Damien decided it was time to pay a little visit to his stepmother Nadine and Natasha at his old house in Grosse Pointe. He wasn't particularly excited about it. That house brought nothing but bad memories and restless nights. If it wasn't for Natasha living there, he would've burned it down ages ago.
"Anyone home?" Damien's voice echoed through the house as it was dead silent. He heard the squeak of wheels and turned around to face his stepmother.
"Damien, you finally came to see us," Nadine said weakly. Whoever thought this woman used to be a seductress back in the day. At the age of forty-five, she had already had a stroke and was now wheelchair bound. All because of a cocaine overdose. She had to use a wheelchair because the left side of her body was paralyzed.
Damien hated her at one point but he couldn't stay angry at this vulnerable woman who looked ancient at such a young age. He had done his part to provide nursin
"What the fuck are you talking about, Steve? What do you mean my mama is dead?" Adeline said sharply.Steve stared at her for a minute, then burst out laughing while Adeline looked at him with confusion."I'm just fucking with you," Steve finally said after he was done laughing. "She is in a long-term care facility because I ain't taking care of her."Adeline held her anger back. Now was not the time to let her emotion run out of control. "Stop being an asshole for once and tell me the name of the place," she said."Fuck if I remember. Hey Jimmy, What's that place called? The one Rita is staying at?" he yelled across the room."Sunrise Home or some shit," Jimmy yelled back.
Adelaine woke up to the sound of crying. She opened her eyes then closed them immediately as the bright light stung her pupils. She took a deep breath and opened them again.First thing she saw were girls: four or five of them huddled on the floor, sobbing incessantly. They all looked about her age, maybe younger. All of them are beautiful. Some of them lay there with a dazed look on their face as if they were on drugs."Where are we?" Adeline asked but was greeted with silence and more quiet sobbing.The door suddenly opened and a beautiful, exotic-looking woman with blond hair and really red lipstick came in. She looked aro
"Nik, that idiot!" Damien grabbed the chair in front of him and kicked it to the side. He punched the table, breathing heavily."Dude, calm down," Robbie winced."Don't tell me to calm down," Damien barked. "Mudak..." he murmured under his breath."Why are you so angry?" Robbie asked, then immediately regretted as Damien looked at him like he was about to chop his head off."My arsehole of a brother made a goddamn mess, and now I'm gonna have to clean it up. Fucking whorehouse, are you kidding me?" Damien snarled."They are not whores, more like Geishas, remember?" Robbie joked."Fuck you, asshole," Damien hissed."I'm kidding! What are you gonna do?" Robbie asked, turning serious."We are gonna go meet the Persians and try to straighten things out. Run the business my way," Damien declared.Damien found out who the boss w
Adeline didn't show her anger when Damien asked her to strip. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction. She also didn't want to ask for his help because he was part of this whole thing that took her life away from her. He was the same as all the men who used and abused her. She hated him.This was why she pretended not to know him, and she would continue to do so. She had to survive this no matter what."Well? What are you waiting for? Go ahead and take your dress off, 'Selene.' I want to know exactly what it is I just paid a quarter of a million dollars for." Damien smirked.She obeyed him and stood naked in front of him. Damien could see every part of her body as they didn't allow her to wear a bra and underwear underneath that dress. Normally, she would be embarrassed, but now,
Damien was crushed. His heart hurt when he looked into her eyes. The light in her eyes that he used to admire was gone. This wasn't the girl he fell in love with ten years ago. This was someone else.And those bruises...His blood boiled at the sight of them. He needed to know what happened to her. Who hurt her so bad that made her act like she was an empty shell. He won't let them get away with it. He tried to make her tell him everything, but she wouldn't break. She was so fucking stubborn. Damien smiled to himself. At least that part of her never changed. She was his headstrong girl, and he wouldn't want to change it for the world.Damien couldn't help but wonder. Did Addie willingly go into this? Or was she one of the girls indentured to gangs to pay off a male relative's debt? Ade
Adeline looked at Damien for a moment, then looked away. She tried not to laugh as she remembered she was supposed to be Selene, not Adeline. She was no longer the stupid, innocent girl that Damien had once taken advantage of. How ironic was it that the guy who first introduced her to sex is the one who would be her first customer? Sure, why not. The universe was a fucked-up place. "Would you like me to get down on my knees, Master?" she asked in a mocking tone. Damien noticed that her eyes were full of disgust towards him. She may be acting compliant, but she couldn't fake the hatred she felt for him. Damien's heart twitched. Why couldn't she forgive him? It's been ten years! Damien stared into her big blue eyes and relaxed his jaw. His eyes became more gentle as he felt sorry for
