1

Bella 

I remember running in the lanes of this town. Growing up, I used to hate how dim this town used to be. When the cities were developing fast, my town was developing at the pace of a snail. Back then, it was irritating how I had to struggle to order food for myself considering how we used to live on the outskirts of the city. 

Who knew one day I would fall in love with the quietness and tranquility my birth town holds? Smiling after God knows how many days or months, I took a deep breath in. I embraced the cold breeze that was blowing. My body was shivering slightly. It was cold here. And I wasn’t dressed properly. Just a pair of dark jeans and a white shirt, half tucked in, was barely providing me any warmth from the chilly atmosphere. 

But for the first time, I was finding warmth in the coldness. The cold air made me feel safe. Away from all the dangers and pain I left behind. 

Even when this town holds the most painful memory of my life, it still managed to throw the fear out of my system and gave me a sense of comfort. A town where I had lived all my teenage years. The town where I spent my childhood, running and hiding from teachers, parents, and neighbors. The town that was imprinted in my mind and heart. 

Nobody can hurt me here. 

When I was still living in the delusion of the safety my birth town was making me feel, I heard a loud scream followed by a sinister laugh. Gripping the only bag I had brought with me when I ran away from my father’s house, I moved toward the source of the noise. 

My subconscious mind was reminding me to turn around and run in the opposite direction and never speak of it again, my legs betrayed my rational thinking as I found myself running in the direction of the noise when I heard another choked scream. And another. And another. 

My heart was beating crazily against my ribcage, on the verge of bursting out of my chest in fear. My feet ceased running when I saw four men beating another man mercilessly. They were equipped and had weapons with them: hockey sticks, baseball bats, and guns. 

“Peter, my old man, tell me, what civil human beings do after they beg money from the Master for a specific period of time?” The one with brown hair and blue eyes asked, a sadistic grin on his face as he twirled the gun, successfully scaring the poor man and me. 

“I am sorry. I am sorry. Please, give me more time. I will definitely arrange the money this time. I will sell my house but I will return the money. Please let me go. My wife is pregnant. Please.” The old man cried out in pain, pleading for mercy but the brown-haired man snickered, clicking his tongue, and bent down on his knees, gripping Peter’s face harshly. 

“Isn’t your wife pregnant for the past two years, Peter? Do you just keep fucking her and she forgets to pop the kid out or is it a new kind of pregnancy that is trending in the market where kids take more than two years to get out?” He asked, dark humor lacing his voice and Peter’s eyes widened horrifically, making the blonde laugh out loud, standing with them. 

“What are you waiting for, Nick? Just kill him. I am hungry. I am ordering burgers. Anyone in for burgers?” The blonde said, dramatically sighing and Nick, the brown-haired man smiled widely as if he found his candy. 

Giving Peter a flying kiss, Nick raised his gun and was about to shoot him when I let out a fearful scream, giving myself away. I pressed my palms against my mouth, cursing myself for screaming. And in slow motion, I saw my soul leaving my body and my heart stopping to beat when the blonde turned around and his light eyes met my brown eyes dangerously. I stumbled back, ready to run. 

I chastised myself for the millionth time as I left my mobile-phone back at home for fear of getting traced. And suddenly, my father and Ethan felt a much better option than the murderers standing in front of me, grinning like psychos. I turned around and started running, my heart beating inside my mouth, my fingers felt numb and cold as I felt my death running after me. 

I didn’t make it even a mile when I was pushed down, and a brown-haired man, whose name I presume was Nick, jumped on me, pressing his bicep around my throat, cutting off my oxygen supply, and making darkness dance in front of my vision. 

“Tch, tch, didn’t your parents teach you, little girl? Curiosity killed the cat. And no amount of satisfaction could bring it back.” Nick tsked, making me cry out in pain and fear. 

My fingers were clawing at him, trying to get myself free from his deadly grasp. 

“Ple….please, leave me. I won’t tell anyone. I didn’t even see anything. Please let me.” I cried out in fear and Nick pouted, and suddenly he looked like a small kid to me, pouting after denying him his favorite chocolate. 

“Where’s the fun in that, red hair.” He said, and I kicked him harshly, making him curse at me. 

“Please. Please let me go.” I whimpered as the blonde caught me and I saw disbelief swirling in his light eyes as he saw me. Something swirled in his eyes, something unknown that spooked me. 

“Fucking bitch! How dare you—” Nick glared at me, the sadistic grin on his face was lost in the dark look that replaced his face. He raised his hand to hit me. And I closed my eyes to bear the hit. But when the hit never landed on me, I dared to open my eyes. The blonde saved me. 

“The fuck is wrong with you, Martin? She witnessed everything, kicked me in the balls and you’re saving her!” Nick looked at his friend, or colleague in disbelief and Martin’s eyes darkened as he shook his head. 

“She witnessed everything, Nick. We need to take her to the Boss. And you know the rules. You can’t touch the witnesses unless he orders us to. Back off.” Martin spat back, scaring me even more than I was already scared. 

“Bo—boss?” I stuttered out, my tears clouding with tears of fear and helplessness. I didn’t run out of one hell to step into another one. I didn’t run away from two devils to let the third one catch me. 

