Aurora had been confused before, but now, seeing the way he was staring deeply into her ocean eyes, she was an epitome of confusion. They should make a statue of her at this point. "Oooohhhhhh!!... Kiss! Kiss!! Kiss!!!" The gang surrounded them laughing and clapping as they chanted. Aurora stepped aside immediately, completely mortified. Kiss??? They wanted her to kiss...him? This devil that kills without thinking? This pompous, dangerous, heartless criminal? She did not care whatever games he was playing, she would not be handing out her first kiss to him. Never. She stepped backwards again hoping to put as much space between them as possible, but this demon of a man gripped her neck lightly bringing her face closer to his... Fear and disgust clouded Aurora's mind. He was going to do it... he was really going to kiss her. She looked around and no one was going to save her from getting her first kiss stolen by this monster. Aurora spat directly on his face. She could hear the whole gang in the party gasp in shock. Good. If he was going to kill her, she would die knowing that she protected her virtue. She wiggled from his hold and put some much needed distance between them. She turned towards the gang and her heart almost dropped to her stomach. At least... 20 guns were pointed directly at her, even Axe had his gun pointed at her. The rest of them held their guns close to them, confused but ready to defend their master. She stood there like a head in headlights beside the devil in the midst of the gangsters. "Everyone, leave!" The monster beside her instructed the gangsters and they left. Immediately they left, he grabbed her neck tightly, smashing her back on the nearest wall, choking her till she saw stars. "How dare you?" He said, his voice very low and cold. Aurora did not respond. He closed the distance between their faces, but instead of trying to kiss her like before he whispered into her ear "How dare you embarrass me in front of my disciples..." Aurora smirked at his reaction but her victory did not last long. Vincenzo pressed her deeper into the wall, his hands on her neck tightening dangerously till she coughed, struggling to take in breath till fears fell from her eyes as she choked. "Please..." She struggled to say. "please. please..." He looked like he was considering letting her go but for a second, but instead, he smirked that dangerous smirk again. "Lick it..." Aurora could not understand what he meant until he repeated it. "Lick the damn spit off of my face!" He had to be fucking insane!!! "Look here, I don't think you know me, so, I'll introduce myself properly..." Aurora whispered , still struggling to free his hand from her neck. "I'm the General's only daughter...Aurora Puro Puccaso...Do you really think you can take me away from my dad in this manner and he would have no idea? Do you think he doesn't know I'm in this sinful place?" Aurora summoned some more courage and said the words she has always wanted to say since she got to this godforsaken mansion. "I am not Brielle. Your wife is dead." "Shut the fuck up! Brielle is alive!!!" His hands on her throat tightened even more, choking her harder.... But Aurora laughed through the tightness in her throat even though the sound was just a whisper. "Alan or whatever his name is.... has defeated you." Vincenzo brought out his gun, pointing it directly into her mouth, his eyes red with fury... "I am Vincenzo West Pecaminoso... Alan can never defeat me, I'm going to destroy him and feed his flesh to the vultures of the air. He will die. I promise you, if I find out the only woman I have ever loved is dead, I will destroy him!!" he yelled angrily, his fingers still on the trigger... Aurora shivered. Was she really going to die like her mother? Won't she get to see her father? And who the hell was Alan and what did he have to do with her? She shivered fearfully. "Please..." She muttered, but Vincenzo was not having it..... For a moment, their eyes locked in a fierce stare. Then, Vincenzo's expression twisted in rage, and he pulled the gun out of her mouth, and instead brought his face closer. "You think you're clever, don't you?" Vincenzo sneered, his breath hot against her face. "The next time you go against me, you will loose your stupid father..." Aurora's heart failed completely. Vincenzo walked away...leaving her with just goosebumps and his cinnamon scent still lingering on her skin. Aurora coughed, gasping for breath and drawing in as much air into her lungs as she possibly could, while her hand instinctively rubbed at her aching throat. Aurora's eyes twitched in pure anger as she watched his retreating back. She needed to escape, she had to escape... This place was never meant for her, this hellhole... was too filthy for her.... A general's daughter in a criminal camp? Never!... With a solid resolve forming in her head, Aurora walked out of the large, empty party hall. She did not stop when she got to her room. She did not stop when she saw the looming entrance of the large mansion. Instead, she began tipping her toes and walking forward towards the door. Aurora walked slowly and steadily till she walked out of the door. She felt the instant chill of the night on her skin, causing her to shiver. She heard the call and response of the crickets outside the mansion and the birds of the night crying. It was obvious everybody had gone to their various rooms. The place was too quiet, which meant they were no guards loitering the area...weird. Where they all exhausted because of the party? Aurora did not wait to find out. She continued walking towards the gate. As she approached the gate, the guard's eyes widened in surprise. "Open the door for Lady Brielle," she commanded, her voice dripping with authority and a hint of venom lady Brielle always had in the videos she had watched. The guard hesitated, his eyes darting nervously between her face and the darkness beyond the gate. "My lady, it...it...it is not safe for you to go out at this hour," he stammered. Aurora's eyes flashed with anger. "Should I smite your tongue?" she spat, her voice rising. "Give me that gun." She said with the same fierce tone. The guard hesitated for a moment before handing over his weapon. Aurora's eyes glinted with a fierce determination as she trained the gun on the guard. "The next time you interfere in my business , I'll kill you." The gates swung open, and Aurora stepped out into the night, the cool breeze hitting her like a slap in the face, finally Freedom.