Adeline woke up in the middle of the night. She looked to her side to see if Damien was still there, but he was gone. She released a sigh of relief. She didn't want to see him first thing in the morning. She hopped inside the shower and cranked up the hot water, as hot as she could handle. She wanted to wash off Damien's scent and the feeling of his body on hers. She was angry at herself for feeling pleasure when he was inside her and the way he touched and kissed every part of her body.She had to think of all the awful things Tommy did to her when they had sex so she wouldn't come because she was on the verge of orgasm with Damien. She told herself that Selene was the one feeling good, not Adeline.After showering, she tried to go back to bed but couldn't sleep as Damien's scent lingered on the sheets and pillows. She felt tingling be
Tyriq Ibrahim, the Godfather of the Midwest Bloods, was a big man. A wall of a man dressed in a three-piece Armani suit with a scarlet necktie. He had to represent, after all. His crew looked more like bankers than street thugs. But Damien had learned over the years the appearances were deceptive, and you couldn't judge a guy by the cut of his suit.Damien welcomed them in his downtown office, and they surrendered their pieces at the door, as it was customary in a parlay. Damien and his men also had to show that they were not armed. His backup consisted of Robbie, Akiko, and Nemiah. They were in his corporate office, after all, and his people were bankers and accountants.Damien greeted Tyriq with a handshake that turned into a hug. The hug, Damien knew, was a test of strength. The man wanted to know if Damien was solid.He had Nemiah pour them his best scotch, but Tyriq refused as it was against his religion. He was a practic
Damien walked into his office and squinted his eyes. Something was off. No one dared to enter his office and mess with his things because he always found out. But someone did dare and that someone was in a heap of trouble. He smirked as he saw a tiny handprint on his desk that most likely belonged to the culprit. "Mila? Get in here, right now!" he yelled. He leaned back in his chair and smiled when he heard the pitter-patter of small feet approaching. "Da, papa?" a small voice spoke from the entrance. He stared at the tiny version of Adeline in front of him. She had just turned five. Mila had deep blue eyes like him and Adeline and thick brown hair. She wore a white cotton dress that Addie made for her that made her look like a princess. His little printsessa. "Did you touch the cookie jar on my desk?" he said and narrowed his eyes. Mila looked down on the floor with her hands behind her back. "No..."
Damien observed Adeline's face. Was she scared? Upset? Angry? He couldn't tell as she was just staring at him without showing any kind of emotion. "Addie?" Damien called her, breaking her out of her trance. Adeline slowly turned toward Damien. "You dragged Tommy over here. All the way from Chicago?" Her voice shook. Damien nodded. "You asked me to bring him here, remember? So...um...happy birthday?" Tears streamed down her face. She bit her lower lips as if to stop herself from sobbing loudly. Damien was taken aback. Maybe he shouldn't have brought him over. It was upsetting her more, and that was the last thing he wanted. He didn't want to make her cry on her birthday. "Malen'kaya ptitsa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Damien said. Tommy finally spoke. He looked at Adeline straight into her eyes. "Addie, baby. Look what this monster did to me! He beat me to a pulp then tortured me. Make him stop. I am
Tommy wailed like a street cat as Damien broke his fourth finger. "Stop crying like a little bitch. I thought you were a cop. Aren't they supposed to be tough motherfuckers?" Damien said irritably. If he had to keep listening to Tommy's screaming, eventually, he'd become deaf. "Let me go, asshole. I told you I didn't do anything wrong. So what if I smacked her around a little? I was just disciplining her because I was too afraid to lose her," Tommy said. He could barely talk as he was gasping for breath. Damien grabbed the back of Tommy's head then slammed his face on the table in front of him. Tommy started coughing out blood. After he was done, he stared at the table with a horrified expression as two of his front teeth were now rested comfortably on top of it. "Wha...what did you do?" he managed to say between choking and coughing. "Looks like I rearranged your teeth a bit. But back to business. I don't appreciate you acting like it was oka
Damien was in Chicago, watching and observing Tommy's movements. He ended up staying home with Adeline after that night as he woke up with a sick hangover. Stupid drug.... He flushed it all down the toilet. "I'm sorry for making you take it. I don't know what's wrong with me sometimes," Adeline had said. Damien wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. "I'm glad you did. Now we are even." "You don't have to go, Damien. Can't we just forget about Tommy? I don't even think about him anymore because he is dead to me," she whispered against his chest. Damien stroked her hair slowly. He knew Adeline didn't like the idea of hurting someone, even though that was someone who abused her constantly. She may want to forget all about it, but Damien couldn't. Not after the bruises, he left on her beautiful body. "I want him dead, Addie. I will bring him to you like you asked, but if you don't kill him, I will," Damien said.
