Bound to My Husband’s Enemy

Porto Private Pier, Livorno — Italy, 9:00 p.m. CEST. Screams of agony continued to haunt her ears, those terrifying sounds echoed with the howling wind, which carried a chill that pierced her bones. The earth-shaking sound of gunfire forced her heavy eyelids open. As soon as they opened, Mia thought she was hallucinating when the horrific scene before her overwhelmed her senses, her entire body ached and felt weak, bound tightly to a pole. Before her, several men lay sprawled across the ground, their bodies stained with blood. In a corner of the room, a middle-aged man was on his knees, being beaten, and finally collapsed after the burly man in the black suit shot him squarely in the forehead, all accompanied by agonized screams. Fear gripped Mia. She desperately hoped this terrifying illusion would end soon. She remembered being in the hospital after suffering a miscarriage. Unfortunately, this was her third miscarriage in three years of marriage. After crying over her baby, she had fallen asleep from exhaustion, which is why she was convinced this was all just a nightmare or an aftereffect of the anesthesia from the D&C. When she slapped her cheek, the hallucination actually got worse as the man turned and stared directly at her with a terrifying, piercing gaze. “Mrs. Miller? You’re finally awake.” The man’s voice sounded like ice in Mia’s ears as she watched him step closer and crouch down in front of her. His face looked both strikingly handsome and terrifying, with splatters of blood staining his skin. The smile on his lips made Mia feel like prey being skinned. God! Please free me from this hallucination. Or if this is a dream, wake me up immediately. It’s all too real and too… terrifying. Mia's breath seemed to stop as she felt the muzzle of a gun pressed against her jaw. The coldness seeped into her bones, making her realize that everything felt painfully real. “Sir, am I dreaming…” Her voice trembled. The man grinned as his other hand rose to Mia’s neck. Instantly, Mia felt intense pressure on her throat, her neck felt like it was being crushed, and she could barely breathe. “Mmph!” “Well? Do you think this is a dream?” he whispered before pulling his hand away from Mia’s throat. In an instant, Mia was gasping for breath, now the reality of it all made her realize that what was happening wasn’t a dream or an illusion, it was all real! "W-who are you?" Her voice shook. "W-why am I here?" "You're here to die," he announced, tapping the gun against her temple in an oddly casual manner. “Unless your husband, Alexander Miller, is willing to trade a few things for your life.” The sharp voice accompanied by a low chuckle. The man stepped away from Mia when he noticed his henchman had stopped beside him. The henchman handed her a cell phone. "Verdict, the call to Alexander Miller just went through.'" Verdict, the name echoed in Mia’s mind, and her heart instantly grew cold as the memory of it flashed through her thoughts. She had heard rumors about him, the heir to the Vanderbilt clan, a man supposedly terrifying in appearance. Rumor had it that he was extremely cruel, having slaughtered hundreds and becoming the most wanted fugitive in the past decade. From those rumors, the only thing Mia could dispute was the man’s appearance, his physique was completely different from what was described. The man was very handsome, but his eyes had a deadly intensity that could make anyone tremble with fear. That gaze was like a dagger that could kill at any moment. “Your husband answered my call,” he crouched down before Mia again, waving the phone in front of her face. "Pray that your husband comes soon. If not..." Verdict gestured toward the southern corridor, where Mia could see women being roughly dragged away. “You’ll join them and be sent to Manila to be trafficked.” Mia’s jaw clenched tightly, her heart raced as she waited for her husband’s response. She couldn’t imagine how panicked Alex must be upon learning she’d been kidnapped, especially since he was on a business trip out of town, that was why he couldn’t be with her during her miscarriage. And now she couldn’t wait for him to return so she could hold him and erase all her fears. “Alexander Miller, you have one hour to save the woman you love. If you don’t want her to die, bring the Mediterranean Deep-Blue Port Project Tender documents as a bargaining chip. If you’re late… one by one, your wife’s fingers will be severed.” Mia stared transfixed at the crooked smile on Verdict’s lips. The man seemed to be enjoying her tears, before wiping the tears from her cheeks with the tip of his gun. “Alex… please come quickly… I’m scared,” her mind screamed in panic. "The tender documents?" Her husband’s deep voice rang in Mia’s ears as the loudspeaker came on. A glimmer of hope lit up her eyes, she was certain he must have been terrified and panicked before rushing over to save her. "You said you wanted that to redeem the life of the woman I love? Is that right? Don’t try to fool me! You amateur fraud! The woman I love is clearly right here beside me right now!" Alex’s voice boomed with rage. Mia’s body froze at her husband’s utterly unexpected response. She didn’t understand what Alex was saying, ‘the woman I love is clearly right here beside me’, the phrase kept spinning in Mia’s head, and she couldn’t fathom its meaning. "Don’t make me repeat myself," Verdict growled, his face darkening. "Mrs. Miller is clearly right in front of me, her life depends on your decision." "I don’t care who’s with you, she’s not