VINCENZO'S POV Vincenzo still could not believe she would spit on him, in front of his disciples. As intriguing as she was, he had to admit, she was a character... he will never have that patience for a pampered general's daughter to throw her tantrums around him. He had things to do, a mission to deliver. "Boss" Salvatore said as he walked into Vincenzo's private quarters and bowed looking disheveled. "Tell Aurora to go to Marisol, that kid needs to see her mother." "Boss! That's why I'm here, boss. Aurora... aurora has escaped." Salvatore's voice cracked as he spoke. "Escaped? What do you mean she escaped? What about the guards?" "She used lady Brielle's identity to leave, boss. They could not stop her." Salvatore said, obviously scared for his life. Vincenzo saw red. Escaped? Escaped?!!! Spitting on him was not enough? Now she was blatantly testing his patience. Vincenzo threw his half smoked cigarette on Salvatore, standing up from his throne.... He walked straight down to meet him, only to kick Salvatore's leg backward, causing him to stumble and fall. Salvatore swore out loud, holding his sheen in pain. "I apologise, Boss. I promise to find her" he stood up about to leave... "Find her? Do you think General Puro Puccasso is a joke to you? If she gets to her father before you... it will be war. I'll lose my daughter's mother for the second time, and our identity will be revealed to the General." Vincenzo yelled as his eyes blazed with a fierce intensity. "You know how the general hates the Mafias. General Puro Puccasso has killed hundreds of Mafia men and crumbled businesses. And you sent his daughter back to him through your carelessness?" Vincenzo inhaled deeply. "Its a pity none of you are his match. None of you are at his level. And if you do not find her and bring her back to me, none of you will live long enough to ever be" *************************************************** AURORA'S POV Aurora's breath came in ragged gasps, as she ran through the dark streets, her heart pounding in her chest... "Dad, please rescue me! Somebody... help..." she cried out, her voice lost in the night. Just as she thought she'd found freedom, a car screeched around the corner, its headlights illuminating her like a spotlight. Aurora's heart sank as she recognized the car...the devil's car. He had found her, and if he caught her, he would take her back to that hell hole. She took off running again, intense fear consuming her totally, but she twisted her ankle in her haste and fell. The car door swung open, and Vincenzo stepped out, his eyes blazing with anger. Aurora's heart skipped a beat as he strode towards her, his movements was swift, but calculated. Like he was haunting her. She tried to move backward, but he was too fast. He grabbed her by her hair, his fingers closing around it like a vice, and pulled her to her feet. Their eyes locked and she could feel his spitting fire. He threw her towards his cars direction roughly, and Aurora on her sprained ankle could barely hold her body up. She slammed her forehead with so much force on the rear end of the car. Vincenzo did not even blink at her bleeding forehead. Instead, he opened his car boot, threw her inside it and slammed it shut! Aurora struggled to escape from the dark claustrophobic boot, but the car only speed off. He was going to kill her. This was it, she thought, he was definitely going to kill her. The car boot opened and he pulled her out by her hair. The guards only blinked in confusion as he forcefully brought her in. "You bastard! Let me go!" Aurora yelled, but he paid her no attention as he dragged her all the way to the dungeon and he threw her in. "Pull off that dress you're wearing....Vincenzo instructed. She shook her head reluctantly but he pulled off his belt, staring down at her. From the side of her bloody vision, Aurora could see when Salvatore walked into the dungeon with a pair of handcuffs. "Handcuff her" Vincenzo yelled and her hands were immediately handcuffed and locked to the dungeon iron bars. Vincenzo zipped down her dress exposing her white flawless back while she kicked and screamed. "You have ridiculed me enough, little girl. You have spat on me, insulted me, disobeyed me... in all my 26 years on earth, I've never been treated like such a joke. You tried escaping from me after slapping me, You have to pay for your sins, Vincenzo doesn't forgive... Aurora began to quake and shake. What was he going to do to her? Kill her? Lock her up here till she rotten and die? "...I will only play with you a little, nothing much." Vincenzo muttered taking a cigarette out of his pocket and smoking hard. He drop the remaining cigarette on the tray and instructed Salvatore to leave with just a wave of his hand. 'My dad will find me here, and I promise you won't be spared... I refuse to be your daugh..." Before she could finish her statement, the belt landed on her back. Aurora arched her back, groaning in pain. 