The cold air of the hallway felt heavy, oppressive, as Bruno and I continued making our way down its dimly lit path. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I could feel the suffocating weight of something ominous ahead. But more than anything, I was confused.
Bruno's grip on my wrist was firm but not painful, guiding me forward with an unwavering sense of purpose. His silence, however, was suffocating.
"Why are we here?" I asked for what felt like the hundredth time. My voice was a desperate whisper, one that barely filled the eerie hallway. "What is this place, Bruno? What do you want from me?"
He didn't respond at first, his jaw set, his expression unreadable. It was infuriating. I couldn't shake the sensation that I was being led somewhere I didn't want to go. Somewhere I shouldn't go.
"Bruno," I pressed, more forcefully now. "Answer me. Why are we here? What are you hoping to gain by bringing me here?"
His eyes flashed with a dangerous gleam as he glanced at me, his mouth curling into a smirk that sent chills down my spine.
"What am I hoping to gain? Maria, you need to be taught a lesson."
"A lesson?" I repeated, my stomach twisting into knots. "What kind of lesson?"
Bruno stopped abruptly, turning to face me fully. His grip on my wrist tightened just enough to make me wince.
"Obedience," he said coldly. "You've been proving far too stubborn for your own good. You need to understand your place in this world, my world."
My breath caught in my throat as his words hung in the air between us. "Obedience?" My mind raced, trying to make sense of what he meant, but before I could respond, he turned back around and resumed walking, pulling me along behind him.
We approached a large, heavy door at the end of the hallway. Bruno paused in front of it for a moment, his hand resting on the iron handle. He glanced back at me, his expression unreadable. There was something in his eyes, something dark, something that made me want to turn and run as far away from him as I could.
But I couldn't. I was trapped. I had been trapped from the moment I entered his world.
Without another word, Bruno pushed the door open, and we stepped inside.
The room was dimly lit, it smelled of sweat and blood, and at the center of the room, three men stood around a chair, but it was the man in the chair that caught my attention.
He was tied up, his hands bound behind him, his head slumped forward as if he barely had the strength to hold it up. His face was a mess of bruises and cuts, dried blood caked to his skin.
I froze in the doorway, my heart hammering in my chest.
"Bruno…" I whispered, my voice shaking. "What is this? Why are we here?"
Bruno ignored my questions, as if my fear was nothing more than background noise. Instead, he stepped forward, his posture as calm and commanding as ever. The men standing around the hostage all straightened up as Bruno approached, their eyes sharp with anticipation.
"Maria," Bruno began, his voice smooth, as if he were discussing the weather rather than the horrifying scene before us. "This man…he's a bodyguard for one of the rival families. A family that's been…let's say, very interested in your father's affairs."
I blinked, trying to process what he was saying. Rival family? My father's affairs? The words swirled in my head, but none of them made sense.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, my voice trembling.
Bruno finally turned to me, his dark eyes locking onto mine.
"The family responsible for your father's debt, Maria. The same debt that has you tangled up in this mess." His lips curled into a smirk. "This man works for them."
A sickening realization washed over me. I stared at the beaten man in the chair, my heart pounding in my chest.
"What…what does that have to do with me?"
Bruno stepped closer, his voice low and dripping with arrogance.
"I wanted you to understand what's at stake. These people—they don't play games. They would do anything to get their hands on you for what your father did."
My stomach dropped. The world tilted on its axis, and for a moment, I thought I might be sick. I knew my father was in deep, but I didn't realize how far this went. How far I had been dragged into it without even knowing.
Bruno approached the man in the chair, his expression unreadable.
"Tell her," he commanded. "What would your family do if they had the chance to get their hands on her? For all the things her father did?"
The man in the chair lifted his head, blood dripping from his split lip as he smiled, an evil glint in his eyes.
"They'd kill her," he rasped, his words sending a shiver down my spine. "They'd make her regret every second of her life."
I staggered back, my heart thudding in my ears. Fear clawed at my throat, tightening like a vice.
"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "No, this can't be…"
Bruno's face remained impassive as he turned to me.
"Now do you see, Maria?" His voice was cold, calculated. "This is what you're up against. Without me, you're as good as dead."
I couldn't breathe. My vision blurred as panic surged through me, threatening to consume me whole. I wanted to scream, to cry, to run, but my legs wouldn't move. I was frozen in place, trapped in a nightmare that I couldn't escape.
Bruno's men moved without hesitation, descending on the hostage like wolves on prey. The sounds of fists hitting flesh filled the room, and I flinched with each sickening thud.
I wanted to turn away, to block out the violence, but I couldn't. My body refused to obey me, my mind too overwhelmed to process what was happening.
Bruno grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the door, his grip unyielding.
"We're done here," he said, his voice calm and authoritative. "Come."
I stumbled after him, too shaken to resist. The door closed behind us with a heavy thud, muffling the sounds of the beating, but the terror still clung to me, suffocating.
As we made our way back down the hallway, the silence between us was thick with unspoken tension. My thoughts were a chaotic whirlwind of fear and disbelief.
I felt like I had been dropped into a world I didn't understand, a world that was far more dangerous than I ever could have imagined.
"You need to understand something, Maria," he said quietly, his voice devoid of any emotion. "Without me, you have no protection. You'll end up dead, just like that man in the chair said. You may hate me, but I'm the only thing keeping you alive."
His words cut through me like a knife, leaving me speechless. Was this how he saw me? As something he needed to protect? Or as something he owned?
Bruno's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, I saw the cold steel beneath his handsome exterior.
"You don't have a choice, Maria. You're mine now. You belong to me, whether you like it or not."
His words hit me like a slap to the face, and I felt a surge of anger rise up in me.
"I don't belong to anyone," I spat, taking a step back.
Bruno's jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might lash out at me. But instead, he simply smirked, that familiar arrogance creeping back into his expression.
"You keep telling yourself that," he said softly. "But deep down, you know it's true."
He stepped closer, his hand brushing against my cheek in a gesture that felt both intimate and threatening.
"You're not safe without me, Maria. And the sooner you accept that, the better."
I recoiled from his touch, my mind screaming at me to run, to get as far away from him as possible. But where would I go?
He was right. I had nowhere to run, no one to turn to. Without Bruno, I was as good as dead.