Chapter Two - Alassia in Trauma
"Leave my mummy!!" "Leave my mummy!!" Julie cried, sprinting to the thug despite her trauma, tugging the thug back from reaching her mother. "Get your filthy hands off me, little bug." The thug shoved her back and Julie hit the fall with a sharp crack, his wrist joint dislocating. She stayed on the floor, whimpering, tears spilling down from her small eyes. The thug walked over to Alessia who was already exhausted from the suffering. He gripped the neck curve of the old dress she was wearing and ripped it down. "No...mummy.." Julie cried, her tears spilling fast. Natasha threw her head back as she burst into a maniacal laughter out of cruel amusement. Alessia was exposed, the cold air coming in through the broken window hit her like something physical. She folded on herself, her body curled painfully against her belly where she'd been hit before, she wrapped her arms around her legs, shaking and shedding tears. Her family detested her to the point of using her as a settlement for the family loan. After she persistently refused to marry Viktor Cross, the powerful heir of the Cross family, unknown to her that her family wanted to use her as debt settlement under the disguise of arranged marriage. When she refused and the family knew he slept with another man, they stripped her of everything that once belonged to her. Alessia was faced with constant humiliation, she was treated like a stain on the family's expensive dress. When Viktor Cross started threatening the family for the huge debt settlement which they still couldn't pay, they decided to force Alessia into giving in to use her to clear the family's debt. Her pain was tangible; The sharp metallic taste of blood from the cut that burns her lips, pain seared through her spine where she'd hit her back against the wall while trying to protect her daughter. Her vision started to blur as exhaustion slowly overwhelmed her, and yet she kept muttering her daughter's name. One thug leered at her body, licking the bottom of his lips. "Ms. Natasha, she's actually hot," he smirked dirty, "It won't be bad if we go one round each on her." "You moron," Another thug chipped in even though his eyes were carrying greedy interest. "Young Master Cross will have your head if you touch her property." Scarface, the leader of the thug, thick-necked, tall and muscular with ink covering his both arms pulled out his ringing phone. "Yes, young master Cross. We got them." He said, "we'll bring them to the base." "The young master wants them in the base immediately." His voice was deep and rough. Natasha stepped forward, her heels clicking sharply. "Take away the girl first," he said, "I have unfinished business with her mother." The corner of her lips twitched with a wicked smirk. One thug walked over to Julie and jerked her up. He hoisted him to his shoulder and started walking towards the exit. Julie screamed, hitting the thug with weak punches. "Mummy help!! Mummy help me!!" She screamed, swinging her legs wildly to break from the thug's grip. "Julie.." Alessia's chest hammered hearing her cry. She jolted to her feet ignoring her pain and stumbled forward. Her knee bucked along the way, her weight crumbled to the floor heavily into the dust. A sharp crack echoed from her elbow. "Ahh.." She whimpered. Natasha and the thugs burst into laughter like her suffering was amusing. Gritting her teeth through the pain, Alessia pushed up her weight from the floor but her body betrayed her again, she fell again. Her breathing became laboured. She crawled through the dust with the remnants of strength she gathered. Natasha laughed at the sight like it was entertaining to watch her step-sister suffer. "This," she smirked, "is satisfying to watch." Alessia crawled to her feet, tears spilling from her eyes fast. He clung to Natasha's leg like a lifeline. "Please..let Julie go.. please..I'll do everything you say..I'll do anything." Her voice cracked, desperate to save her daughter. Natasha crouched to her, her smirk tight and satisfying. "Not so hard. Is it, dear sister?" She tilted her head slightly, a cruel grin spreading over her face. "You could have been more reasonable earlier. Now you have to watch the little scum from your one night stand suffer and get dragged away like a doll. It's a shame you couldn't even fight for her, and that has always been you. You're weak. You're pathetic. That is why father favors me, and gave me the family business to handle because he knows you're not capable." Alassia didn't care about anything right now but her daughter's safety. She stayed at Natasha's feet, gripping the hem of her gown in a tight grip. "Please, let her