Eva’s POV

After sharing a smoke, Snake ordered his men to wheel me in.

Rough hands yanked me from the back seat and shoved me into a cart. We rolled through a set of doors and straight into a private suite.

Some man tossed me onto a sofa—the armrest slammed into my waist, knocking the breath from my lungs.

“The Don here yet?” Snake asked.

“Just arrived,” someone answered quietly. “He’s greeting clients downstairs.”

“Then we wait.”

Miles sat beside me, leaning close. “I know you’re awake, Eva,” he whispered. “Please. Don’t make a scene. Just help me this once. I’ll come get you tomorrow, okay?”

“Fuck you,” I murmured.

“What?” He leaned closer.

For the first time, my strength came back enough to carry my voice. “Fuck you. I won’t do it.”

Snake turned, his eyes narrowing. “What’s going on?”

Miles clapped a hand over my mouth. “Nothing,” he said quickly. “Just teaching my girlfriend to appreciate what a good deal this is.”

Snake looked me over. “Good. If she acts like this in front of my Don, we’re all wasting our time.”

He turned away.

Miles snapped. His hand came down hard across my face. “I already told you—once we’re in the casino, don’t try anything,” he hissed. “Do exactly as I say, or things will only get worse from here.”

For a split second, I saw it—something wild and unhinged in Miles’s eyes. I didn’t even recognize him anymore.

My mouth moved before my mind could catch up. “Go ahead. I dare you.”

I knew better than to challenge a desperate man—but I was so angry. I couldn’t believe my own boyfriend was offering me to another man like some kind of dessert.

If this Don wasn’t my brother… then whatever was going to happen to me tonight was unthinkable.

“Don’t slap her,” Mr. Snake said lazily from the side. “If you ruin her face, what’s my Don supposed to look at?”

“I’m—” I barely got the word out before Miles clamped a hand over my mouth.

“Be quiet,” he warned.

Snake gave me a fleeting glance. “Good. Keep her quiet—and make sure she behaves. I don’t want any unnecessary noise coming from our suite.”

Miles turned at the suggestion. Whatever softness he once had was gone. All I saw now was a stranger—crazy-eyed, calculating how to hurt me without leaving marks.

“I’ll ask you one last time, Eva,” he said quietly. “Will you help me or not?”

He leaned closer. “Think of it like sleeping with me. Just another man. We’re all the same, right? Maybe you’ll even enjoy it.”

I stared at Miles, didn’t give him any response. I was so done with him. It was time to get out of here.

My fingers twitched, searching for the bracelet.

Nothing.

My heart dropped. I must’ve lost it on the way here.

I scanned the room—no sign of it.

“You asked for this, Eva,” Miles snapped. “Don’t blame me.”

He stood, grabbed a bottle, and smashed it down on my ankle.

Pain exploded through me. I cried out despite myself, glass biting deep into my skin. Blood spread fast, hot and sticky.

Mr. Snake chuckled. “Looks like our pretty girl still has some fight.”

Miles took it as encouragement. “I don’t want to do this,” he said, eyes locked on mine. “Just say yes. We can end this.”

I swallowed the scream burning in my throat. “I will never help you, Miles, go to hell.”

“Bitch.” His gaze shifted—from my ankle to my hands. I knew what he was thinking before he moved.

“No—”

He picked up the knife from the table and stepped closer, slow and deliberate.

“If you’re still this stubborn,” he murmured, “how about we take a few fingers? That’ll teach you to behave.”

The blade caught the light.

“Wasn’t your dream to be a pianist, babe?” he asked softly. “Tell me—if you lose a finger or two… can you still play?”

“No,” I said, my voice shaking despite myself. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Becoming a pianist was everything to me. That dream was why I’d left my family behind, why I lived alone in Boston.

Miles wouldn’t do it. He wasn’t that much of a monster.

But I clearly underestimated him. Miles smiled like a sick, twisted bastard as he stepped closer, the knife hovering just above my skin.

“Come on,” Snake drawled. “Don’t make a mess. We still have to show her to my Don. Just break her finger.”

“No!” I screamed. “Don’t touch my hands!”

Miles paused. “I won’t,” he said, “if you promise to help me. Make Mr. Snake’s Don happy.”

This time, I didn’t press. Instead, I asked quietly, “Are you even sure his Don would want me?”

