(trigger warning: no violence, but a few gruesome details. still nothing too crazy, but be warned.)

Valerie ignored his crass question and kicked the door closed behind them.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She angrily whispered, just his presence made her want to throw up and the blood on his hands showed that he had broken something or someone to gain entry into the home.

Obviously Luca was gone as well.

Without saying a word to me...

KJ brought his eyes slowly up her curvaceous body and smirked, he leaned against the window sill he was perched on with more force; coolly regarding the still blanket covered Valerie.

"Colton told you to be expecting me, didn't he?" He asked, a brow arched on his mischievously glowing face.

"Yes, but not like thi—" Valerie started, but KJ started to tsk in mock disappointment.

"Always expect the unexpected, doll face. It's time to pay up." The man chastely cut her off, cleaning something out of his fingernails before standing to his full height. He wasn't dauntingly tall, but the shadow he cast over Valerie's frame was enough to make her stagger back a bit.

Valerie had no cash assets and the money Luca supplies her with was on his own card. She couldn't just drag the very suspicious and tattooed covered KJ to the nearest ATM regardless.

But then, her diamond ring and earrings flashed in her head.

She willed the feelings of last night that came with them away.

The humiliation making her sick to her stomach and her eyes sting with embarrassed tears. She still couldn't believe her... her fiancé.

"I have the money, but it'll come in jewels." She told KJ, and he shrugged, going back to his seat on the window. "But first, let me speak to Nicki."

This caused the man to laugh as he shook his head, when he met Valerie's quickly paling face he smiled. "You don't check your phone, do you?"

The silence over the room was his answer, causing him to laugh harder as Valerie sprinted out of the room in runaway princess fashion, her duvet flying behind her as she was still trying to cover herself. She threw the door open to Luca's bedroom and dove straight into her purse, pulling out the small flip phone KJ had given her what feels like years ago.

There were three pictures sent to her in the last hour. Each one more gruesome than the last.

The first one was of Nicki... or at least it had to be. She was held in a gray padded room, like she was in an insane asylum of some sort. The walls of the room were filthy, brown stains streaked most of the surface area. It scared her when she thought the most cleanly thing that could be on the walls and that color would be dried blood.

Nicki's brunette blonde streaked hair was filthy and she hung her head over her in her lap, her arms restrained behind her back in the chair she was in. A single glass of water near her feet, but it's not like she could reach for it herself.

The second one was more clearly her friend, or at least what was left of her. It pictured her at a table in the same featureless room as she ate a translucent bowl of some kind of broth. Nicki's face was gaunt and gray, tear streaked as well. Her hair was covering her eyes, but Valerie knew if she was able to see them it'd break her.

The third and last final picture made Valerie drop the phone all together. It's clatter to the ground mirroring the feeling of Valerie's heart cracking into pieces.

A strangled sob coming from the back of her throat.

"You knew we meant business, sweetheart. Don't be so surprised." KJ's voice just incited more tears from Valerie as her head whipped towards him standing in the doorway of the room.

He'd obviously followed her in from the guest room.

The third photo showed Nicki lying bruised and naked in a puddle of liquid, wether it was water or her own piss was unknown, but she was unconscious. Her hair was strewn about now, and her eyes were open.

They were open, but they were also rolled to the back of her head.

"What the fuck was that? What the hell did you do to her?!" Valerie shrieked from the top of her lungs in pain and anguish. KJ's face remained emotionless, all signs of his characteristic mischief gone.

"You think she's the only person we're keeping down there now? We found her like that this morning." He told her like he'd simply walked up to the morning paper instead. Valerie was ready to jump into a hole and never come up to daylight again.

Her sweet Nicki had been through enough trauma for a lifetime in the span of what?

A fucking week.

"Get the money, Valerie. End her suffering." KJ's voice echoed in her head, the swirling of her thoughts made him sound like he was a mile away.

"Get out." Valerie seethed, hot tears still running down her face.

"You're not making the right decision. Do you think this is protecting your frie—"

"I'll get you your fucking money, just get the hell out!" Valerie continued to cry out distraughtly. She was holding the duvet in her hands so hard her knuckles were losing color, her body trembling with emotion.

