyes stared at nothing, while dark pools spread beneath them and soaked into the carpet.

I sagged in Vincenzo’s grip, unable to move forward.

Vincenzo had done this. He had killed all these men. How many? Ten? Twenty? The hallway seemed endless, bodies stretching as far as I could see.

"No, let me go!" I screamed now in complete terror, his grip on my wrist tightened. Then without a word, he scooped me up, throwing me over his shoulder like my struggles were wasting his time.

I was kicking my legs, and screaming until my throat burned. "PUT ME DOWN! DADDY! DADDY, WHERE ARE YOU?"

We passed more bodies as Vincenzo ran. The smell of blood made my stomach heave.

Then, we burst through a side exit and the night air slapped my face. I barely had a moment to breathe when I saw the black sedan idling in the alley.

The engines were purring, the door hanging open like a mouth waiting to swallow me.

"No!" I twisted violently in Vincenzo’s grip, thrashing with renewed desperation. "I’m not going with you! I won’t!"

I sank my teeth into Vincenzo’s shoulder, biting down with all the strength I had.

"Fuck," he cursed, but his grip never loosened.

Instead, his hand clamped on the back of my neck and wrenched my head up. His face filled my vision, those dark eyes burning with something terrifying and familiar all at once.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" The words came out in a growl.

"I need to go back to Daddy." I cried through tears, "Please, Vincenzo, please let me go back to him. He’s waiting for me. He’s—"

Another man appeared from the shadows, I instantly recognized him as Kento, Vincenzo’s right-hand man.

Boss, the target is still in the building. Second floor."

My heart leapt with hope. Damien was still alive.

"Do it," Vincenzo said, his voice cold and murderous. .

Kento nodded once and spoke into his radio, words I couldn’t quite hear.

Vincenzo looked at me, and for just a second, something in his eyes looked almost like regret. Almost like pain.

"Kill everyone in there. Burn it to the ground!" He commanded.

"NO!" The scream ripped from my chest. "NO, PLEASE—"

The building exploded.

The shockwave hit us even at this distance, a force that made the car rock. I watched in absolute horror as flames erupted from every window, as the entire structure collapsed.

Damien was in there.

Daddy was in there.

"NO! Damien! DADDY!" I was screaming, thrashing with strength I didn’t know I still possessed. "YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM!"

Vincenzo hauled me into the car. I fought him with everything I had—scratching, biting, screaming until I tasted blood in my throat.

The car lurched into motion and through the window, I watched the building burn.

My chest felt like it was breaking apart, and I could feel my ribs collapsing inward, crushing my lungs and heart.

Tears poured down my face but I barely felt them. I could feel nothing but this excruciating pain where everything good used to be.

"Sorry, Angel," Vincenzo’s voice said next to me, gentle in a way that made me want to claw his eyes out. And I attempted to, I threw myself at him, attacking him with everything. My wrists, my nails. Everything.

Then I felt something sharp pierce my neck.

I felt Vincenzo gather me into his arms, cradling me against his chest.

"Sleep," he whispered, his lips brushing against my hair. "When you wake up, everything will be fine. I promise."

But nothing would ever be fine again.

Nothing.

*

*

**Present**

I stared at the man who’d murdered Damien. My clothes had been changed while I was unconscious—replaced with pink pyjamas in a shade that used to make me feel safe and happy.

But that girl was dead.

That girl who loved pink and thought the world would do everything as she wanted had died on that island when Damien showed me what it really meant to belong to someone.

My body was clean too. Someone had bathed me while I slept, washing away every trace of Damien’s claim.

The cum that had been inside me—gone. His scent on my skin—erased.

Every mark he’d left—scrubbed clean like they’d never existed.

They’d stolen even that from me.

Vincenzo was talking, "Are you thirsty? You’ve been out for a day."

My eyes locked onto the breakfast tray sitting on the nightstand beside the bed. Toast and eggs arranged neatly on a plate. Milk in a glass.

And a knife.

Small and silver.

The blade caught the light, sharp and promising.

Rage built in my chest hot and corrosive. How dare he cleanse off Daddy’s claim. He’d killed Damien, letting him burn in that building.

I moved.

Lunged toward the nightstand, my fingers closing around the knife’s handle.

Vincenzo’s eyes widened, surprise flashing across his face.

I launched myself at him with the knife raised high, aiming for his throat.