[WARNING : Has violent depictions of cruelty. Read with caution, or avoid if easily triggered.]

-: SARAH :-

You are worthless ...

That voice, that same voice whispered noiselessly, from behind me. I gasped out lowly, but didn't turn my head this time. Cause I knew, there was no one behind me except the same gloomy concrete wall.

"No, I am not ... and I know that. You can't turn me into a lunatic. I won't let you," I gritted, pressing my palms to my ears to stop the voices.

And it stopped ... but only for time being. Every now and then, I had been hearing this random voices whispering from all around the room, trying to discourage me and pull me down.

During the first few encounters I was appalled, and had blared out soo loudly that a few guards had entered the room hastily with alarmed expressions, thinking my water had broken and I was about to deliver a premature baby.

But after hearing the same voice quite a few times, I concluded that they were just in my head. They weren't real, and it was trying to unnerve me.

I wasn't chained to the wall anymore, because Benjamin was sure I didn't have the strength in me anymore, to push myself on my feet. My legs had turned jelly, and due to the lack of proper amount of food and water, my health was also detoriating.

I hadn't seen him in a long time, and I was happy for that. Draven would come from time to time, to give me a piece of bread with some pickles and a jar of water. Sometimes, a piece of boiled chicken breast. He would barely talk and would stare at me so coldly, that I would push myself into the wall, to hide my body.

Chase never wanted you, it was just for the baby he kept you around ...

That same malicious voice hissed again and I turned my head to the left. A woman was sitting beside me, her eyes blank and fixed on the floor, with a baby on her lap.

I quickly huffed out an agitated breath and shook my head, clamping shut my eyes.

'This isn't real, this isn't real' I chanted the same mantra for about thirty seconds, to keep my sanity at bay. This wasn't new ... I had been seeing her for a few days. Same place, same face and same posture. I didn't know who she was, but she would appear out of nowhere, whisper something to me and would vanish into thin air.

When I opened my eyes after a few seconds, she had disappeared, and I was alone again in the chamber.

The dim room was cold, and I was thankful for the dress that was covering me. It was sweaty, dirty and a mess, but atleast my body was still concealed from those evil men's disgusting gazes.

Leaning the back of my head on the wall, my eyes fell shut. I wanted to dive deep in a slumber permanently, if that could save me from this nightmare.

Why wasn't Chase coming? Had he given up on me? If not, why was he taking so much time?

I wrapped my hands around my frame, and pulled my legs more closer to my chest, tucking my head in between my knees, although my big belly wasn't allowing me to curl too much. My palms were itching, so I scratched it with my nails. A heavy feeling started building in my chest, as I tried to breath.

My head pounded like the beats on a drum, and cold sweat broke out on my back. Threading my fingers into my hair I yanked at it's roots to ease the vexation.

A sharp wave of pain shot behind my eyes, and I pinched my temples. My fingers trembled, and my stomach hollowed, the silent room blaring with my rapid breathing.

My heartbeats collided with a crash, as I felt a deep pressure on the crown of my head. My chest ached with every breath I took.

Was the end finally here? Would I die now?

I dragged my palms down my face, and rubbed them again and again, to create some warmth. The icyness of the room was getting into my head, slowly turning me into a maniac.

My knees scraped on the floor as I dragged my fatigued body to a corner of the room, and lied down into a fetus position, pulling my legs up to my chest.

Benjamin had made me touch him again, last time he came to visit. And I was so disgusted at that, I had puked atleast four times that day. My body was already weak due to the lack of food, and now, there wasn't any energy left in me to do anything.

The room was so pitch black, with only one bulb lightning up a single corner of the room, that I felt it was always night time here, just like my life. Murky and gloomy, with no hope of light. There's no end to it, and I was getting succumbed into the sable chasm.

But I wasn't bothered by it anymore. Darkness had become my solace. It let me hide in shadows and away from those blood leaching suckers.

The door of the room banged opened and I gasped out by the sudden intrusion, the flashing glaring at me. I covered my eyes from the blaze, squinting them. A silhouette ambled into the room with heavy footsteps and a dominating gait.

His feet stalled in front of me, but I didn't have the energy in my body anymore to crane my neck up and look at him, so I kept my gaze fixed at his shoes. They were pitch black, or were they? I didn't know. My eyes were dazed.

He sat down on his haunches, and a sickening smirk was present on his lips. The silvery gray eyes bored back at me, as I gritted my teeth and my nose flared in rage.

"So pathetic," he whispered in a dark tone and chuckled out cynically. His voice sent sickening quivers down my body and I snapped my face away from his view. Draven was worst that Benjamin and I hated him with all my guts.

