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He roughly pulled me to my feet by my collar, and I yelped as a sharp jolt of pain shot through my body. The sudden ache radiated from my shoulder, igniting every nerve ending as I struggled to regain my balance.

Ceaser returned with a chair, chains, and a camera. He set the chair in the middle of the room and threw me in it. I almost toppled back, but Ceaser gripped the collar around my neck to hold me in place. He forcefully began tearing my clothes. I slapped his hands away, but he backhanded me, snaping my head to the right.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” he sneered, slapping me again.

I cried out and continued to struggle, but despite my failed attempts to stop him, I was soon sitting in the chair naked, embarrassed and disgusted by the way Ceaser and the PuppetMaster eyed me up and down. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling, and sobs started to wrack my body.

Humiliated.

Degraded.

My heart broke even more when I heard the agony in Uncle Malik’s cries, threatening what he would do to the two disgusting villains in my cell.

Ceaser set up the camera in front of me, and I quickly turned my head away. Someone grabbed my chin and squeezed, and I cried out in pain.

“Don’t fucking move,” the Puppet Master snarled. As I met his gaze, there was nothing but hate and darkness in his eyes. “I want Nico to see that his actions have consequences.”

He stood behind the camera while Ceaser slid on black leather gloves and pulled a lighter out.

I whimpered and tried to pull away. He flipped the cap on the lighter and brought it close to my chest.

“Nico, this is what happens every time you fuck with what’s mine. I’ll fuck you ten times back,” he said in a robotic tone.

When the searing flame licked my skin, a primal scream tore from my throat, echoing with a raw fury that I couldn’t contain. I thrashed in the chair, my body arching in protest against the unbearable pain. Ceaser continued to burn my skin. I bowed my head, and drool leaked out of my mouth as I tried to withstand the pain from the burns on my chest, arms, stomach, and legs.

“Enough,” he directed Ceaser.

I could see Ceaser’s feet as he took a step back. My heart raced as he forced my head up with an iron grip, and I looked into a set of dark eyes filled with disgust. Ceaser unlocked the chains and threw me to the ground as if I was nothing but trash.

“Would you look at this,” the Puppet Master purred. The sound made my skin crawl.

A searing pain shot through my scalp as he brutally yanked my head backward by my hair. “My beautiful, broken marionette,” he hissed.

An icy dread permeated into my bones as I whispered the words, “Just kill me already.”

“No,” his grip tightened, blurring my vision. “I am the one who will decide your fate and the exact moment when the show will end. Until then, I’m going to enjoy pulling your strings, for I am your master,” he growled, his hot breath washing over my face as his tongue slithered across my cheek.

Without warning, he released his grip and issued a sharp order to Ceaser. “Carry on with the show.”

“Please,” I whimpered, my lips trembling uncontrollably as Ceaser’s fists rained down on me, each blow sending shockwaves of agony through my body.

The Puppet Master’s laugh echoed again, this time sounding even more sinister.

In a desperate attempt to shield my body from further blows, I curled into a tight ball. His blows left me gasping for air. My body felt like it was being crushed under the weight of his relentless assault, and I couldn’t hold it back any longer. I puked, the sour taste blending with the metallic tang of blood in my mouth.

Somewhere in the chaos, I heard Uncle Malik’s furious shouts through the haze of my pain, a raw, desolate sound that clawed at my heart.

And me?

Anger coursed through my veins, igniting a fire deep within. I wanted to fight back, to scream until my lungs burned, but all I could do was take hit after hit. With every punch, a part of me shattered, and I felt myself slipping away while the shit show raged on around me.

I closed my eyes, allowing my mind to drift to the image of Nico’s handsome face with its strong jawline and captivating smile that always seemed to melt my heart. I could almost feel the warmth of his lips as they brushed against mine, making the world around us disappear. The way our bodies intertwined in perfect harmony when we made love, each movement synchronized as if we were the only two souls in existence. And when we played music together, it was as though we were suspended in our own orbit, the melodies weaving around us, binding our souls.

I fucking love youwere the last words I heard him say as I drifted off into the dark abyss.

“Gigi.”

“Please, wake up.”