Chapter 102

Alessandro

They dragged him into the basement at midnight, the air heavy with the stink of damp concrete and old blood. His fancy tuxedo was shredded, and I couldn’t help but think it was hilarious. His jacket was gone, ripped away in the fight, leaving a white shirt soaked with sweat and streaked with crimson.

The handcuffs bit into his wrists, chaining him to a steel chair bolted to the floor, but he sat tall, chin up, like he was still the king of the gala he had just been yanked from. His arrogance oozed so easily from his demeanor, I had to laugh. He must be delusional to believe he would leave here whole and entire. His pale eyes burned with defiance, daring the room to break him.

The iron door screeched as I stepped inside, the sound scraping the silence like a blade. He didn’t look at me, just scanned the grim space, his eyes stretching across the wet, gray walls. A flickering bulb dangled above, shadows twisting over a rusty table and a bucket of ic