There was an increasing number of female kidnappings around the area where I lived; downtown Chicago. That’s why I hugged my body to myself after my bar shift at 3 am and rushed home.
I held a small pocket knife tightly in my hand inside my purse. I didn’t want to take a risk. As I was walking through the dark streets, I thought I heard footsteps behind me.
I looked behind but I didn’t see anything. I had seen too many thriller movies not to guess what happened after a woman heard rustling nearby. I walked quickly, looking behind to ensure no one was following me.
When I looked forward again, a man was walking toward me. I stopped and contemplated running back the way I came from.
Luckily for me, the man wasn’t a threat to me. He walked past me as though he hadn’t seen me.
I continued on my way home. This time, my guard was lowered because I assumed I was growing paranoid. I walked safely for the next two blocks until everything changed.
It all happened in an instant. One minute I was leisurely walking and the next, I was being pulled into an alley. My perpetrator had his dirty hand covering my mouth and the other holding my midribs tightly.
Fear so great crept up my chest. A lot of scenarios flashed before my eyes and I knew I had to do everything to escape.
My fight or flight instinct kicked in and I managed to elbow him in the stomach. His grip loosened and I had more room to stab him in the leg with my pocket knife.
I turned around and kicked him in the nuts. Once he was on the ground holding his family jewels, I turned around and ran.
However, luck was not on my side. A black SUV pulled up in front of the alley, blocking the road. I turned to run in the other direction but my perpetrator was standing right in front of me glaring like he wanted to kill me.
He lifted his hand and hit me smack in the face with a gun. Then everything went dark.
***
When I woke up, my wrists and feet were cuffed to the bed. My jeans and top were gone. All I was left with were a bra, panties, and a huge T-shirt covering my body that reeked of sweat and dirt.
My head was pounding hard and I could barely see clearly. There was pain above my forehead which indicated there was a deep gush there. All I wanted was to be uncuffed.
I tried to wiggle my wrists and ankles but nothing worked. My hair was let loose so I couldn’t even use a hairpin to pick a lock. At that moment, it felt like everything Daddy had taught me about self-defense and martial arts was useless.
All of it was a waste of time if I couldn’t even prevent myself from getting kidnapped.
I looked around to try and see where I was. The place reeked of urine and the mattress was worn out like there had been several occupants before me.
The walls were made of wood. I must have been in a warehouse—
“The little bitch is awake,” a man said as he unlocked the door. Another man soon followed behind him. They were all huge men who were over six feet tall.
They wore jeans and dark t-shirts that exposed their tattoos. I saw the skull and rose tattoos on both of their wrists. It was the sign of the Omertá–a code of silence for the Italian Mafia.
They were my father’s men. After all I had done to escape my family, they had finally found me.
I didn’t have to guess which one of my brothers Papa had sent because Carlo walked in a few seconds later. He was in a suit without a tie and very clean shoes. His dark hair was slicked back and his beard covered most of his face.
When he saw me, he smirked. It was an evil expression that sent chills up my spine.
“Daddy sent the worst of my three brothers,” I whispered to myself.
“If it isn’t the prodigal daughter,” Carlo said as he sneered, “How long did you think you were going to run before we found you?” He asked as he approached me.
He grabbed my chin in his hands and leaned in to whisper, “Papa sent me here to kill you.”
I whimpered and closed my eyes tightly. My brothers would blindly follow Papa if he was leading them to a trap. He had a way about him that made everyone fight to impress him.
He made all his children fight for his approval and affection. For five years, I had been able to run away from him. I should have known no one ran from Alfonso Rossi, the leader of the Italian Mafia.
“P-Please,” I begged for my life even though I knew it was useless. Carlo would never go against Papa.
“Relax, I’m not going to kill my sister. What kind of monster would that make me?”
I allowed myself to have a momentary burst of hope. It was just a little moment before Carlo crushed it with his vindictive fingers.
