His mafia princess: his wrath, her vengeance

CHAPTER ONE. How dare you come back here without any proof of his death” Layla heard her father shouting from behind the door where she stood. She tried so hard not to make any noise as that would give away the fact that she was standing there, and she didn't even want to imagine the thing her father would do to her if he found out that she was listening to his conversation with his guards. “There's every possibility that he's roaming free right now and he could strike at any moment so I want you guys to go out there and bring back proof of his death unless y'all are willing to give your lives for his” She heard footsteps coming towards the door and quickly tiptoed back to her room. It was already past her bedtime and most of the workers had retired for the night. She climbed into her bed and laid down, squeezing her eyes shut, pretending she had been sleeping for a while. She heard footsteps coming towards her room and her blood immediately stilled. Her heart was beating so fast that she was scared if anyone came close enough, they would hear it. Her palms started getting moist as sweat dripped down from the side of her head. She turned to face the other side of her bed, her hands Shaking as the footsteps came closer. She bunched the blanket she was using to cover her body in her hands, dragging it up to her neck. Her room door opened and she immediately held her breath. “Don't think I didn't know you were standing behind my office door Layla, I managed to hear your tiny footsteps no matter how quiet you were trying to be” He stopped talking for a while, and Layla tried to heave a sigh, thinking he was done. But he continued after a while. “I guess your mom will have to face the punishment this time while you stand and watch, maybe that will teach you a lesson.” And without saying another word he turned and left the room. Layla tried to hold back the tears that gathered in her eyes. She knew how brutal her father could be and always hated whenever he hit her mom which he frequently did. She tried to calm herself down and forced herself to sleep. But it was easier said than done; she was starting to have sleepless nights, and if she managed to fall asleep, she found herself in an endless loop where her father was always hitting her mom. She managed to fall asleep but woke up to someone screaming. When she woke up it was already bright outside. She quickly stood up from her bed; without thinking of dressing it, she left it scattered like that and ran out. She hurried to the beginning of the stairs and stopped to listen for a while. The sound was coming from their kitchen, and hearing the voice more clearly, she recognized it as her mother's voice. “There are maids in this house to do the cooking and I'm paying them to do it, but if you insist on preparing my meal then you should be ready to serve me a proper meal and not this trash you call food” She heard her mom scream again and figured her father must be hitting her again, she wondered why her mom wouldn't just end the marriage and leave. But at the back of her mind, she knew the answer to that question; she had to learn it the hard way. She could hear her father leaving the house and soon everywhere was quiet. “Throw everything away and clear up the kitchen,” my mom ordered before she left the kitchen. She started climbing up the stairs, and she quickly slipped into her room, not ready to face her this morning. She brought out her phone and dialed her best friend's number, and he picked up just after the first ring. “How's my bestie doing this morning” “I hate that the weekend is not over yet; I'm tired of being locked up in this house; it's suffocating,” she whined, and Blake, her best friend, just chuckled. He was among the few people from school who knew the type of family she came from. Layla had just two friends, Blake and Tanya, and they did everything together. She was in her final year of college. It came as a surprise to her that her father had not yet tried to marry her off to one of his friends for more power. “Don't worry, after college, we could finally get married, and I'll introduce you to a better and more beautiful life than the one you're leaving.” The both of them started laughing. Layla felt a Hollow feeling in her chest because she knew there was no way her dad would allow her to get married to Blake. He wasn't a son of a capo or an affluent mafia group and getting married to him won't increase her father's wealth or status. So that was a straight no. “I'll call you back, Blake. I think I just heard my dad's car drive in,” she lied as she ended the car. She already knew how her life was going to be, she was twenty one and very soon her father would be marrying her off to the highest bidder and there was nothing she could do about it. That was just how it was; in her world, women were used as tools to get richer and more powerful. She wished there was something she could do to get herself out of this, but her fate had already been sealed, and deep down, she knew it. Her room door was aggressively pushed open all of a sudden, which startled her; she looked up to check who it was and found her father standing there, staring back at her. “I thought I heard you leave,” she squeaked out, standing up immediately, not wanting to do anything that would unleash his anger on her. “Who were you speaking with?” he asked, filling up way too much space and making her bedroom feel hotter than it was. She tried to think of something but her brain was failing her. “Don't make me come up to you Layla, you'll be grounded for a month, and Will have to be homeschooled for a whole month so you better start talking” Layla could feel the blood drain from her face as she went pale, and she knew her father was serious; this wasn't going to be the first time he was doing it either. He knew how much going to school meant to her so he always threatened her with it. “It was Tanya,” she blurted out at the last minute, thanking God she could come up with something. “She wanted me to go shopping with her, I was about preparing before you came out” Layla kept her fingers crossed hoping he won't see through her lie. She didn't even want to think about what would happen if her father found out she had a male friend. The lie she just told Blake might be the last thing she'll say to him before he dies.