"I always knew you will be the downfall of the almighty Chase Morgan and Ndrangheta. But how he is going berserk over loosing you is soo pathetic," Draven derided and I flinched back at his words. A flicker of anger emerged into me.

"Don't you dare call Chase pathetic. He is far better than you and your so called master Benjamin. He trusted you ... and what you did!? You tramped on his faith. You betrayed the family!" I snapped at him. His face twisted into an angry scowl and his rough palm collided with my cheek, my teeth scraping my inner cheek.

Before I could recover from his blow, he fisted my hair and growled out, yanking me up roughly, a whimper breaking out from the back of my throat. He hauled me out of the room, as I screamed and scratched his hand to let me go. But all in vain.

The hallway through which he was dragging me, was dark and a pungent smell wafted into my nostrils, my gorge rising at the sight of blood everywhere.

He pushed opened the door of a room and threw me inside, my body colliding with someone's back. I stumbled away from him as soon as he turned back and my eyes met his olive green cold eyes.

"Oh! I'am so delighted to have you in here, finally. I hope Draven didn't manhandled you much, did he?" Benjamin mocked, running his yecchy fingers down my cheek, where Draven had slapped me a few minutes ago.

I swatted away his hands, disgust crawling into my veins at his touch, and stepped away from him. My face scrunching up into a repulsive look.

Benjamin let his hand hang loose in front of my face for a infinitesimal moment, before he shook his head and chucked out sardonically.

"It's fun to see you acting all brave and not affected at all by me. But behind this facade of fake hardihood, that little girl is scared shitless of me." My blood ran cold at how true his words were.

That little three year old girl, who saw her mother getting ruthlessly murdered in front of her own eyes, was suffering worst at the hands of the same man.

"Why are you even doing all this?" I mumbled, not even an ounce of energy left in my body. He didn't have any kind of rivalry with me, except for the fact that my father had encountered his father.

"Is it because of my papa?" I asked, my eyes dropping down due to the lack of strength, my limbs turning jelly. A strong hand grasp my shoulders into a painful grip.

"I could care less what Robert did to my father. He was a crazy bastard anyway, who used to torture his own children," Benjamin hissed into my face and I flinched back.

"They why?" I murmered, my voice quivering and my body going slack. If it wasn't for the strong hold Draven was having on my shoulders, I would have collapsed on the floor.

"Becuase I had promised someone not to kill her son. And I am very sincere towards my promises. But what I can definitely do is torture him mentally through you, can't I?"

My body crawled with a sickening feeling, goosebumps pimpling out on my skin at his askew mentality. His words stuck me hard. Of course Benjamin couldn't hurt Chase becuase of the promise he made to dying Aurora. But he knew Chase would be broken if something happened to me, and that was worst than any physical pain.

"I would have loved to play with you today, and break your spirit more. But I have some important place I need to be. So, goodbye Sarah Wilson ... and rest in peace," he breathed the last four words into my ears with a sinister tone, and my pulse raced. Loud thumping of my heart drummed in my ears and my eyes bulged out of my sockets.

Giving me a malicious smirk, he turned away from me and pointed his fingers towards something which was resting behind him.

As soon as my eyes collided with the dark wood, my blood turned icy in my veins and a pain rose in my heart. I stumbled backwards inadvertently. Fear pierced my gut like a knife. The moonlight was streaming down on the mahogany, giving it a stygian glow.

A coffin.

*******

"Get me out of here!" I slammed my hands repeatedly on the wooden cover of the coffin. It was dark and suffocating, no amount of light or air passing through it. The cold in my bones ran deep, right to the marrow.

Blood pounded in my ears, as I felt the the darkness looming onto me, gulping me in. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead making heir way down my temples.

"LET ME OUT!" I screeched, thrashing myself in the coffin, to get myself out. My chest tightened in dread and my throat dried, chills running down my legs.

Heavy breaths ran in my ears as I tried to turn away from the wood hanging just above my eyes.

My stomach churned as I felt movements around the coffin, and someone lifted it up. I squealed and tired to push open the cover, hyperventilating. My palms turned clammy as I tried to push myself away from the wall that were closing onto me, more and more. I was terrified to my core.

"Stop all this for God's sake!" I begged, tears of desperation breaking out of my eyes. My skin crawled in aversion as I felt like thousand of needles were poking the sole of my feet.

I screaked as they brought the coffin down on the ground. The echoes of my breath were coming back to me and I felt short of breath. What was going on?

