My father sold me to the Mafia King novel Chapter 280

Chapter 280: 280/Ashes of Trust

Chapter 280:

Julie’s POV

I was crouching under that massive wooden desk, curling into myself as if trying to vanish into the dust motes. My body was trembling with an uncontrollable violence, my hands pressing against my mouth with a painful force. I was terrified that the sound of my gasps or the chattering of my teeth would betray my location to that hag. In that moment, when I felt my soul was about to depart from sheer terror, Robert’s firm, resonant voice cut through the haunting silence of the room, striking back at Olivia: "What are you doing in my office, Olivia? I didn’t give you permission to enter."

A brief silence ensued before I heard her obvious confusion. Her tone shifted instantly from threat to cheap sycophancy as she replied: "Mr. Robert... my apologies. I only wanted to ask if you wanted me to prepare additional girls for tonight’s party; the customers are increasing."

Robert responded with an icy coldness that signaled total preoccupation, as if her very presence annoyed him: "No, Olivia. Stick to the girls whose names I’ve already specified; those are the ones the clients requested by name. Now... leave."

Her voice came back submissive and defeated: "Yes, sir. As you command."

Then came the sound of her footsteps retreating gradually until the door clicked shut behind her. The weight of the terror inside me didn’t lift; it doubled. Now, I was trapped in one room with the man I feared and loved at once, and I couldn’t crawl out from under his desk because I would have to explain all of this. Suddenly, his phone rang with a monotonous tone, and from my spot, I caught a glimpse of his polished black shoes advancing toward the chair behind the desk.

I crawled with cautious silence, like a snake trying to escape a hunter, toward the farthest dark corner under the desk. Fortunately, the desk was large enough to hide an entire elephant without being noticed.

Robert settled into his chair, and I heard the sound of his breathing before he answered the call in a friendly tone I wasn’t used to hearing from him: "Yes, my friend Lorenzo... welcome." Silence followed for seconds as he listened to the other side, then I felt my heart pound with a violence that nearly tore my ribs when he uttered my name: "Yes... her name is Julie."

I froze in my tracks, the blood turning to ice in my veins. My God! Who was he talking to? And about what? He continued with a soul-killing coldness: "I already sent you her photo so you could see for yourself what I was talking about."

Why was he sending my photo? I felt a chill run from my toes to my heart, as if I were turning into a stone statue.

Suddenly, a light laugh escaped him that shook my being, and he followed mockingly: "Stop the nonsense, Lorenzo. You know me well... I don’t fall into the trap of love so easily. That’s why my decision is in the right place."

The words fell on my ears like lightning bolts burning everything in their path. Was I in a nightmare? Was this the man who was holding me to his chest and swearing his love just hours ago? He added, laughing with a dismissive contempt that stung me: "She’s a poor thing; she doesn’t know a thing about what’s going on around her... I told her I was preparing a surprise for her, and she believed every word. She has no idea what I’m planning."

My heart was tearing apart with every letter he spoke. He deceived me; he used my feelings as bait! He continued in a confident, indisputable tone: "I want you to come tomorrow, Lorenzo. Don’t be late." Then he added crudely: "You’ll definitely like her, I guarantee it... she’s actually far more beautiful than the photo, her features are rare."

My facial muscles spasmed as I tried to prevent my tears from falling and making a sound. What was this monster talking about? He said with a firmness that made my limbs shake: "How can she refuse? She won’t even have the option to refuse. Even if she tries to rebel, I’ll force her."

My God, he’s going to force me! Olivia was right in every word she said. He never loved me; he was just fattening me for the slaughter! I placed both hands over my mouth to stifle the scream of terror and betrayal that wanted to tear from the depths of my throat. Robert concluded his talk with words that were the final nail in the coffin of my rosy dreams: "As I told you, my friend, tomorrow you have to be here, and we’ll agree on the final price then."

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