Forced To Be The Mafia King's Bride novel Chapter 6

Gianna’s POV

My mouth went dry as I backed away, each step slower than the last. Dante’s voice, deep and terrifying, sent a chill crawling down my spine.

This wasn’t a nightmare I could wake up from.

This was real.

Dante De Luca, the monster who shot my father, was real. Flesh and blood. And I was alone in his home with no way out. There was only one path laid out for me: to be his mistress. For life.

Terror pressed down on my chest. I couldn’t breathe. My lips trembled.

“God help me,” I whispered, barely able to get the words out. “This can’t be my life. I can’t belong to this monster.”

He tilted his head, amused.

Then he laughed, cruelly.

“No one’s coming to save you,” he mocked.

The dark humor in his tone pierced through my chest, driving the panic deeper. The room seemed to tilt, everything fading around me.

“I can’t be trapped here,” I muttered. “I refuse to be trapped here.”

My breathing quickened, and it felt like my senses slipped away from me.

“Help!” I screamed, eyes darting around the lavish living room until they landed on the massive steel door across the room. My adrenaline surged. That was it, the way out.

I didn’t think, I just ran. I threw myself at the door, gripped the handle with both hands, and yanked hard.

Nothing.

“Help!” I screamed again, banging my fists against the metal. “Please! Anyone, please!”

Suddenly a screen lit up on the wall beside the door, blinking cold blue text.

To open, enter code.

Dread crashed into me like a wave. I had no code. No way out. I was locked in.

Behind me, I heard him laugh again. He sounded amused, like I was putting on a show just for him.

“Little firecracker,” Dante murmured. “I thought you were smarter than that.”

I spun around, breathing ragged, but he was already there, towering over me.

“Surely you’ve figured it out by now,” he said, his tone colder than stone. “I own not just this building, but the entire estate. Even if by some miracle you got through that door, you wouldn’t make it ten steps. My men are stationed at every exit. You’d be dragged back to me, bleeding, if they’re feeling generous.”

His eyes darkened as he stepped closer.

I stepped back, one foot at a time, until my spine hit the steel door. His words made it clear, there was nowhere to run. I didn’t even know where I was or how to make it out.

Still, what was I supposed to do? Just give in?

I had to try. Who wouldn’t try to run from their father’s killer?

I opened my mouth to scream again, but before a sound could escape, he grabbed me. His hand clamped over my mouth.

“Strike one, little girl,” he hissed into my ear, his breath hot against my skin. “Try that again, and I’ll punish you.”

My blood boiled with fear and fury. I wasn’t a child. I wasn’t some pet he could threaten into obedience. Rage surged up and took over.

So I bit him.

Hard.

He cursed under his breath and pulled back. I slipped from his grasp and stumbled away.

“Let me out of here!” I cried. “I’m not interested in being your whore!”

He looked at little bite mark on his palm,

and fury overtook him.

Before I could move again, he grabbed me and slammed me back against the door. The impact rattled through my bones.

I gasped, but it turned into a choked whimper as his hand wrapped tight around my throat and lifted me off the ground. My feet dangled in the air.

I clawed at his arm, kicking helplessly, lungs burning.

I simply nodded.

I didn’t trust myself not to say something provoking, and I didn’t want to risk angering him again.

Then he stepped back and looked at me with a coldness that made my blood run colder.

“That was strike two,” he warned.

“And by the third strike, you’ll regret you ever went against me.”

My heart stilled.

“You want to get punished, Gianna? Keep pushing.”

It was the first time he had said my name out loud, and for some unexplainable reason, shivers raced down my spine at the way the last syllable rolled off his tongue.

He rose without another word and crossed the room, pressing a button on a small control panel built into the wall.

A few seconds later, the massive steel door swung open, and a woman walked in. She looked like she was in her forties, and she held a silver tray with a glass of water.

“Here, young lady.” She offered the glass with a kind voice, though her eyes darted between me and Dante like she was scared for me.

I blinked at her. How could someone who looked so decent, so normal, work for a man like this?

Then I felt his gaze on me again.

I slowly reached for the glass, my hand shaking. The woman gave me a quiet nod, then stepped back. She and Dante exchanged a single glance. Nothing was said, but she passed something to him that I couldn’t quite make out.

And their mannerism told me everything I needed to know about their relationship. They’d probably worked together for a long time. Maybe she had seen worse. Maybe she was used to it.

My dad had taught me how to read people’s body movements in one of the many lessons he put me through. Now I wished I had paid more attention when he spoke, but I had been too busy living a sheltered life, never knowing the day would come when I would be all alone.

The glass shook in my hand as I stared down at the clear liquid.

It looked normal, but I didn’t feel safe.

My thoughts raced. What if it was drugged, or worse, poisoned?