KJ took his leave silently, closing the door behind him and leaving Valerie a quivering mess in the middle of the room. She wanted to die. She wanted to take Nicki's place right now and just succumb to whatever the hell she'd endured, because Nicki did not deserve this.

She had no part in this game with these awful men, but there she was lying on the ground barely alive. And Valerie had done nothing about it for a week. She had no idea what to do, but now it was apparent that time was running out.

Nicki wouldn't spend another week in that place.

She wouldn't last another week in that place.

Valerie dropped the cover that was over her naked form and dressed herself in tight fitting black jeans, a dark plum silk shirt that she left open at the top, showing a peek of a lace trimmed black bralette. Tucking the shirt in messily for a more effortless look, she went into Luca's watch collection and chose a white gold one that shone with every turn of her wrist.

Then, walking over to one of the shopping bags from yesterday she pulled out a pair of black pumps. The gloss shine of them made up for how she had to shove her pinky toe in them at the top.

When she looked at herself in the mirror she realized what a far cry she was from her brown boot and sweater phase.

She finally looked like a CEO's wife.

Even though her CEO was a prick.

Taking in a measured breath, Valerie walked out from Luca's bedroom and saw that KJ was simply waiting out for her in the hallway. Wordlessly, she passed him up and went to Luca's study— to her surprise the pile she left was still there. Wedding ring and all.

He was probably waiting for one of the staff to come pick it up.

Valerie grouched in her head as she quickly kneeled and swept up her clothes and jewelry in her arms.

"Couldn't make it to the bedroom?" KJ joked behind her, but Valerie was unfazed. Her mind was still a storm of emotions. She simply turned and placed her wedding ring and earrings into his hands and stepped away from him.

"Leave. Now." Valerie could barely contain the biting flames that came from her tone.

KJ sobered up in front of her, he didn't even smile at her like he usually did. It was increasingly clear that Valerie was not one to be riled up, and he took note. A glimmer of pity crossing his clear blue eyes. He spared her a nod before leaving, Valerie heard his footsteps as he jogged down the staircase.

When she heard the door close, Valerie lost all resolve to hold herself up and hold herself together. She dropped to the ground in a heap, tears falling once agin for her best friend.

Where the hell was she and how the hell was she gonna get her home?

***

Valerie was busying herself preparing the one home cooked meal Luca had instructed he wanted in his contract.

While she cooked her mind was wracked with ideas for just how she could get Nicki back without getting her killed in the process, and she was coming up blank. Which was not an option.

She'd made a dinner menu of smothered baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and greens with turkey meat in them. When Luca came through the door at the end of his work day, Valerie stood in the kitchen slowly stirring the boiling pot the greens were in.

He walked up to her and placed his arms around her waist, encasing her against his chest and inhaling deeply when he rested his face in the crook of her neck. Moving her hair away from her neck, he even dared to place a kiss beneath her ear.

With the mood she was in, Valerie could've thrown the whole pot of steaming hot vegetables on his head.

Instead, she forcefully shrugged him off of her. Not even throwing a look his way afterwards. She heard his dark chuckle from behind her.

"Don't be bitter, babygirl. It doesn't suit you." He chastised her with a domineering tone. Once again he approached her, running his calloused hand up the length of her arm that was stirring the pot, then letting it rest on her waist. Luca's presence behind her was going to make her snap.

"It smells delicious, I don't think I've had anything like this before." He commented, absentmindedly brushing back her hair that had sprung into her face out of her eye view.

It repulsed her that after the night they had, with him stripping her down to nothing to make her bend to his will, he felt that he was in his rights to come and touch her. He shouldn't have even opened his mouth to speak to her without an apology, nonetheless.

With a deep sigh, Valerie shunted him off of her back again.

"Get the fuck off of me." She irritatedly growled. Setting the spoon she was stirring with to the side of the stove, and grabbing her oven mitts to get the chicken out from baking.

Luca did not come onto her again and Valerie was thankful for it. Instead, he leaned against the wall nearest her and watched her. His jaw ticking and he was visibly no longer the doting man he was seconds ago. "You're still upset from last night." He concluded.

