Novel ✪ Memory Corruption (R-18) (Book 1 and 2 Finished) (Book 3 on release now)

Im waiting in vain

 

It's too early to despair, my friend!Our author is from Brazil, it's not even noon there.

 

Yeahh i know.just to comfort myself..hahah

 

Waiting here too. I hope that our dear author @GiBro won’t make the wait too torturous

 

Dear readers, I missed you! Yes, we'll have a chapter tonight! I just got home, gonna have dinner revising it and post it! Thank you so much for your patience, hope you enjoy it.

 

Chapter 18


The days were growing shorter as the temperature dropped, especially during the night. The air was cold, which she liked a lot. All in all, she couldn't really say her prison was unbearable. She missed Ryan, and was scared to death for the girls, but, for the first time, she felt like she had some control over her general situation.

Apparently threatening Daniel's babies was the most effective way of getting almost anything she wanted. Their talk that day had been intense, but favorable to her. In fact, it had gone so well that she had decided to use the opportunity to get a few extras.

At first, Daniel had shown a firm aversion to the two girl's being allowed to stay in her bedroom, but after Belle declared she wouldn't eat ever again if they were taken out of the room, he admitted that their presence couldn't be more damaging than her hunger strike.

Probably feeling like he was losing out, Daniel decided to make his own demands. The two girls could stay, but, in return, he demanded that she would have lunch or dinner regularly with him and with the investors, after she was clean again. During those meetings she should stay silent until he ordered her to talk. In addition, she should make clear to them that they would marry soon, and that Daniel would become CEO of all the NGOs and enterprises immediately after their wedding.

She promptly agreed, which led him to his second demand. Belle would have to sign a prenup agreeing to those terms. She pointed out that if she signed it right away, the document would become unclean, to which he agreed, so the signing was postponed until seven days after her period was done.

As counterpart, Belle demanded that Daniel wouldn't look for her fake husband anymore. This, more than anything, got Daniel enraged, and Corey had to hold him back, under the pretext of reminding that he shouldn't touch her, or else she truly believed he would have beaten her badly.

After reasoning a lot, with Corey's help, he concluded her fake husband wouldn't matter anymore, once they were married. Belle knew exactly what he meant: if they ever got married, as soon as he got control over her heritage, Daniel would do anything he felt like doing, including killing her.

It didn't worry Belle. Knowing her lawyers, Daniel would end up in jail, one way or another. No prenup would save his ass from the thunderstorm of lawsuits they would throw at him. He would never even have a glance on her money or the enterprises' main chairs. But Daniel seemed not to be aware of that, so, realizing that she had a jackpot to claim, she just kept adding conditions.

Another requirement was for the Plates ceasing to exist, but he immediately shut the idea down, claiming that his army was an essential part of his plan and would be the foundation to his reign. Belle insisted, arguing that he could still have his army if, at least, he let the girls choose knights and marry them, citing verses from the Bible to point out that God wouldn't approve non-marital sex anyway. At some point, she even argued that she didn't see a reason why he would want an army composed of babies born from that kind of unholy practice, and found it even more absurd that he would expect anything near perfection coming from that mess.

To her surprise, Daniel finally admitted that the Plates didn't fit in on his Christian beliefs, and that, at first, he hadn't approved it, but that other leaders had convinced him that the plan wouldn't work otherwise. According to him it was an “evil needed for the greater good”. For the first time, Belle was hearing, directly from Daniel, that there were similar places, not only in America, but in other countries, that were following that exact horrible human traffic model, or maybe even worse.

Even then, he argued that he couldn't end the Plates, not only because people paid huge amounts of money to rape the women, but also because the dispute between knights over the most attractive of them kept the men motivated to get promotions. In a gladiator’s fight style, the candidates would duel each other, and the winner would claim the girl or woman to himself. He also revealed that those disputes involved some sort of entertainment for the investors, staff, guards and knights, and that, although he didn't approve gambling, he pretended not to know about the bets the guards, knights and staff promoted every fight.

Belle stared at Corey during all the explanation. He had never mentioned that, not even when she had asked for their allies' help to take the girls from that horrid place, by marrying them. She cried, especially when she realized that Bob had most likely gotten hurt during one of those fights and that, by the look the knights had given her earlier, a man they called Lynx had died due to injuries caused during one of those fights.

Begging Daniel to end the duels didn't have any effect, and at some point he threatened to take her to watch them if she kept insisting.

