She woke up.
Laying curled on the cold floor, her body aching like it had been thrown into pieces. The damp ground clung to her skin, the smell of mold heavy in the air. Every small breath hurt, and every movement sent sharp stings through her ribs. She stared up at the cracked ceiling, her mind repeating the same question over and over.
Why me? What did I do to deserve this?
She wasn't special. She wasn't rich. She wasn't anyone. Just an orphan girl who had made the mistake of stepping too far outside the only world she knew. Who would want to kidnap her of all people? What could they possibly gain from her?
The thought sat heavy in her chest. She almost laughed bitterly. For years, she had hated the orphanage—its punishments, its cold meals, its cruel words. But right now, those walls felt like the safest place she could ever wish for. At least there, she knew the people who hurt her. At least there, the monsters had names.
Here… she was surrounded by strangers, by shadows, and by the cries of girls she had never seen before.
A scream echoed from somewhere down the hall. A young girl's voice, broken and desperate. Then another voice joined in, begging for help. Mia's stomach twisted. Their cries didn't comfort her. They reminded her of the truth: she wasn't alone, but that only meant more victims.
The heavy door groaned open.
The squeal of rusted metal sent chills crawling down her back. A rush of cold air swept through the room, raising goosebumps along her arms. Heavy footsteps followed—slow, deliberate, each one striking the floor like a warning.
A voice cut through the silence, deep and edged with rage.
"Who touched her?"
No one answered. The air felt like it froze.
"I said, who the fuck touched her?" the voice snapped again. "I never told anyone to lay a finger on her. Who disobeyed me?"
Mia's blood ran cold. She knew that voice.
It hit her like lightning—sudden, terrifying. Her body started trembling before she could stop it. She had only heard him once before, but the sound was burned into her memory.
Luca.
The man from the street. The one who had looked at her like prey. The one whose eyes had followed her every move, though she had pretended not to notice.
And now he was here.
His tall frame moved closer. He bent over and with one hand pulled the blindfold from her face. The sudden light stung her eyes, making her squint. But even as her vision cleared, the darkness of his presence pressed down harder than any cloth ever could.
Her weak body tried to push backward, scraping against the damp floor, but there was nowhere to run. Her voice cracked when she finally managed to speak.
"What… what do you want from me?"
Luca's mouth curved into a smirk that didn't reach his eyes. His tone was calm, almost casual, but it made her skin crawl.
"You challenged me," he said. "And I won. I told you—you belong to me. Now you see it's true."
Her heartbeat thudded painfully in her throat. She wanted to scream, to fight, to claw her way out—but her body wouldn't obey. She was trapped in his gaze, frozen like a mouse before a snake.
Luca's eyes swept over the room, hardening. His face shifted, colder, darker.
"Which one of you idiots touched her?" he demanded, his voice low and venomous.
The men stiffened. None of them spoke. The silence dragged until one of them finally muttered, "It… it was Scorpion. He didn't listen. I told him not to."
Luca's jaw tightened. His head tilted slightly as his voice dropped into something sharper.
"Where is Scorpion?"
From the shadows, a man stepped forward. Thin, wiry, his body trembling. He kept his head bowed like a dog waiting for the whip.
"She wouldn't stop screaming," Scorpion stammered. "I had to shut her up—"
"You had to?" Luca cut him off, his tone dripping with ice. "You think you decide what happens here?"
Without warning, Luca pulled a gun from his jacket. The click as he loaded it rang louder than thunder in the room.
Mia gasped.
The barrel aimed straight at Scorpion's chest. Luca's finger curled slowly around the trigger.
"I don't care about any of you," he said flatly. "But my rules are simple. When I say don't touch… you never touch."
The gun fired.
The blast tore through the silence. Scorpion screamed as the bullet slammed into his leg, his body crashing to the ground. Blood spread quickly across the floor.
Mia shrieked, covering her ears, but the sound only made Luca glance at her. His smirk returned—darker, sharper.
He turned back to Scorpion, who writhed in agony.
"You should know," Luca said coldly, "I don't forgive. I prefer punishment. I prefer blood."
He raised the gun again and shot Scorpion's other leg. Another scream echoed, raw and desperate.
"But I won't kill you," Luca added with a cruel chuckle. "Not today. Only because I don't like it when girls scream too much."
His gaze slid back to Mia. She had backed into the corner, shaking violently, tears streaking her dirty cheeks.
Luca closed the distance in two strides and crouched so his face was level with hers. His eyes trapped her in place, sharp and unreadable.
"But you," he whispered, brushing the barrel of the gun against her shoulder, "I'd love to hear you scream."
Her whole body went stiff as the gun traced down her arm, her waist, her thigh. Her breath came in broken gasps.
"Please," she begged, her voice trembling, "please don't hurt me."
"I can't promise that," he said softly. The gentleness in his tone made the words even more terrifying. "Because right now… I want to shoot you."
The gun rose. He pulled the trigger.
Click.
No bullet.
Mia's chest heaved. Relief mixed with fresh terror. It had been a game to him—just another way to savor her fear.
He smiled. A slow, dangerous curve of his lips. He liked it. He liked the way she looked when fear swallowed her whole.
"Take Scorpion away," Luca ordered, not looking at his men. "Get out."
They hurried to obey, dragging the bleeding man out of sight. The door slammed shut, leaving Luca alone with the two girls.
The sound of him reloading filled the room. Sharp, steady. A warning that this game wasn't over.
He tilted his head toward Mia, his voice low.
"You really don't want to test me."
She shook her head quickly, too afraid to speak.
Then his eyes landed on the other girl—a blonde with wide, trembling eyes.
"What about you?" he asked.
The girl shook her head furiously, lips pressed tight.
Luca chuckled, the sound low and cruel.
"Smart," he said. "But smart won't save you for long."