{TRIGGER WARNING! TRIGGERING CONTENT! DO NOT READ IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT, THANK YOU! Otherwise, enjoy!}

Celine Elloise Dufort:

I head back down the stairs, towards the kitchen, and hear someone walking after me. 'Where's Neveah?'

It's Kai. He follows me into the kitchen and takes a seat in one of the chairs. 'She's asleep, as should you.'

It's nothing like him to be up this early, which is why I thought it was strange when he insisted on saying goodbye to the others.

'I think you're the one who needs to rest. Maybe we should go to a spa?' I stop with what I'm doing and look at him. 'A spa?'

He nods and smiles at me. 'Let's go right now, we should be good to go for a few hours right?'

'We can't leave Neveah and it's too early to go out yet, none of the spas are open right now. And to be honest, I'm not in the mood to go to one.' I mumble, continuing to make myself something to eat.

Kai isn't a morning person, but today he seems like one.

'Are you sick or something?' I ask, looking over my shoulder to look at him. 'Why would I be sick?'

'You seem happy this morning, you're never happy in the morning.' He chuckles and grabs an apple from the fruit basket on the counter. 'I'm just happy we have the house to ourselves for a while.' He whispers, smirking a little.

I feel a wave of heat rush to my cheeks and look at him for a second. 'We could do a lot of things since we're alone, ma belle.'

'Except, we're not alone.' I state, turning back to the bowl in front of me. He sighs and moves behind me, slowly wrapping his arms around my waist.

I don't know when or how he got so close to me, but I don't mind. 'Neveah is asleep, she won't wake up for a while.' He purs, sending shivers down my spine. 'So-' 'Molly is still somewhere in the house.'

He shakes his head and slowly presses his lips against my neck, 'She left last night, Rio ordered her to get the fuck out.' What?

'When did that happen?' I ask, quickly turning around to look at him. He sighs and leans closer, gently pressing me against the cold counter behind me. 'Last night.'

'At what time?' I insist, waiting for him to answer. But he takes his time while looking at my lips. The hunger in his eyes makes my skin heat up. 'Kai?'

He sighs deeply and leans back. 'You keep calling me Kai.' He mumbles, climbing on the counter on the other side. 'Because that's your name.' 'I like my nickname more.' Nickname?

I don't remember his nickname if he even has one. 'I don't-' 'The nickname you gave me. Remember?'

'No. I don't.' He looks straight into my eyes which are twinkling like the stars. 'You do. You just don't want to admit that that's my nickname.'

I have no idea what he's talking about and turn back to my bowl of yogurt and fruit. 'Do you want some?'

He shakes his head and follows the spoon to my lips. 'Don't look at me like that while I'm eating, thank you.'

He jumps back to his feet and slowly steps closer again. 'Why not?'

'Because it's weird.' He shakes his head and gently presses his lips on mine. 'I don't think so.'

'Well, it is.' He shakes his head again, and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me as close as he can. 'Call me by my nickname.' He whispers against my lips. 'I don't-' 'You do.'

His lips crash against mine again, making me feel like I'm floating on air. Between all the stars in the sky.

Floating in the biggest space ever, between all the stars and planets that exist. Just hovering. Feeling more liberated than ever.

And then it hits me. I called him something once. And he absolutely loved it. But it was a one-time thing. 'I'm not calling you that again.'

He smirks and leans back, still staying close enough to press his face against mine. 'Why not?'

'Because it was a joke.' 'Joke or not, I liked it.' That's very much a lie. He didn't like it. He became obsessed with it. He begged me to say it again the entire day, jeez, maybe even the entire week.

'No.' My phone rings and I brush past Kai to pick up the phone. 'Elle, we made it. How is Neveah?' It's Leon.

'She's sleeping, I'll wake her up in an hour to give her some pills, but she should be fine.' He takes a deep breath and I can already see the relief on his face. 'She'll be okay. I'll take care of her.'

'I know. I know. It's just...' He stops for a few seconds, moving around wherever he is, and closes a door, 'Adriano is really being a pain in the ass, especially to Cataleya and I tried talking to him, but he won't listen.'

I don't know what to do. If Rio didn't listen to Leon, he would certainly not listen to me. 'Just keep them away from each other and try to convince him to calm down.'

'Okay.' He sighs and moves around again. 'I have to go get her, I'll call you when it's over with.' 'Be careful.'

