Page 59 of The Casella King

My screams thunder through the basement walls as both my arms are hung from the ceiling, my hands desperately grappling at the chains to hold my weight as my legs dangle under me. Fear is lodged firmly in my throat as I watch a man with a black mask gripping a large iron stick that looks like a cane walk towards me. My eyes swing to Leo on one side of the room, leaning against the wall, his expression almost bored at the sight of me.

“I told you I don’t know.” I breathe through the pain radiating through my wrist and into my arms.

“I’m sure you do,” he nods to the man with the stick. “Somewhere in that little brain of yours, you have stored information. I’m just trying to help you access it, love.” He grins, a sickening feeling planting itself in my chest. My heart thumps louder, threatening to break through my ribs as I watch the man lower the stick into burning coal, the tip of the stick now bright orange as he lifts it up to my face. I wrack my brain for any information I can muster, something, anything, that I can think of, but nothing comes to me.

“Does it make you feel good?” I seethe, my eyes firmly locked on Leo’s. His eyebrows pull together as he notices the shift in my voice.

“I don’t think you’re in the position to be asking questions.” He pushes off the wall and walks over to me to stand directly in my line of sight.

“Does it feel good to hurt people who you believe are incapable of defending themselves?” I spit at his feet, hoping to draw some sort of reaction from him.

He clenches his jaw. “You knownothingabout me.”

“I know more than you think I do.” I grin through the pain as he nods to the man in the corner who lowers me to the floor, the pressure finally releasing from my wrists.

“Do tell me what you think you know.”

“You have a traitor amongst you,” I whisper. “Someone who has been aiding me.”

His face drops as he looks around the room. “No one would dare betray me.”

My lips curve into a smile as I watch his eyes grow wide.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” he questions.

“Check my pockets.”

Sure enough, when he finds the key to the basement door, his eyes draw in as he paces the basement floor in front of me. “Tell me who it is,” he demands, his voice dropping low.

I shake my head from side to side with a smirk firmly plastered on my lips. “It doesn’t work that way.” He stares at me, contemplating his next move, and I know I have him right where I want him. “First, I need you to let me out of these restraints.”

He nods to the man in the corner, and the old rusty shackles are taken off, freeing my wrists.

“If you’re not careful, this person will be the cause of your foundation crumbling.” I speak, biding my time, trying to come up with the best way to get what I want.

“Stop with the theatrics, and spit it out.” His jaw tics as he raises his chin.

“Now why would I do that when my safety is not guaranteed?” I rub my wrists. “I have somethingyouwant, and you have somethingIwant.” I smile, making him even more mad. “I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement.”

“Get to the fucking point,” he snaps.

“I want you to destroy everything you have on the Casella family and burn all the stock you own,” I demand. “I want to see it with my own eyes.”

He pauses for a moment, and then his laughter echoes through the emptiness of the basement. “Who the fuck do you think you are making a demand like that?”

I raise my chin. “I am a Casella.”

He scowls as he takes a step toward me, my feet firmly planted on the ground. I don’t dare make a move. “I should’ve killed you the moment you stepped foot on this property.”

“That’s one thing we can agree on, but you didn’t.” I grin. “Now, if you want to know who has been betraying you, I suggest you do what I want.”

He hesitates for a minute, considering my words. “How will I know you’re telling the truth?”

“I have proof.” I lie.

I’m not ready to serve up Darcy to them on a silver platter, so I’m going to drag this out as much as I can until I know what I want has been done.

“I don’t trust you,” he whispers as he leans in.

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