She decided to step back a bit. Having the girls safe in her room was already a huge win. Belle was afraid that he could come and take them at any moment as soon as he believed she was healthy enough to stop eating again without risking her life or if he believed he had found a way of forcing her to eat, and knew that annoying him wouldn't help prevent it from happening.

Her last request was a bit less bold, but he still showed resistance to grant it. She wanted to teach all the girls, everyday, for six hours straight. She had made the counts. Six hours without the girls were enough to turn the Plates unsustainable. Considering the travel time, shower, meal and sleeping pauses, there would be approximately only two hours left for the abuses to happen. This also would keep Belle too occupied for Daniel's sporadic mental and physical tortures, so she would benefit too.

Daniel obviously refused it, but, to her surprise, for another reason. He explained that she had been teaching only one of the Plates. To her horror, there were three more rooms exactly like the one she had been held in, which would make it impossible for her to teach them all, since she would need to spend eighteen hours a day preaching.

Under the fourth tower, the one where their bedrooms were located, there was a prison. Belle didn't even want to imagine what happened to people there.

Mia shyly suggested that she and Hanna could help Belle, even though she clearly hadn't understood what they were talking about. Daniel just glared at her, then told her not to open her filthy mouth, unless he told her to. Hanna started to cry silently behind them.

Belle didn't dare suggest that the girls could preach on their own. The whole plan was based on the idea that she was the savior of Daniel's reign. If, for any reason, he concluded she could be replaced, not only with empty threats, but actually believing it could be done, she was sure he would just lock her up until he could have his hands on her money.

They settled with two hours for each group, everyday but Saturdays, which meant Belle would preach six hours per day. In return, Daniel told her that, from that day on, she would wear whatever he found fit for their activities, no matter if it hurt, scratched, weighed or squeezed. She took it almost as a challenge and kept a stern look while she nodded.

All conditions set, he sat and watched her eat the whole fish, then made her sit in silence for half an hour, just to make sure she wouldn't throw up as soon as he left the room. She did feel sick, and after he was gone, Mia rushed to the bathroom and brought a wet towel for her to wipe her face, neck and arms to try to reduce the discomfort.

Once Belle was recovered, they hugged and cried, then she told the girls practically the whole truth, except that Ryan was alive and that she really loved him. She urged Hanna not to say a thing about Ryan's appearance and swore to them that they would be saved, that she had a plan and just needed a few more things to put it into action.

Hanna poured her resentment over her, saying that she wouldn't be there if it wasn't for her, which Mia disputed vehemently. The girl revealed her suspicions that it had been, in fact, her own fault. She believed that she had been the sole target and that Hanna was just in the wrong place, with the wrong person. When Belle showed confusion, Mia cried in silence for a while, letting Belle fondle her back and leaning her forehead on the girl's shoulder.

-JP broke up with me. -She sighed, as if it explained everything. When Belle backed away and creased her eyebrows, she went on. -To be honest, I was the one who took the first step, but I knew he wouldn't take it well if I was the one who finished it, so I… I led him into it. And then this happened.

She shook her hand in the air to illustrate her current situation.

-What? Do you think JP handed you to Daniel? Do you think he had something to do with this? -Belle was outraged. -Do you think JP has something to do with Anthony's businesses?

-He inherited it. At least for now. -Mia's face was full of disgust and contempt. -We had a bad fight when he told me that his uncle was expecting him to take the lead while he was away. I said he should say no. He had no shame in admitting that he had already accepted it, without talking to me first! I said I didn't want to have a gangster for a boyfriend and he was so, so, mad… I had never seen him this angry.

-I still can't believe JP… I thought he was a good person! And where is Noah? What happened to him? -Belle was confused and angry.

-No, wait, there's more. We had this big fight, he said I was making up excuses to break up with him, just because I didn't want to marry him, then said he believes I don't want him because he's not as rich as my other friends! I mean, shut up! I still can't believe he tried to push that bullshit! -Mia's voice was up several octaves as she started to cry. -And then he said that there was nothing wrong with Anthony's thing, that, aside from a few brothels, it was basically buying and selling boats and houses! When I told him that no, it wasn't just that, that it had drugs and killing and a bunch of other wrong stuff, he shut me out and ghosted me for several weeks. I may be exaggerating, I think it was one or two weeks, but, still, it was a long time.

Belle stroked the girl's shoulder and arm, trying to appease her as she sobbed.