Leon chuckles and closes another door. 'I will, bye.' He hangs up before I can say something else and I turn around, towards Kai. 'Everything okay?'

I nod and walk back to him. 'Was Neveah wearing the bracelet?' I tilt my head at his question and shrug. 'I don't know.'

'I'll go look-' I pull him back and shake my head. 'She needs rest, plus, why would it matter if she's wearing it or not?'

'I didn't buy her that bracelet for it to catch dust on her dresser.' He jokes as he steps towards the door. 'She has been wearing it all the time, so stop complaining.'

He rolls his eyes and still heads to the hall, probably to get to Neveah's room. 'Kai!' 'I'll be right back!'

I should go after him and convince him to leave Neveah alone, but I'm too tired. Plus, she'll probably hit him for waking him up so it's his fault.

I finish my breakfast and clean the mess I made, before hearing footsteps behind me. 'And?'

He chuckles as he rubs his cheek. 'I should've stayed here.' 'I told you.'

I laugh and wait for him to step closer and when he finally does I can see the redness on his cheek. She sure hit him.

'But I got her to wear the bracelet.' I roll my eyes and pull him even closer so that his arms go around me. 'Why does she have to wear it in bed?' 'She'll forget it when she wakes up, I know she will.'

'You're insane.' I mumble, before gently kissing him. He leans back and smiles at me. 'I'm insane...' He trails, wanting me to call him that one thing again. 'No.'

'Please?' 'Are you seriously begging me to call you my treasure in French?' He nods and pulls me closer, softly pressing his lips against my neck. I close my eyes, lean back, and feel myself floating between the stars again.

'Maybe I am, just do it.' He sounds like a whiney kid, but god do I want to give it to him right now. 'We should-' 'Celine..'

He leans back and looks into my eyes again, practically begging me to call him by his so-called nickname.

'You're being annoying.' He huffs, taking another step back. I reach out to him and pull him back, moving my lips back to his. 'Mon trésor.'

Brightness sparks through him and the twinkles in his eyes return, before he wraps his arms around me and kisses me deeply.

'Again.' 'No.' I giggle and wrap my arms around his neck as he lifts me on the counter. 'Don't you like it?' 'It's a bit too much.' I answer honestly.

He feels like a treasure, making me feel things I've never felt before, but I'll never admit it to him. He is my treasure, the treasure of love.

But the last time I fell for someone like this, they ended up selling me to pay off some debt. So I'm not taking any risks.

He has to say it first. He has to tell me how he feels first.

Not through some nickname, but with true and honest words.

Until then, I'll keep my love contained. As much as I can.

'What did Neveah say when you woke her up?' I ask, desperately wanting to change the subject. 'She was half asleep and hit me, before dreadfully putting on the bracelet and falling back asleep.'

'She needs her sleep.' He nods and kisses me again, pressing himself between my legs. 'So what do you want to do today?' He asks curiously.

'I have some papers to go through and we have to go grocery shopping later so that we can make dinner, but-' 'Let's go grocery shopping right now.' He exclaims, pulling me off the counter.

I shake my head and step back, looking at him strangely. 'What's going on with you today?'

'What do you mean?' He asks, smiling a little. 'You really want to get out of the house for some reason.'

'I just want to go out with you, am I not allowed to?' I roll my eyes and slowly step forward. 'Not really since we both have other stuff to do. Remember Rio's task?'

He sighs deeply and nods. 'Make sure that everyone else thinks nothing's up.' He walks towards the hall and turns back to me. 'But that can be done later, we should-' Kai stops midsentence since his phone starts ringing.

It's his usual alarm, meaning it's already eleven am. 'We should get to work.'

He nods and hesitantly waits for me to follow him, but I head to the fridge to grab a bottle of water first.

Just as I'm about to follow him into the hall, my phone vibrates in my back pocket.

I reach for it and see that Cataleya texted me:

𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚙

What?

𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝?

'Celine?' I look up, straight into Kai's eyes, and step away from him. No.

'Everything alright?' My heart starts racing and I try to stay calm. Maybe all of this is a misunderstanding. Maybe something else is up.

'What happened?' 'Cataleya just texted me, she says it's a trap.' I state, trying to hide the fear in my voice.

Fear of getting my heart shattered by something that might be the truth. The hurtful, but honest truth.

