Chapter 231

“Excuse me, miss.” The guard pushed himself in front of me. “You are not allowed to leave.”

“Says who?“

“Christian.”

It was already past midnight, and I had managed to sneak away, but leaving the mansion was not as easy as I expected it to be.

I said my farewells to Christian and Siena, and now it was time to keep my end of the deal. It was time to meet Luca.

“I have an appointment.”

The guard sighed. “In the middle of the night without a driver?” He spoke sarcastically. I knew there was a chance he wouldn’t fall for it, especially after Christian gave them clear instructions not to let me leave without him.

“Listen, he knows about this.” I rolled my eyes.“Do you want me to wake him for you?”

The guard and I stared at each other as I patiently waited until he couldn’t take it longer. “N-no, I wouldn’t want to wake him from his sleep.” He gave in. “I’ll open the gates.”

“Thank you.”

I looked back one last time before exiting the mansion I thought I’d spend the rest of my life. With a deep breath, I walked to the location where I had agreed to meet Luca.

Other than a picture of my daughter, I had absolutely no belongings and was left completely empty-

handed. That was the deal. No items, no cellphone.

“So you showed up after all.” I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Good for you!”

Any other day I would’ve smacked Luca’s hand away, but just for today, I’d decided to behave. I turned around with nervous laughter. “Yes, I’m here.”

Luca held a strand of my hair between his fingers and smiled at me. Thinking about it, I had never really been too fond of him—not even when he was willing to give his life to save mine. Unlike Johnny, who had just lost his way—I had never bonded with Luca.

“I hope you didn’t forget about our deal.” I reminded him.

Luca chuckled. “We’ll leave the Lamberti’s alone, we’ll give them back the money and the warehouse—and we got you a good doctor to take care of you.”

“And my life?”

Luca moved his hand to the back of my hair and tightened his grip around my head. “Believe it or not, I’m not out to kill you.” He pulled me closer, leaving me no choice but to stare into his cold eyes.

“My dad is crazy, so be a good girl and listen.”

I felt a lump in my throat and could not find the words to say, so I gave him a nod instead. I wasn’t afraid of many things, but Berto Lamberti had definitely left a bad taste in my mouth.

“We need to move before they know you’re gone.” Luca pulled out a napkin. “You will be out for a bit, but it won’t bring harm to you or the baby.”

“What?”

Luca smirked. “This.” He forcefully covered my mouth with the napkin. This time I just couldn’t stand by and do anything and used all my strength to fight against him, but it didn’t work.

Everything went black.

Where am I?

What happened?

I found myself on an unfamiliar bed and tried sitting up straight, but I could not move my hands. I panicked and looked down at my hands cuffed to the bed.

What was the meaning of this?

“Help!” I called out in a desperate attempt to free myself. “He—“

“Lower your voice!” Luca whispered, rushing through the door. All my memories had slowly returned. He did this to me.

He ran over to the bed and released the cuffs. “I didn’t want you to run.” He explained.

“So you tie me up like a dog instead?”

“I’m sorry.” He apologized, pacing back and forth. In fear, I sat up straight and covered my belly with my hands. He would keep his word, right?

I bit my lips to calm my nerves as Luca reached for a bundle of clothes. “It’s morning. You need to get ready!” His voice almost trembled. “Take a shower and come downstairs.”

Confused, I looked from him to the bundle, realizing his behavior had changed. If anything, he seemed afraid. “Please.” He pleaded.

“Okay.” I grabbed the items from his hands, not wanting to provoke him any longer. “I’ll take a shower.”

Luca guarded the door as I took a shower and even made sure I did not forget to wear the hideous tight short dress, which I didn’t feel comfortable in. Unfortunately, these were the rules, so there wasn’t much I could do about it.

“You look great.” Luca ended up lying to me while the look on his face said otherwise. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around my waist, so I could at least cover my behind.

“Oh, so you do have a heart.” I commented, surprised.

He ignored me and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the room. I observed my surroundings and concluded we must’ve been staying at some abandoned mansion.

