LILA POV

"Oh my God."

I rocked back and forth, clutching my knees against my chest, my face buried in my arms. I didn't want to look up. I couldn't. What the fuck was happening? Who were these people? And why the fuck was there a severed finger in that motherfucking box?

Better yet, whose finger was that?

No, I didn't want to know. I just wanted to wake up and realize this was a nightmare. But the longer I sat there, the more I realized it was real. I'd been kidnapped. Nikolai was dead. And his twin brother had just left me a human finger in a box.

How could the Nikolai I knew be part of this family?

The Nikolai I knew... Did I really know him? Was he pretending to be someone he wasn't? Judging by what Nico had told me, it seemed so. I didn't even know his real surname, let alone his family.

Tears streamed down my face as my mind spun in a thousand directions. What did they plan to do to me? Kill me? Torture me? Hurt me? Did my family even know I was missing yet?

Thinking of my mom, dad, and brother had me shaking. For the first time since leaving home for Manhattan, I regretted it. If I had stayed home like my dad wanted, they would have known I'd been kidnapped. But because I tried to survive on my own, I might never see my family again. I might be dead by the time they realized I was missing.

My body ached, my lungs pleading for air while my tears choked every breath. I hated crying. I cried for weeks after thinking Nikolai had left me. I couldn't believe I was heartbroken over a guy I didn't even know for two months. We only had sex a few times. But I was in love. He didn't care who my family was, which was rare. Guys swarmed me for my surname, for our wealth and yachts. But Nikolai... he didn't give a fuck. And that's why I gave him my heart.

Nikolai was gone one day, whispering sweet words, then gone the next. I thought he had moved on. I never understood what happened. Now I did. Nico made it clear: Nikolai was dead... and he thought I had something to do with it. Absurd.

The pain stabbed through my chest, causing more tears and sobs.

Fuck!

I didn't even know if Nico was telling the truth. But he looked like he believed I was responsible. Nikolai... dead.

The thought cracked my chest open from the inside. My body slid down the wall. I landed on my side, crying into my arms. Shaking and cold, I couldn't stop the grief.

I had no idea how long I lay there, thinking about the horrors ahead. Nico and his family held me responsible for Nikolai's death why, I didn't know but fear pulsed through me. I shivered like it was minus twenty degrees.

I wasn't naïve. I read the news, knew the world was cruel. Girls got kidnapped, sold, raped, murdered... I just never thought I'd be one of them.

For the first time, I felt thankful for my father's wealth and power. It meant a better chance they could find me. But how long before they realized I was gone?

An image flashed in my mind. I lifted my head, staring at the bed. The box was still there, but the finger had rolled off. There was something on it something familiar.

I pushed myself up, wiped the tears, and stared at the bed. Dear Lord, please don't let it be what I think it is.

"Get a grip, Lila," I muttered, pulling my tangled, dirty hair. I bent my knees, steadying my feet, palms flush against the wall. My heart pounded. My blood rushed. Even my ears rang.

I lifted my feet, inching closer to see. I couldn't bear a full view yet.

A few steps more, hands on the mattress, neck stretched... I saw it. A finger.

A fucking finger!

My stomach twisted. Not because it was severed, but because of the object on it a ring. Platinum with a gold F in a black square. Every man in the Falcone family wore one.

"No." I shook my head, pinching my eyes shut. "No. Please God, no," I cried, pressing my face into the sheets.

"Recognize the ring?"

I jerked up, looking at the wall where the voice came from.

"Does it look familiar?"

I recognized the voice.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"I bet that tiny little mind of yours is spinning trying to figure out whose finger is laying on the floor."

I stepped backward toward the wall, scanning the room.

"You recognize the ring, don't you?"

I glanced up. "What kind of twisted game are you playing?"

"It's a game called cat and mouse."

"And you think I'm the mouse?"

"By the way your body is shivering against that wall, your fear vibrating through every bone...yes, you are."

I closed my eyes, cursing my weakness.

"So tell me, little mouse, do you recognize the ring?"

Gathering courage, I pushed off the wall. "Yes. I recognize the ring, you fucking psycho!"

"Good."

A hiss of air from the wall made me lurch back. I regretted insulting him.

