Chapter 68
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Lily
My eyelids flutter open, the harsh fluorescent lights above stinging my eyes.
Instinctively, I try to shield my face with my arm, but I’m unable to move.
The space feels cold. Confusion floods my mind.
The rhythmic thump of my heart echoes in my ears as I take in my surroundings: white walls, medical equipment, and the unmistakable scent of antiseptic.
I realize I’m lying down with the nurse who took me, sitting on one side, and an unfamiliar person sitting on the other.
“So, this is Liliana Andretti,” the bald man covered in tattoos says with an evil smile. “I hear you’re a hot commodity around here.”
“Who the fuck are you?” I spit out, even though I feel dizzy and my body is still recovering.
A deep chuckle comes out of his mouth. “Such a feisty little thing.”
His presence sends chills down my spine, and I instinctively try to sit up, only to find my limbs restrained with sturdy straps. My gut tells me he is far more dangerous than Vidalia.
“What do you want from me?” Panic bubbles inside me, but I fight to keep it at bay.
His accent is thick, the words rolling off his tongue like a sinister melody. “My name is Viktor, and I’m here to settle a little debt.”
“A debt?” My heart races as I struggle against the bindings. “What do you mean? I don’t know you!”
Viktor chuckles, the sound low and menacing. “Ah, no, but your mother knows me very well. She’s quite fond of borrowing money. You see, she owes me a great deal—a debt that she has failed to repay.”
“What debt?” My stomach twists, the realization crashing over me like a cold wave.
Viktor leans closer, a predatory smile on his lips.
“She has a few gambling debts that she needed paid off. She was keeping up with payments up until she wasn’t.
Took you as collateral the first time and made half my money back.
When I heard you made it back home, I thought I’d sell you off again and make back my other half.
But with this wound, your price tag has dropped. ”
“You should be taking this up directly with her. Not with me!”
“I wouldn’t get anywhere near what I got for you. Your mother is a good-looking woman, but at her age, no one would buy her,” he replies, his tone laced with amusement. “I could get your little sister. What’s her name? Serafina?”
I struggle to get free. “You’re a dead man walking!”
“I’m not a man who takes kindly to being crossed.” His finger trails down my cheek.
“Let me go!” I shout with rage. “You have no right to be taking girls off the streets, you sick monster!”
Viktor straightens, his expression hardening.
“Rights? In my world, there are no rights, only power. And I have it.” He leans back against the wall of the ambulance, crossing his arms. “Your mother has a short window to make this right. Until then, you will stay with me. If she doesn’t, back to the cage you go. ”
I feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “So, Vidalia works for you?”
“Vidalia?” he echoes with a raised eyebrow, his lips curling into a smirk.
“I paid him to capture you and turn me a profit from selling you.” He pauses, studying me intently.
“Apparently, he wants you to himself but couldn’t get the funds to match the winning bidder.
Apparently to another Costello rival. If I knew what kind of hot commodity you were going to be, I would’ve taken you sooner. ”
I scream as I struggle to break free, but it’s no use.
“You’re strong, Liliana. I admire that. It makes this... arrangement more interesting.”
His gaze softens for just a moment. “Your mother’s choices have led her here, and now you will bear the consequences of her actions.”
The nurse pulls out a needle. “Time for a nap.”
I wake up to the gentle touch of a damp cloth against my face, a gasp escaping my lips as the coolness brushes my skin. For a moment, it feels soothing, but then reality crashes in like a tidal wave. I’m not having a nightmare; I’m not in the hospital.
My body jolts upright, but pain shoots through my wound, forcing me back onto the bed, breathless and panicked.
“Lily,” a calm, familiar voice calls out, cutting through the haze of confusion.
When my eyes meet Farrah’s, holding the wet cloth with a look of concern, a rush of emotions overwhelms me. I contort my face, shaking my head violently. “No. NO!”
“How did you get back here?” she asks, her voice steady yet tinged with worry.
Desperation surges within me as I struggle to sit up, but everything feels heavy. “They took me again. I was free. Farrah, you have to help me escape. I know you can,” I plead, my voice trembling with desperation.
“I can’t do that,” she replies, reaching out to comfort me, but I pull away.
“Yes, you can!” I plead, my heart racing.
“Even so, I won’t help you.” She dips the cloth into a bowl of water, her movements methodical, almost robotic, as she extends her hand toward me.
“Get away from me!” I hiss, with a mix of rage and sorrow. “I can’t even look at you with an ounce of respect. Helping these monsters!”
She stands tall, a flicker of hurt crossing her face. “You don’t have to respect me, Lily.”
“It’s Liliana,” I correct her, my voice sharp.
“Liliana.” She nods, then she turns to walk away, and an ache wells up inside me.
“What do you know about me being here?” The question hangs in the air, heavy with dread.
If they allow her to roam freely, surely she’s heard things—things that can give me some more insight into why I’m being targeted.
“I—” she begins, but I cut her off, frustration boiling over.
“Don’t bullshit me! You must have overheard them talking.” I clutch my side, pain searing through me, but I push it aside, desperate for answers.
Her eyes soften with pity, but it only ignites my anger.
“I know an older woman who looks very much like you—your mother, I assume—used to come to the underground poker games. She was good. Really good. But when Viktor learned who she was, it was only a matter of time before he got her in his trap. That’s how they work.
They lure you in with tempting offers, knowing the more you win, the deeper you fall.
She was on a winning streak until one night, everything spiraled out of control.
She almost lost her house. Viktor offered her a good sum of money but with high interest. She took it anyway. Payments ceased about a year ago.”
The pieces click into place, the timeline unraveling painfully. “So, I’m the collateral,” I whisper, horrified. “Why can’t you help me? I can make sure you’re free too.”
Her response is a heavy blow. “They have my daughter. If I breathe the wrong way, she’ll be killed.”
A cold realization washes over me. There’s no changing her mind. And knowing these monsters have a little girl in their possession is sickening.
“How old is she?”
“Five,” she replies, a bittersweet smile breaking through her tears. “I got to wave hello to her after I pulled you off that boat the first time.” Her voice cracks, and I can see the fear and love intertwining in her eyes. “I don’t know if she even remembers who I am.”