ROSE 190

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Chapter 190

Chapter 190

9121

Aria’s POV

The call ended with a click that echoed through the damp basement like a gunshot, Nico pocketed the phone, his satisfied smirk making my stomach churn. The silence that followed was suffocating, broken only by the steady drip of water somewhere in the darkness beyond the flickering light.

“Well, that went better than expected,” he said, running a hand through his slicked–back hair. “Did you see his face? God, I wish I could frame that moment. The great Dominic De Luca, brought to his knees by a sick little stripper.”

I bit down on my tongue until I tasted blood, refusing to give him the reaction he wanted. My wrists burned where the rope cut into my skin, but I forced myself to stay still, to think. There had to be a way out of this.

Nico pulled out his phone again, and the camera flash made me flinch. “Say cheese, princess.”

“Stop,” I whispered, turning my face away.

Another flash, Then another.

“You know what the best part about this is?” He crouched down, angling the phone to capture my bound hands, the bruises on my arms. “Finally, we can sell you off. Make some real money from all this trouble you’ve caused.”

My blood ran cold. “What?”

He laughed, the sound sharp and cruel. “Oh, you didn’t think we were just going to send you back to Dominic, did you? That would be such a waste.” Flash. Flash. Flash. “There are men who pay very well for broken toys. Especially ones with your… particular background.”

The room spun. I couldn’t breathe. “You’re sick.”

“I’m practical.” He stood, scrolling through the photos he’d taken. “These will make excellent advertisements. ‘Former mafia princess seeks new owner.‘ Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

I pulled against the ropes with renewed desperation, ignoring the way they tore at my skin. “Dominic will kill you for this.”

“Dominic will be dead before sunrise.” Nico’s voice was matter–of–fact, like he was discussing the weather. “And even if he weren’t, do you really think he’d want you back after this? After knowing what you’ll become?”

He showed me the phone screen, and I had to swallow bile. The photos were degrading, designed to strip away any dignity I had left. In them, I looked exactly like what he wanted me to be–merchandise.

“I have buyers lined up already,” he continued, typing something into his phone. “Russians, mostly. They have a thing for American girls with spirit. Don’t worry, they’ll break that out of you soon enough.”

While he was distracted by his phone, I tested the ropes again. My fingers were numb, but I could feel a slight give in the knot at my wrists. Whoever had tied me up had been sloppy–probably in a hurry after the crash. If I could just-

“What are you doing back there?” Nico’s voice cut through

my

concentration.

I froze. “Nothing.”

He set his phone down on a rusted table and walked over, circling behind me like a predator. I felt his breath on my neck, hot and disgusting.

“You know what I think?” His fingers traced along the rope at my wrists, checking the knots. “I think you’re plotting something. And we can’t have that,

can we?”

He jerked the rope tighter, and I bit back a scream as it cut deeper into my skin. Fresh blood trickled down my hands.

“There. Much better.” He moved back around to face me, wiping his hands on a dirty rag. “Now, where were we? Oh yes, your future career prospects.

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Chapter 190

As he picked up his phone again, I noticed something–he’d left a small knife on the table beside it. Probably the same one he’d used to tighten my restraints. It was just a few feet away, but it might as well have been on the moon.

Unless…

I waited until he was absorbed in his phone again, probably uploading those horrible photos to whatever sick marketplace he had in mind. Then I started working my way backward, inch by agonizing inch, using the legs of the chair to pivot slowly toward the table.

The chair legs scraped against the concrete floor, but the sound was covered by Nico’s muttering as he typed. “Damaged goods, but still functional,” I heard him say. “Previous experience in entertainment industry.”

My stomach lurched, but I kept moving. Almost there.

“Age twenty–four, responds well to discipline,” he continued, his voice getting more animated. “Oh, they’re going to love this part–comes with her own tragic backstory. Terminal illness adds urgency to purchase.”

I was close enough now that I could see the knife clearly. It was small, probably meant for cutting rope or tape, but the blade looked sharp. If I could just reach it with my bound hands…

O

I stretched my fingers as far as they would go, feeling for the edge of the table. The rope cut deeper into my wrists, but I didn’t care. The knife was right there, just barely out of reach.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

心

Nico’s voice was deadly quiet. I turned to see him standing there, phone forgotten, eyes locked on my outstretched hands.

“I–nothing, I was just ”

The slap came without warning, snapping my head to the side so hard I saw stars. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and my cheek throbbed with a

heat that spread down my neck.

“Did you really think you could pull some amateur escape artist bullshit on me?” He grabbed my hair, yanking my head back to force me to look at him. “I’ve been doing this since before you knew what the word ‘mafia‘ meant, little girl.”

Tears of rage and pain blurred my vision, but I glared at him anyway. “Go to hell.”

Another slap, harder this time. My vision went white for a moment.

son holdi

“Such language from a lady,” he tsked, still holding my hair in his fist. “Your buyers won’t appreciate that attitude. Maybe I should include anger management in your listing.”

He dragged the chair I was tied to away from the table, the legs screeching against the concrete. Then he picked up the knife I’d been reaching for and

held it in front of my face.

“This what you wanted?” The blade gleamed in the flickering light. “Funny thing about knives–they’re only as good as the person holding them.”

He placed the tip against my throat, just below my pulse point. Not hard enough to cut, but I could feel the cold metal against my skin.

“You want to know the truth about your precious Dominic?” His voice dropped to a whisper. “He’s not coming to save you. He’s walking into a trap that’ll make tonight look like a tea party.”

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?” He pressed the knife a little harder, and I felt a tiny prick of pain. “While you’ve been playing damsel in distress, I’ve been setting up the perfect kill box. Every exit covered, every approach monitored. When he shows up with his little rescue party, they’ll be cut down like dogs in the street.

My heart hammered against my ribs. “He’s smarter than you think.”

“Maybe. But he’s also desperate. And desperate men make stupid choices.” Nico pulled the knife away and walked back to the table, leaving me gasping

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08:07 Tue, 24 Jun

Chapter 190

Jun – T

成念91%會

“Do you know what his fatal flaw is, Aria?”

I didn’t answer.

“He cares too much. About you, about honor, about doing the ‘right thing.“” Nico laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Those are luxuries in our world. Weaknesses that get you killed.”

He started gathering his things–the phone, some papers I hadn’t noticed before, a gun that made my blood freeze. Preparations. He was getting ready for whatever trap he’d set.

“The beauty of it is,” he continued, “Dominic knows it’s a trap. Has to know. But he’ll come anyway, because that’s who he is. The knight in tarnished armor, riding to his death for a woman who’s already lost.”

“I’m not lost.” The words came out stronger than I felt.

Nico paused in his preparations and looked at me with something that might have been pity. “Oh, sweetheart. You lost the moment you agreed to be his in the first place. Everything since then has just been borrowed time.”

He walked over to me one last time, crouching down so we were eye level. His face was calm, almost gentle, which somehow made him even more terrifying.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he said softly. “Dominic is going to come charging in here like the hero he thinks he is. My men are going to turn him into Swiss cheese. And you’re going to watch every second of it, knowing that it happened because he loved you too much to let you go.”