I woke up with a throbbing pain in my head, my body stiff and cold. It took a moment for the fog in my mind to clear, and when it did, I wished it hadn't. The first thing I noticed was the smell—a pungent mix of oil, rust, and damp concrete. My wrists and ankles were bound, the rough rope biting into my skin, and I was sitting on a cold metal chair.

I blinked against the dim light, the murky outline of an old warehouse coming into focus. My heart pounded as I struggled against the ropes, wincing as the coarse fibers burned against my skin. I tugged harder, hoping they’d give, but they held firm. My body was sore from being thrown around, but the pain was nothing compared to the fear tightening in my chest.

A door creaked open behind me, and I froze.

Footsteps echoed across the concrete floor—slow. I craned my neck to see two men approaching. Their faces were hidden beneath ski masks, their dark clothing blending into the shadows of the warehouse. The taller one stood a few feet away, arms crossed, while the shorter one squatted down in front of me, his eyes hard and cold behind the mask.

“Call him,” the shorter man ordered, his voice rough and unforgiving.

I swallowed hard, confusion clouding my mind. “Call who?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

“Don’t play dumb,” he snapped, thrusting a phone into my face. “Lewis. Tell him we’ve got you, and he better pay if he wants to see you again.”

Lewis.

My heart skipped a beat. Of course. This was about Lewis. He was the heir to the Gudecelli family, one of the most powerful mafia dynasties in the city. This wasn’t the first time his enemies had tried to get to him through those he loved, and now I was here.

With trembling hands, I took the phone, my fingers slick with sweat as I dialed his number. The phone rang once, twice, three times. My breath hitched, the fear swelling inside me. Come on, Lewis, pick up.

The line clicked, and my heart lifted for a brief moment, but then—

“Hello?” It wasn’t Lewis.

I froze, the blood draining from my face. It was a woman’s voice, smooth and familiar. Too familiar.

“Candice?” I whispered, barely able to keep my voice steady.

“Stephanie,” she said, her tone laced with cold amusement. “What’s going on? It’s late.”

My mind reeled. Why was Candice answering Lewis’ phone? I forced the words out, my throat tight. “Where’s Lewis? I need to talk to him—it’s important.”

A light laugh escaped her, chilling me to the core. “Oh, sweetie. Lewis is busy right now.”

“Busy?” I repeated, my voice cracking. “Busy with what?”

There was a pause on the other end, and I could hear the faint sound of fireworks in the background. “We’re watching fireworks by the sea,” she said, her voice dripping with satisfaction. “It’s been a beautiful evening.”

My stomach twisted, bile rising in my throat. I tried to process what she was saying, but the words didn’t make sense. Lewis was with her? Watching fireworks while I was tied up in a warehouse, begging for help?

“Put him on the phone, Candice,” I demanded, desperation creeping into my voice. “Please, I need to talk to him.”

Candice’s laugh echoed in my ears, sharp and cutting. “Oh, Stephanie,” she sighed, as if speaking to a child who just didn’t understand. “He doesn’t care about you anymore. You really thought you were that important to him?”

Her words hit like a punch to the gut. My mouth went dry, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. This had to be some kind of mistake. Lewis loved me. We were supposed to spend my birthday together. He had bought a ring.

My heart shattered. The world seemed to tilt, and for a moment, I thought I might pass out again. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head as tears blurred my vision. “You’re lying. Please, I need help. I was kidnapped and they—-”

Candice’s voice turned icy. “I don’t have time for this. Enjoy your birthday, Stephanie. Lewis is done with you.”

The line went dead.

Candice’s words kept replaying in my head, each time like a stab to the heart. He’s with me, watching fireworks. He doesn’t care about you anymore. The shock of hearing her voice on the other end of the line had frozen me in place, but it shouldn’t have. Maybe deep down, I had always suspected something. There had always been something between them—whispers I chose to ignore, signs I was too blind to see.

For years, I had convinced myself that Candice was just his childhood friend, nothing more. After all, that’s what Lewis always told me. But the way they looked at each other, the lingering touches, the inside jokes that I was never part of… It was all there, right in front of me. And I didn’t want to believe it.

I was so desperate to hold onto the idea that Lewis loved me—that I was the one who had his heart. But now? Now it was clear. She wasn’t just in the background. She was in the spotlight.

"Call him again," one of the kidnappers growled, snapping me out of my daze.

I looked up, my vision blurry from unshed tears. The two men stood over me, their faces hidden behind black masks. They were growing impatient. I could feel it in the way they loomed closer, their body language tense. But what was the point? What good would it do? Lewis didn’t care. I was alone.

“I told you,” I said, my voice trembling. “He’s not coming.”

The shorter one sneered, his hand tightening around the phone as he thrust it toward me again. “Try anyway.”

I hesitated, my fingers barely able to move as I took the phone from him. My heart raced, though I couldn’t say whether it was from fear or heartbreak. The dial tone felt like a countdown, each ring pulling me deeper into the realization that this was real—that the man I loved had abandoned me.

Finally, the ringing stopped. But instead of Candice’s voice, this time it was Lewis.

“Lewis, I—” I stammered, fighting through the lump in my throat. “Where are you right now? Please—"

He cut me off with a sigh. “Look, I’m in the middle of something important. I don’t have time for this.”

Something important? I blinked, stunned by how casually he dismissed me.

He interrupted again, impatience leaking into his tone. “If it’s about your birthday, I’ll make it up to you later. I forgot to tell you so don’t wait for me anymore. I’m handling business right now, Stephanie. Don’t call me again.”

The line went dead.

I sat there, staring at the phone in my lap, my mind struggling to process what had just happened. He’ll make it up to me? That’s all he had to say? He didn’t even care enough to ask where I was, to ask if I was okay.

