Page 77 of Vow to Corrupt You
“Didn’t expect that, did you?” he smiles menacingly, angling my head with a rough press of his fingers digging into my skin. “I couldn’t miss out on an opportunity like this. You are the perfect bait, wicked one. Nikos’s little obsession.”
I glare at him, anger flaring despite the fear gripping me. “You’re pathetic.”
He laughs, dark and humorless. “You’ve got spirit. I can see why he likes you. But that spirit won’t save you now, wicked one. I’ll make Nikos watch as I destroy everything he loves, starting with you.”
He leans closer, biting my lower lip. With every ounce of disgust, I spit at him. My saliva lands on his mouth, and the room falls deadly silent.
“You little bitch,” he growls, wiping the saliva with his other hand while gripping my jaw with brutal force. His nails dig into my skin, and I cry out despite myself. “When Nikos gets here, I’ll make him watch as I fuck you right in front of him…right before I kill you.”
Revulsion floods through me, twisting my stomach so violently that I almost throw up, but anger burns hotter in my chest. “Just so you know, my husband has a habit of butchering the cocks of the men who so much as look at me.”
His gaze darkens and his jaw clenches with such force that I can hear his teeth grinding. “Valeria, bring the tape,” he shrieks. “We have to silence the bitch.”
I hear Valeria’s footsteps, then the heavy metallic door creaks. Rodrigo pulls a gun, pressing the icy barrel under my chin. My pulse hurls itself forward, every part of me screaming for escape, but I do not show any trace of emotion.
Nikos once told me he wasn’t born a villain; he was made one. Now, his words make much more sense. Only those who have suffered immense pain, experienced unimaginable betrayal, and had their worlds crash down like a house of cards will ever understand that.
I used to believe Nikos had daddy issues, but now I know what he experienced—the cruelty, the trauma—goes far beyond.
Now I know this is how villains are born.
Perhaps I’m doomed. Perhaps, this moment is my end. But at least I’ll die as the dark queen Nikos has always wanted me to become. His wicked one.
And if I survive, the world will be richer with one more villain in it.
Chapter 42
Serena
I close my eyes, trying to stay calm. Rodrigo tightens the gun’s position, coaxing my head back with it, and his threats keep ringing in my ears.
Dimitris will bring your husband soon, and when he does, you’ll see what I’m made of, wicked one.
The heavy metal door bursts open with a loud bang, but I’m scared to look. I’m afraid to see Nikos captured, led here by Dimitris. I’m only praying for a miracle, for some way out of this. And so, my prayers are answered.
“You shouldn’t have touched my wife.” The low, rough voice rumbles in my ears, and I force myself to look up. I see him, Nikos, safe and sound. Free. Gun in his hand, eyes full of wrath and focused on Rodrigo as if he were death itself. Castro freezes, his arrogance and confidence evaporating as he sees Nikos’s soldiers surrounding him, ready to end his life on my husband’s command.
“How is that possible? This wasn’t supposed to happen!” he shouts, his frustration boiling inside as he steps backward instinctively.
Nikos doesn’t answer immediately. His gaze never wavers, his entire body radiates lethal wrath. “You were a fool if you thought you could outsmart me. In this town, where I am the law. The fucking God.”
Rodrigo’s hand shakes in anger as he lifts his gun and presses it to my temple. My legs feel like lead, but I try not to show the fear consuming me.
“If you don’t let me go,” he snarls, looking at Nikos, “I’ll kill your fucking bitch!”
Nikos’s expression doesn’t change. If anything, his anger hardens into something even more frightening. “You’re talking about my wife, Rodrigo,” he growls. “And I don’t just protect what’s mine. I destroy anyone who dares to touch it.”
My vision blurs as the crack of the gunshot echoes through the warehouse.
Is it over?
Did Nikos shoot him?
Did Rodrigo shoot me?
Eventually, the blur recedes, and I see Castro’s body crumble to the floor. But Nikos doesn’t stop. He fires again. And again. The bullets tear into Rodrigo’s lifeless body as if Nikos is trying to obliterate every trace of him until the gun finally clicks empty. I look at him, my husband. He’s breathing heavily with such fury in his eyes it could burn the entire warehouse to the ground. Finally, he turns his head slowly and looks at me like I’m all that matters, like something in him finally breaks loose. Then, without a word, he tosses the weapon aside and rushes toward me.
“Are you okay, baby?” His breath is ragged as his hands cup my face, trembling as though he’s afraid I might break at his touch.
