My father sold me to the Mafia King

Chapter 397

Julie’s point of view

Suddenly, his grip loosened, and he let go of my neck. I collapsed backward, coughing violently and gasping for air as my strained lungs desperate clawed for oxygen. I stared at him with burning resentment as he calmly adjusted his posture and sat back in his seat. He turned his gaze to the window, ignoring me completely as if he hadn’t just nearly choked me to death.

As the car tore through the night, I desperately tried to gather my shattered thoughts. *How can I escape this monster who has stripped himself of any real emotion? And Steve... what will they do to him in the car behind us?*

I forced myself to find some semblance of resolve. I needed to be strong; I couldn’t afford to break under his tyranny. Despite the bone-chilling terror running through my veins, and despite the fact that my heart still traitorously hammered at the mere sight of him, I shook my head hard to clear my thoughts. *He is my enemy. The man who deceived me with a hollow illusion of love, and who was planning to sell me off like a cheap commodity to his filthy clients.*

I tried focusing on the roof of the car, the floor, the window—anything to avoid looking at him. But inevitably, my green eyes kept drifting back to his sharp, frozen features. Throughout the entire drive, he never looked back at me once.

Finally, the car slowed to a halt. The heavy door was thrown open, and I looked out, swallowing a bitter breath of air as I realized where we were. It was the place that had ruined my life and left me feeling forever stained the famous restaurant that hid that dark club beneath it. Robert stepped out with rigid, military strides, then threw a cold look over his shoulder.

"Get out. Now."

With exhausted steps, I climbed out and followed him in silence. We walked through the empty restaurant, down the stairs, and into the elevator. When the steel doors slid open, we approached the door that required a passcode. Walking down that long corridor felt like a march to my doom, until we finally reached the exact room where I had been held captive in the very beginning.

He threw the door open, grabbed my arm, and shoved me inside with a force that sent me stumbling to the cold, hard floor.

I scrambled to my feet, glaring at him as I panted heavily, refusing to back down. I yelled before he could close the door:

"Where the hell is Steve?! What are you going to do to him, Robert?!"

He didn’t say a word. He simply threw a merciless, dead look in my direction, then slammed the heavy door shut in my face. A second later, the distinct, electronic click of the lock echoed through the room, sealing my fate.

I was back at square one right back in the iron grip of a ruthless man who didn’t possess a single shred of pity.

I began pacing the room frantically, my heavy breathing the only sound breaking the stifling silence. I paced like a caged wolf, my eyes scanning the corners and the ceiling, desperately searching for any loophole, any way to break free and escape. But a bitter lump formed in my throat, freezing my thoughts. *Steve. How could I even think of escaping when my brother was at their mercy in some unknown corner of this place?*

My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the bed, physically and emotionally shattered. Tears stung my eyes as Robert’s words echoed in my mind like daggers. *My father sold me out for the third time.* I gripped the bedsheets with a sudden, blinding fury, gritting my teeth as I whispered.

"I will kill you with my own two hands, damn it... I will drink your blood, Father."

I let my heavy head fall back onto the mattress, completely drained by the consecutive shocks and pure exhaustion. My eyelids grew heavier and heavier until a deep, dreamless sleep claimed me, offering a brief escape from this living nightmare.

I had no idea how much time had passed...

Suddenly, my body convulsed in absolute panic as a splash of freezing-cold water slammed against my face and poured down my neck, sending a violent shudder through my limbs. I struggled to open my eyes, shaking my head to clear the water, only to find Robert’s towering frame standing over the bed. His fingers were casually wrapped around the rim of an empty metal bucket.

Wiping my face with a trembling, angry hand, I glared into his dark eyes and screamed.

"Are you completely insane?! What is wrong with you?!"

Robert’s lips twisted into a cruel, mocking smirk as he carelessly tossed the iron bucket aside. It hit the floor with a sharp, metallic clang that reverberated painfully in the darkness of the room. He took a single, deliberate step closer. His dark eyes slowly traced the icy droplets of water clinging to my wet hair, watching them slide down my neck and seep beneath the collar of my damp cotton pajamas, making my entire body shiver violently from the biting cold.

"I’m not insane, Julie," he murmured, his deep, gravelly voice dripping with cold authority. "I simply don’t like waiting for what belongs to me while you enjoy a peaceful, deep sleep."

As he spoke, his massive, warm hand tangled firmly into my wet hair. With a sudden, rough tug, he forced my head back, leaving me with no choice but to lock my green eyes onto his sharp features, which were hovering provocatively and terrifyingly close to my face.

I clenched my jaw, fighting the tremor in my chin caused by both the freezing wetness and the hot rage boiling inside me. I spat my defiance directly into his face, gasping, "Where the hell is my brother, Steve?! Tell me what you did to him!"

My outrage didn’t pierce his icy facade. His dark gaze held mine captive as he dragged his thumb roughly across my trembling lower lip, pinning it down to silence me. He leaned in, his breath warm against my skin as he whispered in a chillingly calm voice, "Your damn brother is safe, in a place you have no business knowing. But whether he stays breathing... that depends entirely on how well you obey my rules. From now on, I run this game."