My father sold me to the Mafia King

Chapter 396

Julie’s POV

Time was frozen. In that single, godforsaken second, Robert stood commanding the room with his towering, suffocating presence, locking his gaze on me. My eyes dilated in sheer terror as a single sentence repeated in my head like the tolling of a death knell: *He found me. Robert actually found me.* The deceptive calm in his dark eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a burning, poisonous malice unlike anything I had ever seen before.

His jaw clenched hard. When he spoke, his voice dripped with an aggressive contempt that shook the very walls of the room.

"Did you run away for this pathetic piece of trash?"

My mind went entirely blank. A sudden, paralyzing wave of horror washed over me as I realized what his twisted mind was thinking. He saw Steve on the bed with me and assumed my brother was my new lover. Steve lurched forward to defend me, but with a swift, lethal movement, Robert aimed the barrel of his black handgun directly at his head, ready to pull the trigger. Without thinking, I threw my entire body over Steve to shield him, screaming in a breathless panic.

"He’s my brother, for God’s sake! He’s my brother!"

The corner of Robert’s mouth curved into a cold, mocking half-smile, and he spoke in a low voice that chilled me to the bone.

"The filthy lies you constantly spin and throw in my face... they won’t work tonight, Julie."

I gripped Steve’s shirt in terror, crying out in a desperate plea.

"I swear to you, he really is my brother!"

But his features remained frozen, completely devoid of belief. I watched in horror as his finger began to tighten on the trigger, ready to empty a bullet into Steve’s skull. Just then, heavy, frantic footsteps echoed from the hallway, and my father stumbled into the room, looking completely disheveled. Even though my shattered mind couldn’t comprehend why my father would be here at this hour, I clung to his presence like a lifeline, screaming at the top of my lungs.

"Ask my father! Ask him, for hell’s sake, and he’ll tell you!"

Robert slowly turned his head, cautiously training his weapon on my father. My father’s eyes darted between us in absolute shock, finally landing on my brother.

"Steve?" he gasped, his voice trembling.

He surely hadn’t laid eyes on Steve since my brother fled the hell of our old home as a young boy. I cried out, tears streaming down my face.

"Tell him, Father, for God’s sake! Tell him who Steve is right now!"

My father swallowed hard, his voice coming out weak and dry.

"He’s... he’s my son."

I quickly whipped my head back to Robert, locking my green eyes with his dark ones as a wave of bitter defeat and anger washed over me.

"Do you see it with your own eyes now?!" I spat. "I told you the truth!"

Robert slowly lowered his hand, pointing the barrel of his gun toward the floor, though his hard expression didn’t soften in the slightest. He delivered a flat, decisive command.

"Get up."

I moved to stand, but Steve’s hand clamped tightly around my wrist in defiance. He stepped in front of me like a protective wall, glaring at Robert and shouting in raw frustration.

"You aren’t taking my sister to any more of your filthy places, damn it!"

Robert didn’t even blink. He replied with cold, effortless authority.

"You’re coming with us too."

I screamed in a frantic panic.

"Leave my brother alone! He has nothing to do with this cursed nightmare!"

Ignoring my screams entirely, Robert lunged forward with brutal speed. His massive hand gripped my arm with crushing force, dragging me toward him without a shred of mercy. Steve exploded with rage and tried to charge at him, but Robert was far too quick and powerful. With a single, swift blow, he slammed the heavy iron butt of his gun against the back of Steve’s neck. My brother collapsed onto the bed, knocked out cold and motionless.

"Steve!"

A hoarse, terrified shriek tore from my throat. I thrashed against Robert’s grip, trying to get back to my brother, but he simply turned toward the doorway and barked an order to his man standing at the threshold.

"Ron... throw this piece of trash in the back of the cars."

Tightening his grip on my arm, Robert dragged me behind him with a violent, domineering force that ignored my stumbling steps. I nearly crashed to the floor multiple times, but he never paused or looked back to check on me, entirely focused on his goal. He dragged me out into the freezing night drizzle, where a line of sleek, armored black SUVs sat idling, their powerful engines roaring in the dark.

He shoved me roughly into the back seat of a large black car and climbed in, seating himself directly across from me in a murderous silence. One of his men slammed the heavy door shut, the metallic thud echoing painfully in my ears. The driver immediately hit the gas, and the car sped away.

I sank back against the seat, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. Under the cover of the shadows, I reached up with trembling fingers and hurriedly tucked my golden butterfly necklace deep inside my cotton pajama shirt, hiding it completely from his watchful eyes. Gritting my teeth in bitter resentment, I stared at his frozen features and demanded in a breathless whisper.

"How... how did you find me so quickly, for God’s sake?"

A cruel, mocking smirk touched his lips, and his voice cut through the dark like ice.

"Your pathetic excuse of a father... he sold you out to me for the third time."

His words struck me like a physical blow, freezing my entire body. My eyes widened in sheer shock and agonizing pain. *My father? How could he have known where I was, let alone sell me out for a third time?* Tears welled in my eyes as my voice cracked.

"Why did you come back? Why do you even want me after all of this?!"

Robert leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing with a terrifying, predatory glint as he whispered.

"Because you are quite simply my personal property, Julie... and I never let go of what is mine."

"I am not!" I screamed in defiance. "I don’t belong to anyone!"

His jaw clenched with sudden, violent fury, and he let out a venomous hiss.

"You will shut your mouth right now... or else..."

"Or else what?!" I interrupted, my rebellious tone completely stripping away my fear of death. "What are you going to do...?"

Before I could finish my sentence, he pounced on me like a wild predator. His massive, iron-like hand wrapped around my throat with terrifying force, squeezing tightly and completely cutting off my airway. My vision began to spot with black as my breath was choked off. He stared into my eyes with a crazed, manic intensity, whispering through gritted teeth.

"One more word out of you... and I will personally end your pathetic life right here!"