my woman. It’s up to you whether you kill her or not!" Alex’s voice grew even louder. Mia’s gaze went blank upon hearing Alex’s words. Was the anesthetic preventing her brain from processing Alex’s words? Or did Alex not believe he was being held captive, so to avoid what he perceived as a deception, her husband was pretending his wife was by his side? Yes… that must be it. That’s surely what Alex was thinking right now. "Honey? Who’s calling? Why are you so upset?" A woman’s voice came over the phone. Mia’s blood seemed to freeze in her veins upon hearing that woman’s voice. It was a voice very familiar to Mia, Vivi’s, her stepsister’s. Why was she with her husband? Why was Vivi calling her husband “honey”? “Ah, Vivi, it was just a wrong number. Why don’t we pick up where we left off?” The man’s voice, the one she’d initially hoped to hear now pierced the depths of her heart, before her heart was finally shattered upon hearing Vivi’s moans, followed by the sound of a kiss. "Alex… slowly," Vivi’s moan pierced Mia’s ears. She didn’t know if they were intentionally flaunting their intimacy on Verdict or if Alex had simply forgotten to hang up. "Vivi, my love, I’ve missed you so much all day, so tonight I’m going to have you until I’m satisfied. Take off your clothes, darling…" Alex’s moans echoed again, causing her tears to flow even more freely, while her fingers trembled as they clutched her hospital gown. “Alex… Vivi… what are you doing behind me,” she whispered, holding back her sobs. Verdict snorted before roughly drawing his pistol. “What a waste of time, turns out you’re useless to him.” Now Verdict no longer seemed so frightening to Mia, the moans of passion she had just heard felt far more terrifying. “Sir… please let me go, I have to see my husband to confirm something, I beg you.” "You mean you want to confirm your husband’s affair? Don’t waste your time on such nonsense," Verdict’s cold sneer pierced Mia’s ears. The man looked down on her. "You’re an unlucky woman," he muttered, before standing up and gesturing to one of his subordinates. "Leon… get her out of my sight. Put her in the group of women who are about to be sent to Manila.” Mia’s eyes widened instantly. “No! Please don’t sell me!” Verdict turned briefly, Mia could feel his cold gaze piercing her skin. “Then, would you rather I just kill you?” he asked flatly, before walking away. “No… please set me free, I’ll do anything for you!” Mia’s scream managed to halt the man’s steps. With a bitter look in her eyes, she watched as he stepped back toward her, the dark smile on Verdict’s lips made Mia’s heart grow even more anxious. “In that case, I have an important task for you. Bring me the bid documents your husband won last week. He keeps them in a place with extremely tight security, I’ve had trouble tracking them down, but I know they’re close." “If you don’t succeed within three hours… my bodyguard will shoot you in the head right here.” Mia felt the man’s hand reach out and roughly grip her chin, forcing her to look up. “If you don’t succeed within three hours… my bodyguard will shoot you in the head right here, understand?” Mia hurriedly nodded. To hell with that tender document! The important thing was to get out of here safely first. “I-I’ll do it, p-please let me go.” *** The Miller Family Residence — Lucca, Italy, 10:15 PM. When Mia managed to get off that dreadful ship, Verdict didn’t give her any leeway at all. He sent her home with four burly bodyguards watching her every move. Even as she stepped into her own house, their piercing stares never wavered, as if ready to pounce on her if she made even the slightest mistake. Mia had initially thought she’d have a chance to hide from them once she got home. However, the current situation only made her feel more pressured, especially when she caught a glimpse of the weapons tucked at their waists. As per Verdict’s orders, they were ready to blow her head off if she didn’t find the object within three hours. And what made Mia even more frustrated was… she had no idea where the document was! Could Alex have hidden it in their room? That was the only thought crossing Mia’s mind right now. “You have one and a half hours left… hurry up.” The guard’s deep voice made Mia’s breath catch in her throat, her life was hanging by a thread! Mia’s fingers felt cold as she reached for the doorknob of her room, then pushed it slowly. When a small gap appeared, before the door opened any wider, Mia’s hand froze. Through that crack, she witnessed a scene that instantly took her breath away. Mia hurriedly covered her mouth, her body trembling. On her bed, Alex who was supposed to be out of town on a business trip was making out with Vivi. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, their moans of pleasure filled the room, piercing Mia’s ears, leaving her mind blank… and making her heart feel as though it were being stabbed a thousand times with a knife. Once again, Mia hoped what she was seeing was an illusion. However, after she felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed against her temple, she finally realized it was all real, followed by a whisper from one of the bodyguards. “Time is running out, find that document immediately.” Her whole body felt so weak she could barely stand, she struggled to hold back her sobs. She had never imagined she would witness her husband and Vivi, her stepsister, making love on the bed she had shared with her husband for three years of marriage. Worse still, she was witnessing it with her life hanging by a thread....