Chapter 3

Victoria's POV

Two days and two nights in the cellar.

My wounds festered and burned with infection. Fever kept me drifting in and out.

The air reeked of blood. Above me, water dripped steadily from rusted pipes.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The iron door scraped open with a metallic screech.

Elena swept in wearing a champagne silk robe. Her heels clicked on the wet concrete.

Two hulking guards followed behind her.

She stopped in front of me, looking down at my chained body on the rack. She held a handkerchief to her nose.

"Jesus, look at you."

Elena crouched down.

She tilted my chin up with one red nail.

"Like a stray dog dying in the gutter."

I cracked my swollen eyes open and spat blood. "That make you happy?"

"Hell yeah, it does."

Elena leaned close to my ear, her voice going low.

"Want to know a secret? I poisoned Luca myself."

She patted my cheek. "A little poison never hurt anyone—not when it gets my son the Cappello throne."

"And look—Dante hasn't even glanced your way since. He threw you down here like the trash you are."

Mockery flashed in her eyes.

I looked at the crazy in her eyes and smiled bitterly.

"Poisoning your own kid..."

I gasped between coughs.

"If Dante knew his precious first love was a snake who'd hurt her own son..."

I raised an eyebrow. "Think he'd still want you then?"

"He'll never FIND OUT!"

Elena's face twisted into something vicious.

She let go and pulled something from her purse—a burnt piece of metal that smelled like fried circuits. The encrypted chip from my vanity.

"Forget the damn poison. I want to know about THIS."

Elena threw the scrap metal in my face.

"I had the best hackers on the black market try to crack this chip. Know what they found? Nothing. It fried itself into useless scrap."

She leaned in. "So TALK—what the fuck was on it?!"

I let the metal fall into the filthy water and laughed—cold and harsh.

I slipped into her head.

What the fuck is this bitch hiding?!

She kept this chip buried so deep—must be Cappello Family secrets. Has to be worth a fortune!

I need to force the recipient's name out of her!

"Want to know?"

My voice was raw as I met her greedy eyes.

"YES! TELL ME!" Elena leaned closer, desperate.

"Come closer... I'll tell you... only you..." I wheezed and crooked my finger weakly.

Elena didn't hesitate. Greed dragged her closer. She pressed her ear to my mouth.

In that instant—

I lunged and BIT DOWN HARD on her left ear!

"AHHHHHHH!"

Her scream ripped through the cellar.

I bit down harder and YANKED with everything I had left.

Blood sprayed.

I tore a chunk of flesh clean off her ear.

"KILL HER! KILL THIS FUCKING PSYCHO!" Elena hit the floor, writhing.

I spat the flesh and blood onto the scrap metal at my feet and laughed.

"HA HA HA... Elena!"

I spat more blood.

"You ran off to Paris with Dante's money years ago. Now you come crawling back with some bastard kid... you really think you can sit pretty as Mrs. Cappello?"

"The fuck you mean?!"

"The more desperate you are to frame me and push me out..."

I gasped for air. "The more it proves you're TERRIFIED. Scared shitless that Dante doesn't want you. Scared he might actually love me."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Elena snapped like a cornered snake. She lunged at me and slapped my already raw face.

Her nails tore open fresh wounds. Blood seeped down my jaw and into my collarbone.

"You think you'll live to see that?!"

Elena's chest heaved. Her face went full psycho.

From the bottom of her purse, she pulled out a small sealed case containing a syringe filled with clear liquid.

She handed it to one of the guards.

"Won't talk? Fine. Take your secrets to hell."

Her voice went ice-cold.

"Pure nerve toxin. Black market grade. Thirty seconds to cardiac arrest."

She smiled viciously. "It'll look like you died from the torture. Heart failure from the beating."

The guard took the syringe, popped the cap, and walked toward me without expression.

Even though I knew Leon had a plan, my heart seized in terror.

Where the hell was Leon's extraction team?!

"No... get away from me!"

My voice cracked as I struggled.

The chains rattled violently against the wall.

The guard grabbed my throat with one massive hand and slammed my head against the stone.

The needle plunged brutally into my carotid artery.

The injection burned like fire through my veins!

My heart felt like it was being squeezed to death. My lungs stopped working.

My eyes rolled back. My whole body convulsed and seized.

Fuck! Was I really going to die here?!

Right as everything went dark—

The cellar door SLAMMED open.

"BANG!"

Dante burst in wearing a black coat.

When he saw me in a pool of blood, his face went white.

"VICTORIA—!"

He shoved the guard aside and dropped beside me.

He reached out to hold me, but his hands shook so violently he couldn't even grip my torn dress.

"What happened?! What did you DO to her?!"

Dante's voice broke as he yelled.

What the hell happened?!

I just wanted the whip to break her down! Make her bow to Elena! I never wanted her DEAD!

Doctor! Where's the goddamn doctor?! SAVE HER!

I forced my eyes open and looked at the man I'd loved—and hated—for seven years.

"Don't... touch me..."

I used the last bit of strength I had to push his hand away.

"Don't talk! I'm getting you to a hospital!"

Dante's eyes went red as he shouted.

"You're NOT dying! Hear me?! I won't LET you die!"

I looked at him. The light in my eyes went out.

"Dante... hurts..."

My voice came out barely a breath.

Before I could finish, the toxin took full effect. My heart stopped. My eyes closed. My hands fell limp into the blood-soaked water.

"VICTORIA—!"