The door opened. It was the same man I met earlier. My heart ached, my body trembled. He looked so much like him Nikolai...

Nico stepped in, bold and debonair in a black suit. Midnight hair perfectly styled, chiseled jaw with a short beard. Sophistication, power...hate in his dark eyes.

He straightened his shirt sleeves. "Did you like my gift, Miss Falcone?"

I stared into the black depths, noticing the scar above his right eye.

"You already seem pissed off to me," I whispered.

He smirked wickedly. "Believe me, Miss Falcone, you haven't seen me pissed off...yet."

He stepped back, letting me breathe.

"Why did you put that finger in a box for me?" I asked.

"It's a warning."

"A warning for what?"

"The better question: a warning to whom."

I studied his face. I wouldn't fall for his coaxing.

"That ring, Miss Falcone, belonged to the man your father hired to kill my brother."

I gasped softly.

"You seem surprised."

"My father didn't hire anyone."

"Are you sure? How much do you know about your father's business? How he runs his empire?"

I didn't answer. I knew nothing. All I wanted was art, drawing, and my imagination.

He smiled. "As I suspected. You don't know a thing. Let me enlighten you." He paced, rubbing his chin. "Your father has a legion of men. He sits on his throne while others do his dirty work. In this case, killing my brother. The hired murderer got a paycheck...and a ring."

I shook my head. "Why would my father want Nikolai dead?"

"That, little mouse, is for you to answer."

"There's just no motive," I muttered.

His gaze moved over me. "I see plenty of motive right here in front of me."

"My dad never met Nikolai. So why would he want him dead?"

"You really don't know why, do you?"

"I swear, Nico. I have no idea. You have it all wrong. My father didn't have Nikolai killed. There's no motive."

"That you know of."

Silence enveloped us. My heart pounded.

"You said the finger was a warning for someone. I take it that someone is me?" I asked softly.

"Oh no, Miss Falcone. Having you trapped here is warning enough for now."

"For now?"

He only smiled, darkness in his eyes.

"The warning is for your father, Lila."

"Then why give it to me?"

He stepped closer, scent overwhelming. "Who do you think will receive the rest of that hand?"

"My father," I whispered.

Nico laughed, maniacally.

"You think he's coming now? That he knows I have you?" He traced my jaw. "I wanted time with you. That hand won't be sent for seventy-two hours."

My heart stopped. My lungs froze.

"What do you think I'm capable of in seventy-two hours, Lila?"

It wasn't a question. It was a threat.

Abruptly, he stepped back. "Now, let's start with a few rules. This" he waved "is your new home. Live it, breathe it, get used to it. The sooner, the better."

I crossed my arms. "How long do you plan on keeping me here?"

A wicked grin. "Oh, Miss Falcone, until they carry you out...in a body bag."

NICO POV

Watching the fear spread across her face her eyes widening as she tried to process what I just revealed was one of those moments I would wrap with a bow of gold and safely place in a drawer at the back of my mind, cherishing it forever.

This would be one of many moments I'd remember in ten, twenty, or even thirty years' time, thinking of how fucking great it felt to exact my revenge.

People say revenge doesn't cure, that justice doesn't heal, but I beg to differ. It's only been a day, and I can already feel my blackened soul starting to rise out of the ashes as I witness the dread of the unknown wrack through Lila Falcone body.

Sunshine.

The devil woman standing before me will burn in hell once I'm done with her that's if there's anything left to burn. She and every goddamn Falcone will suffer my wrath. None of them will come out of this unharmed or unscathed.

They will all pay.

They killed no, murdered my brother in cold blood because they thought they were better than us. Because their little innocent princess needed a "better" man to warm her bed and spread her legs.

She might not have pulled the trigger, but by inviting my brother to her bed, she lured him to his death.

I stepped back and leaned against the wall across from her.

"What's wrong, my pet? Cat got your tongue?"

Bittersweet tears rolled down her cheeks bitter for her, but so goddamn sweet for me.

"Why are you doing this?" Her voice trembled, and the sound made my soul come alive.

I shrugged. "I told you you killed my brother."

