HIS(18+)

~~~

SOPHIA WATCHED IN sheer horror as the nineteen-year-old familiar-looking stranger plunged the knife out of her mum's abdomen while she just stood at the bottom of the stairs watching everything. To say she was scared was an understatement.

They were just done having dinner-their small family; Her dad, mum, and herself she'd just gone upstairs to her room to get a broken doll that she could show her dad when she heard the sound of glass breaking. Clutching her broken doll, she rushed downstairs only to see her mum being stabbed by an unknown stranger and lying dead on the floor.

Her eyes searched for her dad but he was nowhere to be found.

Had he been killed too?

"You rascal!", Sophia heard her dad's voice before he finally came into view. He gripped the stranger's collar and glared at him. "What did you do to my security team? What did you do to my wife?",

"I did what should have been done a long time ago", The killer replied without any hint of remorse in his voice. "And I'm ending this whole bullshit here", The killer took Sophia's father by surprise and stabbed him in the chest and a small gasp left her lips. She watched as her dad's eyes filled with horror and his lips parted when the killer pulled out the knife forcefully and stabbed him again, making him cough blood until he fell with a loud thud on the floor, with life slowly slipping from his eyes.

From what Sophia's eight-year-old instincts told her, her dad sounded as if he knew the young man who had just killed him before that day.

Sophia's sobs from where she stood caught the attention of the killer and he glared at her with his dark and piercing eyes which were devoid of any emotions. He looked oddly familiar but she couldn't place out where she had ever seen him. Not when the whole light in the house was dimmed. The stranger didn't look away from her and it sent cold shivers down her spine.

Was he going to kill her too?

"Soph-", She heard his voice as he calmly walked towards her. She was shaking and her lips were quivering. She knew her end had arrived as well but something told her to run.

When the murderer extended his gloved arms towards her, she ran back upstairs to her room, unsure if it was even safe for her. She hid in a corner and curled herself in a ball as the image of her mum's dead body on the floor and her dad's horror-stricken eyes flooded through her mind while unstoppable tears streamed down her face.

Her parents were gone and she was too young to be an orphan.

~~~

"No please-mama-papa-don't go", Sophia whimpered as she clutched onto the sheets with her fists. Her eyes were clenched shut and tighter than they should've been for someone sleeping while beads of sweat trickled down her face. "Please-",

"Wake up, Soph", Someone shook her shoulders softly and her eyes flew open immediately. She sat up on her bed and began to search her whole room with fear evident in her eyes as she thought her parent's killer was there in the room with her. She hugged her knees as tears streamed down her face. She was a crying mess and her hair was probably sticking out all over her face. "It's okay, my dear. It's just the nightmare", Her grandma pulled her into her arms as she rocked her back and forth.

"Nana-", She cried and looked up at her grandma with her big doe eyes. "He-he-he isn't coming, right? He won't come near us, right? He won't-he won't kill us the way he he-killed Mama and Papa, right?",

"No, my dear", The woman patted her eighteen-year-old granddaughter's back softly. "He won't find us",

Sophia clutched onto her grandma tightly as the images flooded her memory. For the past ten years, she spent every single night of her life having nightmares about her parents' mysterious killer and she kept on wondering who he was. The tone in his voice while he spoke to her dad that night made her feel like her parents knew their murderer and maybe he had an unsettled score with them.

"Here, have milk", Her grandma brought a glass of warm milk to her lips. Whenever she woke up every night after the nightmares, she always drank warm milk to soothe herself and help her calm down.

Sophia quickly drowned the whole glass of milk down her throat before her grandma took the empty glass from her lips and placed it back on the tray by her bedside table.

"It's going to be alright, dear". Her grandma whispered.

"Thanks, Nana", Sophia said too.

"Would you like to go back to bed?", Her grandma asked.

"I'll try today", Sophia whispered as she laid down on her bed and nuzzled herself in her blanket. She knew sleep had eluded her but she couldn't stress her grandma by telling her.

"Should I stay in here with you?", Her grandma asked.

"Yes, please", she croaked out.

With a small smile, Sophia's grandma slid into bed next to her and pulled her in her arms. "Goodnight, dear" " the older woman whispered as she stroked Sophia's hair.