-I met that girl… I swear, we didn't do anything, but… I'm wrong too, because I knew she was into me, but we didn't do anything, we just met a couple of times, at the mall. And he got jealous. -Mia sighed. -I know I was wrong, but he was very rude. I really wasn't expecting him to act the way he did, so, I told him that if he was willing to take decisions without considering my opinions, and start treating me like the men in his family treat women, then we shouldn't be together. I also said he should decide if he really wanted to be with me, or to become his uncle. It was his last chance to make things right. He decided to break up… And two weeks later, me and Hanna, we were at a party out of town…

Her voice faded out and she kept crying.

-It wasn't him. He wouldn't do that to you, he still loves you. -Hanna muttered. Mia shook her head vigorously and Belle turned to face the other girl, who had sat mute all the while. -It was Anthony, because of Belle. You were going around making questions about the Vulture, saying he took her. It's her fault, not JP’s.

-That's not true. Anthony is in jail. -Mia rolled her eyes. -JP is in charge now. And you weren't there, you didn't see the anger in his eyes.

-I think you're projecting your own anger on him! You messed up and now you're putting the blame on him. -Hanna raised her voice, staring at Mia for the first time since they were brought in. -’Cause you're just a brainless feminist twat and that attitude of yours was what put you here! And you dragged me with you! If you weren't going around like a slut, trying to make him jealous just to…

-Enough! -Belle snapped at her. -You don't have any right or reason to be disrespectful with her, Hanna, we're victims, just like you! Besides, you won't get anywhere by pointing fingers now. We need to stick together!

Mia turned her head to avoid looking at Hanna, who did the same.

-Mia… What happened to Noah? Why did Anthony take JP instead of him as heir? -Belle decided to change the subject, at least a bit.

-Noah was never meant to take his father's place. Aaron was. But apparently he ran away. -Mia sniffed and wiped the tears. -I thought he had taken you, I was so scared… Betty said he… I was so afraid for you…

-Aaron set a trap for me. And I fell for it. I was dumb. -Belle sighed and looked down, reliving the pain of remorse. -Why didn't Noah protect you? He must know that Aaron is dead, doesn't he?

Mia and Hanna both turned to look at her with big wide eyes.

-You didn't know, then… -Belle muttered, then explained that Daniel had betrayed Noah's brother and killed him after he lured Belle. Since she was already feeling sick and depressed, she decided to pour her heart out and tell them about the football team, Bill, Chloe, Roy and Coyote just to make sure they both would think a hundred times before being tricked into helping Daniel in hopes of being spared. -This is Daniel. That's the monster I was hiding from, the monster Ryan tried to protect me from…

-Girl… I had no idea you… I would never guess you were carrying this load. -Mia pouted as she hugged Belle after a long shocked silence filled the room. -I'm so, so sorry for you, Belle…

Hanna huffed and walked to a corner, with her arms crossed over her chest, where she sat with her head low and cried in silence until she fell asleep.

Mia wanted to know more about Ryan, but Belle didn't want to give her any information Daniel could get from her later. It wasn't like she didn't trust her friend, but she did have her doubts about Hanna, and didn't know if the hypnosis was a power Daniel had exclusively over herself or if it could work with them too, not to mention the possibility of him torturing them.

Mia talked a lot, especially before sleeping. At some point Belle got worried, believing her friend was going through a process of denial, not yet realizing what had happened to them. She wondered if Mia would act like Hanna at some point, resenting and blaming her, but that seemed to be just the way she had found to deal with the fear and despair: to pretend there was a good side in it.

Having company, someone to chat with, a known face, a female presence, all the things Belle had always believed she didn't need, now seemed to be giving life back to her, as if she had lived weeks without air and now could finally take a deep breath.

On top of that, Mia acted like a mother about the bleeding issue. Since Daniel wouldn't allow proper material, like pads and tampons, to be brought to the palace, Belle had to do like medieval women and kept using the hand towels as pads. The cramps weren't as bad as the nausea, and Mia helped her with both, instructing the maids about things like warm bags and teas to help her get better.

Her bleeding stopped on the third day. Mia didn't find it surprising, so Belle assumed it was usual, even though she recalled learning it differently in science classes.

Belle struggled with indecision: should she let Daniel know that the bleeding had stopped, so he would start to count the days for her classes, or should she enjoy the exile a bit longer?

The resting felt good, especially because since he couldn't touch her, he could neither harm her nor abuse her. There was also the fact that he couldn't force her to kneel over stones, or wear high heels, or watch and hear about the horrible things he did.

