Chapter 3 The Loathsome Prince

She didn't know how many hours she had dozed off in that room. She felt the effects of the drug injected into her had worn off because she no longer felt dizzy, but she instinctively held her stomach when she got up. She remembered she hadn't eaten since Drico's men took her. That devil, he probably intended to starve her to death.

She headed for the door. She tried to turn the doorknob, but it was locked. She attempted to kick and pound the door, hoping someone outside would hear her.

"Hey!! Is anyone there??? Open this! You won't even feed me, you heartless bastards?!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. But even though her voice grew hoarse, no one answered. She noticed the sweat on her body due to the intense heat in the room. Didn't those people think to give her an electric fan? That demon Drico was shameless. She had done nothing wrong to be treated like this. Wasn't it her who did nothing but fantasize and idolize his photos? Then suddenly he appears and treats her like this? It hurt.

"Damn you, DiVanne, remember this day!" She muttered through gritted teeth, her hands clenched. Sweat streamed down her entire body, and she felt like her stomach was eating itself due to hunger. She pounded the door again. "Open this, I said! When I get out of here, I'll make sure to get all of you!"

She didn't expect the door to open. A big man, almost twice her size, stood in front of her. She had to crane her neck to look at him. He had a plate of food with him. "Oh. Eat. And don't make a sound!" he barked at her.

She responded with an irate look and watched him place the plate on the dusty floor. Damn! "What do you think I am, a dog in here? Let me out!" Before she could even approach, the man slammed the door. She could only bang her hands against it.

She stared at the food he brought. If the leftover rice and dish scraps of people outside could be considered food. She was sure many were watching her in that room. She wanted to cry and pity herself.

She remembered how she carefully hid and cherished all the little photos of Drico DiVanne. Then he would treat her like this? It was heartbreaking. She'd rather they never met. It was a shame, but it felt so good to throw away the special feelings she had for him.

She slowly crouched by the door. She reached for the food her body desperately needed to escape that place. She devoured it in her extreme hunger, even though it felt so heavy.

After she finished eating, she paced around the room, thinking about how to get out. She looked at the door. She could open the doorknob from the inside, but not the double lock on the outside. It was impossible to escape without opening the door from the outside.

She looked up at the ceiling of the room. Sprinkler system. Was there a sprinkler system in this basement? When triggered, how far would the water reach from there? It would surely set off an alarm. And someone would surely open the door.

She grinned. She fixed her hair in a ponytail. She had to start a fire, and she knew she always had a hidden lighter in her pocket for security reasons. It was often borrowed from her at work. It seemed luck was still on her side. Using her regained strength, she positioned the wooden cot under the sprinkler. She lit the shirt she used as a cushion for sleeping.

When the smoke began to rise, she prepared her body and mind. She needed to take down big men to make a run for it.

She clenched her fists as the clothes began to burn, and in a moment, the fire caught onto the cot.

That's when the sprinkler system started to activate and sprayed water everywhere. She grinned when she heard the fire alarm outside.

She approached the door. She greeted the first person who entered with a powerful kick to the face and opened the door. It was the tall man. He fell from that kick, so she wasted no time and ran out.

It wasn't easy to get out because a few more big men blocked her way. She was small but agile. And her fists were strong. This time, she used her feet. It was more forceful than her fists. She had advanced black belt lessons about kicking men double her size, and she was the best in her class back then.

"In just a few minutes, she managed to bring down three men again. She ran quickly towards the upper ground, grateful for the fire sprinkler system installed in the mansion. It deactivated all the fire exit doors underground. She reached the ground floor of the house, free. 'Damn it!' she cursed. The mansion was so vast, she didn't know where the exit on the ground floor was. But she ran anyway, relying on instinct, remembering the path they took earlier. Many confronted her again, four men this time, and it was likely the ones she had knocked down before were chasing her.

In this situation, she couldn't afford to panic. She needed to concentrate, her life depended on it, and she couldn't afford to lose. When a man approached her, attempting to throw a punch, she immediately evaded. Then she kicked him in the face. She did the same to the second opponent. She had to execute a spinning kick on the third one because he was stronger. Unfortunately, she didn't anticipate the third man.

He came from her blind side and delivered a powerful punch to her stomach. She closed her eyes in pain, but she needed to numb herself. She retaliated with a kick to his stomach, then followed up with a strike to his face. When she found a moment, she ran again. Finally, she saw the light coming from outside. She just needed to follow it.

'Shit!' It was a locked glass door. She realized she had only activated the underground alarm system. Not all the doors on the ground floor were included. She searched for something to break the door. It would be a tough job, as there were still people chasing her. She knew the glass door was thick.

Her eyes caught a baseball bat! Her mind raced. She grabbed it. 'You can't imprison me, Drico DiVanne. Your luck has run out,' she whispered to herself. She deliberately smashed an expensive vase on display using the baseball bat.

Then, she exerted all her strength to slam the glass door open. But she was taken aback when a strong hand stopped her. It felt like steel gripping her wrist, so tight she had to release the baseball bat.

She looked up at the person who owned that sturdy hand.

Drico Antonio DiVanne. It was the devil himself.

'Don't even try to move, bitch!'

He just called her bitch. Her ears rang; nobody had ever called her that. This was the first time, and she wouldn't let it slide. Since he was holding her hand, she tried to maneuver her body so she could kick his knee to make him kneel, but before she could, he acted. He spun her around and firmly held her hand behind her back.

'AAahhhhrrayy!' She screamed because she felt like he might break her arm with what he did. She tried to stomp on his foot really hard; that was the only way to make him let go, but it seemed like he could read her mind, and he still evaded. She screamed again when he applied even more pressure to her bound hands. She felt like something in her body might have snapped.