Sophia closed her eyes in an attempt to sleep but instead, all she saw was the dark and piercing emotionless eyes of that killer staring at her and she hated it.

Over the years, Sophia had engraved every single feature of his eyes in her memory because he was someone she wasn't sure she could ever forget. In other cases, it might not be extremely hard for people to forget the face of the person who murdered their parents but Sophia's case was different. Instead of forgetting the unknown murderer, she seemed to remember him more as each day of her life passed by. Who would ever forget the face of the person who made them an orphan?

As she thought about all these, she went down the memory lane of how her life had been for the past ten years since she lost her parents. That night when she ran to her room from the killer, he didn't follow her and a small part of her was grateful while the bigger part of her wished he had killed her along with her parents. At least she wouldn't have gone through the trauma she was going through. With a small sigh, she remembered how she stayed glued to that spot that night until the next day when her grandma took her away from the house while her parents were laid to rest.

Growing up after experiencing such was hard for Sophia but with her Nana, she was able to scale through some parts except the nightmares part. Her grandma made sure she went to school and at the age of eighteen, she was already a college student, so she had to work out her ass by working in a small coffee shop to assist her grandma with a few expenses.

~~~

"Okay then, sir. Goodnight", Sophia smiled at her boss.

"My regards to your Nana", The burly man smiled back at her, and he left the coffee shop.

It was a long day and finally, she was about to close the shop since she was the one given the responsibility to do so. All she needed to do was clean up the tables and she'd go back home to her grandma.

And her nightmares.

Just as Sophia began to clean the first table, she heard the chime sound of the door, indicating that a customer had arrived.

Couldn't the person see the board outside which read 'closed'?

Sophia turned abruptly, ready to snap at the person but her words died on her lips as her eyes landed on the people by the door side.

A lady of about twenty-four or so and two young men of about the same age-maybe twenty-six stood there all clad in black by the door, looking deadly.

Who were they?

"Three cups of coffee, please" " the lady said and they sat on a table at a secluded corner close to the door side. Sophia watched as one of the men dropped a gun on the table in front of him and she gulped nervously.

Looking at the remaining two people's trouser holsters, their guns were strapped there and the aura they carried made Sophia sick in the stomach. She knew instantly that they were dangerous and not people she could even try to mess with.

She scurried off to make the coffee for them and in no time, she was already finished. When she took it to them, they seemed busy. The guy who brought out his gun had a laptop in front of him with his whole attention on it while the lady was talking to the other guy. Sophia saw the snake tattoo on the laptop guy's left wrist and she couldn't help but stare at the other's wrists. Just as expected, they had the same tattoo on their left wrists.

Were they in a cult or something?

Did her parents' killer send them to kill her?

"He's here", The laptop guy closed his laptop and stood up before pushing his gun back to his trousers' holster and Sophia swallowed.

Who was there? Was it their boss who was going to kill her like he did with her parents?

The lady glanced at Sophia and the tray which had three steaming cups of coffee on it and gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry, we're in a hurry. We can't take it again", The lady placed a ten dollar note in Sophia's palm. "Keep the change", She smiled and the trio left from the coffee shop.

Sophia breathed out in relief and looked at the dollar note in her hand. She quickly went to drop the towel she was using the clean the tables. She was scared they would return so she made up her mind to leave the work for that night and complete it the next morning as early as possible before the coffee shop would be opened for customers.

She quickly strapped her bag across her shoulders locked the transparent doors of the coffee shop and walked down the alley towards her grandma and her house since she moved in with her grandma after her parents' death while their house was sold. She was too traumatized and scared to even live in the same house where her parents were murdered right in front of her.

"Please, I'm sorry",

Sophia halted in her steps when she heard someone's pleading voice coming from where she was about to pass through to go home.

"You fucking gave information to the enemy and you expect us to spare your useless life?", Another man sneered. It was as if he was the one who was being begged to spare the other person's life. "How smart of you, Russo",

"I'm sorry, please won't do it again. Please accept me back", The pleading man continued.

Something about the whole noise didn't settle well with Sophia and a part of her told her to run and follow another way back home but the curious part of her was against that thoughtful side. She had forgotten the saying, 'Curiosity killed the cat'. She moved further until she could catch a glimpse of the people there.

Sophia's throat suddenly went dry when she saw the people there.

They were the trio from the coffee shop and they had an older-looking man on his knees in front of them, begging for his life while a laptop guy pointed his gun at him.

Could he be the one they said had arrived?

A sense of relief flooded through her that at least she wasn't the one they had planned to kill but still, that man's life was in danger and she wasn't sure she could help because they were dangerous people and they were saying something about him betraying them so his death was already predicted to happen.

"Young Miss-", The poor man looked at the lady who had an emotionless look on her face, reminding Sophia of her parents' murderer. "I know you as a nice girl, please save me. Spare my life",

"How dare you even think of talking to our sister?", The second guy slapped the man across the face, and that instant, Sophia fixed the puzzle.

The three were siblings and the lady was the younger one of them. Maybe the laptop guy was the older one? She wasn't sure of that.

"Mr. Russo, we can't do anything to save you as long as Don has given the order that you should be killed for your huge betrayal" " the lady said. She didn't even look or sound like someone who would give out money to someone like Sophia as she did back at the coffee shop.

"Even without Don's orders, this mother fucker is dying right now", the Laptop guy growled and pressed the gun in between the man's eyes. "Last prayer-last wish",

"Please spare Me-I have a fa-" The laptop guy didn't let him finish when he pulled the trigger.

"That was fast", The other guy smiled at the laptop guy who wasn't even smiling at all.

Sophia stared with wide eyes at the lifeless body of the man on the floor as he lay there, in a pool of his blood while his eyes were opened in horror and without realizing it, a scream tore from her lips.