It didn't take Damien long to recover, just as Nancy predicted. He was back on his feet within a few weeks. He decided to go back to business. Robbie had been filling him in about everything that was going on. He even gave him regular updates on Tommy. "Do you want me to kidnap him and bring him to the warehouse?" Robbie asked. "No, I want to do this personally. Tommy is mine," Damien said. "But you haven't recovered fully yet," Robbie raised his eyebrows. "I am well enough to travel," Damien said dismissively. "If Addie found out you are about to take a long trip, she will kill you." Robbie laughed. Damien winced. He forgot about that. She had been taking care of him for the past few days, which consisted of constant scolding because he refused to stay in bed. "I'll make up an excuse." "Good luck with that," Robbie said. Later that day, Damien brought up the subject. "No." Damien groaned. He was afraid
Damien tried not to collapse as long as he could. He didn't want to look weak in front of Adeline, but the pain became unbearable and he had lost too much blood. That bitch got him good. How did she learn how to twist a knife like that? Hopefully, she didn't hit any of his vital organs. He didn't want to die before he had the chance to kill Tommy. He lay on the ground with his eyes closed. He could hear Akiko screaming at Yuri to get the van ready, but he couldn't hear Adeline. Where was his wife? "A...Addie..." he managed to let the word out. It was starting to get difficult to breathe. Something soft touched his forehead. A hand, he realized as it was gently stroking his hair. "I'm here." Adeline's voice was soft and loving. He had always dreamed of her speaking to him that way. Maybe she was taking pity on him because he was hurt. Damien opened his eyes and saw her face. Her cheeks were wet, soaked with tears. Was she crying?
Damien ran into the house as soon as they arrived. "Where is Addie?" he roared. Odette came running. "What's going on?" she asked frantically. "Adeline. Where is she?" he repeated. "Ms. Adeline was outside when her friend visited," Odette said. "Is everything okay, sir?" Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Alison was already here. Damien's eyes glowed with anger. If she put a scratch on her body, he'd cut her arms off. Damien walked toward the garden before answering. He saw one of his men, Luke, standing at the entrance. "Is my wife out there?" Damien tried to keep his cool. He realized Luke had no idea that Alison was dangerous as he didn't look alert. "Mrs. Sky and her friend went into the bedroom," Luke said. Why the hell didn't he follow Alison and Adeline? Damien decided to be angry at Luke later. But, first, he needed to go to the bedroom and handle Alison. He hoped it wasn't too late. He quickly ran
Adeline was restless. She had been waiting for Damien for a few minutes now. She knew it hadn't been that long since he had left, but It felt like she had been waiting for an eternity. She went to her little library and tried to read a book but couldn't pay attention. She decided to sit in the garden instead. She stayed out for a few minutes and stood up to go back inside but stopped as she saw Odette walking towards her. "Ma'am, there is someone who wanted to see you," Odette said. "Who?" Adeline was surprised. How can she have visitors? It wasn't like she had a social life. Was it Robbie? Or Natasha? "A woman. She said she is an old friend from high school," she said. Adeline was even more confused. An old friend? "Did she say her name?" Adeline asked. "No. She wanted it to be a surprise. The guard is holding her at the gate for your own safety." Odette said, then handed her an iPad so she could look at the security f
Damien stood in front of the burning building. The fire department was called, but most of the club was already consumed in flame. The club was a goner. "Did anyone get hurt?" Damien asked Akiko. His face was grim. He would lose a lot of money. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was still a waste of business. "Not that I know of. It seems that the dancers were warned ahead of time. That means someone did this intentionally," she said. "I see," Damien said. He turned to one of his men. "Pay off our insider at the police department and tell them to rule it out as an accident. I don't need police sniffing around this property. I want to find things out on my own," he said. Was Enzo behind this? he wondered. He was mad about how Damien took his knee out and decided to burn his own club down. No, Enzo was spineless. He was all talk and no play. He wouldn't do something drastic like this. Was it Alison? The thought occurred to him, but i