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52. Facts Straight
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 53. Come And Take It
[XAVIER]All my life, my father and Mir did everything they could to keep me away from their mafia business. I wasn’t allowed in their “meetings” or to ask questions regarding their business or where they went in the dead of the night.At first, it didn’t bother me much. I was curious, yes, and wanted to be part of whatever they had going on behind closed doors, but I never put up much of a fight for what I thought I deserved. Maybe deep down, I always knew my life wasn’t meant to be on the same path as theirs. Maybe I always knew my dad had different plans for me.But sometimes I do wonder if my father’s explanation for creating a different life for me was just to hide the fact that I wasn’t fit for the business. I was his son, after all. His own flesh and blood. Maybe he knew I wasn’t built for their dark world. Maybe by keeping me on the sidelines, he was just trying to be a good dad.Can I hold it against him? Not really. I can’t hate someone for showing biased love to me, can I?
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 54. Don't Just Stand There
[LIZZY] Since I woke up this morning, I’ve had this awful gut feeling. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like something really bad is about to go down. I even taste this weird bitterness in my mouth. Could just be a sign of an impending sickness, but I trust my body and instincts. I know something’s off. Maybe it’s also the fear of getting caught. I know for a fact that Vector is on a relentless search for me and Joey. He’s going all out, leaving no stone unturned. I can imagine. The only comfort I have is that he’d never in a million years expect me to be anywhere near the Galante estate. That thought wouldn’t even cross his mind. Or so I think. Or hope. Or pray. God, I can’t even fathom what he’d do if he got his hands on us. I don’t want to entertain the idea that he’d hurt either me or Joey, but I know the extent of his rage and how cruel he can be if he chooses to. Honestly, I don’t even know why I went through with it. I didn’t have a plan or any rational thinking behind my act
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 55. A Different Plan
“You have grown soft, Vector,” Trevor aka Tony Jones chuckled, a thin trail of blood racing down the corner of his mouth. He tried to lick the blood off the cut on the lips but he was too late to soothe the damage already done. “We might not have worked together but I heard a lot about you. And let me be fucking honest, what I heard is nowhere near what I’m seeing right now.”Vector tilted his head and leaned forward. The two of them sat in the basement of one of Perazzo’s Casinos. Vector appeared unaffected and bored, while Trevor was bound to a wooden chair, bruised and beaten. The boss hadn’t even laid a finger on him, yet Trevor already seemed on the verge of fainting. The bruises on his face were becoming increasingly prominent. Marcus had certainly done a number on him.“I have just one question, Jones,” Vector spoke, his voice as calm and menacing as ever. “Why did you do it?”Tony spat blood to the side and shifted his gaze back to Vector. “Why do you even care?”“I don’t care
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 56. Ace Up Their Sleeve
[LAURA]“Ugh!” I grunt, forcefully pushing everything off the table, and it all ends up scattered on the floor, creating a huge mess. But I couldn’t care less. I’d do it again without a second thought. And again. And again.With frustration boiling over, I angrily toss the lamp from the side table, watching it crash to the floor as well.“Seriously, just stop it, Jorden,” Cooper says, standing at the door and frowning at me.Gasping for breath, I feel a surge of anger and a complete loss of control. “He can’t be dead,” I growl, clutching my hair while kneeling on the floor. The broken pieces of glass pierce my pants and skin, but nothing matters compared to the pain welling up in my chest.I can’t believe the bastard is dead. Vector Alfonso is dead. How could he?I did everything in my power to ensure I was the one facing him, looking into his eyes, and pulling the trigger, causing his brains to splatter everywhere. It was my moment, but someone else beat me to it. I was so close, so
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 57. Terrified Cry
[LIZZY]“You must have met Uncle Diego,” Hazel says after I share a somewhat vague account of what I stumbled upon last night. Guilt gnaws at me for invading their privacy like that. If only I had known…“That makes sense,” I sigh, trying to distract myself by running my fingers through Joey’s soft, dark hair, which has grown long enough to be tied in a small ponytail.I can’t help but think about Laura, who used to take him for hair trims regularly, always ensuring he looked neat and tidy. She loved him dearly. But now she’s gone, and I’m left to care for this little boy all on my own.I love Joey, there’s no doubt about that. I adore him with all my heart and soul. He’s probably the only person for whom I’d do anything, the one who never makes me feel useless or burdensome. But the weight of responsibility weighs heavily on me. Can I truly take care of him for the rest of my life? Am I capable enough? Can I provide him with the life he deserves? What if I fail to be the parent he ne
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 58. Let The Game Begin
[TREVOR]Something weird is going on here, and by weird, I mean, these people look scared as shit.It’s been hours since Vector left after banging up my face, leaving me tied up in this stupid chair, locked in this shitty room that has no decent view for my bored eyes. All I can see are bad, stinky walls; all I can hear are footsteps pounding outside the room, including a few curse words that his asshole men bark out from time to time.A few minutes ago, I shouted for someone to get me some water.A tall, bulky man showed up, wearing a frown that made me want to punch him in the face. But I ain’t stupid. For these people to trust me, I must play nice. Once I find Lizzy and get my plan in motion, then and only then, I’ll show them my real face.I know Vector is wary. I could see that on his face when he came downstairs to question me. It was an interesting conversation, to say the least.To be honest, if I were in his place, I would be wary, too. I am an outcast—a pariah who made them
