Prologue

*Lucia*

Shame.

Despair.

Pain.

They were all emotions that had become so familiar to me it was almost like I couldn't do without them. I wish I could say that I felt nothing, standing in a room full of ruthless and arrogant mafia lords, waiting to be bought by one of them at this disheartening auction but the truth was that I felt something. I actually felt a lot of things. And the leading emotion happened to be an intense sense of betrayal.

It was funny how I didn't ever learn from my mistakes. Once again, I thought my life was finally getting better. That despite my unfortunate destiny as an orphan which just happened to be one of the most pitiful rankings in the entire world, I was finally getting to a better place. It had all been a dream though.

An extremely far fetched dream.

I grunted in pain as the asshole behind me tugged on my rope. I muttered a curse under my breath, instantly regretting it the second a dirty slap landed loudly on my cheek. I bit down on my lower lip, trying to endure the painful sting that itched my face. I barely contained my disgusted shudder when mocking laughs boomed from every corner of the dimly lit room.

My eyes scanned the room in search of the devil I had foolishly trusted with my life but he was nowhere to be found. He didn't even have the decency to be in the crowd while I got sold to one of these pathetic beasts. I felt a spike of irritation when my eyes began to sting with unshed tears.

Dear God, I felt so betrayed.

How could Jason have done this to me?

I had trusted him with everything that I had. I had been in love with him for crying out loud. He would have asked me to give up my life for him and I would have done it in a heartbeat without thinking twice. I had thought the feeling was mutual because he'd said on several occasions that he loved me but clearly I'd been wrong. Everything he'd said, everything he'd done had been a clever act. It had all been a lie.

Fucking bastard.

I turned my face, until my cheek was flush with the inside of my upper arm. Once again, I tried to tug against the rope tied around my wrists, making me dangle like some punching bag. I closed my eyes as drops of sweat entered into them, causing them to sting. Opening them a second later, my eyes landed on the other semi naked captives, waiting to be sold after me.

At least they had more clothes on than I did.

I'd been stripped to almost nothing because of my stubborness. My upper body was left uncovered and my breasts were on display, though that was the least of my problems. I'd tried to escape so they were having a little bit of fun with me. I'd heard rumors that I was one the most sought after slaves, different mafia lords wanting to be the one to punish me.

"Ten thousand dollars!" Someone screamed from the crowd, turning my attention to what was going on. I let out an irritated exhale, picturing the bastard on his knees as I drove a knife through his fucking heart. I would smile while his blood splattered around the room, letting the pain sink in before I drove the knife into his chest one last time. Thankfully none of these assholes could read my mind.

I had an idea of where I would've been if they could.

"Twenty thousand dollars!" Someone else screamed from the crowd, making me flinch. I thought of all the things I could do with that money. Did their families and friends know that this was what they did with such huge amounts of money? Did they know that their husbands and brothers and uncles were also heartless mafia lords and traffickers? Did they even have families?

A tear escaped my eyes then and I watched it fall down to my chest and slide down my exposed breast. I turned to wipe my face with my arm but it barely worked. I was hot and sweaty. My eyes went back to the crowd and my gaze fell on someone sitting at the back. For a second, I forgot how my lungs worked.

After everything I had been through talking to these beasts, I had been extremely sure that none of them could scare me any longer. I'd been wrong. I felt shivers coarse through my spine as I held the unknown man's eyes, my breath locked in my throat. He was looking at me steadily, no expression whatsoever on his face but I had the distinct impression that a lot was going on in his head.

The only thing I registered before looking away was sadness. Sadness at the fact that a man as good looking as him could be involved in all of this mess. Sometimes I wondered if God was trying to make up for their disgusting personalities by making them look like Greek gods.

I kept my head down, praying that he forgot about me. There was just something about him that made me believe he was even more dangerous than anyone else in the room. Maybe it was the way he was sitting so calm, acting like he had all the time and power in the world. There had also been something in the way he had been staring at me.

"One million dollars." A voice announced calmly. My eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when my brain registered the words I'd just heard. The recurring gasps around the room informed me that I wasn't the only one who found the amount ridiculous and outrageous. I raised my head and somehow my eyes instantly landed on him.

The man I'd been staring at earlier.

I didn't need anyone to tell me from the intense way he was looking at me and from the wild stares he was getting that he'd been the one to announce the offer. My heart thudded loudly in my ears and began to slow down even as someone asked if there were any higher bidders. The last thing I remember hearing was the firm "Gone."

And then everything faded to black.