Hope Emily Nightingale

To expedite Fina's release, I snapped a photo of Nino, shirtless and chained to the wall in the basement workout chamber. Immediately after, I covered him with a blanket. I'm still deliberating whether I did it for his benefit or to prevent myself from being distracted by his chiseled abs and tattoos adorning every inch of his body.

I wrote a note along the lines of:

I possess one of your siblings, and unless you comply by releasing Fina, others will vanish too, perhaps indefinitely.
                       Xoxo H.E.N

After finishing the note, I promptly sent the letter via express mail. Upon receiving the pizza order, I brought the pizza downstairs. It was upon returning to the basement that I realized I needed to unchain him so he could eat, unless I chose to feed him myself, which I deemed unwise.

Nino stared up at me with piercing gray eyes as I pondered my next move. Ultimately, I concluded that I could release him from his chains and offer him one of the spare bedrooms in my wing. I'm certain Remo's brothers wouldn't tolerate keeping an innocent woman locked in a cellar. Besides, he's not going anywhere; we're in a different country, and this estate is under my control. If he dares to make a misstep, he'll regret ever being born.

I retrieved the key from the table and approached him to unlock the chains. Nino appeared surprised by my actions, evidently deeming me naive for releasing a captive.

"I have a spare room in my wing where you'll stay. No funny business, or you'll find yourself back in chains in the basement."

"I could kill you in your sleep and leave here easily."

"How do you plan on doing that. Even if you could kill me, which you can't. This is an island and I'm the queen. If you kill the queen you can never hope to see the daylight again."

After unchaining him, I handed him the pizza box and asked him to follow me. I guided him to the room where he would be staying, conveniently located opposite mine for monitoring purposes. With barred windows and a securely locked door, escape was impossible.

He sat on the bed and observed the room, maybe looking for a possible escape. Then he slowly opened the pizza box and started eating. After finishing a bite, he pointed towards the crib in the corner sand asked whose room this was.

"My parents used to live here. That crib was from when I was a child."

"Don't your parents disapprove of kidnapping and holding people hostage."

My expression darkens as memories flood back, recalling the moment when my parents' closest human friends betrayed and burned them alive, with me helplessly watching from the hiding spot they had instructed me to stay in. As I grew older, I sought vengeance, tracking down each one of them and inflicting upon them a pain far beyond anything they could have imagined. It's one of the reasons I trust no human besides Serafina.

"They're not longer alive. Besides my dad would be proud of me. Although mom would've asked me to find a more peaceful method."

"How about your parents?"

"What my parents think are of no consequence."

"I'm guessing that means you do not have a close relationship with them."

He simply nodded and returned to eating his pizza. A knock on the door interrupted us, and my sister-in-law, Ivory, entered. She seemed taken aback by Nino's distant, almost otherworldly demeanor. Holding Ava's hand, she stood beside her mom. Ivory then asked if I could look after Ava while she and my brother went out, to which I happily agreed. I adore spending time with my niece. Ava slowly made her way to the edge of the bed, heading towards Nino, and all my muscles tensed simultaneously. She appeared fascinated by Nino's tattoos, much like I was. Her little hands reached out towards Nino, and he gently lifted her up, placing the pizza box on the bed. She continued to explore the tattoos on his arms, something I was tempted to do as well.

I couldn't believe I was feeling jealous of my own niece. As I approached the bed and reached out to take her from Nino, she let out a loud protest before returning to trying to grab his tattoos. It stung that the child rejected me. I could crawl under my blanket and weep. My own niece chose a stranger over me. I'm just being dramatic. Nino chuckled at the expression on my face, and I shot him a glare, although it wasn't entirely genuine.

"Don't worry," Nino reassured me. "I wouldn't harm a child who's innocent of any wrongdoing. Besides, she's the first kid who doesn't start crying at the sight of me."

I sat on the edge of the bed, observing him entertain Ava. God, I couldn't help but wish we had met under different circumstances. Perhaps then, we might have gotten along.