Alessia's heart raced as she sat pinned to the bed with the mysterious man sitting opposite her.
"Let us begin," he said, his tone measured and unyielding. "State your name."
Alessia remained silent, her defiant stare locked on him, even tho her heart continued to race.
He studied her for a moment, then, with a snap of his fingers, one of the men restraining her hand wrenched her finger backwards, breaking it.
The crack rang out, followed by her scream, raw and echoing off the walls.
It was like her hand had been struck by lightning, blinding, and merciless. The crack still echoed in her head. Heat surged through her finger, it swelled until it felt twice its size, every heartbeat pounding against the fracture. Even the whisper of air brushing over it sent needles racing up her arm.
She clenched her teeth, eyes squeezing shut as waves of pain surged through her, her heart rate increased, she tried to reach for her broken finger but she remained restrained, unable to move.
"I will ask you again," the man said, each word clipped and precise, "your name."
"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked, her voice trembling but edged with anger.
"An unfortunate response… and an incorrect one." His tone remained calm and detached.
Her second finger was snapped, and a second scream tore from her throat as she felt the overwhelming pain. It felt like it was shooting up her arm and down her spine until her body trembled uncontrollably. Sweat beaded her brow as the agony robbed her of strength. She never knew that having two fingers broken could feel so painful.
"The next," he said, voice dropping lower, "will not be a finger. It will be something you value far more."
"Ale… ssia," she breathed, "My name is Alessia Wrenleigh."
"Wrenleigh?" His brow lifted faintly. "What does Dominic want with a dead mafia family?"
Her eyes blazed despite the tears streaking her face. "My family isn't dead."
"Even through pain," he murmured, almost as if to himself, "you cling to defiance. Admirable… and dangerous."
He leaned forward slightly. "Now, tell me, what is your relationship with Dominic?"
She was about to blurt it out before hesitating. Her breath was uneven and her mind raced. 'I can't tell him about my relationship with Dominic. I still don't know who he is or what he wants. He could use it against me.'
"Dominic is my husband," she said.
"Husband?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "What does he stand to gain by marrying a nobody? You moved in with him two days ago, and now you are his wife?"
'How does he know that?' she thought.
"You're wrong," she answered.
"Wrong? Then, by all means… enlighten me."
"It is true that I just moved in with him, but our relationship has existed for over fifteen years," she said firmly. 'He's not part of the council. If he were, he'd know why Dominic and I just got married.'
"Interesting…" he said as he rose to his feet and walked slowly and elegantly towards the door. "I find myself curious to see how this ends. You, my dear, are a threat to him. He will be here in roughly twenty minutes. Let us discover whether he arrives in time… or whether he finds only the ruin he could not prevent." He said as he left the room.
The guards yanked Alessia to her feet and dragged her out of the room and into an open space that looked like an abandoned parking lot.
"Where are we on that tracker?" Dominic asked as he sat on a chair in his living room, feeling restless.
"She should be done any moment now," Vivienne replied smoothly, sitting elegantly with a glass of wine in her hand wah she slowly took a sip from it.
"Done!" the young girl with round glasses and a black ponytail exclaimed from across the room, eyes locked on her laptop.
"Where is she?" Dominic asked as he shot up from his seat.
"According to the tracker in her necklace, she's thirty-five miles from here at the McGreg's abandoned hotel."
Dominic bolted out from the living room, striding out to the compound. He got into his car and drove off, and five others followed close behind.
He drove fast with his jaw clenched. "Please be fine, Aly," he whispered under his breath as he stepped harder on the pedal, dodging cars and traffic as if he were in a car racing competition.
Dominic arrived at the abandoned hotel and his car came to a stop, he came out of the car, and soon after the other cars arrived as well and armed men came out from the cars.
"Find her," he ordered.
"Yes, boss!" they replied in unison and scattered to different locations.
Dominic searched the dusty halls, scanning each empty room. He was in a room that had her scent in it and just as he was about to leave, he saw something that caught the light, a single diamond earring.
He picked it up, scanning it. "This… is from the set I ordered for Aly." His grip tightened as he pushed forward.
As he continued searching the building, he got to a wide-open space, where he saw her at the center of the place, strapped to a chair.
"Aly!" He called out as he ran towards her.
Her tear-streaked face turned toward him, sweat plastering loose strands of hair to her skin. Her wedding dress was torn and dirty, and the hem was frayed.
He got to where she was strapped but widened his eyes in shock as he saw a bomb strapped to her. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she was covered in sweat.
"Don't worry Aly, nothing is going to happen to you." He said as he gently pulled out the tape that covered her mouth.
"Dominic…" she breathed, her voice shaking.
"Don't cry, Aly. I'll get you out of this. Nothing is going to happen to you…I promise."