BENEATH THE MAFIA'S GAZE

Rosalia POV

"We want him dead. And you will do the job."

My eyes widened in shock at their sudden words. Kill! Carmine Montanari?!

"No way! I can't do that! I've never done an assassination job! Ever!" I protested, my voice trembling with fear. "And even if I had, this is not just anybody we're talking about. This is the lord of the Montanari family! I could never even get close to him without being killed myself. I can't take..."

Smack!

Before I could finish, a forceful strike sent me crashing to the floor, pain radiating through my face. The sting was immediate, and my vision blurred with tears.

Looking up, I saw the deputy head's cold, unfeeling eyes boring into me as if I were a piece of trash. "Have you forgotten your identity, Rosalia?" she asked.

I shivered as she bent down to my level and raised my chin roughly to meet her eyes. "You're a slave. Our slave." Her voice froze my blood. "And you will do whatever we tell you to do. Understand?"

Tears filled my eyes as she stood back up, casting one last, disdainful glance at me before leaving the room. Her words echoed in my mind, amplifying the hopelessness that gripped my heart.

The walls seemed to close in, trapping me in an eternal hell. She was right. I had no choice. I was their slave.

Even if they had asked me to kill myself, I would have no option but to obey. Resistance was futile. I could only submit. My attempts to fight back, to assert even a shred of my will, were pointless. I was nothing more than a tool to them, a pawn in their brutal game.

Curled on the floor, I cried silently. Each sob wracked my body, a manifestation of the despair and powerlessness that consumed me. The cold, hard floor beneath me felt like a grave.

I never wished for a life like this. No one would. Every day was a struggle to survive, to hold on to the faintest hope that things might change. But hope was a cruel illusion, always just unreachable.

But I had no choice. My father died in their debt, and I was at their mercy. Escaping was pointless; they would catch me, and the torture would be even worse. I had seen firsthand what happened to those who tried. Their broken bodies and vacant eyes haunted my nightmares.

"Rosa? Rosa!"

The door of my room opened and someone came in.

"Rosa?" Her urgent voice quieted in concern as she sat next to me. It was my best friend, Marcel. I raised my head from my knees and hugged her tightly. She was probably confused but she hugged me back.

"Rosa, what happened? Tell me."

And so I burst out sobbing again. "I don't know, Marcel. They assigned me an assassination mission. And I can't kill. I don't know how to. I've never killed anything! And this is not just anything. How am I supposed to kill Carmine Montanari?! I'll be killed! They're sending me to my death!"

Her body froze as I spoke hysterically. She pulled me away from her, her eyebrows furrowed angrily, green eyes seeming like they were ready to cast a witch's spell.

"Fuck!" She blurted out. "Rosa, you can't go!"

"I know, Marcel! I know! But Imelda doesn't let me reject the mission. There's nothing I can do. Absolutely nothing. I'm going to die."

"You are not going to die."

"I am!!!"

"Shut up! I'll kill the old hag! Let her see who's dying first! She can't send you on an assassination; there are people for that!"

I hugged my knees tightly, rocking back and forth as I trembled from my very core. Maybe it was the fear of death, or perhaps it was the overwhelming sense of powerlessness I felt, but I just could not stop trembling.

Marcel wiped the tears on my face with her fingers, but it was no use. My tears seemed perpetually never-ending.

At this point, a man appeared at the door. The bald head, thick furrowed brows, and tall muscular frame could not be more familiar to me. This was one of the 'enforcers' of the organization. Enforcer being a fancy name to address the beasts who were responsible for punishment and torture.

His eyes roamed between Marcel and me before landing on me. "Imelda sent for you," he said slowly.

"Fuck you! She's going nowhere." Marcel made to lunge at him, but I pulled her back immediately. I was already in trouble. I couldn't let Marcel be punished too.

I wiped my tears roughly, trying to strengthen my tone. "I'll go. Marcel, stay here."

I stared at her blazing green eyes seriously. She didn't need to put herself in danger to save me.

She seemed reluctant but stood back as I left, her hands clenched tightly. The look in her eyes was a mixture of anger and helplessness, mirroring my turmoil.

We soon reached the door of Imelda's office, and the bald enforcer held the door open, signaling me to go in. I felt my heart jump to my throat as I walked in with my head lowered. He followed behind and closed the door.

For a few minutes, it was silent. The silence seemed heavy and imposing. All of a sudden, I heard the sound of a chair being pushed back, and my heart thumped loudly as Imelda approached me.

She stood right in front of me, her presence suffocating.

"You know, I don't quite understand you, Rosalia. Why would you reject the mission? It's easy. Kill and leave. You've been here for ten years. Don't tell me you haven't seen a person being killed before?"

I could hear the biting sarcasm in her words. But was it as easy as she said? No. The first time I had seen a person die in front of me, I had been burdened by nightmares for a really long time before I recovered. If I were to kill a person myself, I would probably never recover.

I remained silent, not replying to her taunts. This most likely irritated her, and she became impatient, grabbing my jaw to make me look straight at her.

"I don't have much patience, but I'll be a good person and give you another option. Kill this man, and your father's debt will be completely cleared away or reject the mission right here, right now and follow Pablo here to his quarters so you can both have a good talk. Choose."

My hope, that had been raised momentarily, immediately fell into the depths of an abyss. These were my options: die or die. I was still helpless; I had no choice.

Seeing that I gave no reply, she released my jaw and nodded to the enforcer. "Take her away, Pablo."

I panicked as he grabbed my arm. "Wait... please... no..."

Suddenly, the door opened. "Take who away?"