~ Zoie's POV ~
The air was cold and eerie inside the mansion, it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Zoie looked around and noted the number of men guarding the area. There were about twenty people. They kept walking until they reached a long hallway. A part of this hallway seemed newly built, like it was just reconstructed. It even had a ceiling and a door.
"Come on," Giulio yanked her forward and pushed her to keep walking.
On the other side of the door, they arrived into a big room with red brick walls. In the middle of the room was a big wooden table. Standing next to the table was an old man wearing a white shirt. Giulio stopped walking and turned to Zoie. He pulled the duct tape off her mouth and it ripped her skin.
"Ouch!" she yelped.
Ignoring her cries, Giulio pushed her forward until she hit the wooden table. He pushed her down until she lay flat on that table. Zoie started kicking and fighting, but the man in the white shirt was quick to grab her legs. There were chains tied to the legs of the table and the man cuffed each of her ankles to the table.
"W-what are you gonna do to me?" Zoie croaked. "Are you gonna kill me?"
"Kill you? Oh, no. No, princess. We can't kill our golden goose," Giulio laughed as he tied her hands above her head to the legs of the table. "We're gonna keep you alive for as long as possible, and you're gonna lay many, many golden eggs for us,"
Zoie didn't know what was happening, but she was lying on that table with her hands and feet tied down. She looked around for help, but there was no one in the room except for Giulio and the old man.
"W-what are you doing?!" she flinched as the old man put a toolbox down in between her legs, pushing her legs further apart.
"You see, princess, I know your father is a very powerful man," Giulio continued talking as the old man was silent. "I will not be able to defeat him by pure strength alone. I don't have the number or the resources. But what I do have is a brilliant mind to think outside of the box,"
The old man pulled out a pair of latex gloves from inside the box. He put the gloves on his hands and the slapping sound pierced the air.
"I've sent your father a letter," Giulio continued talking. "It's an invitation addressed to the Van Zandt family. Now, I'm sure, your father, being the important person that he is, will not step foot into this place by himself. He's gonna bring an army. But I told him, if anyone other than the Van Zandt men enters the premises, we will kill you. So he will probably not do that. But what will he do instead? He will send your brothers in,"
The old man then pushed Zoie's nightgown up above her legs. Zoie struggled to move, but the ropes weren't relenting. He then took a scissor out of the box.
"Zach, Zander, and Zane, correct?" Giulio laughed. "When the three men enter, we will give them a warm welcome, followed by several bullets to their heads,"
"No!" Zoie yelped. The old man cut through the fabric of her underwear. She was completely exposed to him now while Giulio was watching with eager eyes.
"Oh, yes! And your father will be furious, I'm sure. But what happens then? He's got no heirs left and you're the only remaining child he has! He's gonna do everything in his power to make sure his beloved daughter stays alive, even if that means letting you carry on the DeSantis legacy,"
Giulio stood next to her face and he gripped her cheeks forcefully with his hand.
"I'm not carrying the DeSantis legacy!" she spat.
"Are you sure about that?" Giulio smirked menacingly. He then turned to the old man and nodded his head.
"W-what are you doing?"
"This is Dr. Romano and he's going to take care of that IUD you put in a couple of months ago," Giulio said with a wink. "Oh, don't ask me how I know. I'm a diligent student, I'm always doing my homework,"
"This is going to hurt a little," the old man spoke finally. He took out a speculum and a pair of ring forceps.
"No! Please! Stop!" Zoie shook her head as terror filled her eyes. "No! NO!!!"
Zoie's entire body bucked up. Every fiber of her being felt like exploding. She felt so violated. She felt the cold metal penetrating her insides and no matter how hard she fought, she couldn't break free. She could only close her eyes as her ears were filled with Giulio's disgusting laughter.
Someone... Please... Help me...
"This will be easier if you don't fight back," the old man said.
"Should I just put her under?" Giulio asked the man. The old man just shrugged.
