Chapter 1

Predator, Prey

  He was the predator, his unfortunate enemies were his preys. “Everything has a cause and effect,” Every gang leader in the country who was under him was present at the moment. He knew most of the people present in the room feared him more than they respected him but some of them are still crazy enough to defy his rules. He was a man with an insatiable hunger for power and he would do anything to achieve what he sets his mind on, not that he gave a damn about what anyone says.

He was wearing a black outfit and a silver mask which only revealed half of his face. A terrifying smile placed across his face but it didn’t reach his eyes, an icy air of command hung about him making everyone present in the room lower their heads in respect. His ruthlessness and predatory mind gave him reputation among the rest of his kind. Half of his face might be covered but the powerful aura he radiates made him mysterious and dark.

“Oh I would pity those of you who dared to cross me, I can assure you that your ends would be spectacular.” The Capos glanced at each other and swallowed. A shiver of dread ran down their spines. They might be the most powerful men in their cities but in front of Maschera, they were nothing. His dangerous aura was intimidating to no end.

“I didn’t know that some of you wanted me dead so bad.”

The Capos all dropped to one knee, their right hand on their chest to show submission. Planning to kill the leader of the underworld was treason. “We pledge our loyalty to you.”

Maschera stared at them without saying anything. And in that terrible silence, their fear grew causing them to shiver in a thick layer of cold sweat. Panic jarred their bones, making them tremble. No one wanted to be the enemy of Maschera. The guy had developed 260 torturing methods and he can do all of this without batting an eye, he doesn’t give empty threats and whatever is says is law. He was a monster

“Hmm perhaps I shall take the preventive measure of separating the traitor’s body from his head”. He replied in his deep toned, manly voice that sent ripples of shiver through them. They knew he did not possess a soft bone in his body and he had proved it anytime he amputated someone limb from limb like he was studying the human body.

Life was a battle, only the strong survived.

He stood up from his throne and strode towards the Capos who were kneeling with their heads lowered. He found who he was looking for, his unfortunate victim, Rafael Castillo. He was kneeling at the far end, the Boss crouched in front of him and whispered in his ears. “I heard you’ve been having a lot of fun lately, care to share some of your experience with me?”

Rafael eyes widened as his heart dropped to his stomach. The statement made blood drain from his face. “Was..Wh..What.. are..y..you…ta.. talking….ab..about”

“Did you enjoy deceiving and betraying me and at the same time couldn’t you spare those kids?”

“I’m sorry” Rafael pleaded. He knew the punishment for betraying the Boss, even if Maschera was merciful, the punishment for killing kids unjustifiably was not petty.

“Hmm wrong answer”.

Rafael stood up suddenly and started running towards the door. Maschera sighed and took out his gun from his pocket, he didn’t understand why they always ran as if they could escape the grim ripper.

“Run, Run..oops I missed” He taunted before the sounds of gunshot echoed in the room. “We both know that I cannot kill you at this moment but I shall have a fun time trying.

The moment Rafael reached the door, it was closed by the guards there, his eyes widened and he trotted around the large space like a guinea fowl to dodge the bullets. Maschera was toying with him, he never missed a shot but the fact that he kept missing Rafael by a centimeter showed how he was playing with him.

Rafael’s face ashen but Maschera didn’t stop. He kept shooting the bullet in his direction without care, a bullet hit his calf and he yelled out in pain.

“Fuck” he cursed and limped around. He started trembling like a leaf in the rain, with no other option left, he started crying, he stood at a spot shivering and wincing at every pull.

“Please have mercy”. Hot tears of shame slid down his cheeks while he pleaded for forgiveness. His legs gave out and he crouched on the floor, covering his ears. The inner torment was visible on his face. Despair twisted and turned inside him, the fear ate away his sanity reducing him to a gibbering wreck. He has never been this scared in his life. “I’m sorry.” He pleaded with hopes that he’ll be forgiven and pardoned but that possibility was as slim as thin ice.

“No you’re not sorry, you’re just scared for your pathetic little life”. Then he said coldly to the others in the room. “Watch what happens to those who betray me and if any of you continue to defy me, your lives will be reduced to an unending sequence of agonizing torture then you’ll meet an end so cruel that the devil will weep.”

He grabbed a few sharp equipment’s and began cutting Rafael’s clothes off his body, slicing his body in the process.

Rafael screamed but the other Capos in the room turned a blind eye to him, no one wants to risk offending the boss at this moment or his death anniversary would be the same time next year.

“Keep your mouth shut or I’ll show you things worse than death.”

Maschera finally removed Rafael’s underpants, baring him naked in front of everyone. He then stuffed the underpants in Rafael’s mouth, silencing his screams.