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 59. All Over
[CRISTIANA]When the car pulls up in front of the church, that’s when I realize this is actually happening. My heart starts pounding as if it’s about to crash and burn, and my legs tremble.“Get out!” the man driving the car grumbles as he opens the door on my side. The man sitting next to me, with his gun pointed at me, nudges its mouth to my upper arm, urging me to obey.I can’t escape from this situation; there’s no way around it that I can see. After hearing about the explosion from Timmy, I knew what was coming next.Ducio Giangrasso. The bane of my existence. The man who is obsessed with me. Or at least that’s what he claims. Who knows what his real intentions are?I can’t fathom what my father was thinking when he wagered and lost me in a poker game. He was never reliable, especially in front of my mother, but he was still my father. How could he betray me like this? I’m his own daughter, his flesh and blood, yet he treated me like an object, discarding me like nothing in a car
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 60. Fate Was Sealed
[TREVOR]“Holyshit!” Tim, or Timmy, or whatever the hell his name is, shouted as I aimed straight for that asshole’s head. The asshole named Ducio Giangrasso, head of the Giangrasso famiglia.Don’t even get me started on how the last two hours played out.After Vladimir told me about the job and hung up without giving any head or tail about the situation, I handed back the phone, only to realize the guy in front of me was a Perazzo. Timmy, Carlo Perazzo’s only son. He definitely reminded me of Vladimir earlier, they looked alike in many ways. But it was pretty obvious that Timmy was still learning the ropes—a total newbie.What didn’t make any damn sense to me was why Vladimir was trusting me with this task so soon. What was his plan? What was he up to? My gut was screaming at me that he knew way more than he was letting on. But I shouldn’t be surprised. He’s the boss, the head of the biggest criminal organization in all of Europe, and then some. If anyone knows what’s going down on h
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ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL Epilogue
[VECTOR] I never thought this day would ever come. Not before I met Lizzy Jones. It’s all been a whirlwind, my life, that is. From the day I was born to the day I lost everything, I lived a greater part of my life in absolute fear. Fear of not being trusted, fear of not being enough, fear of not being there for my sister when she went through the same painful incidents before she even understood the word pain. Lizzy says that what happened in the past was hardly my fault. That the fact I couldn’t protect my family was not my burden to bear. After all, wasn’t I a child myself? How would I have known what Sofia had planned for that night? What possibly could I have done to stop her and her freak boyfriend? The answer: Nothing. I couldn’t have done anything. Literally. But then why do I feel responsible? Is it just survivor’s guilt? Or is this a way for my brain to tell me that I was equally accountable for not being prepared for what I knew might happen if Sofia wasn’t stopped?
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 93. Promise For Sure
[LIZZY]“This is awkward,” Laura mumbles under her breath, but maybe not so quietly to herself because I end up hearing every single word of it.“You don’t say,” I shrug, and I watch as the corner of her mouth twitches.She looks away and sighs, as if what we’re doing seems to be physically affecting her. I can’t really blame her, can I? When Xavier and Hazel showed up this morning, wanting Joey and me to come with them so they could see off this woman who pretended to have our best interests for five long years, I didn’t have many noble thoughts about it. Definitely not kind enough to think she deserved a heartfelt goodbye.But that would be the mean and hurtful side of me talking. Because if it weren’t for her, Joey would still be wandering around, scratching his head and trying to figure out how Vector suddenly turned out to be his father—the man he couldn’t share me with at all, the man he wanted to punish for making me cry alone.“I didn’t mean any of the things I said to you, if
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 92. Being Addictive
[LIZZY]“This is nice,” I say as Tony and I sit outside one of the street cafes near the stream after a very silent and awkward dinner.I have no idea what I was thinking when I agreed to come with him. Maybe I assumed he would want to talk about things that he should have a long time ago—all those days he remained absent in our lives—that he would like to give an explanation for it. That he would finally reveal the big reason for him to walk away from our lives the way he did. That I would truly know, for the first time, what drove him away and turned him so cold and crude towards me when I came to see him all the way from Venice to the US.Too bad, I have got nothing so far.During the entire dinner, all we talked about was food, Joey, and his weird obsession with fire. And now that the dinner is finished, and he has run out of all the random conversation starters, we find ourselves back to quietly sweeping our gazes around.I take another long and loud sip of my coffee, wondering w
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 91. Job Done
