Chapter 2
684 Words
A gunshot shattered the chaos, plunging the rowdy auction hall into instant silence.
A man in tattered clothes went flying through the doorway, his lower half a gruesome mess of blood. Damian, utterly unhinged, threw himself at the fallen man. His fists pummeled mercilessly, each blow cracking bone until the man slumped unconscious.
Once the body was dragged away, Damian reappeared with Clara cradled in his arms, her face streaked with tears. Our gazes locked, his dark as a storm, mine lowered. That venomous, familiar look sent a jolt through me, yanking me back to the darkest chapter of my past, the one I'd give anything to forget.
My father had groomed Damian as his sharpest blade. During the gang's civil war, he'd been sent abroad on a mission. In his absence, my seven so-called uncles, no blood of mine, dared to drug me in their power grab. For forty excruciating hours, they had their way with me. By the time Damian returned, I was already broken in a hospital bed. My father, ever the pragmatist, sacrificed me to "preserve unity."
After that, PTSD clawed at me, relentless. Suicide became as regular as clockwork. During my final attempt, Damian held me as I carved seven scars over my heart, so deep the bone nearly showed. His eyes that day chilled me to the core, just like now.
"Raven," he'd vowed, voice steel, "I'll make those animals pay in blood."
The memory crashed over me like a tidal wave. Before I could steady myself, Clara's shrill voice cut through the silence as she shielded Damian.
"Raven!" her voice dripped venom. "You think you own this city? You're just worn-out trash! A slut like you shouldn't even breathe near Gray Family!"
The hall went deathly still. The iron tang of blood hung in the air as gasps rippled through the crowd. Even Damian paled. This was the territory of the Gray Family. Everyone knew that incident was my berserk button, yet this i***t Clara was poking it publicly.
"Damian, I'm not scared! Go ahead, let her shoot"
Bang! My bullet tore through her thigh. Had Damian not yanked her aside, it would've painted the walls with her brains. Clara bit her lip bloody, but still whimpered, "Damian... leave me. I'd rather die than..." Her lips brushed his ear in a whisper.
The next second, Damian's breath hitched. He scooped her up and charged for the exit. Bodyguards swarmed. Though once my father's deadliest weapon, even he couldn't fight them all while carrying her. Crimson bloomed across his shirt within moments.
"Raven!" Arthur hissed, "That girl's nothing but future trouble!"
I stared at Damian, eyes wild with rage, and the spotless doll in his arms, not a single crease on her dress. A hollow laugh escaped me, tears betraying the act.
The last glimmer of hope I held for Damian flickered out like a dying ember.
"Get them out of my sight. And tell that South City boss his marriage offer is accepted."
After that day, Damian vanished for three straight days.
During his absence, reports flooded North City, every bastard who'd bid on those auction photos ended up beaten within an inch of their lives.
Damian had always been a mad dog, so this c*****e didn't surprise me.
What shocked me was Clara's audacity. The b***h was practically begging for an early grave.
She mailed Gray Manor her pregnancy test alongside photos of those men left barely breathing, every word oozing smug triumph.
"Hah! Raven, what good is all your power? Just a used-up w***e ripped open till you'll never carry a child. This brat in my belly is Damian's one and only legacy, something no amount of temple groveling could buy you!"
A cold laugh escaped my lips as I reduced every scrap of her taunts to ashes.
The next morning, Damian burst into Gray Manor like a raging bull.
He booted Arthur into the koi pond, murderous rage radiating off him.
I snapped my fingers for servants to drag the old man out.
"God damn it, had your fill of playing rabid dog yet?"
- Writer
