Virgin Slave of the Cold-hearted Mafia

SIX—OUT OF LUCK

“What’s this meaningless gathering?” A woman walks in, irritation evident in her voice. The bodyguards all seem to shrink back in fear at the sight of her. They instantly clear a path for her, bowing low. Her deep brown curls bounce around her face as she moves. A thick black scarf is wrapped firmly around her neck, and she’s covered in a black leather coat that drops to the floor. A front slit reveals her knee-high boots with pointy, killer heels. Whatever dress she might be wearing underneath is thoroughly hidden beneath the coat. She looks to be in her late fifties.

She comes to a stop beside Mei and Raffaele. “What is this nonsense?” she addresses him in anger. “The first thing you do after a nine-hour flight is play games to entertain the security?” Without sparing a glance at Mei, she grabs Raffaele’s hand and pulls it down violently. “Leave the matters of servant girls to security,” she snaps. “We have important matters at hand.” Expecting him to follow, she turns.

Raffaele refuses to move. “She’s wearing his robe,” he forces through clenched teeth. “She’s wearing one of Nero’s robes.” The idea that a common girl would stand there in Nero’s clothing makes him want to punch a hole through the wall. This information causes the woman to turn around sharply. This time, she looks at Mei. Her eyes trail from head to toe, and Mei feels as if she’s being stripped bare under that piercing gaze.

The woman turns to a guard nearby. “Kill her,” she commands. “Kill her and pull that robe off her dead body.”

The guard springs into action, reaching for the gun in his hip holster. Mei’s world slows, and she watches everything unfold as if in a dream. She sees the guard pull out the gun. The metallic glint of the barrel reflects the light in the corridor. She watches him turn off the safety and bring up his hand to aim at her head. Her blood runs cold. Ever since Nero dismissed her from his room, she suspected it was too good to be true. She was a fool for daring to believe she’d walk away freely. Whatever luck saved her from the room where no female has ever left alive seems to have finally run out. The end has finally come.

A memory of the Emperor’s smile flashes in Mei’s mind, and her eyes brim with sudden tears. Her father would never learn the truth. She’d never get to see him again or convince him that she didn’t run away from home. She’d die here in a hallway surrounded by strangers with murderous glares. Mei clenches her fists in defiance. These hateful faces won’t be the last things she sees. She pictures her father’s smiling face and closes her eyes. Then, she waits for death.

Soon after, the deafening sound of a gunshot rings through the silent hallway