'Kai, where is Hunter?' He swallows audibly and steps forward, making me step back.

And then it clicks. He made sure that we would be alone, he checked if Neveah would truly be asleep, he tried getting me out of the house, his alarm that just went off wasn't his usual alarm. All of it falls in place.

'Answer the question.' My phone vibrates again, but I can't take my eyes off his. The eyes that twinkled like the stars just a few minutes ago now turned full of pity.

'Please, just come get out of the house with me. For just a few minutes. I promise-' Oh god... I brush past him and run up the stairs, hearing him run behind me.

I'm not quick enough, not ready to let this go just yet, and he knows it too. He yanks me back around and shakes his head. 'I'm so sorry, I-' 'Let go of me!'

He flinches at my voice and steps back. 'Please just let me explain, I-' 'What's going to happen?'

I need to get to Neveah. I need to get her the fuck out of here, but I don't know what to expect once we set a foot outside the house. I need to know that first.

'Please just get out of the house, I don't want you to-' 'Kai I swear to fucking god, what the fuck did you do?!' He sighs and steps closer again, making me step back.

I should've grabbed a knife, something to keep him at distance, but I didn't. How foolish of me.

'Answer the question!' He looks into my eyes, clear regret in those dark eyes of his. But if he really regretted it, he wouldn't have done it.

'I made sure Neveah would stay behind, so that they could take her-' What if they already got her? What if he opened the door when he said he was going to make sure she had the bracelet. 'Neveah!' 'Celine wait!' I run past him, feeling him reach out to my leg, but I simply kick him away.

'Celine! She's out!' I stop in my tracks and slowly turn around. 'What did you do?'

'I gave her those pills, I've been giving her those pills for a while now.' Doxapine... He gave her Doxapine to make sure she would be asleep for a while. 'You made her sick?'

He nods and looks away from me, granting me time to get to Neveah's room. I need to get the fuck out of here and I don't know how much time I have left.

I burst through the door and see that Neveah is peacefully sleeping. 'Neveah, wake up!' She groans and slowly turns around, trying not to puke again.

'We have to get the fuck out of here.' My phone starts ringing and I look at the screen. It's Rio.

I pick up and throw Neveah some clothes, hoping that she won't ask and just do as I say.

'We're heading back now, stay inside. I've already called for backup.' Kai steps into the doorway and doesn't even dare look at me. As he should.

'What if they-' 'They'll be here in five minutes.' Kai mumbles, almost making me drop my phone. 'What's going on?' Neveah asks, trying to get out of bed. I help her up and see that she's already wearing the clothes I threw at her.

'We have to get out of here.' 'Shit. Just get to the garage and wait there, I'll-' My phone drops to the ground and I'm too panicked to pick it up.

Stay in the garage. That's what he said. So that's what we'll do.

'I'm sorry.' Kai mumbles as I push him to the side. I pull Neveah with me, towards the stairs. He wants to help, he tries to help, but he's the reason all of this is happening.

'What is going on?' Neveah asks again, she's still sleepy, almost falling over her own feet. 'How much did you give her?'

'The bottle is almost empty.' What the fuck... He's insane. 'You piece of shit!' I sneer at him, almost dropping Neveah since I'm turning towards him.

'I'm sorry, I-' 'Shut the fuck up and help me get to the garage!' He looks a bit shocked by my demand, but I won't be able to get Neveah at the garage in time. I need his help.

He nods and lifts Neveah up, rushing down the stairs.

'I'm going to throw up.' Neveah groans, almost throwing up. I shake my head and rub her back. 'Deep breaths.' Kai whispers, annoying me more than ever.

He has some nerve.

'Just-' And then it happens. The door bursts open and a bunch of men run inside, leaving the door broken and almost falling out of the hinges.

'Long time no see, my friend.' It's him.

It's Hunter Steel.

His blue eyes and brown hair, exactly the way Leya described him to be. He looks young but not much younger than Rio. And he looks absolutely terrifying.

He's here.

He's not in Germany, not near Germany at all.

'You're already carrying the reason we're here. So let's go.' Kai freezes and so do I.

I should've gone to the kitchen or to Rio's office to grab some guns. But it's too late for that now. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Neveah looks like she's about to pass out from everything that's going on, too exhausted to realize that her worst enemy is standing right in front of her.