~~~

CHASE WALKED UP the stairs towards his room with both his hands in his pants pocket.

"Don,"

Chase stopped in his tracks and without turning, he waved his fingers at the person who just called him to walk up to him. Clearly understanding what his cousin meant, Luciano walked up the stairs till he was standing in front of Chase.

Chase brought out a cigar and a lighter from his pocket before lighting it."Parlare." He took a long drag from the cigar and blew out the smoke from his lips.

{"Speak"}

"The task was completed, but there was a witness at the scene. Valerie requested to bring her over here,"

Chase stared at Luciano, his calm composure still on. "E voi, branco di sciocchi, avete fatto questo?",

{"And you bunch of fools did that?"}

"She was insisting that the girl shouldn't be killed. She said she didn't deserve to die," Luciano defended. He knew his little sister was likely to receive an earful from Chase.

"And other witnesses? Did they deserve to die? "Chase flung off the cigar he was holding in irritation. "Valerie conosce le dannate regole e non è stupida. lei per eliminare la ragazza stessa, altrimenti lo farò io e ciò avrebbe lasciato una cicatrice sulla sua salute mentale",

{"Valerie knows the damned rules and isn't stupid. Ask her to eliminate the girl herself. Else, I'll be doing it for her, and it would put a scar on her mental health"}

Chase was not someone to make empty threats, and if he said he was going to do something, then he would do it. Luciano couldn't begin to imagine the torture Chase would make the teenage girl go through. "Don, she-"

Luciano was cut off by Valerie's presence. "Don, I'm sorry, but please think about it. She doesn't deserve to die. She has a whole life ahead of her. She's such a naive and innocent teenager,"

Chase snorted out. "Is that why you asked to let her live? Because she's naive and innocent, doesn't mean she wouldn't leak information, Valerie. In our world, you don't show your fucking emotions",