“I’m going to sell you to the highest bidder. Papa is going to be so happy when I bring him a shit ton of money. You’ve always been very attractive. Almost all my friends wanted you in high school. I know some rich fool will pay a lot for you.”
My heart dropped in my stomach. I wasn’t stupid. I knew what happened to girls who were sold. They were raped, tortured, and drugged up until they couldn’t take it anymore and they took their own lives.
Others didn’t have a means to escape and they ended up suffering hell for the rest of their lives–passed down from one owner to the next. If I was lucky, I would be sold to a man who was castrated or one who simply wanted a wife for political purposes but was too ugly to find one for himself.
The chances of that, however, were slim. I preferred death.
As soon as Carlo was close enough, I spit in his face. He smacked me immediately and backhanded me when I tried to lift my head. I ended up getting two more cuts on my face from his rings.
“You should have married Domenico like father wanted. You really shouldn’t have run away. I thought you were smart, Livia. You can’t leave the familia, dear sister. There’s only one way out.”
Through death. He didn’t have to say it.
“I’ll die before you sell me!” I screamed.
Carlo laughed and put his hands in his pockets, “Oh, but I will sell you and there is nothing you can do about it.”
“Carlo, please! We’re flesh and blood. You can’t do this to me.” I begged. If I was free, I would have gotten on my knees and begged for mercy.
“You better pray you’re a virgin. Otherwise, I’ll sell you to a brothel in the States where several men will drug you and do whatever they want to you. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Just then, his men uncuffed my ankles and held them apart, leaving my underwear on full display. I tried to kick and scream but Carlo put a gun to my head.
“If you move, I will blow your fucking brains out, brat.”
One more man came in and got on the bed. I didn’t recognize him but I didn’t trust his intentions. When he pulled my panties to the side, I closed my eyes tightly waiting for the worst to happen…
“She’s a virgin. Her hymen is intact.” The man said as he removed his two gloves from inside of me.“You couldn’t find anyone to fuck you in the U.S., Livia? I thought you would have found a husband and had kids by now. But look at you, working waitressing jobs in downtown Chicago. Are you fucking stupid? You could have had everything in Italy with a rich husband.”“I was just eighteen and the man was forty years older than me!” I screamed.The image of the man I was supposed to marry before I ran away from the family almost made me vomit. He had yellowing teeth, a pot belly, and was bald.He had a reputation for only dealing with younger girls. Once his young wives got older, he sold them to brothels. Who wanted to live that kind of life?“I don’t hear Allegra complaining. In the face of you running away, she took your place and she seems to be enjoying it too.” Carlo said as he laughed. “It was the first time a man in the Mafia was grateful to have a sister as a substitute bride.”I
I thought Carlo would sell me immediately, kill me, or ‘service me to his men’ like he promised as he beat me to a pulp. Instead, he locked me in a basement with no lights. I had to endure the cold concrete, the screams of men being tortured, and constant hunger. No matter how much I screamed and shouted, no one let me out of the cage. The bars were too strong for me to try and break. And even if I could free myself, it was too dark for me to see a thing. The fear that a snake or rat would come and bite me was constantly haunting me. But it wasn’t greater than the fear of Carlo sending his men to come and rape me.I became so anxious that I picked up the habit of scratching my left arm to the point that it became raw. I also bit my nails until there was nothing left to bite anymore. Only when I got tired of screaming for help did Carlo’s men bring me food and water. I regained strength and screamed for help and later received a beating. The cycle continued until I finally learned
Did Carlo sell me to the Bratva to make amends with Maxim? If so, I was in for a life of suffering. I was scared for my life. If the Bratva was anything like the Sicilian Mafia, I knew I would wish I were dead. Viktor, the man who bought me, and the other one who he spoke to, started walking while dragging me with them. I wanted to run away but I was in a foreign country and I didn’t want to get beaten. I wouldn’t get far anyway. I was tied up and blindfolded and who knew how many men were in the house? I had to bid my time and wait for the right moment. I was hesitant in my movements but the man who bought me was resilient. “You’re giving me a fucking hard time!” He yelled and slapped me across the face. He pulled my hair and shook me around a little. “Either be compliant or I’ll cut off your legs.” I nodded my head profusely in fear of what he would do. He had a temper. Suddenly, everything and everyone was quiet. There was tension in the air and I could sense the fe
