MELISSA.
I lay on the bed as an excruciating pain ached all over my body. The beating he had given me had made me paralyzed. I couldn't move a muscle, breathing was even more of a labor than an involuntary act. My skin wasn't to be proud of anymore as I looked like a white sheet battered with red stripes.
Vincent came out of his bathroom and my heart raced at the sight of him. I tried to move back but my body ache reminded me of the pain that was inflicted upon me.
"So kitten, have you decided to give up?" He asked, taking his seat.
I shook my head slowly, looking at him dead in the eye. "No…not in my …wildest…dream." I managed to say.
He chuckled, then leaned towards me, "I can do this all day you know." He whispered.
I threw a spit at him. If the motherfucker was going to make me break, I won't allow him. I won't succumb. Father won't be proud if he finds out that I snitched the family and broke the omertà.
"I. Will. Never." I made it clear to him.
He began to laugh maniacally, his chest heaving. Suddenly, the phone rang. He stood up and walked into the closet to pick it up.
I need to get out of here. I don't know how I would do that now but I need to. I can't remain here forever because this psycho was not going to let me go.
I looked around, managing to sit up and find a key or something I could use to unlock the chains I was bound by.
Luckily, I found a pin just on the table next to the bed. I stretched my hand towards it, ignoring the sharp pain that engulfed me. I stretched my hand more when I couldn't reach it. I couldn't hear Vincent's voice anymore which meant he wasn't on call anymore. I stretched again until I finally reached the pin. I didn't hesitate to grab it just as the closet door opened and I laid down again immediately after Vincent came out.
His gaze landed on me, thinning like he was examining me. I gulped hard and tried to hide my fear.
He walked towards the bed slowly. "I would have to leave now – duty calls." He said and leaned on the bed towards me, "Don't miss me too much, kitten. And don't you fucking think of escaping?" He said in a threatening tone and I shot him a scowl.
I watched him go into the bathroom to take a shower before he exited and reentered his closet to change. All this while, the pain in my body wasn't decreasing. I even felt more pain from watching him get dressed while I lay here, half-naked and helpless.
Finally, he was done and he left the room. Finally, he was gone.
I waited for some minutes before I did anything to make sure he was gone.
"Motherfucker!" I cursed as I brought out the pin I had kept. Being a Mafia princess and an assassin, I knew a thing or two about unlocking chains and cuffs even without the keys.
I put the pin into the lock, twisting and turning it to get the perfect click. Once I heard it, I paused, grinned, and carefully turned tightly. The chain fell off my wrist instantly.
"Yes!" I muttered in victory. That psycho thought he could hold me here forever.
I unlocked the chain from my other wrist and my ankles, careful not to press on my skin too much to avoid pain. My skin was still swollen and red.
Finally, freeing myself of the chains, I slid off the bed and found my clothes which had been scattered all around the room.
Ugh! This irritably felt like sneaking out of a stranger's room after a one-night stand with him. Knowing that my situation was different from that, I carefully looked out the window to make sure there was no one outside that I needed to avoid.
I only saw one man sitting in front of a small room in the compound. "The gatekeeper," I noted before carefully opening the room door.
This seemed to be his apartment so there shouldn't be so many people with combat experiences I should worry about. Sneaking along the corridor, I made my way towards the stairs. I peeped down to make sure there was no one down there before descending.
When I got to the living room, I didn't hesitate to approach the first door I saw. But it only led me to another living room.
"Empty." I rejoiced and quickly walked across the massive living room to exit this damned house.
All of a sudden, I heard a shriek behind me. I froze on the spot, the hair on my neck rising on alert. I slowly turned around only for me to see a maid standing with a tray in her hands.
I smiled at her, "Just want to catch up with Vincent…zo." I lied, hoping she'd buy it. If not I'd have to snap her neck.
Lucky for both of us, she went ahead with whatever she was doing. I proceeded to the door, feeling happiness in my heart.
"I'm coming back for him."
Just as I was about to open the door, the doorknob twisted and the door was pushed open.
Before I could blink, Vincenzo came to my view.
At first, he stared at me with a blank face before slowly frowning.
"I thought I told you not to try and escape, kitten!" He bellowed, lunging his hand at me.
I dodged and jumped over the couch behind me.
"Playing games now, when?"
He was angry, it was written all over his face. He dashed to the side of the couch, chasing me. I wasn't going to allow him to get me. I ran through the complex arrangement of couches in the living, avoiding his grip.
But he knew his house better than I did. I was soon cornered and he neared me with a sinister grin. "Where to run now, kitten?"
Breathing hard, I flew over the nearby couch using all the energy left in me. I didn't care about balancing, I just landed roughly on the ground. I think I broke a rib. But I didn't have time to check myself as I simply ran in the other direction, towards the stairs.
I could hear his footsteps right behind me. I ran like my life depended on it because actually, it did. My heart raced faster than I was but I ignored it and kept running through the corridor.
"Keep running, kitten!" He yelled from where he was. I don't think he was chasing me but I didn't care. Anything to get away from that motherfucking psycho.
I found a door and didn't hesitate to open it and enter. I quickly locked it behind me, panting heavily.
It was then I had time to look at where I had entered. There was not much; it was just an empty, small room.
My breaths were the only sound produced here. I curled up in the small room, praying that he didn't find me.
Soon, I began to hear footsteps. It was coming from afar and it slowly became louder with each passing second.
I tried to hold my breath as the sound of the footsteps got so near. It paused and I thought for a second that I had been caught. I half expected the door to tear open but it didn't. Then the footsteps resumed and slowly departed.
I released a deep breath of relief, my chest relaxing. Now to get out of…
The wall behind me disappeared and I fell backward without control. Screaming as my back landed on the hard floor, pain shot through my entire body.
Above me stood Vincenzo grinning down at me.
"Did you think you could hide from me, kitten?"