Bound by obsession

Chapter 7: The Enemy

Chapter 7: The Enemy

Eva stood in the center of the ballroom, the weight of Alessio’s father’s gaze upon her like a heavy cloak, suffocating her. Every word spoken had been an echo of something larger, something she couldn’t yet grasp. The DeLuca family—she had always known they were dangerous, but now, standing before the patriarch of it all, the reality was more suffocating than she could have imagined.

Alessio’s father, the man who had engineered so many of the betrayals that had shaped her life, was a presence she could feel in the very air around her. His eyes were sharp, cold, like a predator assessing its prey.

“Eva,” he said slowly, as if savoring the word. “I see you’ve been an inconvenience for my son.”

Her heart skipped a beat. She didn’t know what she had expected, but this—this calculated assessment was beyond anything she had prepared for.

“I’m not an inconvenience,” she said, her voice steady despite the turmoil that churned within her. “I’m a person.”

A slight smirk tugged at his lips. “A person, yes. But in this world, people are either useful or they are not. You, my dear, have yet to prove which you are.”

Eva’s mind raced. This is it, she thought. The moment where everything changes. She had spent so long fighting against Alessio, against the walls around her, but the battle was now larger than him. His father, the true power behind this empire, was the one who truly held the reins of her fate.

Alessio stepped in between them, his eyes flashing with something unreadable. "Father," he said, his voice laced with tension. "This is not the time."

But his father did not back down. He looked at his son with a mixture of disappointment and authority. “You’ve been too lenient, Alessio. She doesn’t belong here, and neither do you if you continue to indulge her. She is a liability.”

Alessio’s jaw clenched. “I’m not letting her go,” he said firmly.

The patriarch’s eyes darkened, and for the first time, Eva saw a flicker of something close to menace in his gaze. “You’ll regret that decision, Alessio. Mark my words.”

The air between them crackled with tension, but Alessio did not back down. For a moment, Eva saw a side of him she hadn’t expected—a determination that mirrored her own. She had always believed he was the one in control, but now she realized they were both caught in the same web, struggling to break free.

Then, her brother’s voice cut through the silence, and everything shifted again.

“I didn’t expect to see you here, Eva,” he said, his voice low but filled with concern.

Her heart jumped in her chest. There he was again, her brother, the one person she had been desperately searching for, but also the person who had walked away from her. The same one who had sold her fate.

Eva’s gaze snapped to him, and for the first time, her breath caught in her throat. His appearance was nothing like she remembered. He was no longer the boy she had grown up with, the innocent child who had been swept up in the family’s power struggles. He was a man now—a stranger. And he had the same cold, calculating look as their father.

Her pulse quickened. “Why are you here?” she demanded.

He didn’t respond right away. His eyes flickered toward Alessio, then back to her. “I’m here because I have to be.”

Eva’s blood ran cold. His words felt like a betrayal, like he had already chosen his side long ago. The thought stung, but she forced herself to swallow it down.

Alessio’s father turned his gaze on him. “Your sister is a problem, Vincenzo,” he said, his voice ice-cold. “And you’ve failed to do what’s necessary.”

Her brother flinched, but only slightly. “I never wanted this for her.”

“Your desire doesn’t matter,” the patriarch snapped. “What matters is that she’s a threat to everything we’ve built. She needs to be dealt with.”

Eva felt a chill run down her spine. “Dealt with?” she echoed, her voice tinged with disbelief. “You want to kill me?”

Alessio’s father met her eyes with a cruel smile. “I wouldn’t put it that bluntly. But yes, Eva, that’s the reality of this world. Either you join us, or you become an obstacle.”

Every muscle in Eva’s body went taut. The words hung in the air, each one a reminder of the life she had been forced into, of the danger she now found herself in. There was no way out, no place for her to escape. The walls were closing in.

Alessio moved closer to her, his eyes locked on his father’s. “I won’t let you do this,” he said, the intensity in his voice almost startling.

The patriarch’s gaze narrowed. “You think you can protect her, Alessio? After everything she’s done? After everything your own family has done to her? You can’t change her, and you can’t protect her. She is a liability.”

Eva’s throat tightened. The words stung more than she expected. She had always fought to stay strong, to hold onto the parts of herself that she could control, but hearing them now made her question whether she had ever had a choice at all.

“I will fight for her,” Alessio said, his voice hard. “You’ll have to kill me first.”

For a moment, the two men stared at each other, the room thick with tension. Then, Vincenzo, her brother, spoke up, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade.

“Enough,” he said. “Father, please. This is madness.”

Her father’s expression didn’t change. “Madness is thinking you have any power left, Vincenzo,” he said coldly. “You’re all under my control. And this game has gone on long enough.”

Eva’s breath caught in her throat. Vincenzo—her own brother—was caught in this web too. There was no escape. Not for him. Not for her. No one was safe from the consequences of their family’s actions.

Alessio’s grip on her tightened, his touch possessive, protective. She didn’t know if she hated or appreciated it. All she knew was that she had never felt more trapped.

“I don’t want to play your game anymore,” Eva said quietly, her voice filled with defiance.

Alessio’s eyes softened for a moment, and in that instant, she saw something she hadn’t expected—guilt. Was it possible that he, too, was a prisoner in this world?

“You don’t have a choice,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “None of us do.”

Eva’s chest tightened. Was he right? Had they all been pushed too far to escape? Had their fates been sealed the moment her father had made those secret deals with the DeLuca family? Was she doomed to become another pawn in a war that wasn’t even hers?

Her gaze shifted from Alessio to her brother. She had spent so many years wishing for answers, for a chance to escape this life, but now that they were in front of her, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the truth. Was she ready to face the consequences of everything that had led her here?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the patriarch spoke again.

“We’re done here,” he said, his voice final. “Eva, you’ll come with me.”

Eva’s heart pounded in her chest. “No,” she said firmly. “I won’t.”

Alessio’s hand tightened on her arm, his grip hard and unyielding. “Eva—”

“Don’t make me choose, Alessio,” she said, her voice sharp. “I’m not going to be anyone’s pawn. Not yours, not anyone’s.”

For a moment, she saw a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. But only for a moment.

The game was far from over.