The moment I saw her, I knew she was innocent—untouched. Her innocence was like a beacon calling out to me, begging me to corrupt her and break her until the only air she wanted to breathe was mine. I didn’t understand it at all. The moment I looked into her eyes, I knew she was mine. She had the palest blue eyes I had ever seen. You could get lost in them. They were laced with innocence, fear, and deep down, a fire so wild I wasn’t sure I could tame. I knew how to read people. It had been my job to learn the inner workings of the human mind to get into my target’s mind. It’s what made me a dangerous man. I worked as an assassin for my old Pakhan until I staged a coup with Mikhail and Nikita and took over as the Pakhan. A lot of men were against the sale of flesh because they had families of their own. They supported me until I took over fully and stopped it completely. I wasn’t stupid; I knew people still practiced it in secret. I was just glad it was a taboo. Viktor knew
For three days, I remained cuffed to the bed. I waited for the Pakhan to come in and show what kind of a monster he truly was, but he never did.I was in a bedroom that was much bigger than my apartment back in Chicago. It had a king-sized bed, a walk-in closet, a fully equipped bathroom, and a locked balcony.It was the best place I had lived in for a while.I was fed, taken for bathroom breaks, and I had a television to entertain me. It was bigger than anything I had ever seen, but all the channels were in Russian. What they didn’t know was that I could understand Russian very well.One of the few things I could thank Father for.What did they want with me? It was like being in that cage back again—never knowing what was going to happen next. In those three days, I never saw the Pakhan or his mouthpiece.I thought he only pretended to have morals and secretly bought women to play with. Otherwise, why keep me?A part of me really wished he was the monster I thought him to be. If he w
When Mikhail said he was letting me out, I didn’t think he was going to make a maid in the mansion. I was the only maid who didn’t reside in the servant quarters.Being a maid was better than being someone’s sex slave. It’s what made me somewhat grateful that the Russian mafia took me. All those stories Alfonso told me about the Bratva were fake.He said they were cannibals and would eat me alive and spit me out in pieces if I associated with them. So far, they were way better than the Cosa Nostra which treated women like they were sex toys to be played with.“My name is Polina and Mikhail instructed me to guide you through your duties. He made it clear you are not supposed to leave the mansion. He doesn’t trust you and neither do I. I’m going to have my eyes on you.”“Sure, blame the girl who was kidnapped,” I whispered under my breath.“Did you say something?” Polina asked.I shook my head and pressed my lips shut. I should not have said that out loud. Images of Carlo and his men be
“You made her a maid,” I said to Mikhail.I flew to Finland for a few hours and he already made decisions without me. He may have been my second in command but that didn’t mean I wanted him anywhere near Livia’s business.She was mine to deal with.“I told you people would talk if we didn’t do something. No one will question who she is and what her role is if she is already working for us. The last thing we need is people claiming you bought a girl.”As much as I hated it, Mikhail was right. I only rose to the throne because I supported the agenda that women and children were not commodities for sale. That and the fact that I was the most dangerous man in Russia.If people found out I kept the girl Viktor bought, my men would break my rules.No one would respect my authority. It was important to lead by example. However, when it came to Livia Brown, I made impulsive decisions because I was so taken with her.I wouldn’t let her go until I figured out why she made me feel what no woman
