Please let me say goodbye to my father."
He only clamped on my arm harder and hissed in my face. "You've made your choice, Amelia. You chose death. You are now dead to your family. Now start walking."
He hadn't a single ounce of mercy in his bones and I was foolish enough to let him see me in tears. I wiped my eyes and forced myself to confront the situation at hand, but everything was out of my control. He dragged me toward a car parked in front of our house, shoving me in and following behind. I heard a loud bang, the sound of the door closing, and that was when I moved to the corner of the car, curling myself into a ball, shaking violently at the thought of my impending future.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked a second time.
He closed in on me, his massive body blocking all my exit points. He shoved his fingers to cradle my head and brought his face so close to mine, I saw his blue and green eyes staring fiercely at me. He only said five words. But those five words would change the course of my life forever.
"I'm taking you to hell."
And that was when I collapsed into the pit of darkness.
Lorenzo sat staring at his prey, his gaze so focused, he didn't hear the sound of the car moving, taking him away from this part of town, the place that belonged to his prey, a woman named Amelia Stone. And she was the course of all the destructive things that had happened in his life.
Within less than twenty-four hours, his world had completely turned upside down. He was so hurt inside, he became numb. Initially, there was so much pain, like a fire taking place inside his heart. He couldn't stop the tears from flowing until there was nothing left inside him.
There were so many thoughts racing through his head, but none were strong enough to force him into action. All he could do was keep staring at her, like a predator waiting to attack, as she slept so peacefully inside his car, unaware of the danger lurking around her.
Beside her lay her mobile phone that had fallen out of her dress pocket when she fell into her unconscious state. He reached out and took the phone, grabbing her hand and using her thumb to unlock the screen. He went into the gallery and scrolled through the photos she took. He saw some images of plants, rose bushes, blue sky, and green moss, all random pictures she took, until he got to the last image in the gallery. It was the face of a young man he knew so well, his brother Gian, smiling warmly at the woman wrapped in his arms.
He admitted, she was one good-looking woman. In the picture she was beautiful, but in real life, she literally took his breath away the minute she entered the room.
And she still did. Large pretty Bambi eyes when she was fully conscious and gazing at him. Ash-brown hair flying in disarray when she yelled at him to get out of her house. She was one fucking gorgeous woman; Lorenzo was sure she could bring men to their knees.
Which was precisely why she was so dangerous. Gian had fallen under her spell. But her magic wouldn't work on Lorenzo. He lived a life of an elite. He had his fair share of beautiful-looking women. He was immune to them all. He fucked them and left them. And he was never in the least bit affected. But Gian, he was far too innocent. And he was hurt when this woman had broken his heart.
Lorenzo moved away from the picture and saw something on the notification panel that piqued his interest. Two missed calls and a voice message from his brother. He listened to the voice message, his heart aching at hearing his brother's voice.
"Amelia. It's Gian. Please pick up. I need to talk—" Crash! Bang! Boom!
And the phone line went dead.
Lorenzo was in shock, his hands shaking as he stared at the phone in disbelief. He had just listened to his brother's final moment through that phone. And it hurt like fucking hell. He didn't know he was crying until he felt tears wet his cheeks.
When he had heard the news of Gian in the car accident two nights ago, he thought his world had collapsed, but it was not until he was in the hospital and saw his brother's body, damaged beyond recognition, that it really sunk in. He had lost another family member.
He remembered he had lost control of the situation, letting out a gut-wrenching cry, like a broken lone wolf. The pain of losing Gian was synonymous to a knife being thrust into his chest, twisting and turning repeatedly, and it hurt so fucking bad. If Tono hadn't brought him back to his senses, he would have gone berserk.
After the pain there was nothing left but numbness. His life was now empty. There was nothing left to look forward to, nothing for him to live for. Until Tono had told him the woman was responsible for all this catastrophe.
Amelia Stone. She was the woman in the picture with his brother. And it was her phone which contained his brother's voice message.
He didn't care that Amelia was his brother's girlfriend. He didn't fucking care that she was the woman whom his brother loved. In his eyes, she was the culprit.
Lorenzo only lived by one motto in life. 'An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. If you hurt me, I will hunt you down and exact vengeance on you tenfold.' And Amelia had hurt him by taking away Gian, the only remaining family member he had left in this world. And now she must pay.
Anger seeped out of every pore in his body until he couldn't contain himself anymore and he snapped. His hand snaked out to wrap firmly around Amelia's neck.
"Do you think you can get away with what you did when you have taken my brother away from me?" he hissed in her face, his fingers tightening around her neck. Just a little more pressure and she would be dead. It was so tempting. But he relented. "I won't let you die easily, Amelia. Even if you beg me for it. I'll let you live through hell, one where I'll make sure you suffer in every possible way. That will be the only repayment you deserve."
He let go of her, dropping back into his seat and turning his attention to other matters. By the time they had reached their destination, she was still asleep
Lorenzo carried her in his arms, entered his private elevator, and took her up to the highest floor of the Lorenzo Corp building, his penthouse, where he temporary lived when he resided in New York City. He was greeted at the door by Ming-May, his fifty-year-old Malaysian-Chinese housekeeper. She saw Amelia lying in his arms. She didn't ask questions.
She knew he liked to keep his affairs private.
"I'll come back at three to prepare your dinner, sir," she said.
"No. Take the day off," he ordered.
Ming-May nodded and she quietly closed the door behind her. Now he was truly alone.
Lorenzo watched the woman in his arms. How shocked was she that she didn't even wake up once during their drive here? He smirked, a plan already forming in his head. What she needed was a nice surprise to wake her up.
With his prey in his arms, he went to his private indoor pool. Standing at the edge of the pool, he urged her to wake up. "Open your eyes, Amelia."
Amelia stirred in his arms. He watched as she became fully conscious, her amber pupils dilating wide, and she smiled, her hand reaching out to cradle his jaw.
His heart kicked against his chest.
What the fuck! Was she trying to seduce him, just like what she did to his brother?
His gaze hardened. And that was when she fully recognized her situation.
"Lorenzo!"
She quickly snatched her hand away.
But before she could take further action, he announced, "Welcome to your new home, Amelia. Welcome to hell."
And he threw her into the pool.