“Not like this of course,” Snake said, tilting his head. He waved his men forward. “Take her to change. And—” his gaze swept over me, “—put her in something prettier. What is she wearing, her grandma’s Christmas special?”

A burly man yanked me up and dragged me toward the bathroom. Miles followed, watching me closely, suspicious of my sudden compliance.

“I can walk,” I said, shaking free and stumbling forward.

Miles lost patience. He grabbed my arm and slammed me against the bathroom door. “Don’t try anything,” he warned. “Play along, and we all walk out of here. Otherwise—”

He dragged a finger across his throat.

I opened the door and limped inside, my ankle screaming with every step.

The mirror stopped me cold.

The makeup I’d done so carefully—just for Miles, for his family—was ruined. Tears streaked down my face. Several red slap marks stood out against my skin.

When I didn’t move, Miles shoved me forward, forcing my head down into the sink. He turned on the faucet, letting cold water rushing over my face. I struggled, choking, but he was stronger. When he finally let go, I was gasping, shaking.

My face was bare now. But the slap mark still showed.

Miles pulled a dress from the bag and tossed it at me.

“Put this on,” he said. “Mr. Snake says his Don likes this kind of thing.”

I held it up. It wasn’t a dress—it was a strip of fabric pretending to be one, barely covered the front, nothing on the back. I would never wear something like this. It was humiliating.

But Miles didn’t wait.

He lunged for the dress I was already wearing and started tearing it apart.

“What are you doing?!”

“Helping you get dressed, of course,” he said, voice flat as his hands ripped the seams. “You’re taking too long, Eva.”

“No! Don’t touch me!” I fought back, but Miles only slapped me again, hard.

“Oh, Eva, don’t act all noble now. Everyone knows you’re a whore—just too damn proud to admit it.” He reached out to flip a stray of my hair behind my ear, “Why else would I chase you? Because of your fancy dreams? Your pretty little piano playing?”

Eva’s POV

He leaned in, his breath warm against my cheek. “From day one, I planned to use that pretty face of yours to get something for myself.”

“At first, it was the looks—the way other men stared, wondering how a guy like me landed someone like you.”

“And now? You get to help pay off my debt.” Miles smirked, studying me. “Consider it an honor, Eva. It’s not like you were useful for anything else.”

His words hit like another slap across my face.

I remembered when I first met Miles. He wasn’t like the other chasers. He was quiet.

He brought me flowers after my shows, picked me up from school, told me not to give up—no matter how many doors slammed in my face.

I thought Miles was different. That he loved me for who I was—not for what I had, not for a pretty face or a powerful family.

But I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Up until now, I still wanted to believe money had driven Miles crazy. That this wasn’t who he really was.

But the truth is—I never knew the real Miles.

And the real Miles? He was trash from the very beginning.

“Eva, I warned you. Once I brought you out, you don’t get to act up in front of me,” Miles snapped. “Mr. Snake—and whoever his Don is—we can’t afford to mess with them.”

I almost laughed. “So you knew you couldn’t mess with them… and still, you brought me here.”

I didn’t bother saying the part I really wanted to because whatever happened to Miles wasn’t my concern anymore.

I just needed to find my bracelet and get out of here.

“Bitch, what I do—or don’t do—is none of your business. Shut up and put the damn dress on.” Miles shoved me against the wall, hands everywhere, and just as he tried to force himself on me again— a knock cut through the air.

“Our Don’s coming,” someone said from the other side of the door. “If she’s clean, bring her out.”

Miles cursed under his breath and shoved me forward. “You heard him. Move.”

I walked ahead, limping. Miles and the other man trailed behind me like guards.

Snake was still lounging on the sofa. His eyes lit up when he saw me. “Truly a beauty,” he said. “Tell you what—if my Don doesn’t want you, I’ll take you myself.”

He grinned, eyes crawling over me. “In fact… maybe I should get a taste before handing you off. Odds are, he won’t like you anyway. You’ll end up mine.”

He reached for me, fingers grazing my waist. I shoved his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

His smile vanished. The slap came hard and fast.

I hit the carpet, vision spinning.

“Don’t touch you?” Snake crouched beside me, face close, breath sour. “You’ve already been sold, sweetheart. You think you still get choices?”

“You should be lucky your boyfriend sold you to me,” he sneered. “Anyone else, and you’d already be on your back, entertaining guests.”

I pushed myself up, blood in my mouth, and looked him in the eyes.

“Theo Crowe,” I said, steady. “He’s your boss, right?”

