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89. Forget & Forgive
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
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 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 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 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 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 0. Prologue
NOTE: Entrapped By The Devil is Book 2 in "THE PERAZZO" series. It can be read as standalone but will have spoilers from Book 1 (KIDNAPPED BY THE MAFIA).* * *[25 YEARS AGO]...“Spare us, please! We didn’t do anything. Quel ragazzo mente! Mente tra i denti. We didn’t do anything. Let us go, please, sir, andiamo a casa!”[That boy lies! He lies through his teeth. Let us go!]The woman sobbed while the bunch of men standing across the room with her lover bleeding profusely on their feet stared blankly at her. Patiently waiting to hear what they all were gathered there for, and not just another string of lies that she couldn’t stop spouting.A little boy of about 10 years old was forced to see the poignant moment unfolding in front of him, trembling in his little worn-out sneakers and swallowing hard every time his little eyes were drawn to the bleeding man waiting to be helped. Unfortunately, no one in the room appeared to be in a hurry.Sofia, you're wasting our time!" The man on t
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 1. Monotonous Life!
*PRESENT*[LIZZY]“Lizzy, my tummy hurts…am I pregnant?”With my jaw literally dropped on the floor, I watched and wondered with great horror if those words came out of his mouth were real or my fucking imagination.I can’t believe he said that just now. That, too, while stuffing a mouthful of ice cream into his face.“Joey!” I chided gently, watching as he ignored me and continued to devour the ice cream from the cup while rubbing his small tummy. “Why would you say something like that?” God, I was screwed if Laura was here to hear it. Thank goodness she wasn’t home yet.“Our math teacher, Ms Watson, is taking a leave. She told us during class that she won’t be coming for the next three months and that we should behave well when the new teacher arrives.”“Okay? But that didn’t answer my question,” I pointed out.“That’s because I wasn’t done,” he frowned, licking at the spoon before neatly placing the cup back on the table.“Sorry about that. Please continue.”“OK. So, when she left,
ENTRAPPED BY THE DEVIL 2. Viral
[LIZZY]If it weren’t for the loud banging at my door, I could’ve slept past noon.But of course, my happiness wasn’t a delicious piece of cake everyone could digest.Hissing at the annoying sound of a fist against my poor wooden door, I forced myself to sit up, only to realize I slept off on the couch itself.Great. Just what I needed. Note the sarcasm.With another unwilling groan, I pushed myself off the couch and winced. My feet were soaked with some kind of liquid.I cringed.Please don’t tell me I peed in my sleep. I wasn’t even that drunk. Was I?But I had to make sure what it was, right? There was no way out of it.God. This was so embarrassing, even when no one was watching.A sigh of relief escaped, however, after I finally dared to cut down my gaze. It was just water. I might have knocked the glass over during sleep.Some more noisy thudding."Who set their fucking panties on fire?" Grumbling, I stomped across the living room, trying to see through the blurred vision and fu
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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
