Page 13 of Merciless Queen
“I kidnapped her from Vincenzo’s mansion.” Her entire body froze. “I got a tip that she is his favorite. He ismarryingthe girl.” I put an emphasis on that word because no one would believe the bastard was marrying for love.
Her mouth dropped open and her demeanor changed. “T-Take me t-to her, p-please.” Her voice cracked, like she knew who she was about to see.
Lizzy was on my heels as we walked upstairs to the guest room where I had the girl restrained, but resting. The restraints were for her safety, rather than keeping her trapped. The look on Lizzy’s face was hopeful fear, like she was silently praying this was who she thought it was. When I opened the door, the girl was awake, but zoned out, her eyes staring lifelessly at the ceiling.
A shocked gasp fell from Elizabeth’s lips that sounded unearthly as she ran to the girl’s side. “Oh my God.” She grabbed the girl's face softly, caressing her cheek. “Harlow, look at me, sweet girl.”
Harlow.
“How do you know her?”
“Sh-She was with me. Vincenzo brought her to me when she was fifteen. She was a few months away from turning sixteen. He refused to let anyone touch her, but he wanted me to show her how things worked in his world. He was waiting until she turned eighteen, but a week before her birthday, her mom died. Vincenzo took her. He took her virginity and since then, she has been his favorite. I think she was promised to him for a debt.”
“How bad?”
“He was brutal. After three continuous days of raping her, he finally got called off for business. She went to the bathroom, punched the mirror, and tried to kill herself.”
Fuck.
“How old was she when I found you?”
“If you’re wondering how long she’s been there, it’s been ten years. She should turn twenty-five in a few months. She was the girl who tried to escape with me. I don’t know what they did to her that night, but she wasn’t in the house with me. Vincenzo loves her, but it’s not real love; it’s an obsession.”
Ten years trapped with a monster like Vincenzo. Now she had to adjust to this life with no knowledge and without her mother. A life that was stolen from her, and one I almost took from her.
CHAPTER 9
Harlow
Her voice wasa distant echo in the fog of my mind. It was filled with…hope, apromise. Only there couldn’t be a promise when that voice was hers. She was dead, just like my mom.
“Come back home, Harlow,” she said, gently caressing my skin with her soft hands. I looked into her familiar blue eyes and winced like her mere presence gutted me.
I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the haze and make sense of the eyes staring back at me. My head shook violently, squeezing my eyes shut to banish the vision. “You’re not real,” I muttered, struggling to accept this reality. “I must be dead.”
Elizabeth laughed, moving my hair out of my face. “You’re not dead, sweet girl. I’m here. I’m real. Now let me see those pretty eyes.” My eyes fluttered open once more, tears swelling in my eyes because shewasreal, and she was here.
“There we go. Wipe those tears away.”
A sob ripped from my throat as reality crashed into me like a tidal wave, tears streaming down my face. My chest heaved, making my breaths inconsistent and staggered. My mind raced with the picture Vincenzo showed me, but she was here. Sheer joy and terror collided in an overwhelming rush, leaving metrembling in its wake. Elizabeth held me to her chest as we both cried, hers more put together than mine.
“Y-You di-died. H-He s-showed me t-the p-pictures.”
“I did die, but not physically. Mentally and emotionally. Cat’s people found me. They pulled me out of the river and nursed me back to health. I wanted to find you, Harlow. Vincenzo’s people said you died, but I should have never believed it.”
Her embrace was comforting; she felt like home. That place would never be my home, but my mom and Lizzy made the hellish nightmare feel safer. I wrapped both arms around Elizabeth, clinging to her like she was my lifeline. She was the only thing I had left, even if we weren’t blood related. In whatever life I had here, she was the only one who knew every dark, deranged thing done to me, and I her. Five years was a long time to be away from the one person who survived hell with you. For five years, I thought she was dead, but like before, she fought. She was always a fighter.
I pulled away from her, looking into her familiar blue gaze, wiping the tears from mine. She was really here—wherever here was. I glanced at the woman with her arms crossed and resting against the dresser. Her gaze was wicked, but I saw softness in her face.Who was she? Where was I?
This woman had an effortless presence that dominated the room. She was ethereal, but terrifying. She looked like the ice queen boss who would bite someone's head off if they pissed her off. She was stunning, but she wasn’t approachable. It was hard to describe how this woman’s demeanor was when I knew nothing about her, and my only human interactions for the last ten years were broken women, scared maids, and horrible men.
Stai zitto e forse non ti ucciderò.The words danced in my mind before her striking, green eyes penetrated my mind.
“Y-You took me.” Lizzy looked at her, and the woman furrowed an eyebrow. “Y-You d-drugged me.”
“I had the wrong information and took you, yes. I’m not going to hurt you, but you can’t leave my home.”
“Kidnapped with benefits?” I asked in a snappy tone. “W-Who are you?”
