Lucas lifted her up and placed her on the piano, his fingers brushing away her long hair, exploring along her collarbone to her shoulder, then forcefully grasping her chin: "Remember, it's Capone who made you endure all this! He's the one who wants to give you to other men to be ravaged, to make you a whore for men to play with at will! Right now, I want your body, I'm going to penetrate you deeply, remember the feeling I give you, it's different from his!"
"No, no!"
Sophia struggled. She couldn't quite tell who the man in front of her was.
Wasn't she in the hotel room with Lucas at ROYAL? Why did it now seem like she was back in the Diaz family mansion, with the piano she used to play behind her, and the man pinning her down seemed like the one who had first taken her chastity?
Capone…
Her clothes were torn apart roughly, and Sophia felt a chill on her chest. She pulled her arms up to cover herself in shock, only to have Lucas forcefully pull them away and press her down on the piano.
Fear and humiliation surged inside her, as if she was reliving that night when her virginity was taken. Her back burned with the memory of the whip marks, and the devilish man above her, indifferent to her pain, tore at her clothes and pinned her down.
"No, let me go! Let me go!"
She cried out desperately, a white fog clouding her vision, making it harder and harder to see the man's face. He looked like Capone, but then again, he looked like someone else. Not just one person, but many, many men…
She had thought many times, if she could go back in time, she would save herself before Capone took her.
But now this scene was replaying again, and all she could do was endure the pain once more, intensified this time, without being able to change anything.
She couldn't save herself, and no one would save her. The person who put her in this situation was Capone!
That sentence echoed in her ears: "He's the one who wants to give you to other men to be ravaged, to make you a whore for men to play with at will!"
Sophia's emotions finally broke, and she cried, kicked, and punched. Her fingers gripped the edge of the piano lid so tightly that her nails were bleeding. Lucas had already stripped off her coat and tossed it on the floor. The buttons of her shirt had been ripped off, revealing a large expanse of her chest. Her fair and flawless skin was dazzlingly beautiful.
Lucas was very pleased with her reaction, but there was no lust in his eyes. As the sounds of people approaching from the hallway grew louder, he smirked slightly and tore at her open blouse, ripping it apart completely. Her young, full breasts, supported by simple lace underwear, were exposed.
"Hate him, do you?" he whispered softly in her ear.
"Let me go… help… Capone, I hate you, I hate you!"
Capone pushed open the door and strode into the room, just in time to hear Sophia's hoarse, tear-filled voice shout those words...
"Let her go!" Capone pointed his gun at Lucas. His shooting was famously quick, ruthless, and precise. Many didn't even have time to see him draw his weapon before they were already dead from a single shot.
He couldn't remember the last time he had drawn his gun so quickly. After all, with Joey, Cronus, and the brothers in and around ROYAL protecting him, few situations required him to resort to violence.
And yet, today he was aiming his gun at Lucas, all for the sake of Sophia Diaz, the daughter of his enemy.
He had witnessed many cruel scenes in his life, but he couldn't bear to accept what was happening in front of him. Sophia Diaz sat on the piano, her hair disheveled, barely clothed, her consciousness fading, her face soaked with tears. Lucas stood over her, restraining and ripping at her, preparing to violate and hurt her.
Capone couldn't bring himself to look at her for too long. Holding his gun steady, he stepped closer, his voice low and firm: "Lucas, I'll say it one more time. Let her go!"
Lucas turned his head to look at him, raising his hands in surrender, but without a trace of fear on his face. Instead, there was a sense of ease, as if he had achieved his goal.
"Capone, is this how you treat your guests? Invite me to your territory and greet me with a gun?"
He glanced at Sophia Diaz, now having slipped off the piano and collapsed to the floor like a wilted gardenia, no longer restrained.
"It seems there's no need for us to continue our conversation today. As for Nishiyama, I'm not backing off. You might as well give up and convince those stubborn people to move their graves. Blocking the path to money is quite irritating! And as for the girl… she's decent enough, but I'm not in the habit of dealing with your used goods. Be careful not to play too rough—you might still find her useful someday."
As soon as Lucas finished speaking, Capone's grip on the trigger tightened. But hearing the pained whimper from Sophia, now collapsed on the floor, he couldn't waste time on Lucas' provocations. He rushed over, crouching down to try and lift her.
"No! Let me go… get away, get out!"
Unexpectedly, Sophia reacted violently to his touch. The seemingly helpless bundle of a girl transformed into an enraged hedgehog, bristling and using every bit of her strength to fend him off.
"Don't come near me…" She kicked and hit at him, dragging herself backward. With the piano behind her, she had nowhere to retreat, wishing she could crawl under the instrument to hide.
"Sophia Diaz, snap out of it! Come with me, I'll take you away!"
He couldn't pinpoint exactly what was causing the panic in his heart. He could tell that her consciousness was muddled, as though she was hallucinating and had been triggered by something. The air was thick with the smell of tobacco, mixed with a distinct fragrance. He knew what it was, which only made him more desperate to get her out of there.
Lucas sneered from the side. Joey and Cronus stood silently behind him, unable to offer any advice, knowing that it would be futile to even try.
Capone was growing increasingly agitated by Sophia Diaz's tears. She was struggling fiercely, and as he forcefully pulled her towards him, he heard the soft crack of bones and her cry of pain. Instantly, he realized something had gone wrong—her shoulder had dislocated.
The panic within him became clearer with every second. The sound of her joint separating seemed to echo through the room, and for the first time, he understood why he was feeling so unsettled.
He didn't want to hurt her anymore. Making a swift decision, he used his hand to strike the back of her neck.
Sophia finally fell silent, and he lifted her into his arms, walking past Lucas. There was nothing left to say to him. Their paths would inevitably cross again, and the grudges between them would one day be settled in their own way.
But one thing was certain: he would never drag Sophia into it again. This was the decision he made at that very moment.
Lucas watched as Capone carried Sophia Diaz out of the room, the warmth in his eyes slowly fading away, replaced by a cold and piercing chill.
In this moment, Lucas saw a reflection of his past self—covered in blood, cradling the lifeless body of the one he loved, trudging forward in a daze, leaving a trail of blood-red footprints behind him, like a warning of a road from which there was no return.
Why did Capone still have the chance to walk out holding the woman he loved, while Lucas hadn't made it in time to see Xiaojun one last time?
Sophia Diaz was nothing more than a woman Capone had forcefully taken. She had been sent to Lucas as a show of dominance. Even if he had taken her by force, Capone would have had no reason to object.
If it weren't for the informant by Capone's side who specifically requested her, Lucas wouldn't have had to go to such lengths.
He wanted revenge for Xiaojun. It took every ounce of his reason and self-control not to pull out his gun and end things right then and there.
But death wouldn't be enough. Before that, he wanted Capone to experience the same pain of loss and regret.