"I didn't kill him!" she shouted between sobs, wiping her tears harshly with the back of her hand. "I told you I didn't kill him! I didn't even fucking know he was dead. I thought he left me. All this time, I truly believed he left me."

"Let me warn you again, Miss Falcone your lies will only make this harder."

"I'm not lying!" She fell to her knees, wailing like a banshee about to meet her own death. It was fucking music to my ears. "I'm not lying! You have to believe me!"

I crossed my arms over my chest, completely unaffected by her display of despair.

"Now, now, Miss Falcone. Don't waste your energy putting up this charade. You'll need it for what I have in store for you."

"You got it all wrong," she continued, rocking back and forth as she clutched her stomach. "I loved him, and I"

"Shut the fuck up!" I pushed off the wall and stormed toward her.

She scurried back on her hands and knees until her back hit the wall. Hearing her say she loved my brother fed the monster inside me letting it growl, claw, and slam against the gates I tried so desperately to keep it behind.

I glared down at her. "You Falcone know nothing of love or loyalty. All you know is how to steal, lie, and take what doesn't belong to you."

"That's not true," she hissed.

"You think daddy dearest makes his millions trading oil legitimately? Think again, naïve little girl. No one gets that kind of power and wealth by following the rules."

"You would know, I suppose."

"Watch your mouth, little mouse. Or it might be your finger I'll be sending to your dad next."

Straightening the lapels of my suit jacket, I pinned her with my stare.

"If you'd like to survive as long as possible, I suggest you never say those words again."

Lila lifted her chin, focusing her gaze on me.

"What words? That I loved your brother?"

I stiffened, my blood scalding in my veins. I was too busy trying to control my anger to even think of what to say. If I let go if I freed my rage she wouldn't live to see another day.

She got up from the floor, her eyes no longer sad. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you can't stop me from saying that I cared for your brother... because it's the truth."

"The truth?" I stepped closer, noticing she didn't back away this time. "Tell me, Miss Lila, if you're so convinced about the truth why do you think my brother lied to you about who he was?"

She glanced down, then back up. I saw the ripples of doubt swirling in her eyes but there was something else too. A fire.

"I don't know. I don't know why he would've lied to me." She stepped closer, her newfound courage twisting my stomach as desire shot up my spine. What the fuck?

"But now that I've met his twin brother, I think he was protecting me."

I stepped closer until our faces were a breath apart. "Protecting you from what?"

She lifted her chin. "From you."

I continued to stare at her. When she bit her bottom lip, my gaze dropped to her mouth. Whether it was her boldness or the fact that she thought she needed protection from me, my cock swelled, pressing hard against my zipper.

God, what I wouldn't do to tie her to that bed and show her exactly how much protection she needed from me. The Falcone blood in her was too weak to handle the darkness I'd unleash on her body.

But that wasn't part of the plan. I needed to focus.

"Well then," I said quietly, "I'd say my brother was one smart man."

"He was," she replied, not backing down an inch. "Smart enough not to tell anyone about his supposed twin brother. Why do you think that is, Nico? What reason would your brother have to hide you from me?"

I couldn't answer that. She was trying to rattle me to fuck with my head but I wouldn't allow it. I'd been preparing for this war for too long.

Deciding to postpone the battle, I stepped back. "Are you hungry, sunshine?"

She didn't answer, but the way she licked her lips told me she was.

"Bring it in," I ordered over my shoulder.

Damon appeared in the doorway with a tray. Lila's glare moved from me to him, and the fire in her eyes vanished, replaced by fear.

She was afraid of him and I didn't blame her. Damon looked like one mean motherfucker with his broad shoulders and long black hair tied back.

Damon set the tray on the bed and stepped beside me, eyeing Lila like prey.

"Lila, this is my little brother, Damon. Damon, this is our guest Miss Falcone."

Damon held out his hand, but Lila stepped back, pressing against the wall.

Damon snorted. "Don't be afraid, Miss Falcone. I won't hurt you... much."

I kept my gaze on her. "Don't be rude. Shake his hand, Lila."

She didn't move.

"I said, don't be rude!" I raised my voice, causing her to flinch but still, she didn't move.

Without warning, Damon lunged forward, grabbing her by the throat and pulling her close.

