The Light He Betrayed

For our third anniversary, my boyfriend claimed he wanted to 'broaden my horizons'.

However, he was just waiting for me to step into the restroom from the moment we arrived. He immediately shredded my passport and every piece of identification I owned.

Before I could even comprehend what he had done, he dragged me into an underground casino.

He strutted in like he belonged there, greeting everyone along the way.

"This one's premium, fresh from studying abroad!"

I blinked at the massive men closing in on me.

The black rose tattoos on their arms…

They looked like the insignias of the Lyon family, the mafia syndicate led by my ex-fiancé, who was also their newly crowned Godfather.

He once loved me obsessively, pursued me for eight years, and nearly forced me into marriage under the weight of his family's power.

It took everything I had to escape that life back then.

What just happened?

One vacation, and I somehow landed right back into their hands?

A scary man with a mean expression grabbed my chin and looked me over.

I tried to push his hand away, but he smacked me back.

Axel James stepped in front of me, his eyebrows pulled together in a frown.

"Tony, what are you doing? She's worth $750 hundred!"

I felt a rush of emotion. I thought my boyfriend cared about me getting hurt, but he was really just worried about his money!

We had been together for three years. For our anniversary, he said he wanted to show me the world, but he actually planned to sell me all along.

"I only started dating you because you studied abroad, which means you're worth more money.

"How else could a broke nerd like you get with someone like me? All you can afford are cheap burgers!"

I watched Axel take the money and walk away without looking back. My heart felt like it had turned to ice.

The Capo, Tony, pressed a gun to my head and warned me in a low voice.

"Stay quiet! Once you're in the underground casino, you can forget about leaving!"

I begged them, "Please let me go! My family will pay you $1.5 million to release me—no, $7.5 million!"

The man laughed as if it were the funniest thing he had ever heard.

"$7.5 million? If you could really afford that, why would that guy sell someone so valuable?"

He showed me his arm and threw a tiny piece of cloth at me, making his point without saying a word.

I was shaking. I tried to explain, but then I saw a black rose tattoo on his arm.

It was the mark of the Lyon family. It was the same mark that my ex, who was now the head of the mafia, bore on his arm too!

He used to be crazy about me. He chased me for eight whole years, and even had his family pressure me to be with him. I managed to escape our wedding, but I found myself back in his grasp after this trip.

"This is the Lyon family's place?"

Tony looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Pretty sharp, aren't you?"

I let out a sigh of relief and said quickly, "I know your Boss. If you don't want him to deal with you, you'd better let me go fast."

Adrian Lyon was tough. To win me over, he tossed any man who ever bothered me into the ocean for the sharks.

However, when they heard the Boss's name, they clearly did not buy it.

"Haha! You know him? Who doesn't know Mr. Lyon?!

"How can a broke student like you think you're good enough to know Mr. Lyon? We're not here to become your friends!"

Tony spat at me, grabbed my hair, and started dragging me to a scary little room.

I knew that if I got into that room, I might never get out, so I started fighting hard.

"I'm not lying! I'm Adrian's fiancée. Call him if you don't believe me!"

The others just laughed harder.

"His fiancée? Mr. Lyon's only ever loved one girl, the famous Principessa of the Sawyer family."

"That's me! I'm Fiona Sawyer!"

Tony laughed at me.

"You seem to know a lot. If Axel hadn't told me your name was just Anna, I might have fallen for it.

"Kid, you've got a lot to learn if you want to fool people. Mr. Lyon's out of your league!"

He shoved me against the wall, and his giant fist came at me. I ducked and kicked as hard as I could when he was not expecting it.

Tony held his belly, wailing in pain.

I noticed the men were still stunned, so I dashed for the door.

"Get that nasty girl!" he shouted.

I was inches from the doorknob when the door swung open, and I bumped into someone.

Tony grabbed me and punched me hard several times.

My face and stomach hurt like they were on fire.

He stomped over to my curled-up body on the floor, his face twisted with anger, and kicked me over and over again.

"You think you can run? You need to learn your lesson!"

He kicked me after every word he said.

I threw up, my spit mixed with blood.

Just when I was starting to lose all hope, the person who had come in stopped Tony.

"What's the mess? Mr. Lyon will be here any second. Don't kill her, or you'll have to explain yourself."

Mr. Lyon?

That was Adrian!

Hope sparked in me, and somehow, I found the strength to bite the hand holding me, tearing off a piece of skin.

Tony yelped and let go, and I bolted.

Down the hallway, a crowd had formed.

I spotted him right away.

Adrian.

He was wearing a sleek silver-black suit and holding a cigar. The Lyon family members surrounded him.

His slicked-back hair, sharp features, and dark eyes gave off a dangerous vibe.

He had not changed at all.

"Adrian!" I called out.

He stopped and looked around sharply.