The icy truth wrapped itself around my heart. My breath hitched, and I fought the overwhelming urge to cry.

The kidnappers exchanged glances, growing more impatient with every second that passed.

“You heard it. There’s no point in keeping me here.”

For a moment, they both stood there, their faces hidden behind masks of indifference. The shorter one pulled out his phone, his thumb scrolling quickly through the screen. He frowned as something caught his attention, then turned it to the taller one, muttering something under his breath.

The phone’s bright screen flashed in front of my face, and there it was—the final nail in the coffin of whatever fantasy I had clung to. A viral post. Lewis and Candice. Candice, his so-called “childhood friend.” The two of them sitting on a blanket by the sea, watching fireworks light up the night sky. Their faces were lit with the warm glow of the explosions, smiling, wrapped in each other’s arms.

Fireworks. He had told me he was handling business. And here he was, with her. Candice.

The taller kidnapper scoffed, tossing the phone onto the nearby table with a sneer. “Looks like we got the wrong girl.”

The shorter one shrugged, his voice thick with annoyance. “She’s useless to us.”

I didn’t flinch when they started untying the ropes around my wrists. My entire body felt numb, my mind in a fog, too broken to react to anything around me. They yanked me to my feet, dragging me across the cold concrete floor toward the door.

I didn’t struggle. What was the point? Lewis wasn’t coming. The man I thought loved me had left me here to rot, all while he watched fireworks with another woman. The woman he really cared about.

They shoved me into the back of a car, the door slamming shut behind me. The ride felt endless, the sound of tires against the road blending into the swirling thoughts in my head. Then the car screeched to a halt.

The door opened, and rough hands dragged me out, my knees hitting the gravel road beneath me with a painful thud. They didn’t bother saying a word before they sped off, leaving me alone and cold on the deserted roadside.

I lay there on the cold gravel, the weight of everything crushing me like a ton of bricks. The sting from my knees and wrists was nothing compared to the pain inside. I had thought Lewis was my future. I had thought today was going to be the beginning of something new, something beautiful. Instead, I was discarded—worthless in his eyes.

The night air bit into my skin, but I couldn’t find the strength to move. How could I? The man I loved, the man I believed would protect me, had been sitting on the beach, wrapped up with her, Candice—his "childhood friend"—watching fireworks as if I didn’t even exist.

I blinked back the tears that blurred my vision, struggling to breathe against the rising panic. What am I going to do now?

The sound of tires crunching on the gravel road reached my ears, a distant hum at first, but then growing louder, closer. I lifted my head weakly, the headlights blinding me for a moment as the car approached. It slowed down, stopping just a few feet away.

My heart leapt into my throat as the driver’s door opened. Was this a stranger? Another threat? Or—had Lewis come to his senses? I had no time to think as a tall figure emerged, silhouetted against the dim light. But when he stepped forward, my breath caught in my chest.

It wasn’t Lewis.

It was Levi—Lewis’ half-brother.

A chill ran down my spine as I took him in. Levi Gudecelli. The notorious black sheep of the family. Ruthless, cold, and cunning, he was everything Lewis wasn’t, and worse yet—he was Lewis’ rival for the mafia throne. I had heard stories about him, about how dangerous he was, how his ambitions had caused rifts within the Gudecelli family. I had never been close to him, never wanted to be.

But now, here he was, standing over me, his gaze unreadable in the faint light.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” His voice was smooth, almost mocking, as his eyes swept over me, taking in the state I was in—dirty, bruised, and utterly broken. “You look like you’ve had a rough night, Stephanie.”

I swallowed hard, trying to push back the rising panic. I didn’t know what he wanted, but in that moment, I realized I had no choice. I was desperate. I needed help, and Levi was my only option.

“Please,” I croaked, my voice hoarse from the strain. “Help me. I don’t know what else to do.”

He raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a smirk. “Help you? And why would I do that?”

My mind raced, grasping for anything—any reason to make him care. “I… I’ll do anything,” I blurted, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. “Just… get me out of here. I don’t have anyone else.”

Levi studied me for a long moment, his expression impossible to read. Then, slowly, he crouched down in front of me, his eyes gleaming with something dangerous, something that made my stomach twist in knots. “Anything, huh?” he mused, his tone low and dangerous. “You do realize who you’re talking to, don’t you, Stephanie?”

I nodded, barely able to breathe. “I know. I… I don’t have a choice.”

He chuckled softly, reaching out to tilt my chin up so I had no choice but to meet his gaze. “You’re in deep now, aren’t you? Lewis left you out here, didn’t he? Left you for dead while he’s busy playing nice with Candice.” The way he said her name, with a hint of venom, made my blood run cold. He knew. Of course, he knew.

“He doesn’t care about me anymore,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “He never did.”

For a moment, Levi’s smirk faded, replaced by something darker. “That’s the thing about Lewis,” he said, his voice a low rasp. “He’s weak. Always was. Too busy being the golden boy to notice what’s right in front of him.”

I bit my lip, barely holding back the sob that threatened to escape. Everything Levi said was true, and I had been blind to it for so long. I had believed Lewis’ lies, his reassurances, all while he drifted further and further away from me.

Levi’s hand dropped, and he stood, towering over me once again. “Alright, Stephanie,” he said, his voice suddenly colder, more businesslike. “I’ll help you. But understand this—you’re mine now. If I save you, you owe me. And I don’t deal in small favors.”

I shivered at the intensity of his words, but I had no other option. If I didn’t take his offer, I would be left here, discarded, just like Lewis had discarded me. “Okay,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just… don’t leave me here.”