Staring out the window at the passing scenery, I wondered what would have been better. When the Feds came charging into my office, I’d thought prison was the worst option, so I was willing to squeal like a pig. I was scared. Terrified of taking the fall for an infamous crime ring who would somehow be able to walk away with their hands clean. It was I who would have gone to jail unless I cut a deal.
Yes, I had cut a deal.
A filthy rat.
Bile formed in the back of my throat as I watched us drive hours into the abyss, further and further into the woods—out in the middle of nowhere. Someplace that no one would be able to hear the bullet shot through my head, or my cries for mercy as they tortured me first. We were driving so far out of the city that my body would never be found. My fate was sealed.
Prison or death?
Clearly, Thomas and Stefano were making that decision for me.
The car turned down a narrow dirt road, and my heart stopped. This was it. This emotionless man driving, who didn’t say a single word, planned to escort me to my death. Would he be the one to kill me? Or was one of the brothers waiting to do it himself?
It didn’t take long for me to see something unexpected. A large manor loomed in the distance. Dark, gray, ominous, and it appeared as if the devil himself resided within the walls. It was so large that I wondered if it had been a boarding school or owned by some wealthy oil tycoon who had more money than even the Bennato family. Though still opulent, the structure now looked nearly abandoned cast against the setting sun. If it weren’t for the cars parked in the massive circular driveway, I would have thought the house completely deserted and haunted by all the spirits of murdered souls.
I was about to join those forgotten souls myself.
It was as if the manor was lost in time—once magnificent, but now eerily haunting. Large windows with a faint light emerging through the stained glass of the second floor gave such a cold structure some signs of warmth and life. But then the sharp-pitched roof with the crumbling brick chimneys had a deathlike aura. Would my body be tortured and killed beyond those walls? Was I staring at my own coffin?
Rest in peace, Hailey Parker.
When the car pulled up to the front entrance, I saw a man waiting outside wearing a black suit with a crisp white shirt unbuttoned at the neck. He was at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed, his huge figure looming in front of the manor. His hair was black, his eyes dark, and I was pretty sure from the firmness of his expression that his inner being was even darker than his outer appearance.
I didn’t need to be told he was one of the brothers. Something about how he stood, about how he dominated the space in which he stood screamed power. I had never seen either of the brothers in person, but I knew that was about to change.
The driver got out of the car, opened up my door, and yanked me out of the vehicle. With a strong grip on my upper arm, my chauffeur half-dragged me to the waiting man since my feet could barely keep up with his speed and purpose. As we approached the steps, both men silently climbed their way to the front door and pulled me inside. Once we reached the foyer, I was shoved to the floor.
“Kneel,” the man who had been waiting for me said.
Too panicked to do anything else, I scrambled to my knees and did as he said while I quickly tried to scan my surroundings. A glorious staircase mastered the entire space with its intricately carved banister spiraling alongside the wooden steps. Original pocket doors concealed rooms on each side of me, and the scarred wooden floor beneath my knees countered the lavishness of the chandelier dangling over me.
“Hailey Parker,” the man began as he stood in front of me with his arms remaining crossed at his chest. It was as if my assassin was going to lecture me like a naughty schoolgirl rather than kill me for my deadly transgressions.
I didn’t respond but looked up into his eyes instead. I swallowed hard and struggled to breathe. For a moment, I wondered if I would die of a heart attack before the man had a chance to end my life on his own terms.
“I’m not one to fuck around. So, let’s just get to the point. You know why you are here, yes?”
I nodded and looked down at the floor. My nerves could no longer handle the severity that I saw in his eyes and on his face. I foolishly thought I could be brave and face my death head on, but the tears that began to fall and the need to beg for mercy almost erupted from the place I thought I had securely locked my fear away.