Chapter 10: The last Grey relic
1391 Words
Damien’s POV
I saw the commotion before I heard it.
Three girls dressed like overpriced dolls pressed against the marble column, trembling.
And in front of them… she was standing.
Lola.
Breathing hard, eyes sharp, anger still rolling off her like heat from a furnace.
Her hair slightly mussed, dress hugging her like a second skin, chest rising and falling.
I hadn’t expected that.
Neither did I expect the tiny pull in my chest.
She didn’t notice me until I spoke.
“Exciting.”
Her head snapped up.
Her grip on the other girl’s hair loosened instantly, as if my voice flipped a switch inside her.
The girl fell to the floor with a whimper.
Lola straightened, shoulders squared, eyes defiant yet when I extended my hand, she walked towards me without hesitation.
Her palm sliding into mine. Giving me a cold smile that didn't reach her eyes.
“If you keep smiling like that, I fear your face would crack”.
Her expression shifted as she tried to hide her disdain.
I turned, guiding her away, ignoring the pathetic cluster of girls behind her. They weren’t worth a look.
Good. Let them fear her a little.
---
As we stepped into the hall again, she stayed quiet, but I could feel the tension in her fingers.
Anger, and something else that she tried to hide.
“You enjoyed that a little too much,” I said, letting the corner of my mouth tug upward.
She shot me a look.
“I didn’t start it.”
I glanced down at her, amused. “I didn’t say you did.”
Her pulse kicked in.
She didn’t realize how transparent she was to me. Or maybe she did.
I brushed my thumb across her hand, more instinct than intention. But the way she inhaled sharply told me she felt it.
Before she could say anything, Mikhail approached.
The old man walked like he owned the air around him, and people moved accordingly.
He gave me a curt nod.
“Damien. You’re late.”
“And still the most important person in the room,” I replied.
His eyes shifted to Lola, annoyingly sharp.
He analyzed her like she was a puzzle he didn’t like.
“Is this the girl you mentioned?”
Lola stiffened beside me.
I held her hand tighter.
“She’s with me.”
Three words.
Enough to silence any question Mikhail thought he had the right to ask.
He accepted it with a nod.
“The item you want goes up soon.”
I felt Lola look up at me curiously.
I led her toward the balcony overlooking the auction floor.
She hesitated.
“What are we here for?” she whispered.
I studied her face, her confusion, her stubbornness and curiosity.
She had no idea what kind of world she was dragged into.
Or what I was about to drag her deeper into.
“The auction isn’t about art tonight,” I said.
A notification buzzed against my wrist.
The next item was being prepared.
Perfect timing.
My assistant walked up to me with a polite nod “Sir, the VIP room is ready”
“I'll bid myself”. I responded casually.
He glanced at me, surprised, before walking away.
I turned to Lola with a look that made her swallow hard.
“Stay close to me. No matter what happens here tonight, don't act on impulse”
THE REVEAL
The lights in the hall dimmed, directing everyone’s attention toward the stage.
Chatters from earlier died, even a pin dropping could be heard.
The auctioneer stepped forward.
“Ladies and gentlemen… The next item is one of a kind. A relic from the last generation of the Grey family.”
Lola froze beside me.
I felt it instantly. The way her hand fisted into a tight ball and the shift in her earlier demeanor.
A lazy smile crept up my lips.
“What?” she whispered, voice barely audible.
I didn’t look at her.
If I did, I might give too much away.
Instead, I kept my gaze on the stage.
Does she think it's possible to hide her father's disappearance without people finding out?
Mafias are more dangerous than she would ever think and they might even try to haunt her.
But let's see who would have the nerve to lay a finger on someone in my possession.
Two guards carried a black velvet case and placed it carefully on the blue-lit pedestal.
When the box slowly opened, she sucked in a trembling breath.
Inside was a small silver dagger.
It was clearly her father’s.
The symbol of the old mafia alliance. A custom dagger with their family’s crest.
“No,” Lola whispered, stepping closer to the balcony rail.
“That can’t be real. How did they…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, because she realized it was real.
Pain flickered across her face, her eyes suddenly becoming blurry with tears.
Seeing people looking pitiful in front of me was one of the things that disgust me the most.
I finally turned to her. To stop her from crying and tell her to wipe those tears.
Eyes wide in disbelief, her chest rising and falling too fast.
Before I could speak, she spoke first.
“Why is that here?” she demanded.
Her voice cracked.
A sound that suddenly twisted something in my chest.
“It’s being auctioned,” I answered evenly.
“The last piece of your family’s legacy.”
She shook her head, almost violently.
“No…this can't be sold. It is the one thing that ties my family to the mafia system. If this is sold, my family's existence would be wiped out totally.”
“Yes it would.” My tone was firm, not cruel.
Her eyes snapped to mine.
“You knew,” she accused, voice trembling.
“You brought me here because you knew.”
I didn’t deny it.
“Do you think I’d bring you to a place this dangerous without a reason?”
She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
The auctioneer lifted the dagger for the crowd.
The silver glinted under the light. Beautiful and damning.
“Starting bid: one million.”
Several hands rose instantly.
Lola flinched.
She looked at it like it was ripping open her chest from the inside.
Her voice came out small and broken.
“That dagger belonged to my father. And I don't want to give it up.”
She turned towards me with reddened eyes, a desperate look I never expected to see on her face. “ Please…help me reclaim it. I promise, I'll do whatever you want”.
I already knew that.
But hearing her say it?
It angered me in ways I didn’t expect.
Then something worse happened. A hand slowly lifted in the crowd.
I recognized the man immediately.
Dark suit, an ugly scar down his left cheek, eyes like dead coals.
Vincenzo Romano.
Of all the bastards in this room…
Lola saw him too and stiffened beside me.
According to my background checks, Vincenzo has tried to force himself many times on her but was rejected.
Later on when her father went bankrupt, he had offered her what he called to be ‘an opportunity’ by asking her to be his personal f**k toy.
He was the only person that had offered a helping hand to the Greys, but on dirty terms.
Aside from his request from Lola, the conditions he offered to make them rise again was dangerous and a single mistake would make them fall harder into the pit.
It was humiliation masked as help. So that offer was rejected by her father.
His lips curved into a sinister smile when their eyes met.
Not curiosity, but possession evident in them.
I feel a violent urge rising in my chest.
He raised his bid without looking away from her.
I leaned slightly toward Lola, voice low and lethal.
“Stay close.”
She swallowed. “What is happening?”
What’s happening? Simple.
She had no idea. The only way this item can be reclaimed is through this auction.
I lifted my bidding paddle.
The room stilled, people making hushed sounds.
Even Vincenzo’s expression faltered.
Because everyone here knew one thing:
When Damien Salvatore bids on something…
He never loses.
- Writer