In the end, though, she decided to give it all up. The girls on the Plates, too, deserved resting. Besides, she hadn't had the opportunity to talk with Corey about the code and set things up for her sneaking invasion into the computer room.

For what Daniel had told her, this time he wouldn't delay his plans for her anymore. The investors would be showing up in numbers for “her” party, to be assured that they would have to rub elbows with Daniel in case they wanted to have anything to do with her enterprises and NGOs.

She had thought a lot about why they would even have this much interest in associating with her parent’s legacy, since there was no way they would somehow have direct access to the money, but Mia helped her see it from another point of view. She pointed out that billionaires had the power to affect the market, not only through investments and speculation, but also through political and media influence.

In Mia's opinion, the power about being a billionaire didn't just reside in the money itself. In fact, without the other powers, the money would be wasted away. Since she had avoided getting in contact with her fortune since she got free of her aunt, moving to an apartment in Cobble Hill where she could live in a relatively low profile style, she had never dealt with the politics involved with being extremely rich.

With that new perspective in mind, she decided that she had to make her best for the party to happen soon, get the names and times, send them to Ryan as soon as possible and make sure to use her new found power to destroy the influence of every single one of the men who showed up in that party.

For the seven days that followed, Mia, Belle and Hanna were treated like biohazards, even worse than the days before. Daniel showed up to visit her wearing the same garment as the one they had worn to see the babies. The maids too were wearing gloves, plastic aprons and rubber boots. Mia was finding everything surreal, and Hanna was growing irritated.

At dawn of the eighth day, Daniel came to her bedroom while she was still sleeping, caught Mia by her short hair and pulled her to the floor. Belle sat up, startled by the girl's yelp.

-What the hell are you intending to do, Isabelle? -He hissed. -Isn't it enough to keep those pigs here, now you'll cuddle with them, like a nasty lesbian?

Belle just gulped and gave Mia an apologetic look. Daniel urged her to get up and get ready for her first class, announcing that she'd have to pray before they had dinner with a very important new investor.

Under the pretext of preaching for them too, Belle took Mia and Hanna. At first she was afraid the latter would refuse to come with her, by the girl's murderous glare, but when Daniel turned to her and looked her up and down, Hanna moved to stand behind Belle, even though she was at least eight inches taller.

When they got out of the car and stepped into the wide garden, Mia let out a surprised sigh. The girls were already there, waiting under the sun, as usual. This time there was no table arranged with fruits and breads. Belle guessed she had lost that right, for making Daniel angry. When she complained about the fact she hadn't had breakfast yet and tried to persuade one of his bodyguards, who was standing watch, to go talk to him about the absence of the items, she was informed that he was aware of it.

-His majesty said that since you like starving so much, the sheeps will pay you company in that damnation. His majesty wants you to know that for each day of fasting you make, the sheeps are gonna get two. -The man practically sneered. -In his benevolence, he decided to disregard your past behavior, but this is just to illustrate the impact your actions will have on those sheeps’ lives.

Belle just stared at him, mute. She knew the women were all listening to their exchange and had to make an effort not to glare at the man and flip him off.

-The fact is that you can't save us, and now you're making everything worse. -Twenty-two gnarled at her after she apologized for her long absence that had caused the girls to lose their weekly relief. -We all heard it: you get him angry, we pay the price! You're too soft to do this, you won't save us.

Belle sighed. She had feared this would happen, and the timing was awful. Twenty-two had a strong personality, and didn't seem to have the ability to filter her words before speaking, just blurted whatever she felt like.

It usually was not a problem, since the other women wouldn't take her seriously and showed Belle their support and empathy. This time, though, all of them were resenting her, even if just a bit. She knew a spark was enough to ignite into an inferno.

-I'm sorry that you feel that way, Twenty-two… I know I let you down, but it was necessary to make him back away and realize I have the determination and strength needed to face him. He's trying to scare me, using you. -Belle sighed. -I'll do everything I can to keep him under control, but you need to know that he's the one doing this to us, not me!

-Yeah, maybe, but he's not the one promising to set us free. You are! -Twenty-two rolled her eyes. -You have an army, use it! It's been time already, if we take their guns, catch them by surprise, we'll take over!

-And then what? We don't even know where we are! -Mia intervened. -They have other places like this, what if they call for help? You're dumping on Belle when all she's doing is putting her neck on the line for us!

