The Mafia's Secret

Chapter 9 ✔️

SCARLETT

        It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Zayn had never left the city. Or at least he had for a week before coming back. How he could come back and not tell me, infuriated me. He was all I had besides my abusive parents. A simple text, call or whatever else would have been comforting. Instead, I received nothing. He had ghosted me completely. He left me unprotected and now I was in the hands of the monster that had kicked him out.
        All these thoughts consumed my mind as I angrily stormed up to Xavier who had been watching Tyler and Jake fight. I hardly had time to think about my actions before I did them. It was like all of my instinct kicked in as I swung my fist into Xavier's face. It had most likely hurt me more than it hurt him but the pain was hardly noticeable since I was fuming with hatred towards Xavier. He had stolen Darren's life from him. He took my brother away from me. All of it was unforgivable. Xavier could rot in Hell for all I care.
        "You son of a bitch!" I finally screamed at him as Xavier straightened himself. He didn't seem bothered from the strike, only amused as he chuckled mischievously. That was until the amusement was gone in the blink of an eye as his eyes grew dark and his nostrils flared in anger. He opened his mouth to speak but I quickly cut him off. "How could you! Darren's wife! His own Ki–"
        Xavier's hand came flying down towards my face. Within seconds my cheek was burning and tears were filling my eyes but I quickly blinked them back, looking at Xavier. He said nothing as he grabbed my arm, squeezing it tightly as he looked over at Tyler and Jake, who had stopped fighting to stare at the two of us. Xavier tightened his grip on my arm, causing me to wince.
        "Tyler, show Jake the rest of the fighting styles. I have to deal with this."
        Xavier's voice was surprisingly calm. It only lasted a second before Xavier was pulling me out of the shop. I had to speed-walk just to catch up with his long strides. He dragged me towards the back of the house, revealing two large wooden cellar doors. They were already open as he tossed me towards them. With no way to catch myself, I tumbled down the steps, crying out in pain as different body parts slammed into each step until I hit the cement floor. I had no time to recover before Xavier grabbed my arm, forcing me to my feet. He quickly grabbed the back of my neck, forcing me to walk forward into the all too recognizable room. The room that welcomed me into this shit show. There was still blood on the floor. Bianca's blood. It was dry now but it was still there, clear as day.
        Xavier hardly gave me a moment to relive my memories before he slammed my back into the wall. He was fuming with anger as his hand gripped my throat tightly. He was squeezing just hard enough to make my throat feel tight, allowing just enough air to enter and exit my lungs. His other hand rested beside my head as he leaned in close to my face. Hatred consumed his eyes as he continued to stare down at me.
        "If you ever do that again in front of my men, I will make your life a living hell! Do you understand?!" He seethed as he tightened the grip on my throat.
        I winced, attempting to draw in a breath. "I already live in hell." I managed to say before gasping for air. Xavier didn't seem to like my answer because he only squeezed my neck tighter, leaning so close into me that our lips were almost touching. That didn't stop me from saying what I said next. "I know what you did to Darren's family. To his wife and daughter."
        Confronting anyone was never something I used to do but my hatred towards Xavier was so high up there, that I didn't care what the consequences would be. I wouldn't blame Xavier if he wanted to kill me. I hated how his touch brought vile images flooding into my brain. Tears welled in my eyes. Blinking them back hardly worked to contain them since they just kept forming. Keeping my face away from him, I could feel his warm breath hit the side of my face. The feeling sent shivers throughout my body. He tightened his grip once again.  
        "How do you know about that?! Who told you!?"
        I didn't respond, still struggling to get air into my lungs.
        It took him a few more seconds before realization flashed in his eyes. There was amusement behind his eyes but it was gone in the blink of an eye. He sneered before loosening the grip on my throat. "It was Nina, wasn't it?"
        "Y-Yes."
       I knew Xavier's question was rhetorical but I answered anyway. Gasping for air, I coughed for a good minute before I was able to breathe normally. A single tear rolled down my cheek as my throat burned. Xavier chuckled mischievously as he moved a hand to my face, brushing my hair back. He then moved his hand to caress my chin, raising my chin so I was forced to look him in the eyes.
        "Don't worry. I won't kill you. Not yet. You're still of use to me." He backed away, moving towards the door. He stopped in the center of the doorway, resting his hand on the door handle as he looked up at me. "If you tell anyone about what Nina told you, I will kill you." He closed the door as he left.

*   *   *   *  

        Hands grabbed my arms, sitting me up against the wall. I came face to face with Caleb. Groaning, my throat felt dry and raw. I tried to speak but only indistinguishable croaking sounds formed instead. Caleb placed a hand over my throat, causing me to flinch back from both fear and pain. His eyes were filled with concern as he looked down at me.
       "What the fuck did you do, Scarlett?"
       "Fuck off, Caleb."
        "Not until you tell me what you said to piss off Xavier. He has all of the big fighters going to the shop to fight. A Round Robin match. Whatever you did, it just gave you a death sentence."
       Round Robin. Fuck. It didn't take much to realize I was screwed. Round Robin was a multi-round cage fight. It was the only time where the actual locked-in cage was used. Once you were in, you were locked in until either you or your opponent were knocked unconscious. Half the people here would gladly show no mercy beating you while you were unconscious. Round Robin was more dangerous than single fights due to the fact that if you won, you played again until you lost or beat everyone else. I might as well jump off a bridge now since there was a good chance that I'd be dead the first round. Everyone resented me. They blamed me for all the shit that had happened and they could easily take it out on me.
        With no other choice, I stood despite my body disliking the movement. Ignoring it, I followed Caleb out of the room. Before I could even walk two steps away from the door, Tyler grabbed my arm, practically dragging me up the stairs and towards the shop. I struggled to pull out of his tight grip but the struggling only made him grip my wrist more tightly. Out of anger I tried to swing my free arm into the one that gripped my wrist. The force was hardly enough to make him wince. He suddenly turned around after dragging me halfway, gripping both of my arms tightly as he kept no distance between us. He looked down with a mischievous grin. There was clear evil in his eyes and I hated it. He could easily kill me now if he wanted. Unfortunately for him, Caleb or Xavier wouldn't let that happen. Or at least I once believed that.
       "Keep it up. See what happens. I've had little patience and plenty of hatred towards you from the beginning. You really want to make it worse?"
        "What's the worst that can happen? You killing me? Because we both know I'd rather be dead than here living in hell."
        "That can be arranged." He dragged me off once again.