Giulio grabbed something from the toolbox, it was a syringe filled with God knows what. He stabbed her in the neck and within seconds, Zoie lost consciousness again.
Please...
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When Zoie opened her eyes next, the first thing she saw was the cold hard cement that was the ground. She was lying on the ground, not on the table anymore. She tried to move, but her body was sore like it had been through some kind of war. And when she tried to move her legs, she heard the sound of chains moving. Her ankles were cuffed with chains to the wall.
"Did you have a good sleep?"
Giulio's voice cut through the air. Zoie shuddered in response. Her body felt tense all of a sudden, and a pit was forming in her chest.
"Oh yes, welcome back to reality," he spoke again, chuckling menacingly. "In case you're wondering, this is not a dream,"
Zoie glanced down at her feet. Using all her strength, she propped her body up on her elbow, and she saw that her nightgown was dirty and stained with blood.
"W...what...?" her voice cracked.
"You were bleeding," Giulio said, walking over and bending down in front of her face. "Dr. Romano said it's normal, it happens sometimes,"
Zoie looked up at him in terror.
"What did you do to me?"
"Nothing," he smirked. "Yet,"
Zoie crawled back, as far back as she could until she hit the corner of the room. That was as far as the chains would let her go. Giulio let out a chuckle as he walked closer. All of Zoie's attempts to get away from him were futile.
"What? You think I'm gonna force myself on an unconscious girl? No, I'm better than that," he scoffed. "I like it when they're conscious better. So they can see and feel everything,"
Zoie swallowed hard. Everything in her was trembling in fear.
"Please, don't do this..." she begged. "I'll do anything... I can talk to my dad... He can give you money-"
"Money?!" Giulio laughed. "Your dad killed my entire family, do you think a few million dollars can fix that?"
Zoie racked her brain trying to make sense of this situation. What can she say or do to save herself?
"He never told you about what he did, did he? Do you even know who he is?" Giulio continued, leaning his face closer to Zoie's. "He's Damon Van Zandt, the silent killer, the mafia king of the world!"
Zoie couldn't even react. So she just stared at him helplessly.
"Well, since you don't seem to know what I'm talking about, here's a small history lesson for you," he said, taking a step back and it allowed her some room to breathe. "Once upon a time, Hugo DeSantis was the most powerful man in all of Southern Italy. He was the big boss, the godfather, yes, even to your father. Your father was just a small-time ring leader in New Jersey, but my grandfather was fond of him. He thought highly of Damon. So much so that he agreed on letting Damon marry Celina, his only daughter. But right before their wedding, Damon betrayed my grandfather. He brought his men and other families from the United States to stage a coup. My grandfather was killed then and my Aunt Celina ran away. She ran straight to my father, her half-brother, because there was no one else that she could trust. My father helped her broker an alliance with Mark Benzino, an up and coming man from another powerful family. Aunt Celina and Mark were supposed to lay low while they built an army, but for some reason, she couldn't stay away. She went back, kidnapped your mom, and tried to fight Damon on her own. But of course, she lost that battle. Your dad killed her, put several bullets through her head. Then, he went after everyone else. He killed Mark Benzino and all of his men. And he went after my dad too. All of my uncles, and every last person that was ever involved with Hugo DeSantis. They were all dead. They burned my father with his brothers in their house while I was just six months old. Luckily for me, a maid managed to escape and she took me with him. I was supposed to be a boy from a powerful family and instead, I was raised dirt poor on a farm with cows by a housemaid and her friends,"
Giulio was pacing around the room as he talked. Zoie's eyes glanced from side to side, looking for a way out. There was only one door into this room and there were no windows. The door was heavy and made of metal. And no doubt there would be guards on the other side of that door.
"But hey, if you're feeling sad for me, don't be," Giulio said, returning back to stand in front of Zoie. "I think my story's about to take a turn for the better,"
Zoie looked up at him, trying her best to stay strong.