"What else should I be, Luca? You tried to humble in the worst way." Valerie punctuated her disdain with the slam of the baking tray on the marble kitchen counter.

"You needed to learn respect. You had no business conducting last night's meeting like that. I won't allow anyone to jeopardize an entire corporation that my father has worked his life for. Not even you." He told her with a steely gaze, no remorse could be found in his demeanor and it ticked Valerie off even more.

While she was pouring the thick brown gravy used to smother chicken with, she laughed coldly. Only when she was satisfied with the covering of the legs and thighs she baked did she look Luca's way, quickly licking a bit of sauce off her finger before pointing it at him.

"Then that's the gag. I still don't fucking respect you. I think even less of you. You and everyone who even thinks of being upset over that auction being dismantled are a godless people."

Every word she spoke was laced with venom and it seemed to catch Luca off guard, his expression softened and he walked towards her. Valerie grabbed the gravy ladle she was using to keep his distance away from her.

"Val, there's a way to do things. There's an order of power. It has nothing to do with the girls." He stated with caution, like he was walking up on a wounded animal. Valerie just shook her head, the ladle in her hand faltering slightly.

"So, you're telling me you would've ended the auction eventually. Even with the pressure of Jeff, Margaret, and I'm gonna assume your father too to keep it." She said regarding him with distrust, not believing him at all.

"We've had this conversation already. I told you I would. I didn't want to make anymore girls like Hydia give their lives to the association." He immediately countered, his stance was open and there was no air of deceit.

Luca continued to walk towards her and eventually she dropped her gravy boat weapon.

Hydia's green garnet colored eyes flooded her mind.

Nicki's overturned ones right after.

Valerie did not have the time to stew in anger when Luca was the key to saving her friend.

She let Luca come to her and his arms wrapped around her waist once again. Like a sullen child she did not look up at him, her eyes trained on his deep red tie. Luca placed a kiss on her forehead and it made Valerie's insides curdle.

The instinct to run was high in her spirit. The way she shrunk back from him when he had paid for her apartment or the way she ran out of his car after Thanksgiving... it was all resurfacing. She felt as if she was barely keeping her head above water.

Instead of sinking, she chose to swim.

Letting the two just be in each other's presence for a beat, Valerie broke the embrace first and went on to continue plating their dinner. Luca was close behind her as she moved about the kitchen.

"I'm glad you made so much tonight, we're having guests." Luca mentioned casually as Valerie began setting things on the long dining room table he had. The table cloth was the color of espresso, so the cream plates with tan napkins Valerie chose looked well together. She scoffed a little when she sat her plate down at the seat she was going to take.

"I'm not making anyone else's plate, so I hope they can serve themselves." She told him, smacking his shoulder as she passed him to set the tray of chicken on the table. Luca chuckled at her addition and nodded his head.

"Nor would I ask you to. My brother and his girlfriend are very much capable of serving themselves."

The whole world stopped, and Valerie almost dropped the pot of greens as she poured some out into a serving bowl.

"Your brother?" She asked again, clearing her throat and trying her best to act normal.

Luca sighed behind her, taking a seat at the head of the dining table. "Yes, my brother Michael and his new girlfriend, Sylvia are on their way. Raven, my step mother, is adamant that we meet with them, so my father is as well." He explained more fully.

Valerie could only hum her confirmation that she heard him, her skin was crawling and she was resisting the urge to simply pass out face first into the mashed potatoes.

Almost like he could read her mind, Luca began to speak again.

"There's no reason to be nervous, babygirl. Michael is no one to be afraid of."

That you know of.

Valerie's subconscious cowered in the corners of her mind. She willed back the memories of her and Michael's last meeting. The jingling of his belt buckle ringing in her ears.

Slowly, she took her seat next to Luca and like clock work Valerie saw one of the staff go over to the door and open it. In strolled Michael in a navy blue checkered button down with solid navy blue pants, and Valerie withdrew in a breath as she could see just how her nails had left their mark on his ethereally pale face.