go.. please." Natasha pulled out a paper and pen. "The 1% shares you have in the Blackwood group. Sign it now or you'll never see your little daughter again." The 1% share was the last thing she had in the Blackwood group. She and her daughter had been surviving on it. Natasha, despite having everything, wants to take away the last thing she had. Without double-taking, Alessia picked up the paper and wrote her signature quickly. Her daughter's life was more important than any property. Natasha snatched the paper. She stared into it with a satisfying smirk. "Good. Very good." She nodded. Then she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a silk malicious whisper. "But I'm very sorry, dear sister. You and your little daughter now belong to Viktor Cross." She continued, her voice dripping venom. "And let me tell you, Viktor is not going to take it easy on you. After he's finished with you on his bed, you and your daughter will be used as an object for his entertainment, or maybe he'll auction you and your daughter somewhere different. Your fatherless child will grow up knowing that her mother was a whore, a weak thing that couldn't protect her. And she'll curse you everyday. You will regret every moment of the rest of your life." Alessia started shaking in anger and fear. She lunged, throwing a punch packed with everything in her. "You crazy!!!" Her punch connected with Natasha's face, sending her staggering back. Her back hit the wall with a sharp crack. She doubled over, holding her face in sheer surprise. She flew into rage. "You crazy woman!!" She spat. "Hold her!" Two thugs pinned Alessia on the spot. Natasha walked over to her and struck her face. Once! Twice! Thrice! And repeatedly till she was satisfied. Alessia's face was sore with red marks of fingers. Her head slumped, breathing with effort. "Take away!" Natasha snapped. The thugs moved, pulling Alassia towards the exit carelessly. Suddenly, the door tore open clean, unhinging from the wall and flying across the room slamming the wall. "What the heck.." The thugs paused. Six men wearing tactical vests rappelled through the dust, their reinforced boots crushing concrete and wood splinters. Their presence filled the room with a threatening aura. Lastly, a tall figure, broad shouldered and multiple insignias walked in. His cold eyes swept through the room like a blade and landed on Alessia. His eyes narrowed with familiarity. The jade pendant swinging on her neck caught his eyes, deepening his familiarity with this woman. He had seen this particular pendant in the past with a random woman he spent a night with ten years ago. "When you see this, you will recognize me, Draven." The woman had told him that night and the next morning, she disappeared before he woke up, leaving only memories with him. Alessia forced her head up. Barely. Her eyes were glazed with tears, but despite the fogginess, she recognized the face of the man standing across from her. "Draven." She pronounced weakly. "They took our daughter. Please save her." She slumped to the floor unconscious. Draven, the ruthless supreme commander who had walked through a bloody battle and returned unscathed, heard his own heart skip at the statement. A daughter? "So," He was thinking, "the voice on the call earlier was really his daughter's?"Latest Chapter
Chapter 98
Chapter 98 - Natasha finds out."His name is Mr. Edwin Shaw, but I don't know whether he still works for Mr. Blac Monroe." Miriam replied.Marcus wrote the name down.It was a lead, but not yet proof that Edwin had anything to do with the threatening message.Alessia looked at Miriam. "Did Natasha speak to you recently?"Miriam's mouth tightened."Yes. She came to see me at a café a few days ago."Alessia felt Draven's attention sharpen beside her."What did she want?" she asked."Information about you. She wanted to know whether you had ever spoken about the things that happened in that house, whether you still remembered certain incidents, and whether there was anything from your childhood that frightened you."Alessia went still."What did you tell her?""Nothing she could use against you." Miriam's voice grew firmer. "She offered me money. I refused it. Then she tried to make it sound as though she was concerned about you, but I knew better.""Did she mention the photograph?" Drav
Chapter 97