-Easy for you to say! You didn't even get your share of pain, they took you right when that greasy guy was about to… -Twenty-two started to grumble, but then seemed to realize she had been about to say something awful. The other women were all frowning at her. -That's not what I meant, I didn't want you to… Anyway, you're safe. Do you have any idea how it is for me? Those assholes are obsessed with me… She took you in and left us to be destroyed!

-No, she got beaten, she starved, she suffered mental abuse, just to force that monster to grant each one of you at least two hours of rest, besides keeping me and Hanna from the torture you're going through. -Mia turned her head, seeking Hanna's support, but the girl was crying silently, looking at the wall. -If she believed it would be possible to do the same for us all, she would go even farther… You've only just met her, but I have known Belle for a while now. She's like this, she steps forward and takes the blows. I won't sit and hear you call her selfish, ‘cause you're just being an ass and a liar.

Twenty-two frowned, but after realizing the other women were back on Belle's side, huffed and got up, sitting close to Hanna.

The other classes were a lot better. Some of the girls, the youngest ones, immediately agreed to play along and even discussed how they could behave to make the guards believe they were getting better. Most of them were relieved to learn that there were allies among the guards and, as expected, two of them had a similar opinion to Twenty-two, suggesting they should start a riot and take over. Fortunately, they seemed to understand Belle's point and backed away, but she was afraid that, with the two of them being in the same group, they would plan something behind her back and end up being killed.

With that in mind, Belle had a private conversation with both of them at the end of the class, telling them about how treacherous Daniel was, and promising them that she had a plan and that she expected to put it in action no later than next week. That seemed to hose down the spark of revolution, at least in that group. Still, she would have to keep alert about those girls.

By the time they got to Belle's apartment, the three girls were starving. The sun was almost down, the cold wind had made their muscles stiff and Hanna was complaining of cramps, which made them worried about how Daniel would react if he got word the girl would be on her period soon. They decided to keep it a secret and hope that his lack of empathy was enough not to realize after a month that Hanna and Mia hadn't been sent to isolation.

-Why do you have to wear this? -Mia made a face as she examined the dress the maids were helping Belle practically tie herself up with. -That guy is nuts, he's always talking about chastity and how women shouldn't show their bodies, and then he goes and forces you to wear this? You don't look comfortable, not a bit!

Belle just sighed. She had given up trying to understand Daniel's multiple personalities. Sometimes she felt like he was just lost and desperately trying to push things down the path he wanted to get, but just kept losing track.

-Well, he wants me to wear it, so I will. -She shrugged and felt the straps that were holding the sleeves to her forearm strangle her biceps. -It's just for a few hours, and it will probably help him forget that I prolonged the classes today. It's a small punishment, I'm still winning.

The maids had already left, and Lion was watching the door alongside a new member of the resistance group, so they felt at ease to chat.

-You shouldn't get punished for helping others, that's not fair! -Mia grunted and Hanna let out a groan. -What? Do you think it's right?

-I think I didn't do anything to be here. She did. She knew that crazy bastard was dangerous and she covered up for him. -Hanna huffed. -I don't understand how you can be so blind, Mia. We wouldn't be here if she really cared. She would've stopped him before he built up this place.

Mia frowned and opened her mouth to reply, but Belle put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

-I should've realized that Daniel was this person. But I didn't. -Belle looked down, making an extra effort to hold back the tears mostly to avoid ruining the makeup, since she didn't want the maids to come back. -I'm sorry for that, Hanna. Believe me, I know I have my responsibility for that. Still, I didn't help him, I didn't do those things, and I would never expect him to do any of these things. I get it that you're angry, that you're hurt… But it's not me you should be directing that anger to.

Hanna just made a face and looked away, so Mia silently urged Belle to ignore her and focus on her own mental health. With her friend’s help, she managed to stay calm until Daniel showed up to take her, so this time it wasn't this burdensome to wear the high heels, since the muscles on her legs weren't so tight.

Unfortunately, her peace didn't last. When Belle checked herself in the full-length mirror, she broke into cold sweat. This time her dress was clearly much more expensive than the ones she had worn other days. A gold-sequined gown, bareback, with loose sleeves that started from the elbow and hung loosely all the way to the tip of her fingers. The sleeves were held by golden straps and chains intertwined, which were also hanging from her waist and crossing through her naked back.

