Cold.
That was the first thing Evelyn felt as she slowly opened her eyes. Though she couldn’t see, she could sense that she was in a strange place.
The damp air pierced right to her bones. Evelyn shivered from the cold. Her hands felt their way across the rough, wet stone floor. The smell of earth, rusty iron, and mold filled the cramped room.
“Where am I?” she asked herself, trying to figure it out.
There was no answer. Only the sound of water dripping repeatedly from the ceiling.
Evelyn tried to stand up. However, her head was still throbbing from the blow and her fainting spell the night before. She felt along the walls around her.
Stone. Iron bars. A locked door. She was imprisoned. Her breath caught in her throat.
“Dad.” Tears fell down her cheeks again.
Even after she’d been sold, her father had never come to check whether she was still alive or not. How cruel, Evelyn thought regretfully.
Shortly afterward, the sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway. Two guards stopped right in front of the basement.
“That girl’s a pity.”
“A pity?” replied the other guard with a cynical laugh. “Once the Boss gets angry, pity alone won’t save anyone.”
Evelyn held her breath. She listened intently to the guards’ conversation.
“The boss?” Evelyn thought to herself.
“You mean Don De Luca?” the guard continued.
“Of course,” replied the other guard, his conversation partner.
Evelyn’s heart began to race. The name sounded familiar to her. Everyone in New York knew him.
Lorenzo De Luca. The man nicknamed “The King of Blood.”
“I heard that last week he executed his own traitors.”
“Just executed them?”
The guard snorted.
“He hanged those traitors at the harbor as a warning.”
“Then? What happened?”
Evelyn, who had overheard the conversation, reflexively covered her mouth. Her body began to tremble. She couldn’t imagine that she was now a prisoner of Lorenzo De Luca.
“Those traitors met a gruesome end. They say he never gives second chances.”
“He also never trusts anyone.”
“Not even women.”
“His last fiancée even...”
“Enough.” The guard immediately lowered his voice. “I still want to live. I don’t want to die in vain just for gossiping about him.”
They both chuckled softly. Then, the footsteps faded into the distance.
Evelyn slumped down, drained of energy. Could it really be that a man like that had bought her?
For what?
To be tortured?
To be killed?
Or to be used as a bargaining chip?
***
As night fell, the sound of much heavier footsteps echoed down the hallway. They weren’t hurried, yet each step carried an authority that made all the guards instantly stand at attention.
“Boss.”
Then, a low, cold male voice cut through the air.
“Get out!” he commanded.
Everyone immediately left the hallway. Now only Evelyn and the man remained.
Evelyn couldn’t see him. But she could sense his presence. So close. It made her chest feel tight.
“Who are you?” Evelyn asked, breaking the silence. Her voice trembled with fear.
“So, your name is Evelyn Moretti.” The voice finally spoke.
Evelyn clutched her tattered dress tightly.
“Yes,” Evelyn replied, lowering her gaze.
“Look up!” Lorenzo commanded.
Slowly, Evelyn obeyed. Even though her eyes couldn’t see a thing, she kept staring in the direction of the voice.
A few seconds passed. Not a single word came from either of them. The man seemed to be observing her.
“So it’s true,” he murmured softly. “You really are blind.”
Those words stung Evelyn’s pride. Still, she did her best to restrain herself and didn’t protest much.
“Are you going to kill me?” Evelyn took a deep breath.
There was silence for a moment. It felt like an eternity. Then, a short, cold laugh rang out.
“Kill you?” Lorenzo repeated sarcastically.
“Yes.”
“If that were my intention,” the man said, stepping closer, “you wouldn’t have had time to open your eyes just now.”
Evelyn bit her lip.
“I’m just a blind girl. You’ll never get anything from me.”
“Exactly.”
That answer left her even more confused.
“I don’t understand,” Evelyn frowned.
“You’ll understand later.”
The man turned to leave. However, before he reached the door, another man came running in hurriedly.
“Boss!”
“What is it?” Lorenzo responded quickly.
“We just received the complete file on that girl.”
“So?”
“She…” The man sounded hesitant.
“Evelyn is Celeste Moretti’s biological daughter.”
Silence fell once more. It was so prolonged that Evelyn could hear everyone’s breathing in the hallway. Suddenly, something occurred to Lorenzo upon hearing Evelyn’s mother’s name mentioned.
A short time later, Lorenzo’s tone changed. It was no longer cold. Instead, it was filled with surprise, even though he was trying to hide it.
“Celeste?” Lorenzo asked again to confirm.
“Yes, Boss,” the man replied reassuringly.
“That’s impossible,” Lorenzo protested.
“We’ve successfully verified her DNA data and birth certificate.”
Lorenzo was speechless for a few moments. He recalled something related to Celeste.
After that, Lorenzo finally spoke, his voice returning to its usual flat tone as he gave orders to the guards.
“Don’t let her stay here!”
Everyone exchanged glances.
“Boss?”
“Move her!”
“Where?”
“To the east room.”
His men fell silent immediately. That was the best room in the De Luca mansion.
“But, Boss…”
Lorenzo cut in. “Starting tonight, no one is allowed to hurt her without my permission.”
Then he walked away, leaving everyone bewildered—including Evelyn.
Why had the man who had just treated her like a prisoner suddenly changed his mind?
***
That night, Evelyn was moved to a warmer, more luxurious room. However, the door remained locked from the outside.
It turned out she was still a prisoner—just one housed in a gilded cage.
As a servant helped tuck the blanket around her, Evelyn heard two other servants whispering behind the door.
“Is the Boss really going to make that blind girl his new wife?”
“I don’t know.”
“But…”
The servant’s voice trembled.
“I hope that poor girl doesn’t suffer the same fate as the woman before her.”
“Like who?”
The servant swallowed hard before whispering very softly.
“The Boss’s previous fiancée.”
Evelyn’s heart seemed to stop beating.
“What do you mean? What happened to him?” Evelyn was extremely curious.
There was no answer. Just a moment of silence—a silence that felt far more terrifying than any story.
“Tell me, what were you talking about?” Evelyn pressed.
“Forgive us, Miss. We truly don’t know,” one of the servants protested, his voice trembling.
“Please rest, Miss. Otherwise, Mr. Lorenzo will punish us.”
Evelyn couldn’t ask the servants much about Lorenzo. It was as if Lorenzo had silenced them forever.
Evelyn heard the sound of a man’s footsteps. Rather than cause trouble for the servants, she pretended to be asleep.
“Is she asleep yet?” Lorenzo asked.
“Just now, Sir,” the servant replied.
“Good. You two keep an eye on her. If she does anything strange, report it to me immediately. Understood?” Lorenzo warned.
“Yes, Sir,” the two servants said in unison.
After Lorenzo and his servant left the room, Evelyn opened her eyes, overcome with curiosity.
“Lorenzo, what exactly do you want from me?”