Chapter 8: The Hidden Face
533 Words
Lana stared at the glowing phone screen through her blurred vision. On the video, the lights of The Onyxflashed wildly. She watched a girl stand up to the city's most feared crime lord, strike him across the face, and run.
Lana shook her head aggressively, pushing herself further against the bed frame. "This cannot be me!" she cried, her voice trembling and full of panic. "Look at it! You cannot even see her face! My face is not there! Someone made this from behind. It is not me, I swear to you!"
Zekail let out another dark, mocking laugh that cut through her frantic words. He did not care about the angle of the video. He dropped to his knee, his movements as fast as a striking predator. Before she could pull away, his large, powerful hand shot forward, his calloused fingers gripping her jaw with a firm, unyielding pressure. He tilted her face upward, forcing her to look directly into his terrifying, freezing grey eyes.
"Your face is not in the video?" Zekail sneered, his grip tightening just enough to keep her completely pinned. He leaned in so close she could feel the heat of his anger. "But I remember your face. How could I forget this face? A face that looks completely innocent from above, but does such dirty stuff, huh?"
Lana whimpered, tears spilling over his fingers as she tried to twist away from his touch. The pressure on her jaw and the scent of his cologne brought back the terrifying memory of the club, making her heart race.
"You slapped me," Zekail hissed, his voice dropping to a dangerous, lethal whisper. "You stood there in that club acting like you were a good girl who was too pure for my world."
"Don't touch me! Please!" Lana gasped, her hands weakly pushing against his solid chest, her voice cracking with raw fear. "Please, let me go!"
Zekail’s eyes darkened with absolute disgust, a vicious smirk twisting his lips as he looked down at her. "Don't touch you? Look at you. What do you think of yourself? A girl touched by a thousand boys, acting like a saint the moment I step near."
Lana froze. The harsh words hit her like a physical blow. She wanted to scream the truth, to tell him that she had never been with anyone, that she had been drugged, and that she was completely pure. But the sheer shock and terror of his words paralyzed her. Her throat locked up, and she could not form a single syllable. She could only stare at him with wide, frightened eyes, completely silenced by fear.
Zekail stared down at her silent, trembling form for a long moment. When he saw that she could not even reply, he let go of her chin with a harsh shove. He stood up smoothly, pulling a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his hand as if her tears were dirt.
"You will stay in this room until you learn your place," Zekail commanded coldly.
He turned around and walked out. The heavy oak doors slammed shut behind him, and the sharp sound of the lock turning echoed through the quiet space.
- Writer