"I-",

Chase turned to Luciano. "Where is the girl?",

"She's in the first room close to the basement",

Immediately Luciano finished talking, Chase walked back down the stairs towards the place his cousin just told him of while he tugged off his tie from his neck.

~~~

"Wake up,"

Sophia's eyes snapped open the moment she felt something cold poured over her head as it trickled down her skin. She shook her head to clear her hazy eyes before squinting them to take note of the room she was in.

She was in a dimly lit room. Her hands and legs were tied tightly to the wooden chair she was seated on while her lips were sealed with tape. Images of how she got there flashed across her mind.

Flashback

The moment she screamed, Sophia's palms instinctively flew to cover her mouth as she realized what she'd just done, but she was too late because the three murderers whipped their heads towards her and her eyes widened in fear.

She shouldn't have screamed.

But then, that didn't stop her from acting immediately she felt the adrenaline rush through her veins. She turned on her heels and ran back towards the coffee shop.

"Let's get her", She heard the laptop guy's voice and she increased her pace. Her bag fell on the floor but she was too caught up in her run to pick it up.

She could get it back in the morning, but all she wanted at that moment was to run to the coffee shop and lock herself in their till they left. Her plan was already in motion but she couldn't pat herself mentally again and praise herself for her smartness. Too bad because she felt someone's palms clamp over her mouth and the person used their other arm to hold her shoulders in place, leaving her against their warm, hard, muscular chest.

Sophia tried to scream, but it was as futile as her trying to wiggle out of his tight grip.

The person growled. "Stay in place, girl, "Immediately, she knew it was the laptop guy.

Soon, the other guy and the already holding her bag appeared in front of them.

"What do we do with her?" the second guy asked.

"What else? "The laptop guy said. "We will kill her and dispose of her body with Russo's. There's a lake not far from here,"

Listening to the three siblings talk about how they'd kill her and have her disposed of had Sophia panicking the more, and she continued to struggle.

"Why would we do that? She's innocent" " the lady said, noticing Sophia's panic mode.

"No one said she isn't innocent, Valerie", the Laptop guy said. "She's a witness and isn't meant to live,"

"We can take her back home," Valerie suggested. "But not murder her,"

The second guy turned to his sister with a glare. "Are you out of your fucking senses, Val? Witnesses shouldn't live. They should die on the spot",

Valerie turned to him. "Luciano, please", She then looked at the Laptop guy. "Lucas?",

"Sorry, Valerie but that's not the right thing to do. If Don gets his hand on her, it would be worse. We all know that",

"Please",

"Dammit, Val", Luciano muttered and looked straight into his twin brother dead in the eye, before nodding his head.

Before Sophia could understand their silent communication, she heard Lucas groan in annoyance and irritation before she felt something cold and sharp prick her neck.

In no time, everything went blank.

End of flashback.

Sophia began to wiggle in the chair again, trying to scream out for help, but the tape on her lips muffled her voice.

"It's useless trying to scream because no one will hear you", Sophia looked in the direction where the voice came from, and her eyes fell on Luciano, leaning against the wall, staring at her. "This place is huge, and no one can save you from your death. If you had minded your business, you wouldn't have been here,"

Sophia glared at him as he moved away from the wall. She wanted to push her hair that was sticking all over her face but it was completely impossible. Her hands were tied and there was no way she'd let that laptop guy do it for her.

Immediately, the door opened and she squinted her eyes as the light from outside the room shone on her face. She looked at the huge body standing by the door and glared at him even though she couldn't see his face.

For all she knew, he was the so-called Don the three murderers and kidnappers were talking about. He was the man who imposed the rule of killing witnesses. She inwardly scoffed at the thought.

Sophia felt the sweat trickling down her forehead as his large, intimidating body walked closer to her. The room suddenly had a chilling silence as only the slow sounds of his shoes were heard and it had her shivering.

Once the tall man was towering over her, she craned her neck to see his face but couldn't as she heard the soft click of the door closing.

Soon, he knelt in front of her and raised his right hand to push off the hair covering her hair, his fingertips grazing her cold skin and she shuddered. If there was a monitor attached to her body, Sophia was sure to be embarrassed by the loud thumping of her heart.

She yelped the moment the tape came off her lips with a harsh tug, courtesy of Mr. Tall and intimidating. "What do you want from me?",

Ignoring her question Chase studied every feature of her face as if engraving it to his memory. Something about her light chestnut brown hair, Hazel colored and almond-shaped eyes which screamed nothing but innocence, down to the freckles smeared just below both of her eyes and the upper part of her small button nose and then, her small pouty lips, seemed to remind him of someone at the back of his mind. He internally shook his head at that thought, convincing himself that she just looked like her, but then, all the thoughts jumped out of the window the moment his eyes fell on the small birthmark just below her chin.

She was the one. The girl whose parents he had taken away from her when she was just eight.

