Chapter 2 The Evil

The man who had been the subject of her fantasies and desires her whole life slowly approached her. She couldn't decide if she wanted to squirm with excitement or curl up in a ball from the overwhelming rush of emotions. He started speaking, and she knew this because his naturally red lips moved. Unfortunately, not a single word registered with her. She couldn't understand a thing he said, her mind too preoccupied with the reality of the man standing before her.

Drico Antonio DiVanne. First of all, he's a Prince of Hell, secondly; he's a Greek billionaire. In short, it was impossible for him to be in front of her now. But how on earth did she end up in this place with him?

"..Rebecca Victoria... damn you lady...."

Those words brought her back to reality. First, he mentioned her sister's name, and second, he just cursed her. What on earth was this tall, handsome, and extremely good-looking man's problem?

When he opened his mouth again, she was more than ready to listen. Unfortunately, he spoke in Greek, and she didn't understand a word. But based on his tone and expression, she felt like he was cursing her again.

She took a deep breath to regain her composure. "You need to speak Tagalog if you want me to understand you."

Drico furrowed his brow at her.

She swallowed hard.

"I understand that you are Rebecca Victoria's younger sister, and her only remaining family."

He said that in Tagalog! Her curiosity piqued. "What's your business with my sister?"

His jaw tightened, and he answered her with fury. "Lethal. She has made a grave sin by betraying me, and she will pay for it with her life!"

She clenched her hand as it began to tremble from what she heard. So, her sister had crossed paths with someone like him, one of the members of the Princes of Hell. They were known for their psychotic tendencies, and it was terrifying to provoke any of them. What happened to involve her sister with someone like him?

"What did you say?" She steadied her voice. Drico Antonio DiVanne spoke Tagalog, she knew that for a fact. "Whatever crime you think my sister committed, it's not enough to talk to her like that."

"Not enough? The value of what she stole from me is greater than the sum of your lives put together. Do you know what the royal family of Greece does when a servant steals? They cut off their hands and publicly shame them before killing them. Rebecca would be lucky if I only killed her..."

"That sounds like an ancient punishment... you have no right to take someone's life, no matter how valuable what they took is to you..."

"You're wrong. That is still the Divanne's way of punishment. I can always make her death look legal..."

She stared wide-eyed. "What has my sister done to you? She's not a thief, I'm sure you're mistaken..."

"She was one of my trusted people. She had the most significant access to all my assets because she was my executive assistant for such a long time. I never imagined her, taking the most precious possession I have. My goblet. The symbol of all the DiVanne clan's heritage. My family had kept that treasure for centuries now. She had the audacity to steal it from me, given the gravity of its value for me."

Her lips trembled. "My sister is not a thief..."

"You're an accomplice, is that right?"

"No!"

"Then don't try to negate what's obvious. I have all the video footage, the evidence to prove her crime. I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of finding you and bringing you here if I wasn't sure. I'm not comfortable facing lowlifes like you. It's a significant discomfort for me to have you in my home."

Her eyes narrowed at the insult she heard. She didn't expect to be hurt so deeply, but it felt like her heart shattered upon hearing those words. Maybe because she had practically worshipped this man, who had only existed on the pages of her magazine, maybe it was because he was the subject of nearly all her dreams. She let out a bitter laugh. "Me? A lowlife? Who do you think you are, a god? Who do you think you are, exactly?" Her voice rose, and she didn't care if he got angry.

It delivered a fierce grin to him. 'Who am I? I'm just Drico Antonio DiVanne. And you're right, my ability to manipulate everything in my hands is equivalent to being a god in this world.'

'I know you... prince of hell. The second throne holder, the second most wicked person in the business world. You're not a God. Maybe just a demon.'

'You have no idea what I can do to you,' he said with a very cold stare. It sent shivers down her spine. 'Don't you still understand why you're here? You're my prisoner. I'm going to make you suffer to bring out your thieving sibling. You're not getting out of here...'

A small tremor of fear rose in her heart. He might look like an adorable angel on the outside, but with all she had read and heard from this man, she was certain that his angelic appearance was only skin-deep. He's a devil reincarnate according to most people around him.

'I have friends who will look for me too...'

'Are you sure you want your friends to get involved? Do you want me to systematically destroy the lives of all your friends?'