'Hunter, please-' 'We made a deal. Come on.' Kai looks at me, seriously thinking about handing her over, but I shake my head. 'I'm going to-' 'Take her too, she might come in handy.'

All the other men, at least six of them, inch closer to us, surrounding us as they point their guns in our direction. Shit.

Kai swiftly lowers Neveah to her feet, still staying close enough to not drop her to the floor. 'No one's touching her.'

Hunter, who was headed towards the door, slowly turns back around and smiles at Kai. 'They're both coming with us.'

'That's not what the deal was-' 'I don't care.' Hunter sneers. He snaps his fingers and the men step closer, forcing us to step forward just a little. 'Grab them!'

Kai immediately lets go of Neveah and pulls me closer, allowing the men to grab her and carry her outside. I try getting to her, but Kai keeps me in his arms, not caring about Neveah at all. 'Let go of me!' I shout, trying to get to Neveah.

She's too exhausted, too drugged up to fight, and groans as they throw her into a van outside.

'You have what you wanted, now go.' One of Hunter's men gets a hold of my arm and tries to pry me out of Kai's reach, but Kai's stronger. 'Orders are orders.' 'I'm going to fucking kill you!' Kai shoves his fist against the man's face and looks at all the others that gasp for air in shock.

'I said, no one is touching her.' Hunter turns back to us again and sighs deeply. 'Fine. Then you carry her.'

A piece of cloth is pressed against my mouth, it reeks, and makes me feel lightheaded. Everything becomes a blur and before I know it, my knees give in and everything goes black.

I don't hit the ground, since someone caught before I could, and pray to God that they won't separate us.

Neveah... She's sick. She's in pain. She's the one I'm worried about right now.

I wake up in an unfamiliar room and immediately feel my head pounding. Shit...

Neveah isn't in this room and when I look around, I realize that it's nothing special. Just a simple bedroom with a small bed and a little table in the corner of the room.

I head to the door and try opening it, but of course, it's locked.

I want to scream, but it won't help. It'll only tire me and make my headache so much worse.

There's a small window in the corner of the room and I rush to it, trying to peek outside. Maybe I'll recognize something. Maybe. Maybe.

No. Nothing. But the sun is about to set. Meaning I must've been out for a while.

The door slowly opens and I turn towards it. Kai steps into the room with a bottle of water and some pills in his hand. Paracetamol...

'Where's Neveah.' He drops onto the bed and keeps the bottle and pills in the air. I shouldn't take it. I shouldn't take anything from him, but if I want to get out of here, I need to get rid of this headache.

So I grab the bottle and quickly swallow two pills, waiting for them to kick in.

But I know better, it might take a while.

'Where's Neveah?' I ask again, throwing the empty bottle onto the ground. 'Celine-' 'Where the fuck is she?'

He looks up, finally looking into my eyes, and takes another deep breath. 'She's in the basement.' Basement.

Wherever we are has a basement.

'Take me to her.' He looks away again and shakes his head. 'I can't do that.' 'Yes you can, take me to her.'

'She's been taken care of.' What? Did they kill her? No. 'She's still alive, she's taken care of. I promise.' 'Take me, to her.' I step closer to him, almost yanking his face up so he has to look at me. But he looks at me himself.

'She's fine.' I can actually hit him so hard right now. But it would be a waste of energy. 'She's sick and they threw her in the car, yet you expect me to believe that she's fine?'

'I took care of it.' He states, getting back on his feet. He towers over me, trying to convince me that he indeed took care of it. But I don't believe it. 'Take me to her.' 'No.'

'Yes.' A new voice purs. We both turn to the door and flinch when we see Hunter standing there. 'You can go see your friend. In one condition.'

'Hunter-' 'And what might that be?' I know I shouldn't be talking to Hunter. But if he's willing to take me to Neveah, I will.

'Are you in or not?' He asks, smirking a little. 'Celine, don't-' 'Yes.' Hunter nods and steps outside, waiting for me to follow. Kai steps in front of me and shakes his head. 'Don't do this. He's going to-' 'Move.'

I swiftly move past him and follow Hunter through the house. It's an old mansion, but not much older than my family's mansion. At least the floor doesn't make that annoying sound.

'You're a good friend, doctor.' Hunter chimes, not turning to me at all. 'What did you do to her?' 'You'll see.'

He leads me down the stairs, towards the basement, and opens a metal door. I hear chains clinging against stone and try to watch where I'm going since there's barely any light at all.