He hadn't looked over to Luca and Valerie yet, he held the door for another instead. A petite woman with gorgeous copper hair, her jade green dress did wonders for her unblemished buff complexion. The woman's frame was oddly familiar.

With bated breath Valerie waited for both Michael and his girlfriend to turn around and greet them.

"Good evening, brother." Luca stood from the table and went over to shake Michael's hand and greet his girlfriend. Valerie couldn't unglue her feet from the floor under the table to follow suit.

"It's good to see you, Luca." Michael's voice instantly sickened Valerie to her core. "This is my girlfriend, Sylvia Cartwright." The woman that accompanied Michael looked up to smile at Luca and once again Valerie wanted to fall on the floor.

It was Sweetness.

The very same woman whom she owed her life to from her nights at The Red Room had somehow found her way back into her life.

And to think I prayed I'd never see her face again.

"Come, let's eat. Valerie made an amazing meal for tonight." Luca moved the couple along to sit at the table.

Snapping out of her trance of just how unbelievable this situation was, a bright smile found its way onto Valerie's face as she finally stood from the table too and shook Sylvia's hand. The coldness of her hands were all too familiar, and when their eyes met again it was like they were back in The Red Room and every place Michael had struck her body began to ache again.

"Melania, please bring wine for the table." Luca told one of the women on his staff before sitting back in his place by Valerie.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a soft smile before looking back towards his brother and Sylvia. "Michael, you've been gone for so long you didn't get the chance to meet her formally at our engagement party. This, is my bride-to-be, Valerie Stevens." It was the warmth in his tone as he spoke of her that made Valerie shiver.

Michael looked up from his phone to meet her eyes and once again time stopped.

Like a lion locking eyes with a gazelle, Michael's grin did not reach his eyes as he extended his hand to her from across the table.

Valerie prayed that the way she was shaking was not noticeable as she softly grasped his hand and shook it, a wince coming over her face as he crushed her fingers in the shake. She withdrew from the shake as fast as humanly possible.

"What a lovely name. It suits the very picture of a vixen, that you are."

Sylvia began to cough uncontrollably, disturbing the silence that had come over the room.

Michael's eyes only seemed to glow with a dark mirth as he looked over Valerie's frame. The same way his eyes raked down her body when he was holding her against the wall.

Valerie fought the urge to rip another slit into his eyebrow. She also noticed the scratch mark she left on his cheek had the nerve to raise and scar. She reveled in it.

Luca was oblivious to the tension that was brewing at his dinner table and proceeded to pour everyone a glass of red wine. Valerie reached for her's a little too soon, causing him to raise a brow at her in playful confusion. He didn't say anything though.

"So, last time I'd spoken to Raven she told me you all had no luck in finding the mad woman that attacked you right? Are you sure you don't want my team to look into it?" Luca started up,  grabbing a piece of chicken from the tray.

Sylvia took his lead and began to fix her plate as well. Michael just smiled as he shook his head, taking a sip of his wine.

"No thank you, brother. I'm learning to let it go, after all karma always puts us in the right position to take our own justice."

Oh he knew how to take something alright.

It burned to think of his intentions towards her now, but Valerie remained calm as she spooned mashed potatoes onto her plate and passed the bowl to Luca. He was nodding thoughtfully at his brother's response.

"I agree. We always find ourselves ending up on top one way or another." Luca championed his younger brother, before taking in a forkful of greens.

"Valerie it's lovely meeting you. You were absolutely radiant in the tabloids, barefoot and all." Sylvia chimed in, her pink lips spreading into a very friendly smile. The same one that made her feel so comfortable in her care at The Red Room.

She found herself returning it after she swallowed the food she was eating. "Why thank you! I was hoping I didn't look too beat up after breaking up Luca's fight." Valerie went on, spearing Luca with a look that he rolled his eyes at.

"Oh? When Luca gets started it's pretty hard to stop him. I'm impressed." Michael seemed to delight in the nervousness Valerie was trying to hide from being in his presence. Luca reached under the table and rubbed circles in her thigh.

"Valerie definitely can handle herself." He revealed, laughter in his tone. "This dinner is delicious, love."