Snake stilled.

“I’m his sister. Touch me again, and you’ll be dead before you hit the ground.”

For a second, everything was silent.

Snake barked out a laugh. “My Don’s sister?”

He laughed so hard his cigarette nearly slipped from his fingers. “If you’re his sister, why are you with trash like Miles? And why didn’t you say so the moment we brought you in?”

I didn’t answer.

The reason I hadn’t said anything earlier was simple—Miles hadn’t given me the chance. From the moment we got here, he’d been busy covering my mouth, making sure I couldn’t make a sound.

And I hadn’t thought he’d take things this far. I’d underestimated just how fast everything could turn ugly.

Snake’s laughter cut off. His smile vanished, eyes turning cold. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“No.”

The slap came hard. “Then why are you telling me a joke like that?”

Eva’s POV

Snake held out his hand. Someone passed him a belt. Snake dragged it slowly across my arm. Pain exploded behind my eyes almost immediately.

“You know how many girls come in here every day,” he said calmly. “All claiming they’re connected to my Don.”

The belt came down again.

“And do you know how many of them I’ve tossed out of this casino?” He smiled. “Dead.”

Another strike…Then another.

Finally, when Snake was satisfied, he tossed the belt aside and picked up a bottle of whiskey. “I don’t want to ruin you too much before my Don sees you,” he said lightly. “So let’s drink. Might lift your mood.”

“No—”

He forced the bottle to my lips. Whiskey burned its way down my throat, choking me.

“If you pull a stunt like that in front of my Don,” he said quietly, “I’ll make you wish you were never born. You hear me? You won’t walk out of my casino in one piece.”

Then he released me.

My throat burned. I tried to speak, but no sound came out.

The bracelet. I had to find it. I couldn’t wait for my brother to come on his own.

Gasping, I scanned the room. Snake had returned to the couch. Miles sat nearby, avoiding my eyes.

I couldn’t stand. I dragged myself across the floor, palms scraping against the carpet.

Where was it?

I searched frantically, panic rising—Nothing.

I crawled closer to the door.

A heavy boot came down on my hand. “Where do you think you’re going?” a man growled.

Pain shot up my arm as I cried out. His boot wasn’t just pinning my hand—it was twisting my fingers under his heel.

“Don’t—”

“Boss,” he said to Snake, “looks like she was trying to run.”

“No, I didn’t—”

The kick hit my stomach hard. I folded instantly. He hauled me up and threw me onto the sofa.

“Don’t move.”

Pain flooded everything—my ankle, my hands, my face. The whiskey churned in my stomach, leaving me dizzy and weak.

…

After what felt like forever, the door finally opened again.

I forced my eyes open and saw my brother, Theo, was walking into the suite.

“Theo…” I tried to say. The word barely left my throat—more breath than sound.

No one heard it.

Theo stepped inside, scanning the room. “What’s going on here?”

Snake smiled, oily and deferential. “Sorry, Don. Just educating a little tiger. Got a bit feisty.”

Brother looked my way. Lying on my side, hair in my face, I knew he didn’t recognize me. I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t listen.

“What’s with the girl?” Theo asked.

Snake gestured for Miles to step forward. “This trash owes the casino money. Brought his girlfriend in to settle—”

“I said don’t bring just any women here,” Brother snapped.

“Don, just take a look,” Snake pressed. “She’s pretty. Your type.”

“Theo…” I mouthed again, still nothing.

I tried to sit up. My hands searched blindly for support—and brushed against something cold.

My bracelet—it had been on the sofa this whole time. It must’ve come loose when Snake’s men first threw me down.

My fingers fumbled, clumsy and shaking, searching for the button.

“I told you,” Theo shouted at Snake sharply, “I hate people throwing women at me. Do it again, and you’re done here.”

He turned, already heading for the door.

“No… brother. Don’t leave.” My thumb finally found the button. I gathered every scrap of strength I had and pressed it.

Next second, Theo’s phone vibrated. He paused, pulling it out, brow furrowing.

I pressed it again. The bracelet beeped at my palm. Theo looked up and our eyes met.

Miles turned and lunged, trying to snatch the bracelet from my hand.

But Theo was faster. He pushed Snake away, crossed the room in seconds and dropped to his knees in front of me. His hands trembled as he brushed my hair aside, revealing my face.

“Eva…” His voice cracked. “Eva? What are you doing here?”