Page 144 of Vicious Little Princess

He hissed and stepped back, and I smiled through bloodied teeth, ignoring the pain as it stretched my split lip from his assault.

“Where’s my money, Caterina? And keep in mind, how you answer that question will determine just how agonizing these last hours of your life are.”

“It’s gone.”

“Playing this game really won’t help you.”

“It’s not a game. Far from it. That’s something you lost sight of long ago, isn’t it? When you descended into utter madness and lost all respect for human life, for your own family, your own men. When you became nothing but a shell. So desperate to hide your failings and your weakness and inability to continue leading the Leone Family that you went to extreme and disgusting lengths. Now it’s all unravelling. You feel it, don’t you? Let me tell you, it won’t stop. None of it will. We’ll make sure of it.”

“After tonight, your little resistance will be broken. It’s come to my attention that not only was your marriage a ruse and that Nico Marchetti never abused you or degraded you like he was ordered to, but that you’re involved with him, the Bardi boy and that showman, Carver. I’m aware of just how much they care for you. And that was foolish for any of you to allow that sentiment to exist between you, because now it will be used against you.”

“You’re going to use me to shatter them? Another pedestrian tactic.”

He frowned at my seemingly unaffected reaction. “Your life is ending tonight, Caterina. Nico and his accomplices will be destroyed by that alone. I won’t have to lift another finger to eliminate the threat they’re intent on posing to me and Marco.” He pulled something from his coat pocket and then I was looking at my engagement ring. “If you think they’re coming to save you, they aren’t. My new associates here registered a signal coming off this thing, so they’ve disabled it. You’re all alone.”

Alone?No, I wasn’t. Far from it. Those days were gone now.

I even had this little baby here with me right now.

When I didn’t respond, my father tossed the ring on the floor and stared at me expectantly.

“Oh, you’re wondering why I’m not bursting into tears and begging for my life?”

“Yes,” he hissed, not liking that one bit.

“Simple. You don’t scare me.”

“We’ll see about that when you’re barely lucid from the torture my associates here are going to subject you to and all you can do is lie there in a hole in the ground as you watch me fill it with dirt and bury you alive.”

“Wow, that’s a hell of a picture you just painted.” I eyed him steadily and deadpanned, “I’m shaking with utter terror. Can you see it?”

He grunted and stepped back, then barked at the two guys, “Do it. Get the information out of her and don’t hold a thing back. She just needs to be breathing when I bury her at the bottom of the construction site, nothing else.” He went to leave, then pulled up short and burst forward and grasped my throat, making me gag at the brutal grip. “These two are schooled in the art of torture and a whole lot else. Military trained. Unfortunately, certain predilections of theirs led to them not being appreciated. I promised them plenty of opportunities to delve into that, and you’re their firstpresent.”

He released me roughly, and I choked, sucking in a couple of desperate breaths. “You’re despicable. To do this to your own daughter. Just know that you won’t survive it.”

He laughed nastily. “Such hubris. Foolish little girl.”

With that, he left the room and kicked the door shut behind him.

The two guys moved in.

Lefty’s lip curled up nastily, and he made a show of undoing his belt and pulling down his fly.

So that was how it was going to be with him then.

Righty decided to start off with a different tactic, pulling a tactical knife and drawing closer, making a spectacle of spinning it around.

I eyed Lefty with the shaved head. “I’m gonna ripyourthroat out.” I looked to Righty with the eyebrow ring. “And I’m gonna sliceyourdick off.”

Righty laughed. “You’re not gonna be doing much of anything except gagging with my cock rammed down your throat while Reese here cuts into your pretty body.”

“Then when you’re vomiting all over yourself, we’ll break your knuckles, one of your kneecaps, then grab the pliers and move on to your teeth,”Reeseadded. He thumbed the other guy. “Tom’s got a real talent for it, knows how to cause the most pain possible. Let’s see if you’re telling us what the Boss wants to hear by then, huh?”

“Wow, that’s some vivid imagery.”

“Here’s some more,”Tomsaid, pulling a spider gag from his pocket. “Don’t want you trying to bite my dick, do I? Besides, this will help me to get nice and deep.”

He stepped right up to me, so eager to get down to it.

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