'Black, is the code... once you've made up your mind to be my daughter's mother, say it and then the play will be over." "Never!" Aurora yelled, and the belt hit her back for the second time. By the third whip, he turned the belt so that he was hitting her with the iron buckle of the belt. Aurora's back tore and bled while she yelled, cursed and cried. She groaned till her cries echoed over the walls of the dungeon. The strokes continued...3,4,5,6... Aurora's rosary dangled on her neck as the lashes continued to land on her back. She felt helpless, her eyes rolled back in pain. At that moment she felt her mom calling her to the land of the dead. Leaving her dad will be the most difficult thing to do since her existence. Her dad has always been her hero, the reason for her existence and she could not die, leaving him behind because of this devil who will rot in hell for sure. By the time the sixteenth stroke landed on her back. She found herself yelling. "Black! Black!! Black!!! Stop!!! Please...please stop. Black!!!" She shouted. "I will be your daughter's mother and your new wife" she cried out. Vincenso smirked dangerously... "From today, I own you, You belong to me...You will only act like my puppet, you will listen to my instructions. You will obey my rules" He walked to her direction and dragged the rosary from her neck, cutting it and then throwing it on the ground beside her. "No!" Aurora cried "Please don't do this, stop!!" She cried out, but her tears and wailing did nothing to him. It still wasn't enough as he pulled out a diamond necklace from his pocket with a bullet shaped pendant and wore it around her neck. "You've made a deal with the devil" he whispered into her ear. "...and failing to keep that promise will be your doom. Your life is mine...." He whispered removing the handcuffs from her wrists, leaving her limp body to fall. Stressed and in so much pain, Aurora blacked out....

No!!!! Don't do this!!! Stop! Aurora screamed... her younger self was carried on the shoulder of a huge man... the rosary on her neck kept shaking. Dad save me...She screamed. Aurelia!!!!! She shouted stretching her hand... but she was thrown into the ocean... Aurora jumped up from her bed with wide eyes.... There...she saw Salvatore, standing with a tray of waffled chicken and salad... It morning, She whispered silently. Nightmare again?? The light was on last night, so why did she have the nightmare again... Aurora hand went to her neck, her rosary was gone, and a diamond necklace was on her neck instead.... No! Aurora cried out remembering last night torture and how she had made a deal with the devil too... She stood up running to the dungeon with her sore back...before Salvatore could grab her, she opened the dungeon and she saw her broken rosary on the floor , Squatting on the floor, She cried out... She can't even imagine life without her rosary, the last time, she slept without it, She nearly die, and now it broken and replace with a stupid necklace, She tried pulling the necklace off but Salvatore stopped her.... You can't take it off, or else you will get punished, more than yesterday.... Aurora sniffed snatching her rosary from the floor and running off in tears. ** Aurora ran to her room,opening lady Brielle laptop, Watching the way she talks and her moment with Marisol... Sasha stood by the door, eavedropping, she has been suspecting Aurora ever since. Aurora sniffed in tears. Fuck Brielle! I'm Aurora, Aurora yelled...I'm general Puro Pucasso only daughter, Nobody's puppet. *** Sasha P o v Sasha smirked by the door, The almighty general's daughter...In a criminal territory?Bøss, is so smart, Sasha chuckled walking off to Marisol room. Marisol! She whispered opening the door, Marisol step out of her curtain, Her long hair scattered, her eyes red in anger.... Little one, Sasha chuckled before entering Marisol scattered room sitting on her bed.. Your father, has brought in a fake mom, to deceive you... Your mom is never coming back, She is gone forever.... Marisol held her fist and grin her teeth, in so much anger. Nobody care about you.... Poor girl... dad is busy... He is only nice when you kill someone. He doesn't want to make me your mom because he doesn't want your mom back. Sasha smiled devilishly and whispered squatting down, to the child's level. I came to make you happy, Sasha grin bringing out a white drug from her pocket... Marisol smile with excitement as she took the drug, sucking from it like her whole life depends on it. Good girl...Sasha whispered standing up, with an ugly grin again. Vincenso is only mine, Sasha murmured inaudibly before leaving. ** Aurora stood in her room, staring at the gangsters training hard, they've been training like that since morning, it obvious they are going for their devilish mission.... Devil! She cursed staring down at Vincenzo