She stared at him, seething. This man was truly wicked. A grand folly she had fantasized about for a long time.

'Go ahead, involve them,' he chuckled. 'The more, the merrier. I'll enjoy every moment of making your friends' lives miserable.'

'Demon...'

'Crap. Tell me something I don't know.' His gaze was fierce. 'What do the media call me again? Prince of Hell? Well, at least if I float you and your friends down the river, I'll have proven my worthiness for that list.'

'You're a psycho case, Drico Divanne. You're a criminal!'

'You bet I am. A white-collared criminal. I'm one of those few who can get away with every mortal sin they do...'

Hannah swallowed hard. She had no doubt he could float her down the river without getting caught. She jumped when her phone rang. It was Lira. Should she answer? What if this thug involved her friends?

'Answer it,' he ordered. 'Give them instructions. When Rebecca calls the landline at your place, tell them you're with Drico Antonio DiVanne.'

She exchanged sharp glares with him. In the end, she chose to answer the phone to spare her friends from worry.

'Hello, Lira...'

Her fiercest friend started to yell.

'I'm fine..' She cut her off. She glanced at Drico, who was listening intently to every word. 'Lira, listen to me, when Ate Rebecca calls the landline there, please tell her I'm with Drico Antonio DiVanne.'

Her friend burst into loud laughter. She expected that. She needed to outsmart the man in front of her. Before she could even say goodbye to her friend, he snatched her phone and turned it off.

'Come on! Give me back my phone!' she hissed at him. She tried to snatch it back, but he raised the hand holding it. Even if she jumped, she couldn't reach the phone because of his height. She tried anyway, driven by her desire to retrieve it. In doing so, she accidentally bumped into his body. She also caught a whiff of his intoxicating breath, and his very masculine scent mixed with a hint of a signature cologne.

She immediately backed off. She couldn't bear the electricity that surged through her body when she touched him.

'Nice try. But you won't be needing this for some time, until your traitor sister shows her face in front of me.'

With that, he left her in that room.

After a few moments, his men entered again. Still weak, she could only comply. She hadn't thought of a way to escape Drico DiVanne's clutches yet.

They took her to a room in the mansion's underground. Despite the spacious and well-lit white-painted room, it was still scary. She knew that if she turned off the lights, it would look like the basement of a haunted house from horror movies. There wouldn't be any light coming from outside because it was underground.

A deep sense of fear welled up in her heart, especially when the men left her there, locking her in.

Please, don't let there be a power outage. She prayed.

Where will she sleep? Does this room not even have a bed? She looked around. All that was there was a broken cot missing two legs. She approached it. There was a lot of dust, but she had to endure it because it seemed she would be in that place for a few days. Unless a miracle happened. She needed to come up with a plan to escape.

She remembered Lira and her friends' loud laughter when she said she was with Drico DiVanne. They would naturally laugh. It was customary for her to say she was with Drico whenever she didn't go home to the apartment. The only difference this time was that it was true.

She wanted to know the truth. She didn't believe her sister stole anything. Between the two of them, her sister was the kinder one and followed the rules when they were kids. So what that man was saying couldn't be true.

She needed to break free. She needed to be the first to see her sister to protect her from that demon Drico.

She sighed and stared at the only piece of furniture in the room. The cot. There was only one way to level its legs and make it usable as a bed. She lifted the sleeves of her shirt.

She quickly circled and kicked the bed. With just one kick, the third leg of the bed snapped, and the same happened to the fourth.

She chuckled. Those things were a piece of cake for her. She was born a girl, but her abilities surpassed almost every guy she knew. She was strong, brave, so she had no intention of backing down to a Drico Antonio DiVanne. Even if he was a Prince of Hell and the second on the list.

Even if he was handsome.

She remembered her first glimpse of his face. She couldn't believe it. She thought he was already extremely handsome in photos, but he was even more intense in person. It was like he took her breath away earlier when she saw him.

She shook her head. She needed to get a hold of herself. She needed to dismiss all the fantasies she had for him, she needed to fight. For now, she needed to regain her strength, didn't that man have any intention of at least feeding her?

She took off the shirt that was on top of her white tank top. That's what she used to wipe down the cot full of dust. It was also what she used to cushion her back when she lay down.

That darn Drico DiVanne. Even if he was good-looking, there's no escaping karma. His day would come.