When Mikhail told me he would give me a new role, I didn’t expect it to be Maxim’s personal maid. I didn’t understand what it meant. I thought Maxim was trying to lure me into his bed and I had yet to figure out if I was right.The uniform I was given was very different from my previous one. The previous one consisted of a long blue dress with a white collar and a white apron.The new one was much shorter, sitting a few inches below my mid-thigh. It was a short-sleeved black dress with lace trimmings on the sleeves and the hem and a sweetheart neckline that accentuated my cleavage.The outfit was topped off with a short white lace apron, white stockings, and short black Mary Janes. My hair was in a low bun with a few tendrils hanging on the side of my face.My cheeks were flushed red and I couldn’t stop shaking. I was both excited and frightened at the idea of seeing Maxim again. I always cowered under his intense gaze.“I don’t know what Maxim sees in you,” Polina said in her terribl
I wore the gold strapless ballgown that went all the way to my ankles and put on the matching stilettos that came with it. I put my hair up in a bun with a few tendrils hanging loose around my head to accentuate my shoulders.I wore a little bit more makeup than usual because I had a feeling Maxim was taking me somewhere extravagant. I sprayed my neck and shoulders with gold shimmery body spray so I would glitter in the light.After I was done, I looked for a nice golden clutch and put all my items in it. I decided to put on some golden earrings but planned to go bare-neck. It would accentuate the dress even more.As soon as I was done, like clockwork, someone knocked on the door and asked me to meet Maxim downstairs. I wondered if Maxim had a camera in my room because it was odd that he always sent someone to get me as soon as I was done getting ready.“I’ll be right down,” I told the staff member.When she was gone, I inspected myself one more time, and once I was satisfied with wha
Maxim was gone for three weeks. For three weeks, I waited for him to come to me and he didn’t. I was a bit scared because I thought my decisions to help people may have scared him a little. I didn’t know why I was unhappy about that.I should have been more than happy that he was leaving me alone. However, I couldn’t help that I wanted to see him—even just to look at him.I was in trouble because I was stupid enough to fall for the most dangerous man in Russia. He could kill me with a snap of my neck and he wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. I’d heard a lot of rumors about the kind of man he was.Yet, there I was, praying to see him again even if it was just once.Since he was gone and my role had been to make sure he was taken care of him and do tasks for him, I was idle for the entirety of the time I was in the mansion. I did nothing but explore and read books.Since Polina was not around, I decided to go further up the stairs of the East Wing. I thought of it as a big ‘fuck you’ to h
I couldn’t get the events of the night we got attacked in a restaurant out of my mind. It dominated every minute of my day to the point that some people noticed I was absent-minded.“What’s on your mind?” Mikhail asked. He was one of the few people who noticed things like that because he knew me so well.I didn’t answer his question because I didn’t know where to start.When we were attacked, my whole world stood still. I didn’t know how deep my feelings for Livia went until the idea of anything happening to her crippled me.I’d looked at her, ready to protect her but she had already gotten on the ground to seek shelter. She worked well under pressure, and she didn’t look scared at all. After establishing she was okay and out of the line of fire, I ran for my gun.I’d looked back at her and there was, helping other people. She had been leading them to a backroom to get protection. I chose at that moment to cover her so nothing would happen to her as she was helping.I thought she woul
The walls must have been bulletproof because they didn’t shatter after the first few shots. Immediately they shattered, I got down immediately. Women and children were all screaming and crying everywhere.People had been shot and they were bleeding and my heart cracked. I immediately sprang into action, moving towards the helpless women and children.I grabbed some staff on the way who were scared shitless. It was clear something like that had never happened in that establishement before.We were all crouched on the ground, hiding behind tables to avoid getting shot.“We need to barricade this area with tables so we can lead women and children to safety. We don’t want any casualties.”Together, we put up as many tables as we could. It wouldn’t do much but it was better than flying blind. “Is there a backroom they can hide?” I asked. A staff pointed in a certain direction with shaky fingers.I didn’t waste any time leading everyone who was helpless there while looking around to avoid
