Chapter 11
“Welcome back, Boss?” I repeated, my voice trembling. “Boss?” I turned to Lorenzo, who hadn’t taken his eyes off me.
His lips curved into that familiar smile, but it held a different weight now. He guided me toward a metal chair in the corner. “Sit, bella. You wanted the truth.”
My legs shook as I sank into the cold seat. The men’s whimpers and pleas filled the concrete room.
Lorenzo turned to his subordinate. “What did these gentlemen do to deserve such hospitality?”
“They crossed lines, Boss. Tried selling information about Constantine International to our competitors.” The man’s voice was flat, emotionless. “We caught them before any real damage was done.”
Lorenzo nodded, walking slowly past each hanging man. His footsteps echoed with each deliberate step. He paused before the first one, studying him like a curator examining artwork.
“Lower them,” he commanded.
Metal chains creaked. The men descended toward large metal tanks filled with water beneath them. My heart stopped as I realized what was about to happen.
“No!” I leaped from the chair. “Lorenzo, stop!”
The first man’s head submerged. Bubbles erupted as he thrashed against his restraints. The second followed, then the third.
*Please!” I screamed, rushing toward him. “You’re killing them!” Lorenzo caught my arm, holding me back as the men struggled underwater. Their movements grew weaker with each passing second.
“This is who I am, Valentina,” he said quietly. “This is the truth you wanted.” I stared at Lorenzo, then back at the thrashing men in the water tanks. Their movements were getting weaker by the second. My stomach churned.
“Stop! Please, I’ve seen enough!” I screamed, my voice breaking. “Make it stop!”
Lorenzo’s lips curved into a cold smile. He raised his hand in a swift motion. “Pull them up.”
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The chains creaked as his men yanked the prisoners from the water. They came up gasping and coughing, water streaming down their faces.
Lorenzo guided me toward the door, his hand firm on my lower back. But before we could leave, he turned to his subordinate. “Tell her what else these
men have done.”
The subordinate’s face darkened. “We found evidence of their other activities, Boss. Human trafficking ring. They’ve been kidnapping women, selling them overseas. At least twelve confirmed murders of girls who tried to escape. Three cases of gang rape just last month.”
My blood ran cold. The room started spinning as bile rose in my throat.
Lorenzo’s voice cut through my horror. “So tell me, cara mia – what would you have me do? Should I show mercy?” His eyes locked with mine. “Should I let them go with a warning, knowing they’ll continue destroying innocent lives?”
I looked at the men hanging there, seeing them in a completely different light now. These weren’t just corporate thieves. These were monsters who’d brutalized women, stolen lives, shattered families.
“What’s your answer, Valentina?” Lorenzo’s voice was soft but demanding. “Should I stop?”
I stared at the men hanging there, water dripping from their clothes. My mind raced with conflicting thoughts. Who was I to decide if someone lived or died? That kind of power shouldn’t belong to anyone.
But as I watched them, their faces morphed into Dominic’s sneering expression. I remembered how he’d tormented me, broken me down piece by piece. These men had done far worse to countless women. They’d stolen lives, destroyed families, inflicted pain that would echo through generations.
The memories of my own trauma crashed over me – the isolation, the fear, the helplessness. How many women had felt that same terror at these monsters‘ hands? How many hadn’t survived to tell their stories?
“Drown them.” The words left my lips without hesitation, cold and final.
Lorenzo’s deep laugh filled the concrete room. It wasn’t warm or friendly – it was the laugh of a predator pleased with its prey. His hand found the small of my back as he guided me toward the exit.
“You heard the lady,” he called over his shoulder to his men.
As we walked away, the sound of chains creaking and water splashing echoed behind us. I didn’t look back. The screams that followed grew muffled,
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then silent.
Lorenzo’s grip on my waist tightened as we made our way back through the winding corridors. I couldn’t tell if the gesture was possessive or protective. Maybe it was both.
“Now that’s the woman I love.” Lorenzo’s voice carried a dark pride that sent shivers down my spine.
He spun me around to face him, his hands gripping my shoulders. His eyes blazed with an intensity I’d never seen before. “This strength inside you, this fire – this is what I’ve been waiting to see. You’re not meant to be a victim, Valentina. You’re meant to take justice into your own hands when needed.”
My heart raced as his words sank in. The weight of what I’d just done – ordering those men’s deaths – should have crushed me. But instead, I felt… powerful. Free. Like I’d finally shed the last remnants of that scared, broken girl Dominic had created.
Lorenzo’s thumb traced my jawline, tilting my face up to his. “This is the truth you wanted, cara mia. This is who I am – Lorenzo Constantine, the strongest mafia lord on this continent. The man whose enemies whisper my name in fear, whose word can build empires or destroy them in a breath.”
His other hand slid down to the small of my back, pulling me closer until I could feel the heat radiating from his body. “The question is, Valentina – will you accept me? Will you take your place as the queen beside my throne?”
