yourqueeeeeeeeeen
"What?" Liya's voice cut through the stifling air, sharp and incredulous as she stared at the faces of the people who had raised her. Their expressions were cold, unyielding, and utterly devoid of mercy. "No. No!"
SLAM.
A heavy fist slammed against the mahogany table, the sound echoing through the cavernous room like a gunshot. The sharp crack instantly killed every whisper, burying the room in a suffocating silence.
"This is settled, Liya," her grandfather growled. The low, tremor of fury in his voice promised violence, his dark eyes ablaze with mounting frustration.
Liya didn't flinch. She bared her teeth, the fire in her chest refusing to be smothered by his reign. "I don't give a damn if it's settled! I am not marrying that piece of shit!"
Before the last word could fully leave her lips, a hand shot out, brutal and lightning-fast.
His fingers coiled tight into a fistful of her hair, yanking her head back with a cruel, sickening jerk. A sharp whimper tore from her throat as her spine arched, forced to look into the ruthless eyes of the family patriarch.
"You will do as you are told," he whispered, his breath hot against her skin, laced with poison. "You live under my roof. You bleed on my dime. As long as I afford your pathetic existence, your life belongs to me."
He shoved her back with disgust, sending her stumbling against the hard marble floor. He didn't even bother to look down at her as he smoothed his tailored jacket.
"Arthur," the old man commanded, his gaze fixed on the empty space ahead. "Lock her up."
Her own father didn't hesitate. Without a word of protest, without a single flicker of remorse, Arthur's hands gripped her arms like iron shackles, dragging her out of the light and hurling her into the dark, suffocating depths of her room.
In that single, violent moment, her fate was sealed on the family chessboard-a pawn sacrificed to a monster.
But she didn't notice that something far worse was awaiting her