Chapter 1: Say your goodbyes.

Irene’s POV

Diego stood in the darkness of our small apartment, a glint of dark pleasure in his eyes as he shrouded my father's head with a black bag.

A typical mafia execution style.

Then, he motioned to one of his men, who handed him a silver pistol.

Horror seeped into my bones, paralyzing me as I watched the gun barrel drift in slow motion, halting to aim at my father's head.

Time froze.

Every dripping second sounded like a countdown to my father's death.

My pulse quickened drastically, my mind screamed for me to act, but my limbs felt heavy, disconnected.

I lay there, powerless.

I choked out a whisper before he could pull the trigger.

“Please... Spare his life.”

"I'll do anything!”

Tears flooded my face, hot and uncontrollable. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think.

All I could do was plead.

Diego turned, and our eyes met. For a split second, I could swear I saw a flicker of pity in his eyes, but the emotion vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Maybe my desperation was making me see things.

There was nothing remotely humane about this man. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with an eerily handsome face that was haunting and enchanting altogether.

There was a stillness in his aura, from his composed movements to the permanent scowl on his face. Every inch of him screamed of a cold and brutal power.

“Come here,” he ordered, his voice deep and raspy.

I moved myself toward him, my limbs trembling as I crawled on all fours, my pride and dignity dragged along in the dirt.

I reached the heel of his polished shoe.

“Tell me, what can you offer in exchange for his life?” he whispered.

A shiver ran down my spine.

I had nothing…

My father altered the course of our lives when he placed a big bet at the Vargas casino, owned by the mafia Don himself, Diego.

He lost and accrued a debt of over five million euros.

The payment deadline came and went, but we couldn't settle even a quarter of the money.

We sold everything in our name, but it was all like a drop of water against an ocean.

Tonight was retribution.

Diego was out for blood.

"I… I have nothing of value,”

“Except my life," I stammered.

He lowered himself to my level, his face inches from mine. His breath was warm against my skin.

"Will you offer me your life in exchange for your father's?" he whispered in my ear as he traced down the skin on my neck with the cold edge of his gun.

“No… Irene, don't…”

My father's muffled voice cautioned me from where he lay on the floor, beaten to stupor by Diego’s men, but I wasn't in my right mind.

Consumed by fear and despair, I surrendered.

"Yes!”

"Take my life!" I breathed out.

Fear was suffocating me.

I didn't want to die, at least not like this.

But I'd give anything and everything to protect my father. A man who worked several jobs to put me through college.

A man who protected and nurtured me after my mother left, he was all I had.

His selflessness and devotion to our family made him the best father I could have asked for.

But everything changed when my elder sister went missing some years back.

We contacted the police, but the investigations led down the rabbit hole. The case went cold after a while, and we were left with nothing, not even a clue if she was still alive.

Her disappearance left a black hole in the family, and my father desperately tried to fill this void.

He turned to alcohol bottles and gambling for salvation, but they only drew him farther from the man he used to be.

I waited for the bullet's impact, my heart frozen in my chest.

But it didn't come.

Instead, the weight of the pistol lifted.

I gasped, a shaky breath escaping my lips.

Diego stood up, towering over me. His eyes raked over my body.

"I won't kill you.”

"That would be too boring.”

“You, my dear, are too pretty to die.”

Relief shuddered through me, I wasn't going to die… not yet.

But something unsettling lay hidden behind Diego’s eyes that I couldn't figure out, but it was sickeningly clear that he wasn't done with me.

Whatever he had planned for me could be worse than death.

“You will become my property,” he announced my fate, engraving my deepest fear in stone.

“From this moment, I am your master.”

“You will come when I call, and you will obey me without question, like a dog.”

His strange gaze pinned me to the ground as he dictated, while I bobbed my head, acknowledging every one of his words.

“Understood?”

“Si… si,” I choked out, "I understand.”

"You have tonight to say your goodbyes,” he added.

“My men will come for you mine by dawn. Be ready!"

Without another word, he stormed out of our apartment into the cold night, his men flanking right behind him.

I rushed to my father's side, pulling off the black bag on his head and straddling his battered body.

He stirred weakly, his eyes fluttering open.

"Irene…" he called out weakly.

“What have you done?”

"I protected you, Papa… I had to," I whispered, tears streaming down my face.

He wheezed painfully, struggling to speak.

“Diego… he’s the devil’s incarnate. You won't survive him. No one does."

"Don't say that," I pleaded, clasping his hands.

"I'll find a way."

He paused, squeezing my fingers desperately.

"I uncovered some Information about Serena.”

"Help me up."

As I supported him into a sitting position, he winced in pain. But his gaze remained fixed on mine, filled with dread.

"Serena's disappearance... it's linked to Diego Vargas," he revealed, the words dropping like a bombshell.

I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.

"What... what do you mean?" I stuttered, my mind reeling as I struggled to grasp what he said.

"He secretly owns the club where she worked.”

“A trusted contact confirmed it. He runs his illegal operations there, underground.”

“We believe he's responsible for whatever happened to her.”

“But he has the police force in his pocket, so there's nothing we can do.”

Something broke inside me.

“I’m sorry, mi hija, you have to save yourself.”

“Run Irene… Find your freedom somewhere far away from here in Barcelona,” he trailed off.

I was speechless, the revelation was overwhelming.

After years of silence on Serena’s case, now I get to hear she was involved with the mafia. Chances of her being alive were slimming down to nothing.

But everything centered around one person; Diego Vargas.

He was a curse to my family.

He had stolen Serena from us, driving a hole in our hearts, and now he was going to finish what he started once he held me captive.

My father would become devastated and drown himself in alcohol.

Diego was ruining my family.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

I had to do something.

The strong desire to protect what was left of my family morphed my fears into something stronger.

It was anger, pain, and thirst for justice.

I vowed to find out the truth behind Serena’s disappearance.

If Diego had hurt her or done worse, then I was coming for him.

I would hunt him down like a bloodhound and make him pay in every way I could.