His Bride,Their Prey

Chapter 2

"Touching."

The deep voice echoed through the grand hall, cutting through my sobs like a knife.

I slowly lifted my head.

The older man sighed as though he'd grown bored of watching my breakdown.

Without a hint of sympathy, he reached for a thick black folder resting on the table beside him.

He flipped it open.

Several papers were neatly clipped inside.

Then...

He slid the file across the polished table toward my father.

"Sign here."

His tone was calm.

Business-like.

"As soon as you do..."

"...your debt is cleared."

Daniel stared at the papers with trembling hands.

His breathing became uneven.

The pen lying beside the file suddenly looked heavier than a gun.

I frowned.

My eyes darted between them.

"H-Hold on..."

I slowly rose to my feet.

"What file?"

Neither of them answered.

My heart began pounding again.

I took a step closer.

"Who the hell are you?"

My voice echoed through the mansion.

The older man slowly lifted his eyes to meet mine.

"Dad..." I whispered, tears still clinging to my lashes.

"Don't..."

I shook my head desperately.

"Don't sell me to some pervy old man..."

The words had barely left my mouth before a low chuckle filled the room.

Not warm.

Not amused.

It was the kind of laugh that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

The older man leaned back in his chair.

"Sharp tongue."

He studied me for a long moment.

"...Just like your mother."

My breathing caught.

"What...?"

I wasn't the only one confused.

Daniel's head snapped upward.

His brows knitted together.

"W-What did you say?"

The old man ignored him.

His cold eyes remained fixed on me.

For a brief second...

Something unreadable crossed his face.

Recognition.

Regret.

Or perhaps...

Memory.

I frowned.

"How do you know my mother?"

Silence.

The question lingered unanswered.

Then, after another sip of whiskey, he finally spoke.

"My name..."

He placed the glass down with deliberate slowness.

"...is Alessandro Moretti."

The room fell deathly silent.

My blood ran cold.

Moretti.

No...

It couldn't be.

Every soul in the city knew that name.

Parents whispered it whenever their children misbehaved.

Businessmen lowered their voices whenever it was mentioned.

Politicians pretended they didn't exist...

Yet everyone feared them.

The Moretti Family.

The family whose name alone could silence a room..

The Morettis, the most feared of the Five Mafia Families.

The family people claimed ruled the underworld with blood instead of laws.

As a little girl...

I'd promised myself something.

I'd never cross paths with a Moretti.

Never.

Yet here I was...

Standing only a few feet away from the most feared man in Italy.

Alessandro Moretti.

The Don himself.

The man who now...

Owned my fate.

Daniel's fingers hovered over the pen.

His hand trembled violently.

For a moment...

I thought he was going to push the file away.

I thought...

He was finally going to fight for me.

"Dad..."

My voice was barely above a whisper.

"Please don't do this."

His breathing grew heavier.

He looked at the papers.

Then at me.

Then back at the papers again.

The silence was unbearable.

"Please..."

I begged.

"I'm your daughter."

Another tear rolled down my cheek.

"I'll find a way."

"I always do."

"We'll leave the city."

"We'll start over."

"I'll work three jobs if I have to."

"I don't care."

"We can survive this."

"We always survive."

Daniel's lips quivered.

"You don't understand."

"No!"

"I understand perfectly!"

I stepped toward him.

"The only thing I don't understand is how my own father could choose money over me!"

"Enough."

Alessandro's voice thundered through the room.

Instantly...

Silence returned.

He slowly stood from his chair.

His presence was terrifying.

Every pair of eyes followed him as he walked toward us.

His polished shoes clicked softly against the marble.

He stopped directly in front of me.

"You think this is about money?"

His voice remained calm.

Almost amused.

I glared at him through my tears.

"What else could it possibly be?"

He smiled.

"A debt."

"A promise."

"A consequence."

Three simple words.

Yet somehow...

None of them answered my question.

"I don't belong to you."

I spat.

"You can't buy people."

His smile widened ever so slightly.

"No."

"I buy loyalty."

"I buy silence."

"I buy solutions."

His icy gaze settled on me.

"...And today..."

"I bought you."

My stomach twisted.

I wanted to slap him.

Scratch him.

Scream at him.

Instead...

I stood frozen.

Daniel suddenly fell to his knees.

"Don Alessandro..."

"Please."