“Scared now, little girl? Do you know what he does to little girls like you who love to kick men in the balls?” Nick asked me, the sadistic grin coming back on his face. And I shook my head, scared, terrified to even speak. 

“Please….”

“He cuts their hands and feeds them to his pet— shark.” Nick said, and I suddenly felt nauseous. 

“Enough, Nick. Put her in the truck now.” Martin said, pressing the button on his key, making his truck beep loudly. Nick dragged me to the back of the truck harshly, as if I were a sack of potatoes or a wild camel. 

When he pushed me in roughly, I bit his hand harshly, as harshly as I could, tasting his blood which made me nauseous again. Nick hissed in pain, leaving my hand for a second and I kicked him in the shin and ran away again. 

But I couldn’t run more than five steps before another one of them held me and pushed me down harshly, making my head hit the stone, and warm liquid rolled down my head, and I winced in pain. 

“You never learn, do you? You really wish to die!” Nick bit back angrily and I felt him slapping me after I heard the slap. My face jerked to the side, my left jaw burning painfully as he gripped my chin harshly and made me look at him. 

“Kicking me for the second time in less than ten minutes. I must give it to you. You’re brave. But more than brave, do you know what you are, little girl? Stupid. You’re stupid for messing up with the wrong men.” He said, and I smiled at him. 

“I am not shocked, honestly, Nick. Because all my life I had encountered shitty and arrogant men who know nothing but to abuse others. You haven’t really shocked me. You….” He cut me off with another slap and this time I tasted blood as the ring he was wearing cut my lower lip, making me close my eyes. 

He will break my face this way. 

“Nick! What the fuck is your problem dude? Can’t you control your anger for a few minutes?” Martin asked him angrily, pushing him aside as he looked at him and closed his eyes, running his fingers through his unruly blonde hair. 

“He will fucking kill you,” Martin mumbled under his breath, and even when I heard him I can feel that he didn’t want to speak that out loud. 

“Speak when you get kicked twice by a girl.” Nick retorted back and pushed me inside the truck. “And you, another word, and I will throw you in the river on our way to Boss’s den. And I can assure you, I am not kidding. And this goody-two-shoe won’t be able to save you from me.” 

After gagging me with a rag and sticking the duct tape around my mouth, tying my arms and legs tightly, they started driving as if they hadn’t just kidnapped a twenty-three-year-old girl. 

My heart almost stopped beating when Martin stopped driving saying we were there. I don’t know how long it took us but all I know is we had been driving for an eternity before Martin declared we reached the den. 

Fear surfaced in my eyes again as Martin pulled me out. I was expecting an abandoned building or a scary place but I was shocked when they stopped in front of a huge house, surrounded by trees and a small garden in the front. The security outside the door was enough to tell me they worked for a very rich, cruel, and wicked man. Nick pushed me forward, almost making me fall. With every step, I could see my end near. 

What will their boss do with me? Kill me? Hold me captive? Sell me? Or make me his sex toy? Suddenly death seemed like a better option. Way better than enduring any other torture. 

Money. I could feel the power of money as we walked inside the hall. I could see maids roaming around. No speck of dirt could be seen on the floor or the carpet. My anxiety was growing more and more. 

“Where is Boss?” Martin asked a woman, who pointed upstairs, speaking something in a foreign language, I didn’t understand much.

With shaky legs, I was walking upstairs. And we stopped in front of a huge door. Nick knocked on the door twice and Martin pushed it open when the door unlocked with a ping. 

A man was sitting behind the desk, his face hidden from the laptop. But I could feel my heart ready to jump out of my chest from fear. For a long time, none of us spoke. And the heavy silence was eating me alive. 

“We were dealing with Peter and she saw everything and then had the audacity to kill me twice. I was going to kill her then and there but Martin wanted to bring her here.” Nick complained, but the dark edge in his voice made me tremble. 

And slowly, their Boss closed his laptop, pushing it aside, and looked at me. And suddenly I was no longer twenty-three. The time was moving in reverse, taking me back seven years. I was seventeen once again, looking at the man for whom I fought with everyone, the man who went down on his knees to propose to me when we were still teenagers. The man who saw me growing up in front of his eyes. My childhood best friend. My first crush. My first love. My first-ever lover. My first heart-breaker.

“Silas.”

My voice betrayed me. My eyes flooded with tears. Suddenly the pain I was feeling washed away like tears get washed away in the rain. My body trembled at the sight of the man who loved me so much, kissed me senselessly, and then broke my heart in the most cruel way. 

He had changed so much. The Silas I knew before was a sweet boy, a sweet nineteen-year-old boy who couldn’t hurt a fly. The Silas I knew looked more like a cute kid who cared about everyone, be it his family, friends, or even strangers. I have seen him being worried for his enemies also. 

But this man in front of me looked like a dangerous man, dressed in malice and washed in money and power. His eyes were no longer warm, at least, for the people around him. They were dangerous. They held the fire of hell. The Silas I knew never touched suits or tuxedos. This Silas was dressed in the most expensive suit I had ever laid my eyes on. The boy I knew had no cell of danger in his body but the man standing in front of me had no cell of innocence in him. He was nothing but dangerous.

“Bella.” 

I don’t know how the angel I once knew became the biggest devil of the underworld.