His eyes returned to hers' and his voice came out cold. "Sophia Bennett",

Sophia gulped and she felt goosebumps erupt on her skin at the way his voice sounded. Cold, sexy, deep, seductive, manly, and had an Italian accent to it.

She tore her eyes from his familiar ones to look anywhere else but at him and that was when her eyes landed on the tattoo on the side of his neck.

'RIP'

She felt hot all over when she peeled her eyes away from there only for it to betray her and sneak a glance at the other tattoo on his taut upper chest that the button-up shirt he was wearing failed to hide because his first two buttons were undone.

'Brutality' was written there with the ink dripping down and it made her gulp lowly again. She didn't even what was more intimidating about him. Was it his body build, walking steps, presence, eyes, voice, or even him himself? It had to be all.

"H-how do you know my name?", She stuttered out. "Who are you?",

The room remained dead silent, neither of them speaking and it only made her more impatient. Sophia's brows pinched into a frown and she squinted her eyes again to study his features.

He had jet black hair which was sleeked backward, with similar colored eyes which sent a feeling of familiarity in her. His nose was long, straightforward, and downward-pointy. His thin lips were pursed into a straight, thin line and she could feel his eyes on her too.

"Who-who are you?",

Hearing her question, Chase brought his eyes back to hers to see if she would recognize him or not the gasp that left her lips gave him his answer.

"You-", Sophia broke out in more sweat and she went into a panic mode as tears spilled from her eyes. It was one thing panicking when she was about to be killed, but it was another thing meeting the same person who murdered her parents and she wished those three had killed her instead. "You-what-you-you-mama-papa-murder-you-you-killed them",

Immediately Chase heard her words, he ignored her words and sealed back her mouth, then, stood up before he walked out of the room ignoring Lucas' confused stare.

The latter followed him out of the room. "Don",

Chase stopped in his tracks and pulled out another cigar from his pocket with a lighter. Before Lucas could reach up to him, he lighted the cigar and returned the lighter to his pocket." What?", He didn't wait for Lucas to stare at his face.

Lucas stood by Chase's side. "What should we do with her?",

Chase blew out smoke from his lips and pinched his brows with his thumb and forefinger. "Ask Valerie to have her settled down in one of the guest rooms",

Lucas watched as Chase made to walk away again and asked. "What do you mean 'have her settled down in one of the guest rooms'? Isn't she meant to be killed?",

Chase stopped and looked Lucas, dead in the eye. "Are you questioning me?",

"I'm not doing that, Don", Lucas replied. "I don't just understand why you're letting her live",

"It's my decision, Lucas, and you don't have a say in it", Chase retorted, before returning his cigar to his lips and trying to walk away again in a bid to control the anger he was suddenly feeling.

"Well, that's a fucked up decision you just made because it's unfair to the other witnesses that were killed!", Lucas almost snapped.

Chase stopped, then blew out smoke from his lips. He turned and took slow, predatory steps towards his angry cousin till he was foot to foot with him and glared at him in the face, none of them breaking eye contact. "You Won't Ever Talk to Me Like That Get it?",

Still not backing off, Lucas nodded. "Sure, Don",

"Good", Chase took two steps backward and placed the cigar between his lips. Ever so sensually and taking his time, he blew out smoke again and nodded at Lucas. "This should be your first and last time behaving like a fucking teenager throwing a tantrum else we both know I won't hesitate to bury a few bullets in your skull, si?",

{"Yeah?"}

Still not batting an eyelash, Lucas gave a stiff nod one in his position had the right to behave, talk to, or look at another person in Chase's position like he'd done. It wasn't an appropriate way to behave with one's boss like that and Lucas knew that very well. They both knew it, yet, Chase chose to ignore it.

Without saying anything and knowing very well that his warning had settled in Lucas' mind, he turned and walked away.

FEAR WAS THE only thing Sophia felt once The man she recognized as her parents' murderers left the room she was in.

There was nothing she could do to escape him. He was going to kill her just like he had done to her parents and her Nana. What would be of the old lady? Would he kill her too just to wipe off their family from the face of the earth?

Uncontrollable and unstoppable tears kissed her cheeks while her sobs were muffled by the tape on her lips. She couldn't even struggle against the tight ropes that had been used to tie her.

The wooden door opened with a bang against the wall, making her flinch and she watched as Lucas walked in with his fists balled at his sides, jaw hardened, and a glare right on her. Angrily, he stormed towards her and began to untie the ropes on both her hands and legs before pulling off the tape with a harsh tug.

She yelped out, and he glared at her again, making her squirm in her place." I--," another yelp left her lips when he grabbed one of her arms and made her stand up. "Where are you taking me to? "A part of her told her she was going to be killed, but she ignored it with a positive feeling.

Lucas ignored her and dragged her with him out of the room while she sobbed.

Sophia clutched unto his hand that was tightly holding her arm. "You-you're hurting me, please,"