CHAPTER 97 - Contacting Miriam Cole.Alessia had not slept well.By eight that morning, she was dressed and waiting in the palace's private study when Draven entered with Marcus. Draven glanced at her, then at the documents on the desk."You've been awake for a while.""I have something to do."He pulled out the chair beside her. "Tell me.""We need to speak with Miriam Cole."Marcus opened his notebook. "I've confirmed that she still lives in the western district. She's been working as a private housekeeper for a family there, and according to our preliminary checks, she hasn't left Crestfall in years.""Has anyone approached her?" Alessia asked."No," Marcus replied. "Not from our side."Alessia hesitated before looking at Draven. "Natasha approached her first."Draven's expression hardened slightly. "You're certain?""Not completely. But Miriam knows my stepfamily better than most people who worked in that house. If Natasha wanted information about my past, Miriam would be one of
Chapter 96
Chapter 96: First Clue IIMarcus glanced between them. “Miriam Cole?”Alessia nodded. “She was the former housekeeper and she there for years. She saw things that happened in that house, and she knew which people came and went. If someone has used details from my past to frighten me, Miriam may recognize the information or know who else remembers it.”Draven considered the suggestion.“Do you know where she is?”“No, but I may be able to find out.”“We'll have our team locate her.”Alessia shook her head. “I don't want armed men arriving at her home and frightening her before we even speak. If she's still the same person I remember, she'll be suspicious of anyone connected to the Monroe family.”“Then we'll arrange a discreet approach,” Draven replied. “You won't go alone, but we won't send a team to intimidate her either.”“Thank you.”He touched her cheek gently. “You don't have to thank me for listening to you.”Alessia smiled faintly.Finally, they had a direction to follow.Acros
Chapter 95
Chapter 95: First Clue.Alessia read the message again the following morning, but this time, she refused to let the memories control her.The letter lay on the desk in Draven's private office. Beside it sat the photograph of the old Monroe residence, its narrow side entrance bringing back memories Alessia would have preferred to leave buried. She had barely slept the previous night, but the fear that had initially overwhelmed her had given way to something else.Anger.Someone had reached into the most painful part of her past and used it to remind her that she was still vulnerable. Whoever had sent the letter expected her to become frightened, to withdraw into herself, or perhaps to beg Draven to keep her away from the world.Alessia had spent too many years living that way.She would not return to it now.Draven stood near the desk, speaking to Marcus about the initial security findings. When he finished, Marcus placed a thin folder beside the evidence sleeve and stepped back.“The
Chapter 94
Chapter 94: The Message.Draven returned to the suite twenty minutes later.He found Alessia sitting in the same chair beside the window, but something about her posture made him pause before speaking. Her shoulders were stiff, and her hands were folded tightly in her lap. She looked up when he entered, attempting a smile that disappeared almost immediately.“What happened?” he asked.“Nothing.”Draven closed the door behind him.“Alessia.”She looked away.He crossed the room and crouched beside her chair, taking one of her hands in his. Her fingers were cold, and he could feel the tension in them.“You don't have to pretend with me,” he said quietly. “Tell me what happened.”For a moment, Alessia struggled to find the words. She did not want to frighten him unnecessarily, especially when he already had the escaped Crosses to worry about. Yet hiding the message would be worse, and she knew he would want to understand why someone had sent it.She reached for the letter and handed it t
Chapter 92
Chapter 92: The MessageNatasha Monroe stared at the message on her phone, reading it for the third time before deleting it from the screen. It was a confirmation from Gideon that he had found no evidence of Miriam contacting Alessia recently, but that did not mean the woman had nothing useful to offer. Their meeting at the café had ended badly, and Natasha had spent most of the previous evening wondering how to get around Miriam's refusal to cooperate without exposing her intentions.She had expected the woman to be difficult, but she had not expected her to be so protective of Alessia. Miriam's loyalty was a problem, yet it had also revealed something Natasha could use. She smiled faintly.That kind of loyalty could be turned into a weapon, but she would not waste time trying to convince Miriam to help her. The woman had made her position clear, and another meeting would only make her suspicious. Natasha needed to move forward with what she already knew, and she knew enough abou
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