Chapter 1

Angel

“You useless woman!” Aunt Anacleta yelled at me angrily as she pulled my hair, making me grab her hand. I desperately tried to break free from her tight grip on my long hair.

“Auntie, please... it hurts...” I cried, but she continued to pull my hair.

“You’ll go with the men coming here later, or I’ll give Angelo to them instead. After all, your brother is a boy; they can teach him to beat up and kill people, and he’ll definitely grow up to be a criminal— that’s what your beloved brother will become if you will not do as I say.”

“Please, Auntie, Angelo is still so young. I promised Mom and Dad I would care for and raise him properly.” I had to argue because I didn’t want my parents to rise from the grave or haunt me for neglecting my only sibling.

“Is this still not over? You’ve been talking for a while and still can’t get her to agree.” We looked at my newly arrived uncle, my aunt’s lazy husband, who wanted Angelo and me to work for them.

“Where’s Angelo?” my aunt asked him, and I looked back and forth between them.

“What do you mean?” I asked in shock, struggling even more despite the pain in my scalp to free myself from her grip, which I eventually did. Unfortunately, a few thousand strands of my hair seemed left in her hand. “Where’s my little brother?” I asked again, now looking directly at my uncle.

My lazy uncle smirked before speaking. “I knew this would happen, so I hid him somewhere you won’t find. But if you agree, I’ll bring him back from wherever I left him.”

I wanted to crush this vile old man’s face. I couldn’t understand why my aunt married him or what she saw in him. He’s not even handsome, yet Aunt Anacleta is madly in love with him.

It’s good that they didn’t have children; otherwise, they might look like him. His bloodline is strong in their family because I’ve seen his nieces and nephews, and they all look like his siblings, who look just like him. Their faces are as ugly as their terrible personalities.

“Tell me where my brother is, Uncle. Don’t involve my innocent little brother in your wickedness.”

“You—” my aunt started before she gave me a hard slap, causing my head to snap to the left, and I couldn’t help but cry.

“You ungrateful woman! You have no right to speak to us with such harsh words because we took you and your brother in!” my uncle said angrily, quickly closing the distance between us and pulling my hair again.

“Ouch!” It hurt so much because his hands were heavier than my aunt’s. He pulled my hair so hard that I had to bend my neck to follow the direction of my head, hoping to lessen the pain. But even then, I still felt like my scalp would tear from the force of his pull.

I used both hands to pry his hand off my hair, but I still couldn’t break free.

“You have no right to talk back to us, understand?” Then, my demon of an uncle slapped me repeatedly, and my cheeks became numb from the alternating blows of his big hands after he released my hair.

“How dare you! After we raised you and your brother, this is how you repay us!” my aunt shouted and laughed simultaneously.

“Remember this, Angel. If you don’t agree to be the payment for my debt, it’s up to you. We can offer your brother as payment while you continue to serve us. Just right, you’re of age, beautiful, smooth-skinned—many customers at the brothel will fight to overbook you.” My uncle grinned like a demon as if he was saying he wanted this to happen and to have a taste of me.

“Stop it, Romeo. Boss Mauro might arrive any minute. I told you not to hurt her face; what if her value decreases because of the bruises you gave her?” I slumped to the floor when my demon uncle finally let go of me.

“Stupid! She knows she can’t do anything, yet she still talks nonsense. It would have been better if you told her immediately and spared us the drama.”

The vile man collapsed onto the old sofa while my aunt sat beside him, massaging him as if he had just come home from a hard day’s work. If looks could kill, they’d both be dead.

But as my vile uncle said, I really couldn’t do anything. Now I realize why my aunt even bothered telling me when I had no choice.

“Fix your face, or I might lose my patience. Save your drama for where you’re headed so you can see what you’ve been looking for.” I looked at my aunt when I heard her speak from behind me. I was in my room, packing the few clothes I had.

Now, I am in the car with a man named Mauro, who doesn’t even glance at me. Honestly, I’m scared of what will happen wherever this man takes me. He sat in the front seat beside the driver while I was alone in the backseat.

Another car followed us, with more of his men. I felt like a politician’s child or some other important person’s kid.

Our car stopped at a compound surrounded by high concrete walls as if they didn’t want the outside world to know what was happening inside.

I looked around and noticed that we were in what seemed to be a large garage. To my right, I could see a large house. Wait, no, it was a mansion because of its sheer size. I could only see the upper part, but I could tell it was enormous. I imagined how many rooms I might have to clean if that were the case.

“Don’t look around too much; come and follow me.” I looked up when Mauro suddenly spoke. Because of its size, I wanted to see more of the place, which seemed like a good place to explore.

I followed the man as he started walking, noticing that the driver and the others in the second car stayed behind. I shrugged it off as I walked into what seemed to be a large garage.

“Please, I won’t do it again.” I froze when I heard a voice as soon as we entered the garage. At the far end, I saw a man kneeling and begging the man standing before him. Around them, four other men stood watching.

The kneeling man’s face and clothes were covered in blood, clearly showing the severe beating he had received from the large man standing in front of him, who had a big body that didn’t go unnoticed even in a business suit. His right fist was wrapped in a white cloth, soaked with blood that I was sure came from the kneeling man.

“No one double-crosses me. Do you know why?” the man asked. I was stunned for a moment, wondering how a man capable of hurting someone like the one who was kneeling could have such a beautiful voice.

“P-please, p-please, I have a family. I have a wife and children who depend on me,” the kneeling man pleaded.

“That’s their problem for having a father like you.” With that, the man looked to his right, and the person there nodded before shooting the kneeling man.

I flinched as the sound of three gunshots echoed, followed by the lifeless body of the kneeling man falling to the ground.

I stood there, mouth agape, as the man who had been standing in front of the now-dead man turned his gaze to me, frowning. I instinctively took a step back when I noticed he was approaching me. Was he going to kill me too?