Chapter 4 Vengeful Heart

• "Wh…Who are you? Where do you want to take me? I won’t go with you anywhere..." Leah screamed, her voice shaking as fresh tears blurred her vision. Fear wrapped around her like chains, squeezing the breath out of her chest.
• "Leah, run," Tessa cried out.
• Bang!
• A gunshot rang through the room. Leah’s body stiffened in horror as she saw Tessa collapse to the floor, clutching her leg in pain.
• "No!" Leah shrieked, jumping out of the bed and rushing toward her.
• Tessa’s face twisted in agony, but she still tried to push Leah away. "No… ru..run, please… Y...You have to s...save yourself, L...Leah…" she whispered in a weak and shaky voice.
• Leah hesitated, her eyes darting toward the four masked men standing in front of her. They were just waiting, watching her and ready to take her away. Then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted the big window across the room. It wasn’t close, but if she ran fast enough, she might make it.
• Before they could figure out what she was thinking, she bolted toward the window.
• "Catch her... Don’t shoot... We need her alive..." one of them yelled.
• Leah’s heart pounded in her chest as she ran as fast as she could, but in her panic, she slammed into the couch hard.
• Thud! She crashed onto the floor, hitting her forehead. Pain exploded through her skull, and she whimpered, trying to get back up. But before she could even move, strong hands grabbed her.
• "Please… Leave me. I don’t wanna go," Leah struggled, kicking and thrashing.
• "What a dumb thing," one of them snickered, and the others chuckled.
• "Tie her up," the man ordered.
• Tessa, still clutching her bleeding leg, tried to plead one last time. "Let her..."
• Bang! Another gunshot.
• Leah’s body froze as she watched Tessa’s head snap back, her body dropping to the floor. Blood poured out, staining the white floor beneath her.
• "N..No..." Leah gasped, her breath catching in her throat.
• "What did she think she was? Her rescuer?" the man who shot her scoffed.
• Leah failed to move or breathe. She couldn’t believe the horror unfold in front of her eyes.
• Tessa was gone. They mercilessly murdered an innocent lady just because she was trying to save her.
• Suddenly, rough hands forced her arms behind her back, tying her wrists together. A cloth was shoved into her mouth, muffling the scream that was about to tear out of her.
• She wanted to fight and break free. But she couldn’t.
• Her eyes stayed locked on Tessa’s lifeless body, her mind refusing to accept the truth. The last person who had cared for her was now… dead.
• A sharp cry escaped her lips, but it was swallowed by the cloth around her mouth.
• As they began dragging her out of the room, Leah’s vision blurred. Her head felt dizzy, her body weak. And then, everything went black.
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• "Ander… That motherfucker… How dare he mess with me?"
• Damian’s furious scream echoed through the room as he knocked down the table in front of him. The chess pieces scattered across the floor, rolling in different directions. His hands clenched into fists, his jaw so tight that his gums hurt.
• His blood was boiling. Everything in front of his eyes turned red. The only thing that could calm his anger was watching Ander Paredes beg for mercy before he slowly gave him the most agonizing death possible.
• One of Damian’s weapons houses was blown up. And it was done by Ander.
• Damian had expected something like this. He knew Ander would try a pathetic stunt, just like his father, Miguel Paredes, did with Damian’s father years ago. But that old fight ended with Miguel’s defeat. Damian’s father destroyed Miguel and made their mafia empire even stronger in Spain.
• But now, it seemed like the Paredes family just couldn’t accept their loss.
• Unlike his father, who had spared Miguel, Damian wouldn’t make the same mistake. No. He was going to wipe out their entire bloodline.He would destroy every last member of the Paredes family so that no one would ever dare to mess with him again.
• Damian had already proven how much crueler he was than his father. It was his ruthlessness that made his empire stronger than ever. It was why he became one of the most feared billionaires in the underworld of Spain.
• And yet, a rat like Ander Paredes dared to challenge him. Dared to destroy something that belonged to him and mess with his business.
• As Damian sat there, imagining all the ways he could kill Ander, the door to his office opened. His most trusted associate, Chris, stepped inside.
• "Boss, our men just informed us that Ander escaped... We failed to catch him..." Chris informed Damian with disappointment.
• Damian’s eyes darkened, but a dangerous smirk curled on his lips.
• "So, he dared to destroy my weapons house but didn’t have the balls to face the consequences? Such a fucking pussy." He let out a low chuckle, but his whole by were burning with rage.
• All he needed was to kill that bastard.
• "What about his father?" Damian asked coldly. "I told you to bring Miguel. He obviously knows where his son is hiding. I bet he was even the mastermind behind the blast."
• His voice was icy, but Chris could see the madness in his boss’s eyes. He knew Damian wouldn’t stop until his enemies paid for what they did.
• He hesitated at first, knowing this upcoming news would only make Damian angrier.
• "Sorry, Boss... He also escaped. As far as we know, he's hiding somewhere outside Spain..."
• Before Damian could react, Chris’s phone started ringing.
• He quickly accepted the call.
• "What? Kidnap her?" Chris’s eyes widened in shock. He listened for a moment, then nodded quickly. "Really? Okay, I’m informing the Boss… Don’t let her go anywhere." He then cut the call and turned to Damian.
• “What is it?” Damian asked being confused.
• Chris took a deep breath before delivering the news. “Boss, our men caught someone else… It’s Miguel’s daughter.”
• Damian’s brows furrowed. “Miguel Paredes has a daughter?”
• He had never heard of that before.
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• "Boss, here she is..." Scott, one of Damian's most loyal men apart from Chris, led Damian into the torture room of his warehouse basement. There was an unconscious woman tied to a chair. Her head hung forward, and her long milky brown hair covered her face.
• Scott grabbed her head, making it straight, and tore the cloth from her mouth.
• Damian’s eyes shot up in surprise. She looked like she was barely even twenty. He stepped closer to get a better look, and he couldn’t deny how mesmerizing she was.
• She had an angelic face with dark, medium-arched brows, a small button nose, high cheekbones, and plump lips. His eyes slowly roamed over her body. Even though she was covered in a sweatshirt and pants, her perfect curves were still prominent.
• Beautiful. Almost ethereal.
• But then something else caught his attention. His eyes narrowed when he noticed her exposed, snow-white neck. There were fresh bruises which looked like hickeys and bite marks. There was also a fresh cut on her forehead.
• Damian’s temper flared up once again. His jaw clenched, and without warning, he turned to Scott and punched his face hard.
• Scott stumbled back, losing his balance.
• "Boss...!" Scott gasped, holding his bruised cheek in shock.
• "How dare you to rape her?! Did you forget our rule? We do not force women!" Damian snarled, pulling out his gun.
• Scott swallowed hard, his face turning pale.
• "Bo... Boss... None of us touched her sexually."
• "Really? Then what are all these bruises and the cut?" Damian snapped, pointing at her injuries.
• "I don’t know, Boss! The bruises were already there when we kidnapped her. She injured her forehead trying to escape," Scott explained quickly.
• Then, after a second, he added, "Maybe she was fucking her brother..."
• Damian’s eyes widened in disgust. His admiration for her shattered instantly. No matter how much those bruises bothered him, the thought of how she got them sickened him even more.
• "Are you sure?" Damian asked as he still couldn't quite believe what he just heard.
• Scott shrugged.
• "Isn’t it obvious, Boss? Ander is a piece of shit, and so is his sister. What else do you expect from those siblings?"
• Damian stared at her face again. But now, instead of mesmerization, all he felt was hatred.
• "Let me know when she wakes up," Damian muttered before turning and walking out of the basement.