Markel Zeus Arrives

Three days Before Auction

Elena

As I walk through the house one last time, the lack of Lorenzo's slurred yelling and clinking bottles filled me with serenity. It had been a peaceful week without his constant inebriated rants and violent outbursts.

A week where I’m not beaten and slept in peace.

He had left a note on the kitchen counter, pretending to have an important "business" to attend to. Yet I knew the reality - he was away on his annual mafia cruise, indulging in women, gambling, power games and attempting to cling to the world that had forgotten him long back. Seeing him desperately hold onto this fleeting delusion merely made me pity him more.

And me?

I was nearly freed.

My heart raced as I retrieved my duffel bag from my bedroom. Inside held everything I required to escape my old life and start again: fake identities, encrypted backup drives, and stacks of cash I withdrew that morning and cards. My other persona- CIPHER, a notorious hacker and genius which helped me accumulate a bit of wealth over years was finally disappearing without a trace.

CIPHER was never going to surface again. I had wiped all my equipment clean and deleted any digital evidence of my existence and burned it down. By the time Lorenzo would return from his cruise trip, I’d be gone.

The weight was comforting, a reminder that I was finally in authority of my life.

Then the sound came.

It started faintly, a low hum that grew louder until it became a roar. Tires screeching against gravel. My heart skipped a beat. Dropping the bag, I moved to the window, parting the heavy curtain just enough to see outside.

My stomach twisted into knots. Sleek black SUVs lined the long driveway, men in crisp dark suits emerging like shadows. Their movements were practiced, predatory, weapons strapped tightly on their body. In the center was Lorenzo, a disheveled mess being kicked and pushed around. His shirt untucked and tie hanging loose, face pale with panic. Two large men grasped his arms, forcing his unsteady footsteps towards the entry.

A shiver ran through me at the sight of the man beside Lorenzo–Markel Zeus, a name whispered only in the darkest corners with fear. As the head of a powerful crime syndicate who deals in human and organ trafficiking, no one was beyond his reach. If he had come in person, Lorenzo's long overdue debts had caught up to end him.

Grabbing my bag, I hurried soundlessly through the house. Sliding behind the heavy crockery cupboard in the living room, I pressed into the shadows just as voices carried into the room.

From there, I could hear everything.

"Please, Zeus," Lorenzo’s voice was high-pitched, trembling. "It’s not what you think! I—I can pay you. I just need a little more time!"

"Time?" Zeus’s voice was deep, smooth, and cold. "You’ve had years, Lorenzo. You think I’m here to negotiate?"

A heavy thud followed—a chair, maybe a table—and Lorenzo groaned in pain.

"I’ve got nothing left to give!" Lorenzo cried. "The estate’s worthless! The accounts are dry!"

"Enough." Zeus’s tone was sharp and final.

I could hear his footsteps now, slow and deliberate as they moved across the floor. "What’s this?" he said, a note of amusement creeping into his voice.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I peeked. Zeus was holding a photo frame, one that was always on the small coffee table.

It pictured my mother smiling warmly with her arm around my smaller self, taken when I was only five. Gazing at it now felt like a gut punch.

Zeus studied the frame, his lips upturning darkly. "Your wife?" he asked Lorenzo. His finger tapped where a young me smiled, questioning "And the girl? Your daughter".

Lorenzo sputtered anxiously, "Y-Yes but she's worthless! Like the estate, I assure you nothing but trouble!".

Zeus’s smile widened. "Is that so?" He set the photo down carefully, his gaze never leaving Lorenzo. "You have nothing else to offer me, Lorenzo. But I’m a generous man. I’ll give you a choice: your life, or your daughter’s.”

I froze.

Surely Lorenzo wouldn’t…

But the silence that followed was deafening.

"She's untouched," Lorenzo blurted desperately, "A virgin worth a fortune if sold!".

Lorenzo was never a father to me, but I expected him to protect me. But he betrayed me. I felt the floor disappear beneath me.

Zeus chuckled darkly. "A virgin you say? Well, things have changed."

Then the unthinkable, Lorenzo pointed at the cupboard.

"She’s hiding. Over there."

My breath caught as everything stilled. Then rage boiled over inside me.

"You bastard!" I burst from my hiding place, voice shaking with fury.

All eyes turned to me. Zeus's men raised their weapons at me but he motioned them to stand down. His piercing gaze locked on mine, sweeping my body dark and glistening with curiosity.

"And here she is," Zeus said, his tone dripping with mockery. "The fiery little Virgin De Luca."

I glared at Lorenzo, who had stumbled back, his face pale and sweaty. "You sold your own daughter to save your miserable life? You’re disgusting."

"Elena, please," Lorenzo pleaded, "let me explain—"

"Explain what?" I snapped. My trembling hands balled into fists. "You cower in fear and flee responsibility. Your cowardice knows no bounds. You are a fkng asshole!”

Zeus chuckled deeply, sending shivers down my spine. "She’s got spunk, guyz! This one," he mused, never removing his stare. "Take her."

"Papa!" I cried out. He turned his back to me without a word.

I fought as hard as I could, kicking and thrashing, but they were too strong. Their hands clamped around my arms like iron, dragging me toward the door.

"Let me go!" I shouted, struggling against their grip.

Zeus stepped closer, towering over me. "You’re quite the little firecracker, aren’t you?" he said, his voice low. "I think you’ll do nicely at the auction."

"The auction?" I hissed, glaring up at him.

He smirked. "Oh, yes. You’ll be sold to the highest bidder. Consider it… a new chapter in your life."

As Zeus’s men restrained me, Lorenzo checked my bag, his eyes turned wide at the sight of the cash inside it and he seized the opportunity to flee. Without so much as a glance back, he bolted for the door.

"Pathetic," Zeus muttered, shaking his head. "Your father’s a coward, little De Luca. But you… you’re interesting."

I refused to comment, too consumed by a burning rage. Without hesitation, my father had given me away to the wolf to save himself.

One of Zeus's men handed him a syringe filled with a mysterious liquid that glistened ominously under the dim light.

I thrashed and pulled desperately, panic surging through my veins. "What are you---"

"Relax," he said in an almost soothing tone before gripping my jaw firmly and plunging the needle into my neck. "You'll regain consciousness just in time for the entertainment to begin."

My vision blurred and the edges darkened as unconsciousness overtook me. The final image seared into my fading sight was Zeus's sneering smile as the world faded to black.