Chapter 2

Roman didn't answer my question.

For a fraction of a second, I thought I caught a fleeting glimpse of agony in his eyes. But just as quickly as it appeared, that fragile emotion was entirely swallowed by an even more ferocious tide of hatred.

A sickening, putrid stench permeated the underground water dungeon.

Freezing water submerged me up to my knees, carrying unrecognizable filth and the bloated corpses of dead rats.

My hands were suspended high above my head by heavy iron chains. The skin around my wrists had long been rubbed raw; blood trailed down the rusted links and dripped into the murky black water.

It had been two days.

Roman hadn't allowed anyone to bring me a single drop of water or a morsel of food. He intended to use this primal, barbaric method to completely shatter my sanity and force me into submission.

The door ground open with an earsplitting screech.

A harsh beam of light pierced the pitch-black space.

Clad in a tailored bespoke suit and leather shoes, Roman paused on the steps at the edge of the water pit.

Callie trailed behind him, clutching a silk handkerchief and covering her nose in sheer disgust.

"Oh, sister, why put yourself through this? Just apologize to Roman. Admit that you were the one who killed his parents. Roman is so soft-hearted, he'd definitely spare your life. Just look at yourself right now—you look like a pathetic stray dog. It's so unsightly."

Roman remained silent. He merely fixed his cold, unyielding gaze on me, waiting for me to break.

I slowly lifted my head, my matted hair clinging to my deathly pale face. I looked at Callie's sickeningly hypocritical expression, and suddenly, I laughed.

"Why would I confess to something I never did?"

"Still so damn stubborn!" Roman roared in a sudden burst of pure wrath. He violently snatched a leather whip from the enforcer beside him and lashed it savagely across my body.

My skin split open, flesh tearing. The excruciating agony sent violent spasms through my entire body, but I clamped my teeth down on my lower lip, refusing to let out a single scream.

"Do you really think you're unbreakable, Aria?!" Roman whipped me again and again like a man possessed. "When you orchestrated my parents' murder, were they just as desperate as you are right now?! You poisonous bitch, I gave you a chance! If you just beg for mercy, if you just cry and say you were wrong, I'll let you down! Cry, damn it! Why won't you cry?!"

His furious roar bellowed through the dungeon, carrying an undercurrent of panic that even he himself failed to notice.

He was terrified of my eerie calm. He was terrified that the torture he took so much pride in had become utterly meaningless to me.

I stared at his face, twisted in rage, feeling nothing but absolute, dead silence in my heart.

"Roman." I looked dead into his eyes, my tone as nonchalant as if discussing the weather. "Just beat me to death."

Roman's hand abruptly froze in mid-air.

He stared at me, his chest heaving violently. Suddenly, he hurled the whip aside and stormed down the steps, completely ignoring the filthy water soaking into his bespoke trousers. He gripped my jaw fiercely.

"Want to die? It's not going to be that easy," he spat through gritted teeth. "In three days, Callie and I are having our engagement banquet. I want you on your knees before everyone, like a dog, serving us drinks. I will make sure everyone sees exactly what happens to those who betray Roman!"

With that, he roughly shoved my face aside and turned, storming out of the dungeon.

Callie shot me a triumphant, gloating smirk before hurrying after him.

The door slammed shut once more, and darkness swallowed me whole.

A cold, mocking smirk tugged at the corners of my bloody lips.

Three days. That was enough.

Half an hour later, the iron door was quietly pushed open again.

In walked Dr. Vance. He was the mafia's personal black-market doctor, as well as a mad scientist entirely devoid of morals.

Carrying his medical kit, he waded over to me and flashed a penlight into my pupils.

"You are dying, Madam Aria," Dr. Vance stated flatly, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Dr. Vance... did you bring what I asked for?" I croaked weakly.

Vance remained silent for a moment before retrieving a waterproof parchment contract and a syringe filled with an eerie, luminescent blue liquid from a hidden compartment in his kit.

"The 'Project Abyss' live-subject experimentation consent form." A trace of fanatical obsession mixed with genuine bewilderment bled into Vance's voice.

"Madam Aria, I must remind you. The moment you sign this contract, you become the legal property of an offshore underground laboratory. This serum will induce a twelve-hour state of absolute suspended animation. Even our most advanced medical equipment won't be able to detect a single vital sign."

He paused, lowering his voice. "Once Don Roman confirms your 'death,' my people will take you away under the guise of disposing of your corpse. But once you're on the lab ship in international waters, you will be subjected to extraordinarily brutal pharmaceutical trials. And the moment you outlive your usefulness, your body will be dumped directly into a high-concentration acid vat. A true dissolving burial—not even a single strand of hair will remain. Are you absolutely certain you want to do this?"

"I am certain," I replied without a second of hesitation.

"If the Don discovers the truth, he will kill me," Vance said, a flicker of hesitation in his tone.

"He won't."

I lowered my bloodshot eyes, staring fixedly at the syringe.

A sudden, agonizing ache surged from the depths of my heart, feeling as if a pair of barbed, massive hands were mercilessly wringing it dry. Yet, I had no tears left to shed.

I let out a wretchedly bitter, endlessly mocking smile.

"A Don about to host a magnificent engagement banquet, completely overjoyed to welcome his cherished fiancée and future heir... why would he ever spare a single thought for the life or death of the murderer who killed his parents—the woman he hates to his very core?"

My voice trembled. "In his eyes, I'm someone who belongs in hell anyway."

Looking at the absolute resolve in my eyes, Vance sighed and handed me a pen.

With shaking hands, I took the pen and signed my name on the contract. Then, I took the syringe and carefully concealed it in my undergarments.

"The engagement banquet in three days," I said, looking right at Vance. "Once the drug kicks in, take me away."

Vance tucked the contract away and gave me a long, profound look.

"As you wish, Madam Aria. See you in hell."

The heavy iron door clicked shut.

I closed my eyes, feeling the cold shape of the syringe resting against my chest.

The countdown had begun.