The walls looked like they were closing onto me more and more. I tired to punch them away and thrashed my legs to push it away, but it was all in vain. My throat turned sandy dry and my ribcage pained in suffocation.

The sound of shovels digging earth rang beside me, and my heartbeat hitched. My eyes widened and nausea hit me as my brain registered their ultimate intention.

"Stop it! Get me out of here! I wanna go home! STOP!" I wailed out, desperately banging my hands repeatedly on the covers, tears breaking out of my eyes. My lungs constricted as I sensed the shortness of breath in my chest. My nails raked over my throat, scratching to sooth my itchy skin.

The coffin moved as I sensed them lowering it down, the sound of shovel resonating again. My labored breathing echoed all around me, as my vision blurred even in the darkness. The violent knocking of pain on my head exploded as dizziness choked me down.

My muscles went slack, and my body turned sluggish as my papa's face flashed in front of me. It was all over. I would die today in this coffin, buried alive, along with my baby. My hand glided over my swollen belly as I sensed my son kicking me for the last time. My eyes fluttered down, and I smiled joylessly.

Maybe darkness wasn't my solace afterall.

*******

-: CHASE :-

My battered knuckles were stinging as I poured the whiskey down on them. The pain felt good because it distracted me, even if for a few seconds, from my failures. Connor had been shifting his hiding places so frequently that we still couldn't get a hold on him.

And even when we tortured and beat the shit out of Connar's associates whom he had left behind, they couldn't utter a single thing about him. Cause they were all oblivious.

The SUV jerked as the tyres skidded over the rocky path. This was the sixth spot we are visiting in the last 7 days, and all my hopes were fading away. Connar had been very specific and sly about his hideouts, not staying for more than two days at one place.

Gritting my teeth in annoyance at my impotency, I clamped shut my eyes and rested my head on the headrest.

I was a failure. A fucking failure. I was incapable of being the Don of Ndrangheta, if I couldn't protect my own people, the family, my own blood and the woman I intended to protect from the very first day our eyes had collided.

A sharp ringing resonated in the car and my eyes snapped open. Fisitng out my phone from the pockets I recieved the call without bothering to look at the id.

"Morgan speaking." It was silent on the other side for a few seconds before he heaved out a sigh.

"Any news?" Andrew clipped. My body went slack as I rested my head back on the headrest again, my eyes trialing on the sandy roads. The sun was hiding behind the cloud, showering a dark shadow over the horizon.

"No." I snipped. I had nothing else to say.

He groaned but didn't disconnect the line, like he had been doing for the last one and half month during our each calls. He would call to ask about Sarah, and cut the call, disappointed at my repeated failures. We haven't talked much after I woke up from the accident, except that we decided to withhold our personal problems for the time being, and rescue Sarah.

Andrew had decided to take over the business again, and had told me not to worry about anything and shift my entire focus on finding Sarah. But I had proved yet again that I was a failure.

I couldn't save my mothe from that fucking scumbag, and now, I was failing to save my woman.

"What is it?" I asked, after Andrew didn't utter a single word for a whole minute. The car was silent except the sound of wheels skidding over the rocks.

"Hades is returning back to the mansion. I need his help to run the family." I heaved an exasperated sigh and shook my head, taking a gulp of the whiskey.

Another. Fucking. Trouble.

"Last time I remember, he wasn't allowed to set his foot in the mansion." I growled lowly. Ares' head whirled towards me from the shotgun, but before he could ponder onto my words, his own cellphone ranged.

"Yes, and that rule still applies. But I need him, for time being. I am getting old now, and I can't handle everything on my own."

I rolled my eyes and massaged my eyebrows. This would end up into another fucking bloodbath. Ares hated his father with guts and it was better if he didn't find out. Not now atleast.

"He better leave when your need subside."

He hummed, but before I could cut the call a familiar voice rang from the other side.

"Let me talk to him!"

"The fuck Le ..."

Before he could finish, a feminine voice spoke out.

"Chase?"

My eyebrows shot up at her voice. We hadn't talked at all in the last few weeks.

"Lexi," I acknowledged.

"I wanna ask for something, and you have to listen to me ... let go of the phone your moron! Let me talk to him."

"Lexi! This isn't the right time ..."

What the fuck were they doing, fighting over a phone call like two teen girls fighting with each other over their crush.

"I want you to release Robert." Lexi babbled on the phone, and my eyebrows furrowed at her petulant demand. Was she serious!?

"Lexi, Sarah is fucking missing ... and is in the clasp of out archenemy, and at this crucial time you are asking for ..." I hissed, but before I could finish she interrupted.