The makeup, too, was too much. Golden eyeshadow, with glistening stones at the outer tip of her eyes, red lipstick and rosen blush. The maids had tried to attach a hair extension to her scalp, but she rejected it because it was too hot and uncomfortable. When they insisted, saying that “the Lord” had instructed them to ignore any of her complaints, she added that she would collapse due to the heat, so they eyed each other and gave up.

Belle exchanged a look with Mia, who immediately resumed her efforts to soothe her mood, even though she couldn't possibly understand her sudden shivering and paleness.

As if the dress and makeup weren't worrisome enough, Daniel brought the last straw: a velvet-like red cape, which he hung over her shoulders after scrutinizing her from all angles. She was dismayed to find he was wearing a very similar one, on top of an all white suit. Again, anxiety and fear took control over her body and she was certain that Daniel was having her prepared for their wedding or something alike. There was a voice in the back of Belle's head warning her that Daniel could've changed his mind about waiting till March for his 18th birthday.

-You look pretty. -Daniel praised her, bringing his hand to her cheek to put a strand of her hair behind her ear, then clicked his tongue when she flinched. He took her arm and led her through the corridor, toward the stairs. -Of course you'd look better with your original hair, but you had to go and try to look like a boy.

Belle did her best not to roll her eyes. Of course he wouldn't be able to simply compliment her without demeaning her right away.

She wondered when it had changed. Not long before the prom attack, Daniel used to fawn on her. It was a bit disturbing sometimes, since he would cling to her and praise her for the most unseemly reasons. One day, though, he started to get a bit more bossy and gradually stopped complimenting her, even for things she believed she was entitled for recognition. In the afternoon when Ryan had first visited the school to introduce himself, though, he had changed his behavior completely, and she believed the doughnut store day had been the final nail in their friendship.

-So, remember the rules? Keep your mouth shut, unless I give you permission to talk. If so, keep it short. This meeting is about me, about my business, not about you. -He mumbled while they waited for the elevator, then got in first. -And don’t be rude. Be kind and pretty, as you used to be. If you say something that could ruin my deal with him, I’m gonna break one of your friend’s neck when we come back, was I clear?

They walked slowly to the great ballroom, and Belle looked around, taking all the details in, knowing that she would soon have to sit in silence, restraining from looking away from her plate and having to pretend she would willingly become his slave for life.

Before the door opened, she could hear the music, but when she saw the chamber orchestra at the opposite side of the ballroom, it almost made her laugh out loud. Since he kept pushing her to keep her walking, she couldn’t stop to count how many musicians were there, but she guessed it was more than twenty.

Daniel walked her to the spiral staircase that led to a balcony. This time she counted sixteen seats on that same long table, but only three of them were occupied. A young man was sitting with a relaxed posture, his legs crossed to the side, one of his elbows resting over the back of the chair next to him, where an older man seemed to be in an awful mood. The man sitting on his other side, too, didn't seem to be happy to be there.

Belle couldn't take her eyes from the young man, though, and as soon as their eyes met, he too seemed to be very intrigued by her. His eyes scrutinized her face the most, but after a while he smirked and let his gaze drop to examine her body, raising his eyebrows and nodding, as if approving what he was seeing.

She herself was impressed by his features and style. His clothes surely were made to highlight him. A golden damask tuxedo with oriental themed designs, a silken black dressing shirt unbuttoned under it. His facial skin was clean shaved, perfectly smooth, to the point Belle wondered if he was wearing makeup. But what would've caught anyone's attention right away would be his silver hair and his matching gray eyes. It didn't have a single dark strand, and it shimmered and gleamed when it reflected the light of the chandeliers that produced tiny rainbows when it beamed through the crystal drops.

When Daniel and his men stopped in front of him, he lazily got up and took an exaggerated bow, almost ninety degrees, with one of his hands holding his tuxedo to his stomach while the other was kept behind his back in a fist.

-Your majesty. -He smiled, then looked into Belle's eyes and reached out to take her hand. She hesitantly offered her hand and he took it, placing a light kiss a bit over her knuckles. -My future Queen… It's a pleasure to finally meet you.

He kept holding her hand and she was paralyzed, staring at his middle finger right below it. He was wearing a big golden ring, just like the man she had met a couple of weeks before. This time, though, she was truly thunderstruck. The ring wasn't similar to her father's. It looked the exact same. It was impossibly identical.

