REYNA

I was so grateful to finally be leaving the club. My heart was so heavy over every girl I watched walk across the stage. Even though I rid my expression of any type of distaste, I could taste the sourness biting my tongue. It was staining my mouth with a rotten taste that wouldn't go away no matter how much water I tried to drown it out with. The constant reminder was always there.

I pretended to sleep, knowing that I probably wouldn't get much actual sleeping done tonight. Trust brimmed so little of my heart, and I couldn't afford any errors in my plan. I needed to get my mother, get out, and go back to Saint. Not only that, but I couldn't fathom the thought of Viktor touching me. It left an itch as if a bug was crawling on my skin. Not after knowing that the pads of his fingertips touched the green pieces of paper that brought him fortune only at the sacrifice of other people's lives.

The car's engine purred underneath me as we drove. The bald guard was in the passenger seat, the driver was driving, and Viktor was beside me. Thankfully, he didn't make any move to bother my peaceful slumber. I could hear the bald guard happily typing away on his phone—probably to a wife, or even a parent. The way his typing seemed so fast after the sound of his notification blasting through the car was enough of an indication to make me believe it was someone important.

"Can you silence your fucking phone?" Viktor asked over the typing sound.

"Sorry, boss," the bald guard muttered.

Silence filled the car again. Not soon after, Viktor began to speak, "what took you so long with her earlier? You know that Venturi and Rubino were at the club tonight."

"S-Sir, she was doing her, uh, lady stuff," the guard stammered. I had to hold back a laugh.

"Did you take your eyes off of her at any point?" Viktor asked. "And don't lie to me."

"No, sir," he said. "Other than, uh, to retrieve the pads, sit."

Viktor sighed, leaning back in his seat. "Good. I can't risk losing her. Not after I just got her," he said more to himself than anyone else in the car. However, I was sure that everyone heard him loud and clear as silence fell over us again like a thick blanket.

Not too soon after, we were back at the brothel. I yawned myself awake and groggily glanced out the window to see the one place I hated more than anything. It looked like a nice house on the outside, reminding me of Saint's safe house. It was just a modern suburban home that was surrounded by trees rather than other houses.

From the outside, no one would be able to see the true depths of darkness until they walked in.

"You're awake," Viktor announced.

I yawned again for extra measures, slowly nodding my head. Before we left the club, I pretended to throw up twice, acting as though the liquor was really getting to me.

"Come on. I'll help you inside," Viktor said, getting out of the car and walking around to assist me. I watched him pull open the door and carefully lift me out of the vehicle. His arm lingered on my waist as a leash keeping me at a safe distance from my owner.

"You know, maybe tomorrow I'll take you to my actual place. I would take you tonight but I figured you'd want to stay closer to your mother before her departure tomorrow morning," he said.

I wasn't sure if the last sentence was a lie or the truth. I was skeptical of his every word. Maybe because for as long as I've known him, everything had been an act. It was still difficult for me to comprehend that Giovanni never existed. He was like a character in a book or a movie, made up but so real.

"Thank you," I stammered.

He chuckled, guiding me into the brothel with the guard and driver quickly following behind us. The bald guy walked over to the front door and whipped out a set of keys. There were multiple locks to the front door, so many that even a innocent mind that had eno clue what was going on in th house would be skeptical.

After unlocking every lock, the door swung open and both Viktor and I stepped into the house followed by a creek.

The driver flipped a switch that turned on a light so I could actually take in my surroundings. The house had no furniture. There was a small kitchen not too far from where I stood by the door. It was small and happened to be the only room in the house with some type of furniture—an oven, a microwave, and a stove.

"I have a room for us just up these stairs," Viktor stated, walking me toward a staircase. I glanced up to the top of the stairs to see nothing but darkness.

We continued to walk up the wooden staircase until we were at the last step, gazing down a familiar hallway.

There was no light, but my eyes quickly adjusted to get some type of visual.

Viktor walked me into a room. He turned on the light so that I was able to see a large bed against the wall. Unlike the room my mother was in, there wasn't just a plain mattress on the floor. It was an entire bed that was covered in ivory silk sheets and pillowcases and a huge beige blanket. The room didn't hold the same stench that the other rooms held. It was clean. It was fresh. It was actually humane.

What was this room for?

"I sometimes have to stay here when I'm short on men, or when I have to hide out," he answered my unasked question.

"I'm tired." I yawned groggily. Despite pretending I could care less, I wanted to know more.

Without waiting for him to say another word, I laid down in his bed and forced my eyes closed. My heart was beating over a mile a minute and my mind wouldn't stop jumping from one thought to another. I was grateful to hear his footsteps descending into what I'm assuming was the bathroom.

As I laid there, I hoped that after tomorrow morning, everything would work out and I would finally have my mother back.

—

It's a short chapter and I'm sorry for taking so long with the update. I haven't been feeling very motivated lately. I'm also soo sad because my story "Sin of Innocence" was deleted from Wattpad for no reason :/ This is why I hate this app/website sometimes.

Anyways, I appreciate you all for being here! I'll be quicker with the next update. Also, happy late late late birthday to my nattypooh LOVE YA!