"Please don't kill my dad, I don't want any of these either. Just let us go" Daisy said as tears rolled down her eyes. A deadly bargain. A dangerous marriage. A desperate fight for survival. Daisy sacrifices her freedom to save her father's life, but her marriage to Giovanni Marino may be her deadliest mistake. HiTrapped in a world of family secrets, lies and betrayal, she must navigate the treacherous landscape of the Marino family's power struggles and must confront the darkest corners of her own heart. Will she succumb to the darkness that has consumed her husband's soul, or will she risk everything to escape the nightmare that has become her life? Dive into this intriguing and captivating story.
Chapter 1 The Ultimatum
Daisy POV
I woke up with a shock, a chill of fear ran down my spine. My mind foggy, memories elusive, I struggled to recall the events that led me to this strange, dark place. But my thoughts were shrouded in a haze, like a misty dawn that refused to lift.
As I lifted my heavy head, a wave of dizziness washed over me, like I'd been hit on the head with a hammer, leaving me confused and scared.
My hands instinctively rose to rub the sleep from my eyes, but instead of finding solace in the familiar gesture, my fingers encountered a harsh reality.
A cloth bag enveloped my head, its fabric rough against my skin, making my heart race with terror. Panic gripped me, squeezing my lungs, and for a moment I forgot how to breathe. Time suspended, leaving only the eerie silence of the unknown.
The realization dawned on me like a cold splash of water: I was trapped, helpless, and blindfolded. And to make it worse, my hands were bound tightly behind my back, like I was a prisoner.
The cloth bag seemed to suffocate me, fibers digging into my skin, making my heart race with panic.The world around me was reduced to a suffocating darkness, a prison from which I couldn't escape.
Help! Pls help me! I shouted at the top of my lungs but there was no response. I could only hear my voice echo back at me.
I strained to see but the blackness was impenetrable, a solid wall that refused to yield.
With a Herculean effort, I slowed my racing thoughts and focused on the subtle sounds around me.
The rustle of fabric, the creak of leather, and the soft thud of footsteps echoed through the space, every sound amplified my anxiety. My ears strained to pinpoint the location of the approaching footsteps, my mind conjuring images of sinister figures lurking in the shadows.
As the door creaked open, the footsteps drew nearer, their rhythmic beat pulsing through my veins like death knell.
My breath caught in my throat, anticipation hanging heavy as a guillotine's blade. The shoes halted beside me,I could sense their presence intensely, yet the silence that followed was more oppressive than any words.
I trembled, my heart thrashing against my ribcage like a wild animal, as I awaited the unknown fate that loomed over me.
As the blindfold was slowly lifted, the dim light of the room pierced my eyes like a dagger. I blinked rapidly, my vision blurry at first, but gradually cleared to reveal a somber scene.
Three men, dressed in their dark suits, crisp white shirts, and somber ties seemed to exude an air of menace, their gold pinky rings and precision-cut hairdos gleaming in the faint light.
By their dress code, the only thing that came to my head was the mafia. When I was younger, I had watched movies and heard stories of the mafia.
But it was the elderly man who approached me with a graceful stride that commanded my attention. His silver hair was slicked back, revealing a prominent forehead and piercing eyes that seemed to bore into my soul.
His tailored suit, a deep charcoal gray, was immaculately pressed, and a gold watch glinted on his wrist, hinting at a wealth and sophistication that was hard to ignore.
The deference with which the other men addressed him, their voices laced with a mixture of respect and fear, left no doubt that he was the boss of this eerie domain.
I stuttered, my voice laced with confusion and a hint of fear, "Who are you people? What am I doing here? Please just let me go!" My words trembled as I addressed the somber gathering, my eyes darting between the stern faces, searching for a glimmer of empathy.
The boss's piercing gaze held mine, his expression unreadable, as the other men remained silent, their faces like stone statues.
The air was heavy with tension and my plea seemed to hang in the silence like a fragile leaf on a winter's breeze.
With a slight gesture, he signaled one of his men to untie my hands. As the elderly man's words fell like a gentle rain, one of the men hastened to untie the ropes that bound my hands, the rough fibers releasing their grip on my chafed skin.
A wave of relief washed over me, like a cool breeze on a sweltering summer day, as I flexed my free hands.
Yet, the confusion and questions swirling in my mind remained. The elderly man looked at me and said "My name is Sebastian Marino, and it's an absolute pleasure to finally meet you, my dear daughter-in-law"
"What!! What do you mean by your daughter-in-law?" I stammered, my voice laced with disbelief and confusion.
Sebastian's face hardened, his eyes glinting with a ruthless intensity. "Your father, Leonardo, the traitor, has betrayed my trust", he spat, his voice venomous.
"Now, he must pay the price. And you my dear, are the currency. You will choose: either you marry my son, or you watch your father take his last breath. The decision is yours..and yours alone".
"Leonardo... that is not my dad's name, pls you have the wrong person" I said in a shaky tone.
"Oh.. I guess he goes by the name Victor. Well over here I call him Leonardo" Sebastian said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
I was so scared and curious as to how these dangerous men knew my dad and what business he had with them?
His threat hung over me like a dark cloud, ready to unleash a storm. The cold calculation in his eyes made my blood run cold, and I felt my heart racing with terror.
"Where is my father? I shrieked, my voice cracking with desperation and fear. "Don't you dare lay a hand on him!" I warned, my words tumbling out in a torrent of anguish.
Tears ran down my cheeks like a river, as the thought of losing another loved one became too much to bear.
Despite his absence and shortcomings as a father, the thought of being orphaned was a wound too raw, too painful.
The memories of my mother's loss still lingered, a gaping hole in my heart that could never be filled. I couldn't lose him too, not like this, not at the hands of a ruthless stranger.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed, a hint of surprise and admiration flickering across his face. "Wow, you're just like your father", he said, his voice laced with a mixture of intrigue and annoyance.
"The same spark of defiance, the same boldness to speak your mind". He paused, his gaze lingering on me as if searching for something.
"I'll be back tomorrow, and you'd better be ready to give me an answer". With that, he turned and strode out of the room, his henchmen falling in step behind him like loyal shadows.
The door slammed shut leaving me alone with my thoughts and weight of his ultimatum.
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