[VECTOR]“What the fuck are you doing here?” Marcus looks stunned to see me, his brows furrowed deeply, flaring his nostrils as if he’s this close to grabbing a gun and aiming for my good knee.Well, maybe I do deserve that. Lizzy did warn me this was a bad idea.Not that I regret it one bit.Marcus and I have worked together for a very long time. We were even together that night, the night that boat exploded, and left us with the kind of scars that would take long to heal—his longer than mine. While I busted a knee and got several burns on the back, Marcus lost his right arm and got half of his face fucked up, including one eye.Let’s just say, I feel slightly responsible for what happened—felt obligated to pay him a visit despite everyone telling me to stay in the room and rest for long hours.It’s not like I’m trying to be difficult, or I don’t respect the care I’m getting even though I have done very little to deserve it. But after Lizzy asked me, with those doe eyes of hers, if w
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 90. Smart Boy
[LIZZY]I wring my hands for the hundredth time, trying to shake off the nervous jitters.After a week of contemplation, Vector and I finally agreed on how to reveal the truth to Joey about his real parentage.Honestly, I can’t believe I allowed my life to become so complicated. What was I even thinking? What was I so damn afraid of? Looking back at everything that happened in the past few months, it’s obvious I have been worrying for literally nothing. Vector never did any of the things I imagined he would once he got a hold of me. He didn’t hurt me, make me suffer, or punish me in any way. In fact, if there’s anything he did, it was to love me more intensely and passionately. Never did he ever try to hurt me, at least not purposefully. He did express his anger in the beginning, but now that I think of it, more than anger, it was hurt that he tried to mask as temper.I was terrified to even think about what he would do if he learned I kept such a huge secret from him. That I had been
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 89. Forget & Forgive
[One Week Later][LAURA/ERICA]“What are you doing here?” I ask, bored, although for this tough exterior that I’m putting on so fucking gracefully, I should get a damn Oscar for it.Then again, even if I did get nominated for an award, and had to choose between kicking some butts and wearing a sparkly, twinkly or some sort of shimmery thing ever over myself, I would rather just stick with what I do best, and we all know what that is.Except for my last encounter with the Perazzo brothers didn’t go as well as I planned.But, most of the time, they rarely do. That’s why this job is so darn tough and risky because, most of the time, the bad guys are one step ahead. They usually are. You can’t expect them to be playing poker when we storm their hideout. Nope, they’re always ready for the worst. And when the cops do catch them off guard, we don’t get a warm welcome with tea and cookies. No, they rain a hail of bullets on us.Perhaps that’s the reason there’s a saying about the best-laid pl
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 88. Only Mine
[VECTOR]I was ten when my sister Emma was born. She was this small, delicate thing that I was too scared to even touch. Her big doe eyes were like pools of laughter and innocence that spilled from her mouth every time she giggled and thrashed her little arms around, wanting attention, wanting someone to hold her, carry her around, keep her squeezed against their touch.She used to love it when our mother used to talk to her, holding a long and silly conversation while little Emma babbled away, God knows what. But that hardly mattered when I was too busy wiping sweat off my palms, wondering if I would finally get to hold her.Mom wanted me to not shy away, always telling me that I was supposed to protect her. Dad, however, seemed a little unsure. He sincerely believed that I needed to grow up a little more if I wanted that kind of responsibility. And I always believed he was right. That I needed to grow not only physically but mentally. That I needed to make myself capable, just like
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 87. Ridiculously Crazy
[LIZZY]When I wake up next time, my body aches like hell. It’s as if a terrible weight has been thrown over me, pinning me down, and I can’t summon the strength to get up.I snap my eyes open and practically groan when sunlight cuts through my eyelids like a laser, and irritates me and my skin like hell.Damn Vector. All this time, he has been cocooned in dark with doors fucking shut and curtains tightly drawn, and now that I’m the one who desperately needs darkness and a lot more sleep, he has flung the windows wide open. Ugh. I’m going to kill him, I swear.A voice in my head warns me against going back to sleep, but my body seems to have different plans entirely. In seconds, I grab the duvet and pull them back up over my head, rolling on the bed like a cinnamon roll to escape the heated rays. However, I barely settle into a comfortable spot when something suddenly clicks.My eyes snap back open.Joey.“Shit shit shit!” The happenings of the previous night smack me in the face and
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 86. No Matter What
[LIZZY]“You’re leaving?” I blurt out, eyes wide as saucers, my heart sinking deep into my stomach.The dark night stretches overhead, filled with scattered stars that twinkle like precious diamonds. The wind blows stronger, making my hair flutter all over my face.Zarina walks toward me, gracefully brushing the dark brown strands out of her face, her peaceful eyes briefly trailing over a sleeping Joey, who’s still tightly clutched to my chest.I had just walked out of the plane, only to find Zarina stepping out of the car. Theo, one of the caretakers of the Island, carries her bags, and Chiara is holding the baby, flashing me a cheerful smile as they pass one by one, heading up the airstairs.My heart sinks even more with her confirmation. “Why?” I ask, my eyes starting to well up.“Because it’s time,” she says and gently runs her long fingers over Joey’s back. “Mir is taking over the business, and although he told me to stay here as long as I want, I know he hates being away from hi
