Page 166 of Seeking Shadows

Before I could say anything else, I heard the voice. Cold, venomous, full of disgust.

"Yes Mia, we’re going to kill you."

Nico Riviera stepped forward, a wicked grin on his face.

"Zane Hill," Paulina sneers, her voice dripping with condescension. "I underestimated you. And here I thought you were just a sweet, harmless little thing."

Her words are sharp, cruel, as she turns toward Katie, the sedative syringe gleaming in her hand. But Mia, quick as ever, moves to intercept, her eyes narrowing with a determination that would have made me proud if I wasn’t in the middle of a nightmare.

She takes a step forward, poised to act, but Paulina is faster. A brutal slap rings through the air, sending Mia crashing to the ground with a sickening thud.

I move, my body instinctively shifting toward Mia, the desire to protect her overwhelming. But before I can reach her, Nico’s hand shoots out, firm and unyielding, gripping my arm with a vice-like strength. He pulls me back, holding me away from Mia like I'm nothing more than a pawn in a game I never asked to play.

His grip tightens, a cold sneer forming on his face as he leans in closer. “You think you can save her, Hill? You’re not even worth the effort.”

"You insolent brat," Paulina spits, her tone venomous. "Who do you think you are?"

Katie flinches, but Paulina doesn't stop. Her gaze flicks back to me, dismissing Mia’s motionless form at her feet.

"Paulina, stop playing with your food," Nico's voice cuts through the tension like a cold knife.

Paulina rolls her eyes, annoyed. "I’m irritated. I’ve got things to do."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to play with dolls later," Nico continues with a sneer. "We’ve got business now."

Mia’s breathing is shallow, but her eyes flicker with something more dangerous than I’ve seen before—pure rage. She struggles to rise, but this time, Paulina’s boot digs into my side, crushing me against the floor, the barrel of her gun cold and unforgiving at my temple.

"I told you, brat," Paulina growls, pressing her foot down harder. "Letting him go was your best option. But you didn’t listen."

Mia glares at her, defiance burning in her eyes, but it's Nico's voice that fills the air next, dark and menacing. "She never listens. I also told her never to try rescuing her mother."

Mia’s lips tremble, and for a moment, it feels like her entire world is collapsing. The woman who once played with danger like it was a game, the girl who laughed in the face of death, now looks like a broken child. But Mia isn’t broken. She’s just been forced to remember how badly she’s been used.

"Fuck you," she spits at Paulina, her words sharp and raw, filled with every ounce of her fury.

Paulina’s smile widens, predatory. “The punishment will be fun.”

But it’s Nico’s words that tear through the air like a thunderclap, each one landing with finality. “No, punishment will be mine,” he says, his eyes dark with something cold and unforgiving. “You wanted my attention, daughter? You just got it.”

Shit.

The weight of the moment sinks in, heavy and suffocating. Everything is spiraling. Everything is unraveling, and there’s no way out.

CHAPTER 27

ZANE

The air reeksof blood before I can even react.

Nico stares at Mia with a quiet, insidious victory, but she isn’t finished.

She moves fast—too fast. The blade gleams under the tunnel lights, cutting through the dim space like a death sentence. A second later, a scream shatters the air.

Paulina stumbles back, hands clutching her face, but blood surges hot and dark between her fingers. Her grip on me loosens, and the gun slips from her grasp, clattering uselessly into the gap in the drain, vanishing.

“You cunt!” she shrieks, but her voice is strangled by pain, her sobs mixing with the slick, nauseating sound of blood dripping onto the concrete.

Mia’s knife trembles, but it isn’t hesitation—it’s adrenaline. Hatred radiates from her, raw and vicious, burning through every inch of her rigid frame. Her breath comes fast, shoulders tight, pupils blown wide.

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