Chapter 4. Karma? or Betrayal?

Natalia's pov

(7 months later)

My heart pounded nervously as I slipped through the back door of Voyeur. Even though it was Gio who had called me here, saying he needed to discuss something important, I couldn't shake the feeling of being pulled back into the club's seedy underworld against my better judgement.

The thumping bass and raunchy laughter wrapped around me like a vice as I made my way to the dressing room.

It’s been seven months now since that fateful night I robbed him blind and vanished without a trace.

I had finally hung up my lingeries and quit stripping at the club, using the riches I stole for Gio to pay for my dad's life-saving surgery.

For the first time in years, I felt a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders. I was free from the world of stripping and robbing billionaires – an act that I’ve always detested.

I entered the dressing room, and was welcomed by the excited shrieks and laughter erupting from my former co-workers as they noticed me.

"Oh my god, Natalia! Girl we were just talking about you!" Candy bounded over in a cloud of hairspray and enveloped me in a tight hug.

"Bitch, where have you been hiding?" Desiree chimed in, rising from the tattered sofa to squeeze my arm affectionately. "This place hasn't been the same without our star dancer."

I felt a genuine smile tugging at my lips as Jasmine sidled up and looped her arm through mine. "For real, Nat. The clientele has totally gone to shit since our little princess left."

Laughing, I pulled back to get a good look at my old friends - my surrogate sisters in this harsh life. Despite the heavy makeup and skimpy outfits, there was no masking the genuine warmth and caring in their eyes.

"God, I've missed you crazy hookers," I admitted, drinking in the familiar sights and sounds and smells of the dressing room. As squalid as it was, this place would always feel like home in a way.

"Excuse you, we are high-class escorts at the very least!" Candy retorted with a wink, swatting me playfully on the arm. "Not just any ratchet hookers off the street."

We all dissolved into raucous laughter at the ridiculous notion. As if any of us had delusions about the ugliness of our career as strippers and occasional...nevermind.

"But seriously, babycakes," Jasmine cut in once we'd calmed down. "Things really haven't been the same around here without our star attraction working the pole." Her face turned contemplative. "In fact, business has been way down the last few months."

My stomach twisted with a pang of guilt. I should have reached out more, kept in better contact after leaving so abruptly. These women weren't just my coworkers - they were my family.

"I'm so sorry guys," I said softly, meaning it. "I just...after everything that went down, I really needed some space, you know? To get my head straight and figure out what was next for me and my dad."

Desiree waved a dismissive hand. "Girl, please. We got it. That night was dope, you got the money for the surgery and that's what we're after."

After we talked for a while I waved at them as I went to look for Gio, slipping inside without my usual getup, I immediately felt exposed and vulnerable in just jeans and an oversized sweater.

I was no longer staff, but not quite a patron either - just a ghost haunting my old hunting grounds.

That's when my gaze landed on him. Leandro.

At first, he didn't seem to recognize me without my thick makeup and curves on display. But I could feel the intensity of his stare following my movements, like a predator who smelled prey beneath my nonchalant facade.

My heart stuttered but I forced myself to keep walking, pretending not to notice him. Surely there was no way he could possibly know it was me after all this time...could he?

Before I could finish the thought, a large hand clamped around my arm in a punishing grip. I gasped and whipped around to face the man who had haunted my dreams for months - his rugged features set in a look of dark promise.

"You didn't really think I wouldn't recognize those pretty blue eyes...or that sinful voice, no matter how hard you tried to disguise it, did you principessa?" His deep voice rumbled with quiet menace.

My stomach bottomed out in a sickening swoop. He knew. Somehow he had seen through my lame attempt at a disguise and recognized me. My pulse thundered with fear...and an utterly inappropriate spike of adrenaline.

"Wh-what are you talking about? I I- I don't know what you're saying." I stammered, trying to pull free of his iron grip. "I'm just here for drinks with friends. If you'll excuse me-"

"The money, principessa," he cut me off, eyes glittering like shards of Arctic ice. "Where is the money you stole from me?"

I froze, panic seizing my lungs. How did he...?

Leandro’s full lips twisted in a cold smirk as he studied the fear on my face. With a sharp tug, he yanked me flush against the hard wall of his chest, surrounding me in his intoxicating woody cologne.

"You and I need to chat about permanent consequences, Bella," he growled against my racing pulse. "I'm going to take something from you worth far more than that measly sum."

My eyes widened in horror as visions of my dad's battered body from years of mob beatings filled my mind. If Leandro touched a hair on his head.

"No!" I cried, as I struggled to get free from his iron grip. "Don't you dare touch him. It's all me, he... he has nothing to do with it!"