Lucas stopped and raised his hand to hit her, but stopped mid-air when he saw how she flinched." Will you shut the fuck up?", He had never raised a hand to hit a lady but he was very livid. Not because of the way Chase had talked to him, but because he was willing to bend his own rules because of her. A fucking stranger.

"Lucas, what's wrong with you? "Sophia was pulled away from his grip by Valerie. "Did you have to try to hit her?",

Lucas snapped at his sister, seeing as she pushed a cowering Sophia behind his back. "Maybe you should tell her to stop whining like a fucking kid if you like her so much else I'll kill her even without Don's orders",

"Lucas you-", Valerie's remaining words died at the tip of her tongue when he walked away, leaving her alone with Sophia. She turned to the girl. "Are you okay?",

Sophia wiped her tears with the back of her hand and nodded her head.

"I'm sorry for how he behaved with you. He's unusually like this. It's not in him to raise his hand on a lady,"

Sophia nodded, still looking down.

Valerie held Sophia's wrist, and she flinched in pain. When her eyes fell on the bruise there, she felt her heart tug in pain. "Uh-So sorry about that. I'm sure it was caused by the ropes. We can apply an ointment on it,"

"So you like her, then? "Luciano appeared from where Lucas disappeared to as he took long strides towards them. "Don says you should take her to one of the guest rooms,"

Sophia tried to ignore the intimidating look of Luciano even though he wasn't as intimidating as his brother. "I-I won't be killed then?",

Valerie passed her a smile and nodded. "You won't be killed,"

"Nana?" She whispered to only Valerie's hearing. "Can-Can I go home to her? It's late, and she might be worried about me,"

Valerie knew that was impossible. She couldn't even ask Chase to let Sophia leave the house. "I'm sorry, that's not possible,"

Sophia teared up again, and Luciano chuckled beside them. "Now I understand why Lucas got pretty upset. She cries a lot,"

Valerie faked a glare at him and pursed her lips. "Luci,"

He raised his arms in surrender. "I wasn't saying it to hurt her or anything. Lucas seemed upset, and I was just stating it out,"

Valerie zoned out for a second before returning her eyes to her brother. "I wonder what got him so riled up. It can't be only because of her",

"Maybe he argued with Don?", Luciano asked.

"That has never happened", Valerie replied.

"Maybe it did happen today. After all, Don didn't murder her like she should be, and Lucas got upset. He loves shedding blood, and he just missed an opportunity to do so,"

Sophia shuddered at Luciano's words, and Valerie turned to her. "Sorry, you heard that. Let's go and have you freshened up. While you do that, I'll get you food, and then, we'll help apply some ointment to that bruise on you,"

Sophia glanced at Luciano, fear evident in her features that he would hurt her.

When Valerie felt Sophia's hesitation and saw how she was staring at Luciano, who seemed to be staring back, she tugged on Sophia's hand, making her look back at her. "It's okay, that's Luciano, my elder brother and Lucas' younger twin. He won't do anything to you unless he's ordered to do so." She then turned to Luciano. "Luci, please, can you go away? She's scared out of her wits,"

Luciano looked between his sister and Sophia before nodding, then left.

Valerie faced Sophia with a sweet smile. "Shall we?",

Sophia nodded, and they both walked toward one of the guest rooms. Once they got there, Valerie opened the door and ushered Sophia in. As they both walked in, Valerie closed the door behind her and turned to see Sophia staring at the whole room in awe.

She smiled at her. "Do you like the room?",

Sophia turned and blushed a little for being caught staring like that before nodding. Of course, she loved the room. It looked cozy and inviting, painted in a warm creamy white color. The tiles were cold beneath her feet and the furniture was mixed with vintage and modern pieces, all chosen for their comfort and style. The light illuminated by the moon peeked through the large windows and the curtains were a soft and airy linen. The room was decorated with a variety of plants, adding a touch of green and life to the space. Almost close to the walk-in closet stood a couch and at another corner of the room was a reading table while a large bed that could contain more than a person of her size stood firm in the room. The overall serenity was very welcoming and Sophia was sure that if she wasn't kidnapped and forced to stay there, she'd have wished to stay there forever.

"Great! "Valerie chirped with a clap of her hands. "The little blush on your face tells me just how much you love the room. Why don't you freshen up? I'll go and get you dinner and an ointment with some clothes. Feel free. I'll be right back,"

When Valerie turned to leave, Sophia grabbed her wrist, and she turned to her with a questioning look." I-", Sophia began. "I-My-my bag. Please, can I get it?",

Valerie gave Sophia a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry about that too, but you can't get it. I'm sorry." With that, Valerie walked out of the room.

Sophia allowed the welled-up tears in her eyes to finally slide down her cheeks and she closed her eyes. She didn't want to be there. All she wanted was to go back home to her Nana. She didn't want to stay in the same house where murderers lived, especially that of her parents. Wouldn't she be a bad and despicable person to do that?

Her butt landed on the soft mattress, and she buried her face in her palms while her shoulders shook violently as the tears kissed her cheeks faster than normal. Life was so cruel to her. Why did she even have to be born if the people who birthed her left her alone just when she was eight? She suddenly felt angry at her parents for birthing her because they dumped her in the world to become miserable.