with so much hatred. He suddenly looked up and their eyes met, She scoffed leaving the window... Aurora, breath in, breath out, she whisper to herself . Walking out of her room. Aurora stood at Marisol room, she held the door handle but pause, when she heard noise.... I will destroy you, Marisol screamed and glasses shattered. Aurora took to her heels with panting heart... The girl dark aura is more than her dad....She must find a way to get the fuck out of this place... Aurora tried to think, then an idea came to her mind... She need a phone, they will all suspect if she ask for their phone... so it would only be right if she go get it in the devil's territory, and luck is on her side... He is training outside. As soon as she got to his chamber, the door was locked. Fuck! She groaned. Pulling out her hairpin and tampering with the small hole on the door... The door open instantly and she entered... It was so neat and beautiful... Her eyes scanned the room as she entered, it was so big... Phone? Where can I get... she ran to the locker and tried to open it but his expensive perfume on top of the locker fell and broke on the ground, she covered her mouth at the sound and she took the locker key opening the locker, and her instinct was right, a fucking phone was there... She took the phone cracking her brains to remember her dad's number, as soon as she was about to start typing his name, the door handle shift and she ran with the phone into the nearest place... his wardrobe....Aurora held her breath in the wardrobe as the footsteps increase.... Vincenzo p o v As I entered my room, something felt off. The door was open, and the air was thick with tension. I stepped inside, my eyes scanning the space, and that's when I saw it, the ground was sticky. Before I could react, I slipped and I landed hard on the floor, the sound of shattering glass filling the air. My palm throbbed in pain as I realized I'd fallen on my broken perfume bottle. My eyes twitched with anger as I took in the scene. It was obvious someone had broken in. But who? No gangster could pull off this level of stunt except an enemy. My gaze landed on a pink butterfly hairpin on the floor, and a smirk spread across my face. The CCTV wasn't needed; I knew exactly who it was. My wristwatch was already blinking, alerting me to a message, if my wrist watch blink this way, then it means, it just one person. "That little general's brat". Aurora stared at the bullet pendant on her necklace, it was blinking red, to her amazement... She hurriedly typed her father's number, and the phone rang. But before she could even say hello! When her father picked up, the wardrobe door swung open. The devil himself stood before her, and her eyes widened in shock. The phone slipped from her hand as he pulled her towards him. They both lost their balance, and she fell on him. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Aurora's heart skipped a beat. She tried to stand up, but he pulled her back, flipping her over. "What the fuck are you doing in my damn room?" His voice echoed through the space, making her shake. She tried to push him away, but she felt like a tiny fly against his strength. "If you try calling your dad again, I'll kill him," Vincenzo whispered, his breath sending shivers down her spine. He stood up, towering over her. Aurora stood up, her eyes flashing with anger as she glared at him. "Do you think my dad is some weakling you could just kill easily? With my dad, the government is always involved... He is the general." Aurora bragged with a smirk Vincenzo's eyes never left hers, he chuckled. Even the government protects his empire,a wicked smile spreading across his face. As he glared at her. Without Imperio Pecaminoso, nobody can sit on that throne to be the country's president or any political leader....Presidents, governors, and senators bow at my feet, eliminating their rivals and manipulating the people's choice is my duty...I'm richer than any government in this country.... Aurora legs tremble as she shifted backward, it obviously the truth but no she can't believe it, why did the government respect her dad then.... My dad is res.... She tried to speak but he cut her off. Your dad is respected because criminals and enemies of other countries fears him, and he doesn't mind risking his life to safe the government or country...He is only being used... Vincenzo chuckled and tears fell down her cheek. No! You are lying. Little mouse, I own you, You can't do anything... Vincenzo chuckled "You don't, Aurora yelled. I'm not your puppet, Aurora stared at the necklace and try to pull it off... Pull it off and die, Vincenzo muttered. But she drew the necklace trying to force it off... Vincenzo was fast, he pulled out his gun from his pocket, he press the trigger. Take it off and die! Aurora hand went stubbornly to her neck to pull it off, then he shot. Boom! The sound echoed