Dim yellow lights flickered across stained walls, and the sharp stench of sweat and iron clung to the air like rot. Tomasz's eyes widened as he locked gaze with the one man he least expected to find here .... Matteo.
He was standing still, dressed in black, a cruel calm on his face. But his eyes blazed with a fury that no mask could hide. Naked and frozen in shock, the four men ..... their expressions stretched between guilt and fear ..... tried to comprehend what was happening.
Tomasz's voice cracked through the silence. "How did you get here?"
Matteo's lips curved into a knowing smile, one devoid of warmth. "The collars around the girls' necks? They're not ornaments. They're keys."
Everyone's heart froze. Even Annelise, who had been desperately trying to escape from the chains, turned pale.
"I can hear everything they say. Track them. Record their every move."
"No... No….." Annelise mumbled, shaking her body. Her voice trembled. "How did you find... what I was doing?"
Matteo tilted his head slightly, as if enjoying the despair that was spreading like wildfire. "That day I entered your room, I smelled something sweet. The same smell followed me into the parking lot. It was coming from inside Tomasz's car."
Sweat threatened to spill from Tomasz's chin. His breath shortened. "That's not proof…"
"You're right. It wasn't. Not yet. But you started going out of your designated zones. For the first time since you began working under me. You were always obedient. Predictable. And now….... something had changed."
He took a step forward. Each footfall sounded like a gavel striking down judgment.
"So I gave all of them the collars ... discreetly. And you proved me right."
Silence hung thick, only to be shattered by Matteo's next words.
"But I also heard other things….... about you, Tomasz."
Tomasz flinched.
"Rumors. That you smuggle girls. That you're a gambler. A traitor in my house."
Matteo's voice had dropped to a whisper, but its weight felt like a blade against the throat.
"And guess what? Every rumor was true. Thank you, Annelise, for helping me confirm that."
Annelise started shaking ,sobbing. "I'm sorry… Matteo, I'm sorry. I didn't want this. I thought i could escape...."
"There's no escape for you now," he said coldly.
But before anyone could move, one of the men lunged toward Matteo with a rusted metal pipe. The motion was desperate, clumsy ... but lethal nonetheless.
Matteo didn't flinch.
He sidestepped the swing with terrifying ease and in one fluid motion, pulled out a sleek, silver gun from under his coat. A soft hiss echoed through the room.
The man dropped. Eyes wide, limbs frozen.
Anesthesia gun.
The others screamed ... panic overruling reason ... and attacked with broken instruments. Matteo moved like a shadow, slipping between their strikes. His fists landed with practiced precision ... not to kill, but to disarm. To neutralize.
Within seconds, all three lay unconscious, breathing but out cold.
Matteo's breathing was steady. He had trained for this.
But Tomasz .... he was missing.
The air shifted.
From behind him, light suddenly flared. It wasn't the soft yellow of the ceiling bulbs, but something cold, sharp.
"MATTEO, WATCH OUT!"
Annelise's scream was raw ... a crackling wail of fear, remorse, and something else Matteo couldn't place.
He turned.....