Sweet Betrayal

Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Shackled Hearts

Shanaya stared at the cold floor of the airport security room, her breath still caught in her throat. Her wrists were trembling in Christian’s tight grip. He knelt in front of her, pulling out his phone.

“Since you still don’t understand what’s at stake…” he said with a cruel smile, tapping on a video.

The screen lit up.

It showed her uncle, auntie, and little Matteo—tied up, terrified, and held at gunpoint by masked men.

“No!” she cried, trying to reach for the phone, as if she could pull them to safety.

Christian grabbed her chin roughly. “You ever try something like this again, Shanaya, and I won’t just send a warning.” He leaned closer, his voice ice. “I will end them.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her body shook violently as she dropped to her knees.

“Please… please don’t hurt them. I’ll do anything. I swear—I won’t run again.”

Christian smiled, finally releasing her.

“Good girl,” he whispered. “I knew you'd understand eventually.”

She was taken not to her uncle’s house, but to Christian’s mansion—a fortress hidden within the hills, far from the city. Her aunt, uncle, and Matteo were moved in as well—watched constantly by guards.

“You’re my family now,” Christian said as they entered the grand halls. “And families stay together… until the wedding.”

Across the city, in a high-rise office lined with shattered glass and broken furniture, Lorenzo stood amidst chaos—his fists bloody, his chest heaving.

He had just thrown his desk across the room.

“She’s gone. Gone.” he growled, smashing a glass of scotch against the wall.

His secretary and best friend, Marco, burst in, slamming the door behind him.

“Lorenzo!”

“What?” Lorenzo barked, his eyes wild.

Marco held up his phone. “You need to see this.”

He showed a grainy photo—Shanaya being pulled through the airport by Christian’s men. Then another—her arriving at Christian’s mansion, her eyes empty, defeated.

“Christian blackmailed her,” Marco said quickly. “She tried to run. He threatened her family. She was forced into this.”

Lorenzo’s world tilted.

All the pieces suddenly clicked into place.

The sadness in her eyes. The way she never smiled. The fear she never voiced.

“Dio mio…” Lorenzo whispered. His fists clenched. “He’s destroying her.”

Marco put a hand on his shoulder. “You love her.”

Lorenzo nodded slowly. “And I’m not going to let her suffer one more day.”