~~~

Sophia clutched the tray where the plate of her barely-eaten food sat. She didn't have any appetite to eat, and she was grateful Valerie listened to her and didn't stay back with her in her room after dropping her dinner and helping her apply ointment to the bruises on her wrists and ankles.

She stared at her legs which were barely covered by the mid-thigh pajama shorts Valerie left for her with a pajama shirt. Valerie didn't know what clothes to give her to wear, so she gave her one of hers' before the next day when she'd go shopping for some clothes for Sophia.

With a huge sigh, she opened her room door and looked around the silent and empty hallway as the cold wind blew past her bare legs. She then walked towards the same way she remembered passing through with Valerie earlier and admired the paintings and photo frames across the walls.

Once she got to the staircase, she stared at the large living room. The walls were painted white, which offered a clean, therapeutic, and comfortable feeling. Soft, expensive, black sofas contradicting the white color of the wall and ceiling, sat proudly in the room with a long coffee table in their middle, and beneath it, laid a black and expensive rug. Everything screamed money, including the large 85-inch Samsung television hanging on the wall.

Sophia was in too much awe that she didn't realize when her legs, with a mind of their own, took her down the stairs, and she mistakenly bumped into a warm, hard chest.

A small yelp left her lips, the moment she hit her forehead on the person's chest, and the tray in her hand slipped to the floor, but not before leaving a food stain on the person's white shirt when the food poured. "Ouch!", She rubbed her forehead.

The person scoffed loudly. "Of course, it had to be the fucking foolish teenager. Do you normally stare at people's houses like that? Now look the fuck what you've done to my shirt",

Sophia raised her eyes and they met with Lucas' dark, angry ones. "I-I'm sorry", She stuttered. "I-I didn't mean to bump into you like that",

"Yeah, you didn't", He sneered, sarcasm dripping from every single word that left his lips. "Just the same way you didn't mean to fucking poke nose in someone else's business",

Tears welled up in Sophia's eyes and she looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry",

"You better be" " he said, glaring at her. "Move", He growled and shoved her aside a little too harshly before walking up the stairs, mumbling under his breath. "I don't even understand why the fuck Don let her live",

Sophia heard his words clearly and a tear rolled down her cheeks as she bent down to pick up the plate and tray, mentally noting to look for a broom and pack up the food she had spilled on the ground unintentionally.