“Let’s begin, shall we?.” He smirked devilishly. “Tell me, have you ever been skinned alive?”.

Ten minutes later,

Maschera looked at his work and nodded in satisfaction, Rafael was tied to a pole, his eyes blackened, his nose broken and his lips swollen. His body was stained with blood, all of his fingers and toes chopped off and were lying in the floor, an IV line was secured to his brachial vein. He had blood transfusion on the left and fluids on the right.

The fun just started so he shouldn’t die yet.

“Ring around the roses, a pocket full of guns, thought you were pretty foxy, didn’t you?” Maschera taunted. Rafael was barely breathing, his eyes were closed. The fact that he was still alive was a mystery after all his tongue had been burnt since he was making too much noise.

Maschera waved, indicating to one of the guards to come over. He came over with a bowl containing hot, steaming water. With no sense of pity, Maschera grabbed the back of Rafael’s head and put his face in the water.

Rafael screamed as he gasped for air, his face was now red and burnt. Maschera chuckled, he was enjoying this more than he should “See, it wasn’t that hard to wake up”. The fear in Rafael’s eyes excited him. He glanced at a clock and frowned. 2am.

“Please kill me, just end it all.” Rafael tried to beg but the words were incoherent In his heart, he knew that it was futile as he had watched so many others in his current situation. The end of it all was death but he was so scared. The fear in his eyes could no longer be concealed.

He had messed with the wrong person and the consequences is death. No need for a trial.

Maschera had a smirk on his face, as his eyes swept past each and everyone in the room. “You all think I have become more lenient by overlooking some of your activities Giusto?” Everyone froze, no one dared to speak. “I allowed you to bend the rules but you should never break them.” His icy tone of voice made everyone present pale, it was as if there were guns pointed behind their head and the order to shoot was lingering in the air.

“ Mi dispiace, I am sorry. Spare my life Maschera.” Rafael yelled out in pain as a guard appeared with another bowl of hot steaming water. Maschera was not merciful nor did he pity the man before him. There was no emotion on his face as he once again grabbed the back of Rafael’s head and put his face in the water.

“I hate loose ends the most,” The Boss also known as Maschera said with a sigh. A guard handed him a revolver which he accepted with a smirk. “It’s best to snip them off.”

Maschera fired, aiming at his victim’s stomach. Rafael’s eyes widened in surprise, then glazed with pain. The unbelievable fire of the pain. “You disappoint me Mr Castillo, did you take me for a fool? Do you think so much of yourself that you believed that I would take your pathetic excuses and wish you Buona fortuna?”

Maschera shot Rafael’s left kneecap, then his right. Rafael’s thin scream of pain faded away into whispers. “I would have killed you quickly if you hadn’t insulted my intelligence. Now it may take you hours, hours of agony and it’s not enough.” Rafael groaned in pain, too deep in shock to realize that his pleas were useless. “Betrayal is unforgivable.”

He turned around, walking towards the entrance. “Let him bleed to death first and remember, if disaster follows you, don’t think of escaping.” Maschera left the room with his guards trailing behind him, leaving the other men in shock. No matter how many times they had seen the Boss torture someone, it always caused fear to engulf their soul.

*

*

She stared at herself in the full length mirror, the lightening in the room was good, letting all of the little crystals on her bra glitter like diamonds. She was a young adult who seemed to have mature in a dangerously sexy way. With a small smirk on her face, she glanced at a small clock on the wall. “A couple of minutes left.” She muttered to no one in particular as she was the only one in the room.

The make up brushes smoothened out all the unblended lines and getting rid of the imperfections. The dark, sparkly eyeshadow made her eyes pop and the red lipstick made her lips look Fuller than they were. Fortunately, for her stereotypically full chest and butt, the extravagant bra and high waist panties concealed the special part of her body.

“Come on Aria, you should be on stage in three minutes.” A woman’s voice resounded in the room as she lightly knocked on the door.

“Right.” Gabriella said in a low tone of voice as her gaze fell on the unconscious woman hidden behind the wardrobe. ‘No one would notice her absence until I’m done.’ She thought inwardly.

Gabriella placed a gold mask on her face, it covered half of her face only revealing her red lips and blue eyes. This helped in pulling off her plan as her identity would remain hidden for the rest of the evening. No one would know that the person behind the mask wasn’t Aria but an imposter and by the time it would be discovered, she would have been long gone.