In fact, when she looked at it more closely, she was sure it was actually her father’s ring. The reason she knew that: when she was a kid, she had been obsessed with the first stone in it. It was a very small gem, dark red colored that she had believed to be a ruby, until he explained it was one of the most expensive and rarest stones in the world, a painite. She had never heard about it and had found the name curious, since it reminded her of the word “pain” and looked like a very small drop of blood. The other stones too were valuable and rare, although not as much as the first one.

Only years after her father died she found out, through Daniel, that the ring was something called an acrostic ring, and it spelled the word “Power”. She never had the chance to ask her father why he would wear such a thing, and had never told anyone about its existence, not even to Daniel. At the time, when he had come to her with the information about the concept of those kinds of jewels, she had almost let slip that she had seen one several times, but then something inside her told her not to, and she pretended to be surprised by the new information.

The ring had been stolen, probably during the works to put down the fire and rescue what was left of her parents' bodies. The last thing she needed was for him to try to persuade her into hunting down the thief to retrieve it, especially when he found out how much the stones in it were worth.

-Don’t mind her manners. She’s shy and she’s still not used to this kind of meetings… She’s pleased to meet you too, aren’t you, my love? -Daniel brought a hand behind her and pinched her exposed lower back so hard she involuntarily took a step forward, forcing the man to step back.

Belle looked at Daniel, unsure of what he expected her to do. Hadn’t he told her she should keep her mouth shut? He stared at her, then blinked and stared at the man, as if considering saying something but unwilling to do it in front of his guest.

-Hm… It’s a pleasure to meet you… -She hesitated.

-Domenico. You may call me Domenico, my dear princess. -The man smiled and let go of her, but kept one of her fingers between two of his fingers until she retrieved her hand. She wouldn’t have been able to notice his accent, had she not expected him to have it. Her eyes were wide open and she was glad Daniel was still behind her, so he couldn’t see her pale face. -And the pleasure is all mine.

Domenico smiled, then shook his head very slightly as if warning her to get a grip on her emotions, and only then she realized her eyes were brimming and she was opening a nervous smile.

-So… I’m sorry for making you wait, we should start the dinner… -Daniel looked around, signaling for a maid nearby to bring the food, but Domenico let out a short laugh and put his index finger up to interrupt him. -I’m sorry?

-Before we sit, would you mind it if I took Miss Ross downstairs for a moment? I really love that song, and I’m certain your majesty is familiar with the Order’s traditions… -Domenico raised one eyebrow and tilted his head. -If you won’t mind, I mean.

Daniel hesitated for a long time, so much that the first part ended and another started. Since it was an arrangement composed by more than one concerto with three or movements each, and Daniel was completely ignorant about music, she bet he hadn’t realized it.

-Well… I guess it would not be a problem. If Belle wouldn’t mind. Do you mind, my love? -He raised both eyebrows, clearly telling her to refuse. -You said you were tired, that the heels made your feet hurt…

-No, I’m alright, my Lord. I’ll do it for you. -She took a deep breath and bit her lower lip, partly because of the tension, but mostly because she was holding down the laugh that was growing inside her with every twitch of Daniel’s face. -Unless you don’t want me to… In that case I’d have to decline. Unless it would be rude to our guest... It’s your decision, my Lord. I must obey you, no matter what, after all.

Daniel opened his mouth, then closed it and nodded slowly. Domenico let out a loud laugh and took her hand, putting it over her forearm and heading for the stairs. Belle didn’t look back, but by Corey’s worried expression she could guess Daniel’s wasn’t anything near calm.

-Bene, he was right about you… You’re not just the looks, which, don’t get me wrong, fit him like a glove. -Domenico murmured as he leaned over her with the excuse of helping her climb down the narrow steps. -He misses you badly, by the way. We need to take you back as soon as possible. Calma, don’t cry. He told me you look like an angel when you smile… Give it to me, bambina.

Belle’s eyes were brimming, but she gave him an honest smile. He took her hand and put it over his shoulder, then took a step back and started to lead her in a slow pace.

-Did he at least tell you that I was the one who taught him how to waltz? -He raised one eyebrow and she couldn’t help but giggle. She wanted so much to talk to him, but was terrified about what Daniel would do to him or to her if he saw her opening her mouth. So, she swallowed down her numerous questions along with her tears and let him do the talking. -Bella bambina… I gotta be honest with you. I unfortunately can’t tell you I’ll be able to take you tonight, or this week… But next time I put my feet on those stones, I promise you, they will be covered in blood… Their blood.

