THE MAFIA’s PET

TRAPPED

I spun around so quickly that I nearly lost my balance.

Antonio stood a few inches away, watching me with an amused expression.

I swallowed.

“But you don’t look so shocked,” he remarked.

“Well, pardon me for not caring.”

He snickered.

“I like that.”

Of course he did.

“Follow me.”

“To where?”

He didn’t answer.

He simply turned and walked away, apparently expecting me to obey.

I hated him.

But I followed him anyway.

For now.

We eventually reached an office. He walked in, sat on the edge of his desk, and took another drag of his cigarette.

I remained by the door.

“So, tell me. Why am I here?”

“It’s simple. You know too much.”

For a moment, I just stared at him.

Then I started laughing.

Not because anything was funny, but because I genuinely couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

He watched me with the same blank expression.

“Oh, my God. You’re serious.”

I pointed at myself.

“Let me get this straight. You dragged me out of a hospital and locked me up in your f*****g mansion because I know too much?”

“That’s right.”

I laughed again, shaking my head.

“That’s stupid. Cleyton knows a whole lot more about your shitty business than I do. And I bet half the workers at that club know something, too. So please, tell me you’re joking.”

“Smart, I see.”

He tapped the ash from his cigarette into a nearby tray.

“You’re right. Cleyton knows how dangerous I am, and he wouldn’t dare cross me. But you…”

His eyes settled on me.

“You’re vulnerable. And I can’t have you roaming the streets, telling people things that could ruin my reputation.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“So what’s your plan? Keep me locked up here forever and pray I don’t run a knife through your heart?”

“Partly.”

He smiled.

“But I don’t think you have the balls to do that.”

Something inside me went still.

Then I smiled back.

“Is that so?”

I lunged at him.

His eyes widened, and for once, I caught him off guard.

The knife slashed across his palm.

He swore, grabbing my wrist before I could strike again. The next thing I knew, he twisted my arm, forcing me to release the knife.

It clattered to the floor.

He kicked it away, sending it skidding towards the far end of the office.

Blood dripped from his palm onto the polished floor.

And the bastard laughed.

He actually laughed.

“What a maniac!”

Before I could react, he spun me around and slammed my upper body against the desk.

The impact knocked the breath out of me.

I tried to push myself up, but he held me there, his grip firm around my arm.

He leaned closer, his face near my neck.

“We’re just getting started, Miss Lucia. Don’t end the game so quickly.”

Then he shoved me away.

I stumbled, catching myself before I hit the floor.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

I wanted to kill him.

God, I wanted to kill him.

And he knew it.

He returned to his seat as if nothing had happened, reached beneath the desk, and pulled out a file.

Then he tossed it at me.

It landed at my feet.

I stared at it before bending down to pick it up.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

I glanced at him, then reluctantly opened the file.

The words on the first page made me frown.

I read them again.

And again.

I flipped through the pages, my disbelief growing with every line.

A marriage contract.

I looked up at him.

“Are you insane?”

“Read it.”

I looked back at the document, my eyes moving over the clauses.

Five years. I was supposed to remain married to Antonio for five f*****g years, living in his house and going nowhere unless he allowed it.

And I couldn’t tell anyone who he really was or what went on inside that house.

The sheer audacity.

I threw the contract onto his desk.

“You’ve got some nerve if you think I’d ever sign this.”

I turned and headed for the door.

“Your mom is ill, right?”

My feet stopped moving.

I couldn’t hear anything except the sound of my own heartbeat.

Slowly, I turned around.

Antonio was no longer smiling.

“It would be a shame if she passed away so soon.”

I stared at him.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

He tilted his head.

“Wouldn’t I?”

“Leave my mother out of this.”

“Then pick up the contract.”

I shook my head, taking a step backwards.

“No.”

His expression hardened.

“I’m capable of a lot of things, Miss Lucia. Don’t make the mistake of thinking your mother is beyond my reach.”

My throat tightened.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

He wasn’t just threatening me. He was making sure I understood that he could get to her whenever he wanted. And no matter how much I hated him, no matter how many times I’d wished he were dead, I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Not when he had her.

“Pick up that damn contract and sign it,” he said, his voice dangerously calm, “if you ever want to see your mother again.”

I looked down at the document.

Five years of my life.

I could refuse.

But I couldn’t risk the fate of my mother after witnessing what this bastard was capable of.

“Please,” I whispered, looking up at him. “Don’t do this.”

“Sign it, Lucia.”

My eyes burned.

I bent down and picked up the contract with trembling hands.

Then I turned to the last page.

My gaze fell on the space where my signature was supposed to go.

I reached for the pen on his desk.

My hand was shaking so badly that my signature looked nothing like my own.

“There,” I muttered, pushing the contract towards him. “You got what you wanted. Now leave my mother out of this.”

Antonio picked up the contract and checked my signature.

“Good.”

Jerk

“So, what now? Do I take my clothes off and please you, or am I supposed to go make you dinner, you f*****g pervert?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he opened the drawer beneath his desk and pulled out a brown envelope.

“Before you leave, there’s something you should know.”

“I’m not interested in anything you have to say.”

“It’s about your friend.”