'Noah, lights!' Hunter shouts and the lights turn on. I look back up the stairs and realize that a group of men is standing there.

They're all looking at me with a creepy smirk while trying to keep Kai away from me. I turn back around and follow Hunter towards another door. The only door available.

I hear people fighting behind me and know that it's Kai fighting the others to get to me. But I don't dare turn around. I don't have to. 'Let him through.'

More movement and then someone touching my hand. It's Kai. I pull my hand away and wait for Hunter to open the door.

'Ready?' Hunter asks as if he's taking me to my favorite restaurant. I nod and brace myself as he opens the door. A nasty smell flows out of the room, a mix of urine, sweat, and puke, and the clinging sound of the chains becomes clearer and louder.

'Go in.' Hunter steps aside and waits for me to get in first, but Kai jumps ahead and looks at something in the corner of the room. Someone's standing there, but I don't care about that someone.

I care about Neveah who is sitting across from the door, chained to the wall and floor. She's not wearing much, only her underwear, and looks absolutely broken.

'Neveah!' I run over to her and notice the tears rolling down her cheeks. 'What did you-' 'Listen up, doc.' Hunter steps into the room and closes the door behind him, making sure we hear the lock fall in its place.

Making sure we know there's no way out.

'You're going to cut that tracker out of her.' He must be insane if he thinks I'll do that. It's the only way the others could find us. 'No way.'

Neveah tries to reach out to me, her body hurting like crazy. 'Don't-' She groans, grabbing my hand.

The person in the corner chuckles but stays in the dark. Kai flinches at the deep sound, but I try to see who it is. But it's no use. It's too dark.

'She has to princess.' Hunter chimes, crouching down a little. 'Because otherwise, I'll have to kill you.'

My heart stops for a second and I look at Kai. Is this true? He nods and looks away from me, back at the person in the corner of the room. 'I don't have the supplies to safely-' Hunter jumps to his feet and claps twice, putting people to work.

Two men carry a table into the room and another one brings a little table with wheels underneath it, while another one carries a bright lamp.

He got all the things I need because he planned it all out.

And I've never felt as stupid as I do right now. I trusted Kai. I trusted him and look where it got me.

'You have all you need.' The door is still wide open as if there's more to come. And there is.

Another guy steps into the room with a camera. He places it on the other side of the table and presses a few buttons before the light turns red. What?

They're recording. But why? And what are they going to record?

If Neveah wasn't chained to the wall, we could've tried running out of this place. But it's no use. We won't get out of here, even if we tried. They're with too many men.

So instead of trying to find a way out, I try to imprint their faces in my mind. Just in case we do get saved and we need to hunt them down again.

'So get to work.' Hunter claps again, making one of the men release Neveah from the chains, just to drag her to the table. I stay close, trying to think of something.

Knives are laying on the little table. Maybe I could- 'Don't even think about it, doc.' I look up to see that all the other men are pointing a gun my way.

Their either aiming at me or Neveah. Shit.

The man shoves Neveah onto the table and chains her ankles and wrists to the legs of the table, making sure she's laying on her stomach, before slowly stepping out of the room.

I stare at all the equipment. It's all fun and games, but there are no anesthetics. Nothing to sedate her.

'Where are the-' 'You won't be using any.' Hunter smirks, stepping closer.

I could grab a knife and stab him. But that won't get us anywhere. It would only get us killed.

The others in the room will shoot the moment I turn the wrong way.

So instead of stabbing Hunter right in his chest, I grab a knife and walk over to Neveah's face.

'Celine don't-' 'I have to. I'm sorry.' I whisper, feeling tears prick behind my eyes. She shakes her head and tries to move away, but it's no use. She's tied to the table, barely able to move. 'Please forgive me...'

'No, don't-' 'Do it.' Hunter growls from behind me. I flinch at the sound of his voice and look up, straight into Kai's eyes.

All of this is his fault. He led them to our home, he went behind our backs, he's the one who betrayed us.

But his eyes don't seem as victorious as Hunter's or any of the other men in this place. His eyes only show sorrow and regret.

'Celine-' 'I'm giving you two seconds to stab her with that knife, or I'll let my men go loose.' I grab Neveah's hand and squeeze it tightly. 'I'm sorry.'