"I knew you were a cunt without a spine," he hissed. He tightened his grip, and she groaned, closing her eyes as tears streamed down her face.

"Tonight, when you pray, you'd better thank God that Nico's the one in charge of you. If it were me, you'd be battered and bruised within an inch of your life." He leaned close, his cheek brushing hers. "And you'd be utterly used..." He licked up the side of her face. "...and completely fucked."

Lila sobbed, and Damon pressed her head harder against the wall.

If I were a good man, I would've stopped him torn him away from her, maybe knocked his teeth out. But I'm not a good man. I loved seeing the fear in her eyes.

I straightened my jacket. "Damon, that's enough. You'll make the poor woman piss herself."

Damon released her, and we watched as she fell to her knees, coughing and gagging.

"Leave," I ordered.

"What?"

"I said leave."

"Are you fucking kidding me? I was just starting to enjoy it."

"I don't give a fuck. Leave. Now."

Damon glowered, his eyes full of silent curses. "You won't have all the fun with this one, brother."

"This isn't about fun. If you think it is, think again. Leave before I make you."

He straightened his shoulders. "Fine." He turned to Lila. "But before this is over, I want my piece of her. He was my brother too."

I didn't respond, but nodded once.

"Promise me," he pressed.

"I promise. You'll get your revenge."

He smirked. "Thank you, brother." Then he left.

I looked down at the sobbing girl. "For God's sake, get up, Lila."

She didn't move.

I crouched down, grabbed her arm, and yanked her to her feet. "I said get up!"

"Please don't do this," she whispered, her eyes bloodshot and hair clinging to her damp face.

"It's already done, little mouse. Your fate was sealed the day you pushed your filthy claws into my brother."

"Please"

I grabbed her other arm and pulled her against my chest. "If you knew how much I enjoy it when a woman begs, you wouldn't be saying please so much, little mouse."

She whimpered, tears streaking her cheeks.

"Now, eat." I shoved her toward the bed where the tray waited an old loaf of stale bread and a glass of water.

This wasn't a five-star hotel. All she deserved was scraps.

"Eat your food. You'll need your strength for what's ahead."

She looked up at me. "What are you going to do to me?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out, little pet. Now, eat."

She grabbed the glass and took a sip, only to spit it out in disgust.

I smiled.

"What's the matter? You don't like it?"

The glass slipped from her hand. "It's water and vinegar."

"I know. And now you've spilled it wasting the only hydration you had."

"Nico, please"

I crouched again, locking eyes with her.

"Let's get one thing straight. You will not address me by my name. You'll call me sir, and nothing else. You're nothing here no one. From this moment, you're stripped of every basic human right. You belong to me. You're my puppet, and I'll do with you as I please."

I straightened. "If I return and that loaf isn't gone, there'll be hell to pay."

Lila glanced at the bread, then back at me. For a brief second, I saw a flicker of fight in her eyes and that's when I realized I was going to enjoy every goddamn minute of breaking her.

LILA POV

My throat was dry, and even though I felt sick to my stomach, my body craved food.

There was no telling how long I'd been here, or when I last had something to eat or drink.

But when Damon placed the tray with bread and what I now knew was water and vinegar on the bed, eating or drinking was the last thing on my mind.

The second I laid eyes on Damon, my skull prickled with warning. Nico had darkness burning in his eyes, but Damon? There was something far more sinister stirring in him, and it made my skin crawl.

Oh God.

What the hell was happening?

What am I going to do?

How am I going to survive this whatever this is?

Wiping away the remnants of tears from my cheeks, I stared at the stale loaf of bread.

What I really wanted was water, but when I tasted that god awful vinegar, the gulp I took burned down my throat.

Unfortunately, that small taste of water only intensified my thirst, and now I was even willing to see how much of the disgusting water-vinegar mix my body could tolerate before I threw up.

I glanced down at the liquid I'd spilled all over the floor.

Without thinking, I crouched forward, pushed my dirty hair back, and started licking the vinegar-water off the floor like a fucking dog.

I couldn't stop myself. It was as if every primal instinct in my body had taken over, and if licking water off the floor was what I needed to survive, then so be it.