His chuckle was cold and mocking as he dragged me towards the back hallway. But I managed to break free of his grasp and run off to find Gio.

He's the only one that can help me. Well he's the one I've been working for.

Finally I entered his office, panting like a wolf "Gio! Gio! We messed up real big this time!"

He looked at me from the desk with raised eyebrows. "Natalia? What the hell? I didn't call you here to come barking like a dog!"

"Here me out GIO! It's him," I wheezed, bracing my hands on my knees. "He knows I was the one who drugged and robbed him. He's threatening my father if I don't pay him back every penny."

“Who tf is him? Give me a name or something!’ he retorted.

“My last client..t-the bi..g sho…t” My teeth was chattering so badly at a speed that I feared might make my jaw slack.

Gio just smirked. "Ohh, you mean Leandro?" He never seemed to care. “So he knows huh?”

Well not the reaction I was looking for, even though I know Gio is a twisted bastard.

"Yeah he does!" My hands shook with panic. "And he recognized me, Gio. We have to give him back the money before he hurts my dad!"

Gio held up placating hands. "Why come to me then, I'm not the one who robbed him. Just pay the man. Simple" He spat, knowing I don't have a penny.

I shook my head vehemently. "It's not that simple! You know how dangerous he is - if we don't pay him he'll kill my dad! If we don't fix this whole mess, he's going to destroy us both."

He rose from behind his desk "Now hang on a damn minute!" Gio wheeled on me, sweating heavily. "There ain't no 'us' in this. I run a respectable establishment!"

My jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me right now?"

Was Gio really trying to pretend he was innocent in all this?

"You knew exactly what kinda 'special services' you were pimping us out for," I hissed. "This was a 50/50 split, remember? So you better get me that money so I can pay Leandro back before he-"

"There is no money!" Gio exploded, spraying spittle. "I already spent my cut, you imbecile twat! So this is your problem!"

I recoiled as if he'd struck me. Spent it already? So he's leaving this all on me. After everything I had risked and done for this miserable snake?

I spun on my heel and stormed out, hands trembling with rage, fear and acute disappointment.

Only to find Leandro waiting for me, leaning by the door with a smirk on his lips.

Leandro only chuckled darkly, before I knew it he grabbed me clamping a large hand over my mouth to muffle my screams for help. Ignoring my frantic attempts to fight him off, he dragged me towards a secluded back hallway with insulting ease.

Once out of view, he shoved me roughly into a dim storage room. I whimpered and shrank back against the shelves as he loomed over me, an intimidating mountain of brute masculine strength.

"You should have known better than to cross me, principessa," he sneered, caging my body with his arms. "I always collect what's owed, with interest. Time for you to pay up."

I frantically shook my head, too terrified to speak.

Leandro's smirk stretched into a cruel facsimile of a grin, devoid of any humor. "Don't worry, piccola. You won't be dealing in money where you're going."

Before I could process his ominous words, he swept me up and slung me over one broad shoulder like a caveman. I screamed and punched his muscular back as he carried me out the rear exit and unceremoniously dumped me into the backseat of a waiting sedan, climbing in after me.

I scrambled as far from him as possible, plastering myself against the opposite door as the vehicle peeled away. Leandro simply studied me with dark contemplation, his left hand rubbing his stubbled jaw.

"Do not attempt to escape or call for help," he warned in a lethal tone. "My men have orders to terminate your father on sight if you cause any undue trouble. Understand?"

Tears burned in my eyes as I gave a jerky nod, gripping my mother's locket for dear life. Oh god, how had everything gone so catastrophically wrong?

I studied Leandro out of the corner of my eye, frantically searching for any weakness or vulnerability to exploit. But all I saw was uncompromising power, arrogant dominance and a palpable darkness to make even hardened mobsters quail. How foolish I'd been to underestimate this monster simply because of his pretty face and money.

This was no rich boy used to getting his way - this man was a danger personified straight from my worst nightmares.

My throat worked in a convulsive swallow. "W-what do you want from me?"

Leandro leveled me with a long look, seeming to revel in the terror lighting my eyes. Then, almost too casually, he spoke the words that would change my life forever.

"I'm making you my wife, principessa. And believe me, by the time I'm done with you, your heart won't be the only thing shattering….your body will too”

My mouth dropped open in stunned horror. His wife?? No, this couldn't be happening. How...why would he...?

"This is just the beginning of your permanent penance," he drawled, his voice slicing through me like a razor. "And I'm going to take great pleasure in utterly ruining you – mind, body and soul, till I've gotten every single penny you stole from me."

A choked sob slipped past my lips as sheer panic set in. I was completely at this sadistic man's mercy with no escape plan and no way to contact my dad for help. Oh god, what have I done?