"Your plan's not gonna work," she said, "My dad has an entire army at his disposal. You don't stand a chance,"
"I don't need to kill him," Giulio shook his head. "I just need to get rid of all of your brothers and make you carry a child. My child. And I think that's more of a poetic end, don't you think? Killing your father is too easy. But this, making him live with this, now that's what I call ironic,"
Giulio bent down and his eyes were scanning her body. He licked his lips as his finger went to graze the side of her hips and down her thighs. Zoie's skin crawled at his touch.
"You're not gonna get rid of my brothers that easily either," she said, forcing out every ounce of bravery she had left.
Giulio let out a triumphant smirk.
"Have you ever been to the Middle East?" he asked. "Probably not. Daddy dearest never let you leave anywhere, did he? Well, I spent some time in the Middle East a few years back and I made some business acquaintances there. I did some trading, heroin for explosives, and long story short, a friend of mine, Ahmed, helped me build a bomb. Yes, the one you're wearing on your neck right now,"
Zoie looked down and that's when she realized there was a device stuck to her neck like a collar. It was light enough that she didn't notice it before. It was made of leather, but there was a small, square device stuck to it and a red light was blinking.
"If your dad or your brothers don't do what I tell them to do, I'm gonna blow you up. Simple as that. So, yes, I'm sure they'll be very cordial with me," Giulio said, smiling that obnoxious smile.
"You're not gonna do that. You need me alive for your plan to work," she said.
"For Plan A to work, yes. But I also have a Plan B in case your father or brothers aren't cooperating with me," he said. He tilted her face up with his hand and gripped her chin tightly. "I'm not afraid to die, little princess. I've lost everything I had and that makes me a very dangerous man because I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. But you and your family, on the hand, have everything to lose and nothing to gain,"
Zoie was shuddering in fear. Giulio's face was only an inch away from her. His grip on her face was so tight, it was hurting her too.
"Now, if you learned anything from our lesson today is that it's gonna hurt a lot less if you don't fight back,"
Zoie wanted to speak, to yell or scream, but Giulio's hand forced her mouth closed. She tried to push him away with her hands, but it was no use. He was too strong. He didn't even budge. He simply climbed on top of her and his body weight was crushing her bones.
Please! Someone, help me!
And at that moment, when her life flashed before her eyes, Asher's face came to mind. Zoie scrunched her eyes closed and tears fell off her face. She was helpless. She couldn't breathe, let alone move. Giulio positioned his knees in between her legs and he pushed them further apart. She didn't have any underwear and she was vulnerably exposed. She then felt his rough, dirty hand clawing into her skin. She heard the sound of his belt unbuckling, and something hard was being pressed against her lower stomach.
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~ Asher's POV ~
Asher and about twenty men arrived at the woods in a mountain near Sicily. It was the location marked on the map. They followed it to the dot, but there was nothing in sight except for tall trees. And finally, after an hour of searching the woods, Liam finally found something.
"Over here!" he yelled.
All the guys went over in his direction. Asher pushed past the guards to get to Liam. They were standing around a big pine tree. On the tree, there was another piece of paper nailed to the bark. It had a picture of another map.
"What is this?" Zander asked.
"Looks like a decoy," Zane replied. "He's trying to play games,"
"Or to buy time," Zach added.
"We can't give him any more time," Landon said.
"Mikey, can you still track her phone?" Asher turned to Mikey who had his laptop on hand.
"Yeah," he said as he began typing furiously. "It's not too far from here, about two hundred miles south,"
"According to the map here, he's telling us to go north," Liam said, pointing at the paper.
"Which way do we go?" Zander asked.
Everyone looked at each other, not sure of what to do. Damon also didn't say a word.
"Let's go south," Asher said.
"Are you sure?" Zane asked. "They might've dumped her phone somewhere,"
Asher thought about it for a moment. He might be wrong about this, but he had a gut feeling. She was close. He could feel it.
"South," he said again.
Everyone turned to Damon for confirmation. Damon locked eyes with Asher and Asher gave him a reassuring look.
"Alright," Damon said. "Let's move,"
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- - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - - -