Page 71 of Cruel Deception
My mouth parted, but no sound came out.
Luca leaned forward. “Both legally and illegally... you belong to me.”
Then he turned to Thiago.
“Lock this bitch up.”
Bitch.
He called me a bitch.
The man who once spoke to me with calm and respect had flipped like a switch—now, he looked at me like prey.
Thiago grabbed me roughly by the arm. I thrashed. Kicked. But his grip was like steel.
“Let me go—get your hands off me!” I screamed.
No one listened.
He dragged me down a long hallway, then a narrow staircase leading underground. My shoes scuffed against the stone floor. My pulse pounded so loudly I couldn’t hear anything else.
Then he shoved me into a cement room and slammed the heavy door behind me.
The lock clicked. Silence fell.
I stumbled backward, nearly tripping, staring at the four grey walls and a single flickering lightbulb overhead.
A cell.
I was in a fucking cell.
I collapsed onto the cold floor, my entire body trembling. My shoulder throbbed from where the belt struck. My face still burned from the slap. And my soul felt like it had been dragged through hell.
Regret tore through me like claws.
Cassian had set two rules.
One: never leave the estate without informing him.
Two: never talk to Luca again.
I broke both.
Now look where it got me.
I’d walked straight into a trap on the very day that was supposed to mark my rebirth. My vengeance.
Was my birthday cursed?
This morning, I had watched three monsters bleed for what they did to me. I felt like I’d reclaimed something. Like I was finally free.
But now—now I was caged again. A prisoner. Betrayed by my father. Betrayed by the man who once claimed he wanted to protect me.
Tears spilled freely, silently, soaking the dusty floor.
I had thought Cassian was the monster.
But maybe... I was wrong.