Tears stream down her face and she shakes her head, still keeping her eyes on me. 'Please, Celine-' I slowly press the knife into her shoulder, just deep enough to get the chip out.

She screams out, begging me to stop. But I can't. They will shoot if I stop now. And she'll bleed to death if I stop now.

'Would you look at that.' Hunter says, somehow fascinated by all of this.

It looks as if he kicks off on the pain of others. In a worse way than Rio or Leon do. They do it because some people deserve it. But Hunter does it for his own pleasure. That's clear.

I put the knife on the table and reach for the tiny tweezers, wanting to get this over with. 'Forgive me.' Neveah continues to cry as I press the metal into the wound, trying to reach the stupid chip.

I don't remember placing it that deep, but apparently, it's deeper than I thought. 'I'm sorry.'

She squirms and tries to stay still, knowing that if she moves it'll only hurt more.

'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.' I repeat the same words over and over, trying to get this over with so that she doesn't have to be in pain much longer.

When I finally feel the chip, I grab it and pull it out, throwing it onto the table to my right.

I reach for the needle and thread, but the table is pushed back, out of my reach. 'What are you-' 'Move.' Hunter shoves me to the side and moves closer to Neveah. 'Does it hurt, princess?'

'Go to hell.' Neveah cries, trying to show her anger towards him. But he doesn't care. Not only because she's the one tied to a table, but because he just doesn't give a single shit about how she feels towards him.

'Tough talk for someone wounded.' Hunter, being the sick bastard he is, presses a finger into the cut and leans down while Neveah screams out in pain. 'You-' Someone wraps me in their arms and for a second I think it's Kai. But it's not him.

Kai's standing on the other side of the room, being held in place by three other men.

I look up and see two unfamiliar faces, and almost spit at them for holding me back. But Neveah's screams turn worse, making me look at Hunter and her. 'Stop! I need to-' 'Shut the fuck up before I shoot you both.'

My mouth immediately shuts, not wanting either of us to die. But by Neveah's screams, it sounds like she's already dying.

Hunter pulls his finger out of the wound, letting all her blood flow out. I didn't cut her that deep, but he made the cut deeper by shoving his finger inside of her.

Neveah starts breathing harder, not only because of the pain and blood loss but also because of the exhaustion. She was sick before and by the looks of it, she still is.

Hunter walks over to the camera and waves, before shutting it. I bet they're going to send it to the Curzio's, to show them how much they're torturing us, torturing Neveah.

'Bring the brain back to her room.' The men holding me, head to the door, but I try to stay put. 'No, wait!'

Hunter's head snaps my way and he smirks at me. 'What is it, doc?'

'Let me stitch the wound, please!' He chuckles and inches closer, grabbing my face harshly, tilting it so that I look up at him. 'Now why would I let you do that?'

'She'll bleed to death if you don't!' I shout, not understanding why I even try.

He wouldn't mind if Neveah died, he made that clear earlier, so my words don't do shit to him. 'Please, let me stitch her up.'

'No.' He snaps his fingers, making the men move again. I try pushing them away, but it's no use. 'Hunter let her stitch her up! She'll bleed to death and the Curzio's will kill you!'

Our warnings only seem to please him, as if they're the funniest jokes he has ever heard.

Just as I reach the door, just as I latch onto the frame of the door, everyone stops.

'Hunter.' The voice in the corner of the room beams. I still have no idea who it is, but it's definitely someone older. Someone with a little more authority since Hunter responds to the person.

'Miss Dufort is right.' The shadow moves, slowly stepping into the light. 'We should make sure the bleeding stops.'

An older man, around the age of forty-four, steps into the light, smiling at Hunter. No. Fucking. Way.

Adrian Steel, once the ruler of the entire underworld in America, was standing in the corner of the room the entire time.

He has dark hair with strands of grey and a few wrinkles on his forehead, but besides that, he looks young. Healthy and way better than I expected.

We haven't heard from him in a while, but there were no files about his death, so he had to show up at some point.

I just didn't think I would actually see him in real life.

'What do you suggest we do, father?' The two look at each other with the exact same blue eyes. It's scary.

'Hand me the burner.' Burner? Someone rushes out of the room, while they slowly let go of me. But they stay close.

Close enough to make sure I won't try anything funny. Close enough to slam me against a wall or knock me the fuck out.