"That's why you have no purpose to keep Robert in captivity anymore. Let him go Chase. I want you to release him. Sarah isn't going to magically appear if you keep Robert captive," Lexi cajoled, and I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I never ever imagined in my fucking dreams that I would get to see the selfish Lexi back ever, specially after that particular incident.

"You have to let him go Chase, he has no purpose of being confined anymore. The main person, Sarah, isn't here anymore. God knows when you will get her back! I don't want Robert to suffer anymore ...

"ENOUGH LEXI!" I roared as soon as her words registered in my brains. How dare she said that!? The whole Ndangehta and it's each and every soldier were working their asses off to find Sarah, and my own aunty was ...

"Uh, I'm ..." she stammered, but I didn't let her finish her words.

"Do whatever the fuck you want, but dare you say another word against Sarah. Aunt or not, I would throw you to the fucking hell hounds," I rumbled and disconnected the call. My rough voice laced with rage, echoed in the car.

I threw the phone beside me on the seat, and exhaled a drained breath, rubbing my face. Fatigue was taking a toll on me for not sleeping more than two hours every night for the last few weeks.

But I couldn't afford to waste time on resting. I needed to save Sarah, and fucking wipe out the existence of Benjamin's mob from Ireland. And so far we had done an incredible job in the latter, not the former.

Every pub, hotel and illegitimate business he owned had been burned down to ashes. His business partners and cronies has flipped sides as soon as I provided them a better opportunity, and the corporations he had sworned to protect were fucking pissed at him for the damage I had caused.

Benjamin was a dead man anyway.

"Boss, we are here."

Shoving my knife back into my holster, I climbed down from my car and scrutinised the warehouse with piercing gaze. Clicking the safety of my gun I signalled few of my men to follow me and the others to surround the area.

The gate wasn't locked much to my surprise, and my already taunted muscles tightened more in alert. This could be a trap, but I was prepared tot take any risk to save Sarah from the hellhole.

I strolled inside the dingy warehouse, my men a few feet behind me. The floor was dusty, with cobwebs everywhere. A pungent smell wafted into my nose and my gorge rose at it's sudden intrusion.

"Look for the lights," I ordered in a low edged tone, not intending to alert anyone who could have been hiding inside.

With a slow and watchful gait, I strolled inside the warehouse more and more, covering my nose with a hand, and aiming my gun in front of me.

My steps faltered the moment it stumbled with something hard and small, and I aimed my gun at it. As soon as I did so, lights illuminated in the room. But the little hope of finally getting a lead on Benjamin, which was soaring in me, tumbled down as soon as the lights flickered.

Connar was sitting on a chair, his hands tied behind him and in the place of his eyes, two hollow shells was staring back at me. Blood was dripping down his throat where a slick slit had been cut open. His eyeballs were rolling near my legs.

"FUCK!" Ares bellowed, and kicked a chair which was slackly laying in the room. It collided with the wall and broke down into splinters. But my eyes didn't waver from Connar.

He was a collateral damage, but that's not why I was gazing at him. It was that small yellow ...

My phone vibrated in my pockets, and I fisted it out immediately to receive the call.

"Amara," I clipped.

"Connar's wife, Angela is found dead in her apartment. Headshot."

My gaze still didn't waver from that tiny yellow chit, as the words inscribed on it in blood, glared back at me.

DEAD END.

Indeed a dead-end it was.

<<~~~~~~~~~~~~∆~~~~~~~~~~~~>>

Hello my pals, welcome back! 🤓

First of all, thank you soo much all of you for waiting this patiently. I really appreciate for getting such amazing readers 💖❤🥰

If you are my follower, you may already know, but I'd you dont ... I was having eye problem for last few week. I took an appointment and the doctor told me I was straining my eyes way too much, and I was needed to take a break from using my phone for a couple of weeks. This is the main reason, I couldn't give you all an update on time.

Anyway, so after taking a break I asked the doctor again and he gave me the green signal. So here, is the next update. 🤗🤭😍

So, what do you think of the chapter? 🤩

Will Sarah die?

Would Chase fail?

Any comment on Benjamin??

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VOTE🌟 and COMMENT 💬 😘❤

This chapter is dedicated to

elimwah

ZaahraNoor

FAYELLAH45

x0abigailx0

keitetsi

Elegiac_Damsel

Thanks to each and every one who voted and commented on the last chapters 🤩🥰😍😘💗

And here is the new member of my family 🥰🥰 Please welcome him with a round of applause.

NICKY

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A lot has been going on in my country regarding our exams, during this pandemic ... so no promises when will be the next update. But it will be sooner. 😊😊🤗🤗

Thank You 😉