REYNA

I had cried so much that no additional tears fell from my eyes.

I could feel the company of someone else, but I just couldn't see them. Everywhere I looked, I was welcomed with darkness. The need to call out to them grew so strong. I wondered who they were and why they were here, and how many of them were stuck in the same position as me and could do absolutely nothing about it.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Be quiet," a voice whispered. There was desperation that laced in the feminine tone. It sounded a lot closer than I thought.

I turned to the source, but couldn't make out anything. All I knew was that I was in some kind of room. When they ripped the sack off my head, I couldn't really see any difference. It was too dark to make out anything. I didn't even know if I was blinking or not. They then warned me that talking would ultimately get me killed before they had left the room.

"What's your name?" I whispered.

"Leila," she answered quietly. I could help but hear the ripeness of her voice. It lacked maturity and experience.

"How old are you?" I asked.

I heard her footsteps, they were soft as they neared me. Hesitation and curiosity accompanied her every step.

"Thirteen," she whispered, I couldn't see her but I knew she was right beside me. "You have to be quiet or they will come."

My heart dropped. Swallowing back tears, I nodded my head even though I knew she couldn't see me. She grabbed my wrist and helped me stand. Without releasing me, she walked me over to—what I'm assuming is a mattress.

"This is your bed," she whispered. Reluctantly, she helped me sit down on the mattress.

"How long have you been here?" I asked her, my voice cracking with each word.

"I don't know. Probably a very long time," she whispered. She moved away from me, and probably back over to the other side of the room where I was sure her mattress resided.

My heart broke at her confession. She was just a child, and they had her locked away in a room doing who knows what.

"What do they do to you?" I asked her.

She sighed. There was a long hesitation before she whispered, "I-I don't really remember a lot. They come in and poke me with some needle thing. I sometimes black out and wake up covered in stuff. My old roommate used to call it 'perv gunk."

"Sometimes, I wouldn't blackout at all and for hours... different old mans would come in and out of our room. One time, they put too much of the needle into my roommate's arm and she died right next to me. She said it was a good thing so I couldn't be sad." Leila said grievously.

They drugged these poor girls and left them to the mercy of perverted men. I knew exactly what this place was. They were running a human trafficking, illegal brothel.

I immediately froze up. How many girls did they kidnap? How many girls died just like Leila's roommate?

This was the truth my uncle hid so well away from me. While he looked into traffickers, I was told to look into crime lords. I've heard of the cruel things that the mob bosses did, but it wasn't as bad as this. This was worst than the fiery grounds of hell. This was inhumane. This was true darkness.

"What's your name?" Leila whispered.

I sniffled. "Reyna."

"That's my mama's name!" She gasped. "I miss mama and papa. I knew I shouldn't have gone out, but the boy seemed so nice. He told me he was fifteen and that he really liked me. It was all a lie. Mama is probably so mad at me."

I've always heard stories about the monsters that lurked on the internet, but to hear that it was actually true was enough to possibly haunt me forever. It was reality happening before my eyes, and I couldn't shake the feeling of being trapped in some nightmare.

"I'm sure your mama misses you," I whispered.

Just as the words finished leaving my mouth, I could hear keys jiggling outside of the door. Walls flew up and tension froze everyone in the room. My attention instantly drifted over to the door just as it opened. The light could be seen, illuminating a manly silhouette.

Due to the light, I could finally see inside of the room. Just as I imagined, there were two twin mattresses—one for me and one for Leila. We both had a blanket and a pillow each. There was also a bucket so we could use the restroom and the walls were stained with dark red and brown. Not to mention, the carpet floor probably hadn't been cleaned in years.

"Get up!" he exclaimed, his Russian accent coming on thick. I wasn't sure who he was talking to, but I hurriedly stood up. There was a promise that lingered in his voice. A promise to do anything he needed to do to get what he wanted.

He walked up to me and grabbed me by the back of my neck like a child as he dragged me out of the room.

I began to thrash in his hold, tears running down my cheeks once again. I managed to steal a glance at Leila who watched me with wide eyes.

I took in her light brown hair, brown eyes and parted lips. I knew she probably wanted to reach out and help me, but there was nothing she could do without the risk of dying.

"Boss said to be gentle with her!" a voice harshly exclaimed as the man dragging me slammed the door to the room shut once we were out. I turned to look at him, taking in his bald head and empty blue eyes.

"You take her then!" he argued, throwing me in the other man's grasp. He then locked the door and walked down a hallway.

"Come," bald guy demanded. He allowed me to walk on my own as we headed down a hallway. I couldn't help but stare at all the doors we passed. They were probably the entrances to rooms full of kidnapped women just like I had been.

A chill of repugnance had me crossing my arms over my chest. Goosebumps pimpled my skin with each step my foot took.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, trying to hide the fear in my voice.