Her heels clicked as she made her way from the dressing room and onto the stage. As she walked, she let her hips drop in a sexy motion, allowing herself to feel sultry and seductive before anyone’s eyes were on her. Compared to the calm expression behind the mask, Gabriella was very nervous about what she was about to do. To accomplish her plan, she had to take on the identity of a stripper. She had practiced for days with hopes that everything would work out well. ‘You can do this bri, after this, we can take out that motherfucking bastard and our revenge would be completed.’

Soon enough, her alias was called out and she made her way to the lit stage. A wide smile stretched across her face and she took slow, delicate steps, allowing the lights to bounce off her bra and accentuate her little waist. She held the pole like a pro as all her practice routine replayed in her mind. Gabriella acted on them, her hips rolled with each motion and men whistled out to her. Wads of cash was already landing on the stage. She ran her hands through her silky hair, and shut her eyes like she was in bliss.

Despite the noise and music, Gabriella did not forget herself in the act, the reality remained that she had a job to complete by midnight and this was one of the ways to achieve it. When Gabriella opened her eyes, her attention fell on a man.

Her target.

He was in his early thirties, he was wearing a snapback and jeans. She could see the way his lips parted in disbelief like he had never been to a strip club before. Gabriella smirked as she noticed that she had also caught his attention. After seeing him, she felt relieved that all her efforts were not in vain.

She didn’t make eye contact with anyone, she focused on her muscles and her form as she danced on the metal pole. Her arms supported her body as Gabriella showcased her long legs. The middle aged men before her expressed their approval with more money tossed to the stage.

The pole was in between her shoulder blades and her arms wrapped around it. In a slow, rhythmic fashion, she rolled her hips forward and backward, her back arched nicely with the movement, causing her full chest to look fuller and enticing. As she continued to spin and twirl, she let go of her worries and began feeling like a goddess.

A few hours ago, Gabriella was worried that it would take a while to shift into the feeling of being a stripper but as the transformation happened, she felt incredible. When she opened her eyes once again, she noticed that her target was delighted with her performance like he didn’t want it to end. She continued on, moving into different moves and pattern like she had practiced. Wads of cash piled up on the stage and a coy smile appeared on her face.

When Gabriella was done, she moved backstage where the stage manager was waiting for her. “Aria! That was incredible. You were awesome tonight.”

“Thank you.” Gabriella pretended to be shy by looking away, she tried not to sneer.

“I have a guy that wants a private dance from you.”

“But-”

“Before you say no, he is willing to pay triple your usual.” The stage manager pressed on.

“Who is he?” Gabriella was really hesitant about agreeing, she became an imposter and stole a different identity in order to meet her target. She couldn’t meet anyone else aside him or her plan would be futile

“He wore a snapback and jeans, he seemed entranced by your dance earlier. You should meet him Per favore.” The stage manager pleaded.

‘Checkmate!’ Gabriella screamed out in her mind. The fish had taken the bait unfortunately, it won’t be alive for too long. “Va bene. I will do it.” She agreed.

The stage manager happily led her to the room where her target was waiting, unaware that he had brought a devil to his abode. Gabriella shut the door as she entered the room. Slow, soft music began playing as she went to meet the man who was sprawled on the only couch in the room. Anger and disgust boiled within Gabriella as she saw the lust in his eyes and the lewd expression that he didn’t even bother to conceal.

His eyes fell in her exposed legs and trailed until it landed on her breast. Gabriella wanted to stab his eyes but clenched her hands tightly behind her. It was not the best time to act. Her eyes were red, filled with unshed tears. She was in the same room with one of the men that raped and murdered her mother before kidnapping her little sister.

Gabriella had always lived a simple life with her foster mother and sister who she adored. Their life was pretty normal and her foster mother never made her feel unloved. Since her mother was took a lot of jobs to cater for their need, Gabriella was tasked with taking care of her six years old sister. At twenty, Gabriella didn’t have a lot of friends and mostly enjoyed the her sister and Mateo, her best friend.

Gabriella could still vividly recall the smiles on their faces before she left to go out on a date. Only for her to return late in the night to find her mother in the pool of her own blood and her sister was nowhere to be found. The footage from the building only showed a group of armed men taking away her little sister.

She made a report to the police but the case was suspiciously closed . Gabriella knew that there were some underhand measure involved, and whoever that was behind the incident was too powerful for her to fight in the open. She could only rely on herself and get revenge.

But it wasn’t easy, with the help of Mateo, she had been able to track some of the men involved in the kidnap of her sister and get rid of them without causing suspicions and drawing attention to herself.

Gabriella was snapped back to reality when she felt arms wrapped around her waist and kisses on her shoulder. She reacted instantly by jabbing her elbow on his nose and striking the back of his neck, rendering him unconscious. “Sleep tight bastard.”