Alessandro didn't even spare him a glance.

"You've already begged enough."

"I've honored our agreement."

He nodded toward the file.

"Sign."

Daniel's shaking hand reached for the pen.

"DAD!"

I screamed.

He froze.

"You don't have to do this!"

"We'll run!"

"We'll disappear!"

"They'll never find us!"

Daniel slowly shook his head.

"You don't know these people..."

His voice cracked.

"...No one escapes the Morettis."

The room became eerily quiet.

Then...

He signed.

One stroke.

Two.

Three.

The scratching of the pen against paper echoed louder than my heartbeat.

It was done.

My father had just signed me away.

I stared at the paper.

Unable to breathe.

Unable to cry.

Unable to think.

Alessandro closed the file with a satisfied snap.

"Our business is concluded."

Daniel slowly stood.

For a split second...

Our eyes met.

I searched desperately for something.

Regret.

Love.

Anything.

Instead...

He whispered...

"I'm sorry."

Then...

He turned around.

And walked away.

My entire body froze.

"Dad...?"

He didn't stop.

"Dad!"

Nothing.

My voice cracked.

"DAD!"

The enormous doors opened.

He stepped through them.

The doors slammed shut behind him.

He was gone.

Gone.

He left me.

He actually...

Left me.

I collapsed onto the marble floor.

The tears I'd been holding back came all at once.

I couldn't stop crying.

I couldn't stop shaking.

Everything I'd ever known...

Everything I'd ever trusted...

Had just walked out that door.

The massive doors remained shut.

My father was gone.

No...

Not gone.

He had left.

He had looked me in the eyes...

Apologized...

Then walked away.

I wrapped my arms around myself as my shoulders shook uncontrollably.

I wanted to wake up.

I wanted someone to tell me this was a nightmare.

That I'd fallen asleep in the Uber after another exhausting shift.

That I'd wake up in my tiny apartment with Dad making burnt toast like he always did.

But this wasn't a nightmare.

This was my life now.

The marble floor beneath my knees was freezing.

Yet I couldn't bring myself to stand.

What was the point?

I had nowhere to run.

Nowhere to go.

No one waiting for me.

A pair of polished shoes stopped in front of me.

I slowly looked up.

Alessandro Moretti.

He stared down at me with unreadable eyes.

"You'll learn."

My brows furrowed.

"...Learn what?"

He folded his hands behind his back.

"That tears solve nothing."

I laughed bitterly.

"You expect me not to cry?"

"My father just sold me."

"I've just lost everything."

His expression didn't change.

"No."

"You've only lost the illusion that you ever had anything."

The words hit harder than I expected.

"What...?"

"You spent years protecting a man who couldn't even protect himself."

His voice remained calm.

"And now you're surprised he couldn't protect you."

I clenched my fists.

"Shut up."

One of the guards shifted uncomfortably.

Nobody spoke to the Don like that.

But I didn't care.

"You don't know anything about my father."

Alessandro looked almost amused.

"I know enough."

"He was weak."

"He was desperate."

"And desperate men always make predictable choices."

"You're wrong."

I forced myself to my feet despite my trembling legs.

"He loved me."

Alessandro raised an eyebrow.

"Did he?"

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

Because for the first time...

I wasn't sure.

The Don turned away from me and checked the silver watch on his wrist.

"He should be here by now."

Before I could ask who he meant—

The atmosphere in the room changed.

Every guard instantly straightened.

The chatter between the staff died.

Even Alessandro's expression became more composed.

Then...

I heard it.

Footsteps.

Slow.

Measured.

Confident.

Each one echoed through the enormous mansion.

Click.

Click.

Click.

The sound grew louder.

Closer.

No one moved.

No one dared breathe.

I frowned.

"Who is that...?"

No one answered.

The grand double doors slowly opened.

A gust of cold air swept into the hall.

A tall figure stepped through the doorway.

Black tailored suit.

Black leather gloves.

Broad shoulders.

An aura so commanding that the entire room seemed to shrink around him.

Without even looking up, several guards lowered their heads.

"Sir."

The stranger didn't acknowledge them.

His attention remained fixed ahead as he walked with calm, unhurried steps across the marble floor.

Each footstep echoed like a countdown.

He stopped beside Alessandro.

Only then did he speak.

His voice was deep...

Calm...

Completely emotionless.

"You wanted to see me, Father?"