It was a shame she couldn't even get nervous from his first term of endearment for her. Valerie was too busy watching Michael watch her.

"I have no doubt she can." Michael stated, breaking the stand off between the two and beginning to eat himself. Sylvia then scooted herself from the table and gave a light giggle before she spoke.

"Would you mind showing me where the bathrooms are, Valerie?"

Without protest Valerie hopped up from her seat and went to Sylvia gladly, and the woman trailed behind her. They went upstairs and were almost at a guest bedroom before Sylvia stopped walking and Valerie turned behind her to ask why she stopped walking.

"I don't have a lot of time," Sylvia's whole demeanor had changed, she seemed frightened. "Michael is not letting go what happened that night. He wants revenge and he's not going to take it out on just you."

Valerie's brow furrowed in confusion as her heart began to beat faster. "Why not just me? I'm the one who made his face a tic-tac-toe game."

The corners of Sylvia's mouth turned up a little, trying not to laugh. "That you did, but you don't understand," She straightened herself as she took a breath— losing her ghost of a smile. "That facade of brotherhood they're doing right now downstairs will end when we walk out of that door. Michael wants Luca's position as CEO, but Romano will never give it to him. Not while Luca is still his golden child."

The plot continued to thicken as the two women stood by themselves in the hallway they were in. Valerie didn't know wether to laugh or cry as her puzzle to life continued to break into more and more pieces.

"So, what? What the hell is he trying to do?" She asked, her mind had no idea just what he could do to make Luca fall from grace.

"He's been working with the mafia. He's planning to buy a huge share of the company anonymously and force the company from Luca's hands." Sylvia kept just giving her bits and pieces to an very huge operation and things just weren't coming together to where she fit into this. This just seemed like a massive sibling rivalry, and boy did she know sibling rivalry.

"And I have to stop this? How is this getting revenge on me?" Valerie asked, dumbfounded. If Michael thought being poor was gonna scare her if Luca lost his money, he had a big storm coming.

"I know they took your friend, Valerie. The Armata and Michael have a very... complicated relationship, but since he survived their assassination, they owe him. You cannot pay them anymore money, you're fueling the funds to buy Giovanni Enterprises right from under your fiancé's nose."

KJ's voice now ripped through her mind.

"Get the money, Valerie. End her suffering."

Without the money, Nicki was done for.

Without the money, Luca wouldn't lose his company.

"I can't, Sylvia. They'll kill her." Valerie choked out, her throat tightening again. Oh, how she was sick of being such a crybaby.

Sylvia gave her the same look she had when Valerie had admitted she'd been sent to Michael to die that night.

"If you help Michael take this company from Luca, you might as well already be dead."

Her words weighed a ton in the air.

She walked up to Valerie and placed her hands on her shoulders. "You are one of the strongest women I've run into over my life. I even let you steal my car and I'm fucking that loser so he doesn't break you in half. I believe in you. I can help you." Sylvia tried to calm the almost hyperventilating Valerie.

"How?" Was all Valerie could get out without losing her resolve completely.

"I know where they're holding Nicki. We can free her—"

"Did you two get lost up there?" Luca's loud call startled the both of them.

Valerie shrunk back from Sylvia immediately, wiping her nose with her hand as she tried to resume breathing at a normal pace. Sylvia gave her a sympathetic smile before turning towards the staircase they came up.

"Sorry! I couldn't resist asking for a tour!" She yelled back down the stairs. Then the two walked hand in hand back towards the dining room until they were forced to let go before being seen by the men again.

Valerie found sitting back in front of Michael vomit-worthy.

The conniving little snake he was.

He smirked at her death glare.

"Ah, there you are. My missing piece." Luca sappily welcomed her back to the table, kissing the side of her head briefly. Valerie found her face heating. The whiplash from last night to today was pretty harsh.

"I can't wait till I find the one I want to share the rest of my life with," Sylvia wistfully added, winking at Valerie. "It seems like finding the one makes everything come together."

Valerie could only smile and nod.

It seems I'm the one that could make everything fall apart.

***

(a//n: earliest update ever. 12:06 am. edited?? of course not. don't b silly.)