The taste was disgusting. The sharp tang of vinegar stung the inside of my mouth, burning all the way down my throat. But I didn't care. I focused on the little taste of water I managed to get every now and then.

After licking up every drop I could find, I sat back, leaning against the bed, staring at the ceiling.

The psycho was probably watching me, loving the sight of me crawling on the floor like a pet.

This was exactly what he wanted to see me on my knees.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I thought about the look in Nico eyes when he stared at me the hate pulsing with thick, hot rage behind those dark irises.

He thought I killed his brother.

But that's not true.

He wanted revenge against me for something I didn't do.

How the hell was I supposed to get out of this, to survive, when that man had nothing but cold resolve written all over his face?

I could feel more tears threatening to show how weak I felt at that moment, but I bit my tongue, pushing them back.

Enough tears had been expelled from my body and soul ever since the day I thought Nikolai had left me.

With every tear my body shed after he was gone, I hated him more and more.

His absence made me weak.

It made me want to crawl back into that hole I had lived in for years before I finally gathered the strength to climb out.

I had promised myself that I would never allow anything to drag me back into that dark place where pain was my only friend.

But when Nikolai disappeared, I couldn't take it.

It was a different kind of pain the kind I didn't know how to love.

And that's why I turned to drinking.

Alcohol became the only way to numb the craving, to control the urge to let the pain bleed out of my veins.

I never wanted to be that person again the one too weak to handle the pain, the one who needed to drown it just to feel normal.

Being weak was not who I was.

I eyed the bread, remembering his warning about what would happen if I didn't eat it.

Part of me knew I needed food to regain my strength, but another part of me refused.

He wanted me strong so I could endure whatever he planned next.

That was reason enough not to eat.

How stupid would I be to obey every order he gave, feeding into his twisted vendetta against me?

The way I saw it, I had two choices:

Either I did what he said and prayed someone would find me before it was too late

Or I fought him.

I wasn't clueless.

I knew the window of finding a kidnapped woman in this country was small.

The longer I stayed here, the slimmer my chances became.

So my only other option was to fight to fight him at every turn, to show him that I wasn't the weak little mouse he thought I was.

My mom used to tell me how strong willed I was.

No one could sway me once I made up my mind, which was why she never tried to stop me when I decided to move to New York.

She knew that no matter what anyone said, I wouldn't stay.

So where was that woman now the strong-willed, fearless girl who wanted to prove she could stand on her own two feet?

I needed to find her again.

I needed to pull myself together and show Castello that I wouldn't break easily.

I wouldn't play the helpless victim, giving him exactly what he wanted.

I saw it in his eyes his hunger for power.

And because I was the root of his revenge, that power had to come from me.

Well, fuck him. I wouldn't give it to him.

I grabbed the hardened loaf of bread and climbed to my feet.

My stomach growled, begging me to eat, but I ignored it.

I tore off a piece of the tattered rag that hung just above my knees, swallowed hard, and reached down to where I knew the finger was.

The second I felt it between my fingers through the fabric, I gagged.

I quickly wrapped the cloth around the finger, grabbed the box it came in, and stuffed it back inside.

A rush of air left my lungs as my body went numb.

I sat on the bed, staring at nothing.

Everything was still so surreal, like any moment I'd wake up in my apartment, safe and free.

Wishful thinking.

With the bread still in my hands, I started breaking it into tiny pieces, placing them inside the box with the finger.

I put the lid back on and carried it to the wall where I knew the hidden door was.

After setting the box on the floor, I glanced around the room, knowing he was probably watching.

I climbed onto the bed, my stomach still rumbling, begging me to grab the box and eat.

But my mom's voice echoed in my head over and over again.

"You are the most strong-willed girl I have ever known..."

Her voice gave me strength not the two-week-old loaf of bread, not the foul vinegar-water.

And if hearing her voice wasn't enough, the fact that the bread sat beside a human finger was reason enough for me not to eat.

No. I wouldn't eat.

Nico wanted me physically strong so he could torture me and drag out his revenge.

I'd be strong, alright but not in the way he expected.

If I wanted to win this war, I needed to fight him with his own weapon.

Me.