บท 54: The Unraveling
My pulse raced as the name echoed in the silence. Maria. The woman who had orchestrated this entire disaster. The woman who had made it her mission to tear apart everything Dante and I had fought to build. Her voice, laced with venom, reached me through the darkness, and I could feel the weight of it pressing down on me.
"Elizabeth," Maria's voice repeated, this time closer, colder. "You should have known it was never going to be easy. But you were too naive. Too hopeful."
I pushed myself into a sitting position, wincing as pain shot through my side. The stone beneath me was damp and unforgiving, and the echo of my breath seemed to amplify in the void. I couldn't see her, but I could feel her presence—thick, suffocating, and predatory.
"Where's Dante?" I demanded, my voice hoarse but filled with determination. I couldn't afford to show weakness. Not now. Not when I was so close to the truth.
Maria's laugh was like a sharp blade scraping against stone. "Oh, Dante. He's not your concern anymore. You've become a distraction. A pawn in a game you don't even understand."
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. I wasn't going to let her manipulate me. Not again.
"You think you can control everything, Maria," I said, my voice steady, "but you're wrong. Dante will find me. And when he does, you won't have a single chance to escape."
Her footsteps were soft at first, barely a whisper against the stone, but they grew louder as she closed the distance between us. I could feel her gaze even before I saw her, cold and calculating.
"You think so?" she asked, her tone mocking. "You think he's coming for you? You're just another obstacle, Elizabeth. Just another thing to get rid of in his path."
I felt the coldness of her words sink into my skin, each syllable like a poison. But I refused to let her win. I refused to let her tear apart the only thing that had ever meant anything to me.
"You're wrong," I said again, more forcefully this time. "You've underestimated him. And you've underestimated me."
There was a long pause, and for a moment, I thought she might strike. But when she spoke again, her voice was laced with something darker—something I couldn't quite place.
"You haven't learned anything, have you?" Maria asked softly. "You were never meant to be in this world. You were always a tool—an object to be used. And when I'm done with you, there will be nothing left of you. Nothing for Dante to come back to."
The words stung, but I refused to let her see it. I had heard worse in my time with the mafia. The cruel things people said when they thought they had power over you. But Maria wasn't just anyone. She was dangerous. Calculating. And she had already shown me just how far she was willing to go to destroy everything I cared about.
"You're nothing like him," I spat. "Dante's not like you. He's not some cold, heartless monster who uses people as pawns in his game. He's better than you'll ever be."
There was silence for a long moment, and I could feel her gaze shifting, the air thickening as if she were weighing her next move. Then, without warning, she stepped into the light, revealing herself.
Maria stood before me, tall and poised, her dark eyes narrowed with contempt. She was everything I had expected—powerful, and elegant, but with a cruelty that ran deep beneath the surface. Her red dress clung to her like a second skin, the color of blood. She looked like a queen—untouchable, dangerous, and cold as ice.
And yet, I wasn't afraid.
"Do you think you can threaten me?" she asked, her lips curling into a smirk. "Do you think that your words mean anything in this place?"
I didn't answer. I just stared at her, my heart pounding in my chest. But inside, something had shifted. A fire had been lit in me. I wasn't the scared girl I used to be. I wasn't the one who ran in the face of danger. I had come this far because I was strong. And I wasn't going to let Maria take that away from me.
"You're nothing but a shadow, Maria," I said, my voice low and controlled. "You've been hiding behind your manipulations and lies for so long, but in the end, you're nothing more than a scared little girl who can't stand to lose control."
Her expression darkened, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of something other than cold indifference in her eyes. Rage. Pure, unbridled rage. She stepped closer, her eyes never leaving mine.
"Do you think you can defeat me?" Maria hissed, her voice low and dangerous. "You're nothing. You're weak, Elizabeth. And Dante? He's no better than you. He'll abandon you just like everyone else."
My chest tightened the truth of her words striking at my core. She was right about one thing—Dante had always been a force of his own. He had never been the kind of man who took orders or let anyone control him. And yet, the idea of him abandoning me… it struck deep. I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't.
"No," I said, my voice shaking but resolute. "You don't get to tell me who I am. You don't get to control me."
I stood up, slowly, my body protesting the movement, but I forced myself to ignore the pain. Maria was standing too close. She was dangerous, and I needed to be ready for whatever came next.
Her smile faded, replaced by a cold sneer. "You're just like your father, you know," she said, her voice laced with venom. "He thought he could control everything, too. But in the end, he was nothing more than a casualty of his pride. And you will be, too."
I flinched at the mention of my father. The memories of my family—the lies, the betrayals, the violence—had haunted me for so long. But Maria didn't know me. She didn't know the depth of the darkness inside me. She didn't understand what I had become.
"You can't break me, Maria," I said through gritted teeth. "And you'll never control Dante, either. He's mine. And you're going to lose."
The last words were barely a whisper, but they carried all the weight of my resolve. I wasn't going to let Maria destroy what I had fought for. Not now. Not ever.
She laughed, a low, mocking sound that sent a chill down my spine. "You think this is over?" Maria sneered. "You think you can stand up to me? You're just a little girl playing in a world that doesn't belong to you."
But I wasn't a little girl anymore. I was something else. Someone stronger, someone with a purpose.
"Try me," I said, my voice steady, my eyes locked on hers.
Maria's eyes narrowed. For the first time, I saw a flicker of uncertainty in her expression. She knew I wasn't going to back down. And for the first time, she seemed to hesitate.
But only for a moment.
Without warning, she lunged, and the world exploded into chaos once again.
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