The bald man gave me a side-eye, but didn't bother to answer my question. We only continued to walk down the hallway, making turns every now and then until we were at what seemed to be an office.

The bald man sat me down on a cushioned chair.

Both he and the other guy left the room without another word, leaving me there all on my own. The door clicked shut until the sound of something locking littered my eardrums.

I looked around the room. There was absolutely nothing on the walls, on the floors, or even on the desk.

I let out a shaky breath. Throwing my face into my palms, I tried my best to wake myself up from this terrible dream. Regardless, no matter how many times I tried, I would open my eyes to see that I was still trapped inside of the tiny office.

Was I going to be stuck here, or would Saint actually find me? He always told me that I needed to have my own strategy and my own way out because I could never depend on him. What if he wasn't even trying? What if all my help meant absolutely nothing and I was just another piece of trash to be discarded? Did he even care?

Just as the thought occurred, I could hear the door being unlocked. I forced myself to keep my head in my palms, fearful of what was going to happen to me. The doorknob twisted and a loud creak sounded from the door as it was pushed open.

Then, the door closed and I could hear the sound of shoes making it way closer to me until it circled around the desk.

"It's been too long," a familiar voice said.

Slowly, I brought my head up from my hands and gasped. He was wearing a fresh suit that was clean and crisp. His hair was sleeked back and his eyes held a smile to them.

"Giovanni?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Yes and no. To Saint, I was Giovanni. Here, I am Viktor."

My heart dropped to my feet as I jumped out of my seat and immediately darted to the door. Viktor was too quick as he chased after me and held me against the wooden door. My heart was hammering in my chest and I was sure he could hear my uneven breaths from how close he was behind me.

"Reyna," he whispered, taking a whiff of the inside of my neck.

Just when I thought I didn't have any tears left, tears fell from my eyes and glided down my cheeks. My body was shaking to try to keep up with the fast rhythm of my mind.

"I didn't want our meeting to be like this. My men were idiots and thought you were a new edition. Don't worry, they'll be gone immediately," Viktor said.

"Please!" I sobbed. "Get off of me!"

As if I had just burned him, he took a step back followed by another and another. His footsteps descended back to his desk where he sat down in his chair. I had turned back around and just stood with my back against the door, trying to keep as much distance from him as possible.

"This whole time? You've been Viktor this entire time?" I asked, trying to watch him behind my glassy eyes.

"Well, yes. I was born as Viktor Popov," he answered like it was nothing.

I watched him lean back in his seat, his eyes never leaving me. No words could describe the horror that raged in my emotions. He was a traitor, a liar to the highest extent. He fooled me and everyone around him into believing he was someone he wasn't.

"What is this business exactly? Trafficking little girls?" I asked in disgust.

He chuckled. It was so unlike the Giovanni I met who was the first to make me feel comfortable in a place where it was impossible. There was a darkness that lurked around him that he so easily covered up before. I was finally seeing the man behind the mask, and I only wished that he could put it back on so I wouldn't have to face the hurt in my chest.

"No. There are older women, too. Women just like your mother," he said.

I froze. So caught up in the recent events, I had forgotten about the message he left me not too long ago. He told me he had my mother and he even confessed his love for me.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want?" I cried.

"The answer is simple, Reyna. I want you. When my father was alive, he came across your mother. He met her one night while she worked as an assistant for some hot-shot lawyer. She didn't give him the time of day and it made my father very upset. One day, she was walking to her car and he grabbed her. It was my job to clean up the kidnapping. So, I opened her car and there was a picture of you on the dashboard. I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen," he began.

My brows came together as I looked at Giovanni. He was definitely older than me. I would guess about five years older. It was creepy of him to have some sick infatuation with me when I was just a child.

"After that day, I would watch you. I watched you stop playing with your violin and instead take care of your uncle. I would watch you play chess with him until the sun went down. I would watch you stay up all night on your computer, looking for a woman you would never find. I never knew what I was waiting for, but I knew you would be my wife. Everything was going so well until you hacked into Saint's database and he forced me to look for you. At first, I was going to lie and say finding you was impossible. However, a more brilliant plan dispersed into my mind..." he sat up, placing his elbows on his desk and leaning forward.

"I'd let him have you and then I'd take you from him just when he began to feel on top of the world. Saint always got exactly what he wanted. He never had to try hard to get the women, the money, the fucking respect. He thinks he can walk around on his high horse and be an asshole to everyone and that we would all just bow down to him! I hate that sick son of a bitch! You don't know how happy I was to hear of his obsession with my father. It would only make this shit hurt more!" He laughed maniacally. "You have no clue how many nights I spent waiting to attack him from the inside and take over his entire business! He doesn't deserve any of it, and he especially doesn't deserve you!"

—

Part 2 coming soon! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget that you can always join my discord and we can talk about the chapter. You can even make friends that like to read just like you! Link in my bio!

Question: what do you think of Giovanni or should I say... Viktor?