Bought by the Mafia Prince: His Hidden Queen

Chapter Two

“Amelia! Come down here right now!”

Her fingers tightened around the edge of her dress. Is it about the money? Oh God, what do I say? She shoved the album back into the suitcase and pushed it under her bed. She scrambled to get up and tried to collect her thoughts.

“Coming, Mother!”

Whew. It’ll be okay. The worst they can do is probably hit me. They won’t kick me out, though. Right?

She forced herself to walk slowly down the stairs. Every step delayed the inevitable, yet somehow brought her closer to it. Cindy was sitting close to her mother, wearing a sly grin.

“Amelia.”

Her heart pounded at the call of her name. She gulped. “Yes, Mother.”

“Your sister wants to go shopping. But I don’t want anything to happen to her, so you’ll accompany her.”

For a moment, Amelia forgot about the money issue and stared at her mother with disbelief. “Mother, what if something happens to me? Who will take care of me?”

Her mother tutted. “Well, no wonder Cindy mentioned you were starting to get bolder with your words. I haven’t even questioned you about the money you hid from us, and now you dare to talk back.”

Cindy wrapped her fingers around their mother’s arm, a pitiful expression on her face. “Mom, maybe Amelia’s right. I should be the one to take care of her.”

She looked straight at Amelia with a sickening, warm gaze. “Don’t worry, Amelia; if anything happens, just leave. I’ll take care of it. Okay?”

“Hush now, Cindy. Amelia, why do you always make everything about yourself? Cindy is your older sister. She’s more vulnerable than you. Now stop whining and do as you’re told. You may leave now. Behave, and maybe I’ll let that money issue slide.”

Amelia’s fingers dug into her palm while she forced a smile. “Of course, Mother.”

Her mother gave her a disapproving look and left the two daughters. Cindy got up with an excited smile on her face. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go, Amelia.”

She followed reluctantly. Although she had no choice, she had a feeling something bad was going to happen today.

They had just finished shopping, with Amelia carrying all the bags, when Cindy decided to go to a bar for some drinks. “Cindy, isn’t it a bit too early to be drinking? Let’s just go back home.”

She scoffed. “Oh, please, you’re supposed to accompany me, remember. Besides, it’s not like you have anything better to do.”

Amelia sighed in defeat and followed her sister into the bar. Just then, Cindy received a call. “Shit.” She muttered under her breath. “Stay here; I’ll be right back.”

Amelia watched as Cindy stormed outside with a grim expression on her face. I wonder what’s going on with her.

“Excuse me, miss, would you like something to drink?”

Amelia was startled for a moment at the sudden interaction. Then she gave him a warm smile and politely declined. “I’m here with my sister. Besides, I don’t drink.”

The waiter gave a boyish grin, and they started a small conversation with small laughs in between. Cindy had just finished her call and watched them with a twitch running across her brow.

“Amelia. Let’s go.” “Oh, I’ll be there in a moment, I—” “Can we just go already! Stop frolicking with the waiter and carry my bags!”

Everyone was silent. Amelia’s brow furrowed. She said a simple goodbye to the waiter and quickly hurried after Cindy.

Something is wrong with Cindy. What was that phone call about earlier that made her so jumpy?

They got back home, and Cindy went straight to their parents’ room. Amelia dropped the bags in the living room and went to her room, not bothering to tell her parents of her return, since they would have already seen Cindy and assumed she had also come along.

It was almost time for dinner, and instead of being called downstairs, she decided to save them the trouble and went down herself. As she was about to reach the last stairs, she heard hushed whispers in the kitchen. It belonged to her parents.

“What do we do, Dominic? We can’t just hand over Cindy to those beasts. Who knows what they’ll do to her?” “Well, who told her to borrow that huge sum of money? We even used that brat’s savings to pay off half of it, but those bastards won’t agree to hold off till we have enough. It’s either we give them Cindy, or we’re all dead!” “Shh. Wait, what if we give them Amelia? They just want a daughter, right? They can take Amelia.” “Hmm, yes, that could work. We’ll send her tomorrow under the guise of sending her shopping, and then we’ll tip off her location to those bastards.”

Amelia had her hands over her mouth the entire time. They—no, this can’t be real.

A strange numbness spread through her chest. She waited for anger to come. For hatred. For something. But all she felt was the same question repeating in her mind. How could they do this to me?

Amelia walked to her room as if there were shackles dragging along her feet. With each step, she held back the sob that was desperate to come out. She closed the door and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Her hands covered her mouth before the sob could escape.

For several seconds, she stared at the ceiling, waiting for the words she had just heard to somehow change into something else.

“I don’t even know what to think anymore. My own family. Selling me off in place of my sister to pay off her debt?”

A small wet sound escaped her throat. It sounded like a chuckle, but her shoulders were shaking too hard. “This is pathetic,” she whispered.

She let out another shaky laugh that snapped into a sob. “For years, I’ve kept silent. I did everything they told me to. I thought, if I tried harder... if I were better... they would eventually look at me again. And this is what I get, paying off a debt that was never mine. As if it wasn’t bad enough that my money was taken. They just had to do this.”

She rubbed her sleeve against her runny nose. “Well, if that’s the case, I’ll just have to leave before I’m sold. Just because I’m silent doesn’t mean they can make me a pushover. Let me do something for myself for once.”

She got up after wiping her tears and went straight to her bathroom. Under the sink was an emergency stash of money. On it was written For Mom’s birthday present. She stared at it for a moment, then ripped it off, throwing it in the trash can.

It was a thousand dollars. Something she saved after restoring a few antiques for others. She went to her wardrobe and got out a hoodie with pockets big enough to hide the money. And since it was chilly outside, it wouldn’t be weird if she suddenly wanted to take a walk if she asked her “parents.” The word now left a bitter taste in her mind.

Before she walked towards the door, she looked at the suitcase underneath her bed. Memories that were once precious to her became nothing more than a fleeting desire. Maybe it’s good that it’s locked away. That way, I won’t have anything to tie me down when I’m gone.

She opened the door, and as soon as she stepped out, a sudden explosive c***k erupted at the base of her skull. Her knees turned to water and met the wooden floor in an instant. She didn’t feel the impact of the landing.

A loud, piercing whistle filled her ears. She tried to push herself up, but her arms refused to obey. The world before her split into two blurry overlapping images. She shook her head, trying to make the ringing stop, until her body finally hit the floor.

Heavy footsteps thudded nearby, vibrating through the ground against her cheek. Amelia blinked hard, trying to clear the thick gray fog clouding her eyes. The blurry shapes began to resolve into the figures she knew. Mom, Dad.

She tried to scream for them, but her lips could only twitch. Another figure emerged. Cindy, holding something resembling a bat.

“She’s down, Dad. It’s almost time.” “Very good, Cindy. Stupid brat. I can’t believe she had the guts even to run away. We should have done this sooner.” “Dear, let’s hurry before she wakes up. We don’t want her to cause any trouble.”

Hot tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t stop them. The ringing in her ears suddenly snapped into dead silence. The darkness rushed in, pulling her into a deep sleep.