Adrian steps closer to Neveah and trails his hand down her back, sending shivers down my spine. He stops at her ass and chuckles. 'They marked you.'

Her tattoo. He's talking about her tattoo.

She tries to look up, but it's too much movement. She's in too much pain, too exhausted. 'Don't touch her.'

Adrian looks at me, his eyes are ice-cold as his lips slowly curl up. 'Who said I haven't touched her yet?' No...

She was in this room with him. Alone for god knows how long. What if-

The man that left to get the burner, comes back with a metal stick. I look at it and realize that one of the ends is glowing red as if it just came out of a fire. The glowing part is shaped in the letter S.

Wait- Adrian waits for the piece of metal to be placed in his hand, before turning back to Neveah. 'They marked you, ruined your beauty.' He groans, sniffing her hair, before lifting her head up just a little. 'So I'll make it right. I'll fix your body.' No.

I lunge at them, but I'm too slow. And I'm alone.

Kai stopped fighting a long time ago and simply stares at them in fear. He's afraid of Adrian, more than Hunter.

'Don't you fucking dare!' I sneer, trying to break free from the man holding me. But I'm too weak.

Adrian and Hunter chuckle, a dark chuckle that I'll forever remember in my nightmares. It's as if darkness consumed them, worse than anything else I've ever witnessed before.

'Or what?' Hunter asks, stepping in front of me. I spit at him and just as he's about to hit me as punishment, we both turn to Neveah who's screaming louder than ever before.

I hear the sound of flesh burning and watch as Adrian presses the metal on her shoulder, burning the S into her skin right where I cut her open. 'Stop!'

Her screams grow louder before they almost stop. The only signs that she's still conscious are her cries and the pain in her eyes, they're still open. She's crying so hard right now and I wish I could help her. I should help her.

I try breaking free again, but Hunter pulls my head back and almost slams me against the wall behind me. 'Hunter!'

It's Kai.

He finally decided to open his mouth. After all the shit they just did to Neveah, this is when he decides to say something.

'You promised!' Hunter lets go of me but stays close. Close enough to breathe the same air, close enough to steal my oxygen. Close enough to hurt me again.

'Get her out of my sight, now!' Everyone moves around the room, dragging me out of there. I try jumping over them, but they're faster. And Kai. Kai trials behind and makes sure the door closes before Neveah starts screaming again.

The moment we reach the main floor, Neveah's screams disappear. As if she's not shouting at the top of her lungs downstairs.

No sound at all. None.

The men drag me to my room and mumble something under their breaths. Something about how difficult I'm being. But I couldn't care less.

They shut the door, leaving me alone with Kai again.

I look at my hands and stare at the dried-up blood. Neveah's blood.

All of this happened because of him. They tortured her, made me cut her open, made me watch as they burned her, while they recorded all of it, just to send it to Curzio.

'Celine-' I look up, straight into his eyes. Into the eyes of the man I thought loved me, the man I thought didn't want to be on their side anymore. 'Get me back into the basement.'

He shakes his head and looks away again. 'Kai, I swear to god-' 'I can't.'

'Yes, you can! We have to get back to her! They- Adrian and Hunter are sick. They won't let her live, they'll torture her the best they can, you can't let that-' He turns towards the door and stops without looking at me. 'It's you or her, so my decision is clear.'

'What?! No! You can't-' He steps out of the room, locking the door behind him. 'You asshole!' I kick at the door, trying to see if I could break it, but it's no use. 'Open the door!' I continue hitting the door, shouting and scolding them for locking me up in this room.

Especially Kai. He can rot in hell for all I care. Piece of fucking shit!

I rush to the small window and look outside, trying to see if I could climb down in any way, but no. There's nothing to see.

And I wouldn't fit through the small window anyway.

I look around the room, trying to find any other way out of here. If I could get out of here, maybe I could get help? Maybe I could find the others and get Neveah out of here as well.

Because there's no way that we're both getting out of here. Especially since they keep her underground.

Shit... I just pray to God that Adrian won't actually touch Neveah, even though I can already tell that he will. I just hope he doesn't.

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A/N: I honestly don't know what to say to this one... But oh well, I hope you enjoyed it! Tell me what you liked most and please don't forget to vote! I love seeing your comments, they seriously make me laugh!

Also, I'm afraid you guys will hate me for the ending. Please just bear with me!!

I hope you have a blessed day and I'll see you next time!