She couldn't understand why Lucas hated her so much. It wasn't like she chose to be there in the house. She hadn't even done anything to upset him so much so it hurt her that he treated her like that.

"What are you doing down here alone?",

Sophia felt the shivers run down her spine and she froze the moment she heard that deep, seductive, Italian-accented voice that only belonged to the man behind her nightmares.

Sophia didn't move from her spot, till she saw his feet just where she was and looked up at him. He was staring at her, without an ounce of emotion in his dark, mysterious eyes.

"I asked you a question", He said. "What are you doing here alone? Shouldn't you be sleeping?",

Sophia blinked her eyes and stood up, Ignoring the butterflies suddenly dancing in her stomach." I-", She gulped lowly as she felt her sweat trickling down her forehead. "I-I wanted to drop the plates in the-in the kitchen. I-sorry for the mess", She motioned to the food on the ground.

"Weren't you looking your way when you were walking? This place isn't some dump or anywhere that you would just throw food", Chase said.

Sophia dropped her head and stared at her feet. "I-I'm sorry",

Chase replied immediately. "Sorry, won't clean off the mess you just made. You have to clean it off. Dammit, why did you even have to come out of your room to drop off the plate? Where the fuck is Valerie?",

Sophia panicked. "I-I'm sorry, please. It wasn't her fault. I-I asked her to leave me alone",

"You wanted time to escape?", He asked.

Sophia's eyes widened. "N-No. I-I do want to go ho-home bu-",

"Sophia?", A familiar female voice called from the top stairs, and Sophia looked up towards the direction. Valerie walked down the stairs to them on noticing how upset Chase was about the food on the ground, for he was someone who loved neatness. "Is everything okay?",

"I-", Sophia glanced towards Chase, only to find him concentrated on something else. There was a cigar between his lips and a lighter in his hands which he was using to light up the cigar. She looked back at Valerie. "I-I tripped and made a mess of this place. I'm sorry", She lied.

"It's okay", Valerie turned to Chase but found the space he was standing on empty. She then spotted him walking up the stairs. "Don",

Chase stopped but didn't turn.

Valerie walked up towards him. "Sorry about the mess. It won't repeat itself",

Chase returned his cigar to his lips and made to walk away without saying a word.

"Don", Valerie called again.

Chase stopped and stared ahead before pulling out the cigar from his lips and blowing out smoke from his lips."cosa?",

{"What?"}

Valerie was unsure whether she should say it or not. Her cousin was an unpredictable and closed man. She wouldn't be able to understand what he was thinking or what his next actions might be or even his reaction to what she was about to say."Uhh-I-I-",

Chase still stood there in his spot, unmoving, unblinking, and still staring ahead of him, with his cigar between his lips. He then pulled it out from his mouth. "non ricordo che a nessuno di voi sia stato insegnato a balbettare", He turned to her with dead calculative eyes. He could read people very well and their next actions no one could do to him and he liked it that way, he knew exactly what Valerie wanted to say to him but he had to hear it from her mouth. "se hai qualcosa di meglio della balbuzie a dire, allora fallo, mi stai facendo perdere tempo",

{"I don't remember any of you being taught to stutter."} {"If you have something better than stuttering to say, then do so, you're wasting my time."}

"Actually, I wanted to say thank you," Valerie replied. When Chase lifted one of his perfectly arched brows, she flushed, then continued. "Grazie per averla lasciata vivere,"

{"Thanks for letting her live."}

Chase only nodded his head and walked away.

Valerie breathed out in relief before rushing back to Sophia and smiled at her. "You don't need to be so scared. He's not upset,"

"He didn't look so," Sophia let out. "His facial expression and body movements contradict what you're saying,"

"That's how Chase is," Valerie said. "You'll get used to it soon. We all have,"

"Chase? "Sophia whispered.

"Yeah, that's his name," Valerie replied. "Don't let anyone know I called him that. I can't be beheaded at this young age" " she giggled.

"Of course, I won't," Sophia said."Th-Thanks for saving my life,"

"It's okay, really," Valerie smiled wider. "Let's get this mess packed up and have you go to bed,"

Sophia nodded, a part of her scared out of its wits of what was to come of her in her sleep.