The house seemed big, but the interior was dark, and there were no windows whatsoever. In each corner of the house stood a man with a gun, so escaping would be near impossible. They really thought this through.

“Where are we going?”

“My dad is expecting you for breakfast, and we’re a minute late.”

I scoffed at his fearful expression. “It’s just a minute,” I argued. “And if you wouldn’t let me wear this uncomfortable dress, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

We stopped in front of a door, and Luca turned to look at me. “Don’t make any smart comments. I’m begging you.”

For the first time in a long while, I could sense some emotion in his eyes. “I won’t.” I gulped, afraid of what would come.

As the door opened, I felt my legs tremble and had almost lost my balance. Berto Lamberti stepped from behind the large dining table, and I could see his smirk through his mask.

The dining room was filled with maids who seemed equally as afraid.

“The girl.” Berto breathed, pushing all the maids aside so he could reach me.

My eyes searched for Luca, but he had already taken a step back.

Berto was right in front of me, and there was nothing I could do about it. I could feel his warm breath on my face and could feel his cold finger on my cheek.

“Beautiful.” He lowered his gaze to my stomach.

“How is the baby?”

“I-I…”

“She needs a doctor, dad.” Luca saved me. I didn’t even know whether this baby was healthy or not.

Berto snapped. “I told you I would take care of it!”

Luca kept his mouth shut while I looked up in surprise. There wasn’t much difference between Berto and Fabio. They were both equally as aggressive, but for some reason, Berto scared me a bit more.

Both didn’t had anything to lose, but unlike Fabio, this man seemed capable of anything.

“Sit, eat breakfast!” Berto placed his hand behind my back and led me to a chair. Luca sat at the other end of the table while I was forced to sit next to Berto on the opposite side.

I was sick to my stomach and couldn’t even take a bite. How would Christian be feeling at the moment? What would he think of me? Was Siena okay?

“I want you to eat,” Berto spoke after a long silence. Some time had already passed, but I was still not hungry. How could I think about food in this situation?

“If you care about that baby of yours, you’ll eat!” Berto demanded.

My eyes met Luca’s, who gave me a nod, telling me to eat. With shaking hands, I held the fork in my hands and grabbed a piece of vegetable.

“Healthy!” Berto laughed. “Do you like it?”

I nodded.

“Lost your tongue?”

I shook my head. “Y-yes, I like it.”

Whatever happened all those years back must’ve affected his brains as well.

“Good.” Berto smiled approvingly. “I send Christian a message about the money and the warehouse, and I’ll hand him over both—so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“And you’ll leave them alone, right?” I somehow found the courage to speak.

Berto frowned. “As long as they don’t try anything funny.” He looked back at his plate and cut open a piece of fish before shoving it in his mouth.

He chewed as if his life depended on it before he suddenly stopped and looked at one of the maids with a disgusted expression. “Wait, why does my fish still have bones?” He closed his eyes, annoyed. “Why!”

“S-sorry, sir!”

I flinched as Berto shoved all his dishes from the table, making the glass shatter into tiny pieces.

His head turned in slow motion until his cold gaze met mine. “You did this, didn’t you?”

“She didn’t!” Luca called out, making his way over. He pulled me from the chair and pushed me behind him.

“Dad, how could she have done this?” He spoke. “She was with me this entire time!”

“So?”

“Dad, please.” Luca sighed. “You know what will happen if we hurt her.”

Berto cleared his throat. “So it wasn’t her?” He reached for something in his pocket.

“No,” Luca said. “It wasn’t her dad.”

“Then who was it?”

“That isn’t imp—“

“You!” Berto pointed at a random maid. Not even a second later, he had pulled out a gun and shot the young woman in cold blood. All the other maids yelled out in fear while I was in complete shock and couldn’t move a muscle.

This man was a monster.

“Come on. I’ll bring you upstairs.” Luca grabbed my arm and dragged me back to the stairs as I finally got back to my senses.

What the hell was I doing here?