 

I love the long chapter, so much information to take in!

 

Domenico here
Belle period
Gosh..cant wait for next chapter

 

tq gibro

 

Just a correction, in case I didn't do a good job in the writing, this is not Domenico. This is Vincenzo, pretending he is Domenico.
Domenico isn't young, his accent is thick, his hair is not silver(Vincenzo dyes it) and he would never put his neck on the line like this, he would probably do something like sending men there with submachines and wipe the place up, then look for Belle later (if she died in the process, oh well, it happens). He just doesn't know where it is.

 

Will there be a long comment about it?

 

Yes, there is a lot of information to process and I will have a long comment coming

 

Ooo im just relief to know that ryan's ally just got there.but at early chapter its not really work i think. Gosh im gonna have bad imagination..daniel also not in good mood. He pushing belle and sometime make terrible thing. When ryan can make action..arghh im cannot wait

 

Wow there is so much going on in chapter 18 and I get the impression that we are jumping timelines. So Vincenzo posing as Domenico, infiltrated the Palace posing as an investor but in Chapter 17 Ryan got a call when he was in Lucas’ apartment and I’m assuming that the call was from Vincenzo telling him that he met Belle at the Palace. Since people visiting the Palace go through an extensive security check I highly doubt that Vincenzo would have had his phone with him and called Ryan from there. He must have called him after he got back to New York.
Mia told Belle that JP had taken over Anthony’s business about trafficking the girls but where were Noah and Betty? We didn’t get anymore information about Noah after Ryan interrogated and tortured him.

The ring that Vincenzo was wearing is very intriguing. Belle said that her father was wearing the same ring and so were some of the investors that she had met previously. I have a feeling that this ring is tied with the ring box that Ryan had locked up in his desk and @GiBro did mention that the ring box was central to the plot for Book 3. When Vincenzo asked Belle to dance he referred to the “Order’s tradition” so I’m wondering if that ring is connected to some secret powerful Order that Daniel belongs to or is trying to be part of and I wonder if Belle’s father was part of the same order. I am just speculating here so these are just assumptions not based on facts.

The story is moving slowly but I still don’t see a Ryan-Belle reunion any time soon and based on the first chapter of Book 3, some events (probably really bad) push Belle to resume her hunger strike. Only she isn’t using this as a means to negotiate but rather she has given up so this makes me worry for Vincenzo, Corey and the other allies in the Palace as well as the girls that were taken.

And there are still so many unanswered questions: what happened to Alejandro, Ryan’s biological father, what was the story between Sofia and Alejandro? What happened to Destiny/ Diana? There were hints that she left the Palace but we have no other trace of her. Ryan and Diana had some history together, will this be revealed?

 

Love love love

 

This excerpt from Chapter 1 in Book 3 has me really worried. Things started to look up for Belle when she met Vincenzo posing as an investor but things must have devolved after that for Belle to have taken such drastic measures to simply allow herself to wither and die. Can our dear author @GiBro give us an indication of how much time had elapsed since Belle met Vincenzo and Chapter 1 of Book 3? I must admit that switching between Belle’s and Ryan’s POV and the shifting timelines makes it a bit difficult to keep track of the sequence of events.
Can we also know when the next chapter will be posted? I think we are all waiting with great anticipation

 

Fina

Finnaaaallllllyyyyyy. Let belle have Ryan. I'll take Vincenzo instead lmaooooooo.

 

Lol

 

Oh, that's bad =\ next chapters are basically back and forth between Ryan and Belle until their reunion, hope it gets easier to follow...
But Ryan's visit to Lucas happened right after Vincenzo left the palace, a few days after Belle met him.
It will take approximately one month after that meeting till that chapter, but you won't see details about it, there will be a jump in time. As you surely realized, I failed in keeping my promise that their reunion would happen by chapter 20, but I am confident it will happen within the next 4 ou 5 chapters.

I won't be able to post on Tuesday because I have a guest in my home this week(that's why I've been absent, sorry), but I hope I'll be able to post by Thursday, I'll let you know if I fail.

 

LOL, Vincenzo was meant to be inspired in Ruth (Lucas took his place now), but then I showed a friend an excerpt of when Ryan meets him for the first time and he was like "Oh my god, he's Lucky Blue Smith, but hotter!"
I had no idea who that guy was, but now I can't imagine Vincenzo with another face xD

I'd still pick Ryan, though Besides, Vincenzo would pick Ryan too if he could