'Stop it if you don't want me to cripple you!!!' he yelled in her ear, almost deafening her. For the first time, she felt so helpless. She knew why this man could easily disable her. He was a level 10 black belter himself. All the princes of hell were martial arts masters. Unfortunately, Drico was one of them.

'You have no right to treat me like a dog here! First of all, I have no quarrel with you!' she retorted, even though she winced from the pain. It got worse when he kicked the back of her knee, and she fell to her knees on the hard marble floor. She bit her lip to suppress the pain. 'You beast!'

'For a long time,' he replied harshly.

When his men arrived, they bound her again and forced her to stand, even though her knees felt like they might give way. He had her face Drico. She glared at Drico, determined not to show any fear.

'I'm warning you. If you try to escape again, I'll shoot you in the head!' he threatened, forcefully running his finger between her eyebrows. 'Do you understand?'

'Listen, demon. I'm not afraid of you. Try to harm even a hair on my sister's head, and I'll be the one to bury you six feet under! Do you understand?'

He just laughed at what she said. But his eyes remained fierce.

'Really? You're quite brave. Let's see how far your courage takes you. I have something planned for your sister...' He approached her. His hand gently caressed the side of her face, bringing his face close to hers. She had to turn her head away. '...and I'll make you the star of the show.' His tone was terrifying, sending shivers down her spine. 'Return her to the underground.' He ordered his men.

They roughly pulled her back to that hellish basement.

'Welcome to my playroom.'

She gasped at Drico's words. She widened her eyes. The room was surrounded by barbed wire. In the center was a chair. This was not a child's playroom. This was a torture room. What kind of man would hide a torture room deep beneath his mansion? Only a Prince of Hell, she guessed.

Her outer appearance was brave, but inside, she was trembling with fear. What did this man intend to do? Did he plan to hurt her and show it to her sister to force her to come out and save her?

It couldn't happen!

She tried to struggle, but with a injured arm and swollen knee, she had little strength left. All she could do was sit in the chair surrounded by the terrifying torture devices. She didn't know if all of them would be used on her, or if she would die before she could experience the torment they promised.

They tied her to the chair. In front of her was a live camera.

"If you know where Rebecca is, speak up now," the demon-like figure sneered, hands in pockets while looking down at her.

"Go to hell...asshole," she replied firmly.

She didn't expect the consequence of her words. From behind, a bucket full of ice poured over her. Her entire body literally shivered. She took a deep breath. It felt like her heart froze, and for a moment, she couldn't breathe.

"What? Are you still going to act tough? Or will you tell me what you know?"

"Regret this day, Drico DiVanne!"

It responded with a mocking laugh. Then, another bucket of ice rained down on her, colder than the first. She fought back tears.

She drew a sharp breath as a man pulled out a live electric cable. Electrocution? My God! She couldn't help but close her eyes and silently beg for help from her only possible savior, Lord. She didn't know if she could endure that.

"Speak up!" Drico commanded.

"I don't know where she is, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Just kill me!"

"Feisty bitch!" He approached, gripping her jaw firmly. "Do you know what will happen to you if that live wire touches your skin? You'll convulse slowly until your heart burns and you die for good! Do you know how long and painful that death process is?"

"Do it! Stop all this talk, you think I'm scared of you!"

"Shit!" He abruptly released her jaw. It hurt; she felt her cheek bruising from his grip. "You're quite brave..." His sharp gaze traveled down her neck, down to the curve of her chest, distinctly visible because of the wetness on her thin tank top. Her black bra did little to conceal the deep cleavage.

He grinned again, menacingly. She couldn't read his thoughts, but suddenly, she became acutely aware of her near-nakedness.

"Let's see how brave you are... Strip her!" He ordered his men. Hannah was terrified beyond measure. Was that his plan? To humiliate her?

"You beast! Just electrocute me, just kill me!" she screamed at him. His henchmen laughed, clearly enjoying their boss's intentions. She tried to break free, but every time she pulled her hand, her skin scraped against the roughness of the rope binding her. It hurt immensely.

She couldn't believe this was happening to her with this man. If only she knew he was capable of such cruelty, she would have cursed him long ago.

She shut her eyes when a man approached to undress her. "No! Please! Have mercy!!!" She begged.

She didn't know what to do. She could endure any punishment, but not this kind of torture. If this happened, she'd never be able to stand again. Guarding her honor was important to her, and it couldn't be taken away so easily.

"Enough!" She heard Drico order before the man's hands touched her clothes and skin.

"Boss?" He seemed regretful.

She looked up at Drico. He turned off the camera in front. "That's enough. Take her to the room next to mine."

She stared at Drico's face. For a brief moment, she felt as if he had just saved her. His face remained blank as he took the camera in front of her and left the room. His men had no choice but to follow. They took her upstairs and led her into a large, luxurious room.

What happened? Why did the atmosphere suddenly change? What is that demon DiVanne thinking?

After a while, she felt the strange cold again, seeping through her body because of her wet clothes.

She heard a knock on the door. It was Drico. She thought. But it was a maid, only a few years older than her. She brought clothes and a robe. She was disappointed. What was happening to her? After the cruelty he showed her, he still wanted to see her?

"Hannah, you're crazy, you're losing it."

She whispered to herself.

"Sir Drico said, please take a hot bath and change," the uniformed maid said before leaving.

She laughed bitterly. "Damn it. What is he worried about? Hypothermia?" She scoffed.

What does that psychotic person really intend to do to her??

Before she could get sick, she headed for the shower to let the hot water soothe her trembling body.

Any moment Drico enters her room, she will do everything to punch him in the face.