The whole way to the restaurant, Maxim couldn’t stop glancing at me. Every time I felt his eyes all over me, leaving a trail of fire in their wake, I blushed harder than the last time.By the time we got to the restaurant, I was sure my cheeks would fall off due to how inflamed they had gotten.Maxim stepped out of his car and opened the door for me. He held out his hand for me to take and helped me out of the car. His driver/bodyguard gave the valet his keys and we headed inside what looked like a very prestigious restaurant.It was magnificent with shiny marble floors, magnificent light fixtures and chandeliers, and glass walls.The restaurant screamed nothing if not money and power. Contrary to what you expected from a restaurant like that—for it to be fully packed, it only had a few guests.Maxim left his bodyguard behind and handed over all the guns he had. I didn’t even know someone could hide those many guns hidden on his body.As soon as he was done, he was whisked. When the m
To say Maxim treated me like a princess was an understatement. He took me shopping and asked me to pick out all the clothes, shoes, and bags I wanted. I even bought my own self-care products, lotions, perfume, and makeup. I didn’t pretend I was modest with it either. I picked out all the items I wanted, no matter how expensive they were. He had all the money and if he was going to keep me captive, I might as well take advantage. He didn’t mind, though. He went all out on everything. That particular day, he left a note on my bed asking to take me out on a date. I had a feeling he wasn’t really asking. He looked like the kind of a man who didn’t take no for an answer. I couldn’t hide my excitement after I read the note. I couldn’t deny that I was warming up to him. I may have acted like I hated being in Russia, but he was starting to make it very exciting. He and I didn’t speak much, but his actions told more than he did by word of mouth. I immediately jumped in the shower and cle
“You fucking psycho!” Veronika yelled as she stormed into my office. I was growing sick and tired of her. I needed a strategy to get her out of the house as soon as possible.I couldn't fucking stand her.“No one dares talk to Maxim the way you do. You may want to rephrase your words.” Mikhail told her.She gulped and whispered a barely audible apology. She had a big ego and the contract I signed stating I would marry her was giving her a fucking big head.She was lucky I didn't know where the damn contract was. I would have burned it and denied any knowledge of it. “My agent dropped me and my magazine shoot was cancelled. I know this was all your doing.” She said. I could tell she was fuming and she could barely control herself.“You should have thought about that before you did everything he warned you not to do.” Mikhail said smugly.She looked pissed beyond words. She was a model who walked runways and did commercials for certain brands as well as magazine covers. Her livelihood
Whatever Mikhail said to Livia upset her and I know he said something. I should have never left him lingering on her doorway when I went to speak to the doctor.I should have asked him to let her rest because now, I wanted to kill my own fucking twin. He straightened his posture when I walked into Livia’s room.When he and I made eye contact, I gave him a look and he followed me outside. He could read me better than anyone, and that was why he was my spokesman. Lots of times, I didn’t have to tell him what to say.He just automatically knew.“What did you say to her?”“Nothing—”“Are you fucking lying to me?” I asked.He sighed and ran his hands over his face. I had a feeling I wouldn’t like what he was about to say.“She is lying. There was someone else in that room with her. Someone screamed when that glass shattered. If she is lying about something as simple as this, then what else is she even lying about?”“We can’t trust this girl. She is nothing but fucking trouble.”I was so fu
As I lay on the bed struggling to breathe and feeling my life slipping from me, I decided I had to be my own knight in shining armor. The F.B.I. weren’t going to come for me and no one was going to save me from anything. The maid who held me down smiled when she felt my struggle start to weaken. She was a sadist and she made me realize I wouldn’t let anyone as mediocre as Veronika and some girl I didn’t know be the ones to end my life. I always thought Alfonso was the one who was going to kill me in the end. The day Carlos found and sold me and I changed my perspective. I thought Maxim was the one who would deliver the final bullet that would drain my life from me. I wouldn’t let Veronika take the cake. I bit the girl who was holding me and she let out a scream. I was weak but adrenaline rushed to my veins when I realized I had a chance of surviving. When the girl stumbled backwards, I grabbed my lamp and threw it at the full-length mirror. It shattered and glass flew everywhere.