Exasperated Patience

Suddenly, the door to that dark room burst open, and daylight flooded the space, blinding her pupils. She covered her face with her arm, feeling the heat burn her skin.

"Get up!"

Victoria instantly recognized that deep voice and sprang to her feet.

"Ah! So, you’ve come back? I’m going to report you to the police, you damned kidnapper! Look at the condition you’ve left me in! Do you have any idea how much time you’ll spend in jail when they find out you’ve kidnapped me? You’re going down," Victoria stood before him, furiously reproaching him.

Salvatore crossed his arms and looked at her with a stern expression.

"Come on, you need to eat breakfast. It’s not good for you to go hungry in your condition."

"I’m not going to eat. I have no appetite. I just want you to let me go, let me go!" Victoria screamed once again. Salvatore rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm, trying to pull her out, but she resisted.

"Let go of me, you idiot!"

On the verge of losing his patience, Salvatore’s pupils darkened. His expression shifted instantly, and he reached for his belt, gesturing toward his weapon. Threatening her with it seemed to work.

"Goddamn it, Victoria, don’t go against me. You’re driving me to the edge of my patience!"

Seeing that his fury had reached a critical point, she tore herself away from his grip abruptly and nodded her head. However, he didn’t let her go and dragged her, by force, to the mansion. A place full of eccentricities and luxuries—typical of a mobster. At the end of the hallway, the dining room was set, brimming with food, and a few maids stood around the table, ready to attend to the guest.

Victoria looked around, unable to believe the magnificence of the place. The smell of food abruptly awakened her hunger; her body was betraying her, reminding her she didn’t know when the last time there was, she had eaten. Yet, her pride remained intact.

"Sit down!" Salvatore ordered, pulling out the dining chair in front of her. But she didn’t flinch, didn’t move a muscle, she simply stood there, staring at the food with disdain.

"I said sit down!" Salvatore shouted. Victoria widened her eyes, surprised and afraid, but she wasn’t willing to yield; she remained standing.

"I will never sit at this table, nor will I taste a single bite of this food. I imagine it's stained with blood. How many did you have to kill to fill it?" Victoria didn’t measure her words, and Salvatore’s patience was beginning to crack.

"I don’t give a damn what you think about the food. I’m not concerned about your wellbeing, only that of the baby growing inside you. If I had any other way to protect it, believe me, I would have killed you already," Salvatore responded coldly. Victoria felt her breath quicken; she couldn’t contain the fury that each word from her captor ignited.

"Ha! Then I’d rather die of hunger and take the baby with me, because I’m not going to give in to your demands. Do whatever the hell you want, mafioso!"

She crossed her arms, and Salvatore’s cheeks flushed with anger. He couldn’t believe the audacity of this woman—she was driving him insane. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, making the maids vanish. He walked up to Victoria, who stared back at him without blinking.

Her chest rose and fell, trembling with anxiety, as he watched her with wicked intent. Then, standing extremely close to her, he tore her shirt open and began caressing her chest, sliding his hand dangerously close to her breasts. She parted her lips slightly, weakened, unable to resist the touch.

"Don’t you dare harm my child, because I swear I’ll make sure you get pregnant again," Salvatore hissed, lowering his hand directly to the waistband of her cotton pants and ripping them off forcefully. "As many times as it takes," he declared.

Victoria was left with only the delicate lingerie she had been wearing since the day before, a gift from her husband to the mafioso. She covered herself with her arms, trying to shield her body. Salvatore smirked in satisfaction and stepped away from her indifferently. He approached the table and, in a burst of rage, flung several dishes to the floor. Food flew through the air along with shards of glass, causing Victoria to jump, startled and frightened.

"Don’t want breakfast? Fine! There’s no breakfast this morning. Instead, I’ll show you what happens to those who dare defy me."

Without warning, he turned toward her and seized her arm again, dragging her out of the dining room and toward the main entrance. Terrified, she began covering herself and screaming in desperation.

"Where are you taking me? No!"

"You’re so difficult, Victoria."

With force, he shoved her into the back seat of the car. Minutes later, the vehicle pulled up in front of a prestigious club-casino. It was a club of dubious reputation, and at the entrance, other women were dressed like her—not because Salvatore had stripped them, but because it was their usual attire. Salvatore pulled back the hood, and she, horrified, looked around at everything.

"What is this place?" she asked, confused.

"Well, this is one of the establishments your husband received in exchange for you. Look, he doesn’t think you’re worth anything."

Victoria lowered her gaze, feeling the weight of his words. At that very moment, an armored car arrived and outstep none other than Eder—but he wasn’t alone; Alondra was with him. The woman was dressed elegantly, wearing dark sunglasses and carrying a leather handbag. Some men who worked at the club came over to congratulate him and praise him for his latest achievement.

Upon seeing them, Victoria felt as if she had been slapped. One of Salvatore’s men opened the door for them to get out.

"Let’s go, Victoria," Salvatore barked as he got out of the car, and she shook her head.

"No, of course not."

Salvatore looked at her threateningly, and that gesture alone was enough to make her give in. Reluctantly, she extended her hand, and Victoria stepped out of the car as well. As she did, her gaze met that of the newcomers. Eder noticed his wife’s presence next to his former boss and looked her up and down, ignoring the others.

"Well, what a surprise, Victoria. I didn’t know you were going to work here. With me, you always dressed like a wilted flower; now that you’re hanging out with my old boss, you dress like a prostitute. Hey! You really kept that hidden well."

Humiliated and stripped of dignity, Victoria hugged herself, trying to cover her body while struggling to hold back the tears she refused to let fall. She wanted to respond, but Salvatore anticipated her, sizing Eder up from head to toe.

"Eder, you arrive early at work. How does it feel to be the fucking king of this territory on your first day?" he spat with irony, while Eder displayed a disdainful smile. He was ready to answer, but that smile vanished the moment Salvatore pulled a pistol from the waistband of his pants and, without hesitation, aimed it straight at his forehead.

Two shots rang out, and Eder’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground as his head exploded. Victoria covered her mouth with her hands, consumed by panic, while her husband’s blood drenched her, staining her completely.