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Hard.

Hard enough to make my hand tingle.

Hard enough to make him stumble backward a few steps.

Hard enough to leave the red imprint of my fingers across his cheek.

“You will never break me again. You will never control me again,” I declared, kicking him in the shin, making him grunt in pain.

Then I punched him in the throat—just as Roman had taught me—cutting off his breath.

“Never again !” I screamed, over and over, until his men seized my arms, dragging me away from him.

Antonio clutched his throat, coughing violently, and I couldn’t stop the hysterical laughter bubbling up at the sight of his son-of-a-bitch face and the red welt on his cheek.

“You’re pathetic, Antonio Rasili! Nothing but filth! A dog on a leash held by your father ! You trapped me in the worst way, using my sister ! She almost got raped because of you !” I shouted, screaming until the tears flowed freely, struggling against the grip of the men holding me.

Antonio stared at me, wide-eyed, one hand on his throat, the other still pressed to his burning cheek.

“Ah, Selina, I’m going to take such pleasure in breaking the wings you’ve grown,” he hissed, then lunged toward me and struck me again.

This time, I collapsed to the ground, the metallic taste of blood spreading in my mouth.

“Your sister should have shut up and satisfied my cousin instead of stabbing him with a pair of scissors ! Though I must admit, that video has served me well, hasn’t it ? All these years you submitted to me, fearing I’d expose her as the murderer of my cousin—one of the Rasili heirs. Do you know what they’ll do to her once they find out the truth,Cara mia? Tortures you can’t even imagine. But let me show you.”

He grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanked me to my knees, and struck me again, slamming me back to the ground.

I spat out the blood pooling in my mouth and glared up at him with all the hatred I possessed. He froze, his hand raised, and for the first time, I saw it in his eyes—an emotion foreign to him : fear.

“I’m going to kill you, Antonio. And while you rot in a pit, Rafael and I will live happily with my husband and my sons.”

“I am your husband !” he shrieked, and before I could shield myself, his foot smashed into my side. But to my surprise, the pain remained superficial—the protection Ferna had given me worked.

“It’s me ! It’s me !” he bellowed, kicking me again and again. One blow landed squarely against my chest, and I gasped.

I shut my eyes as his foot arced toward my face—but the blow never came. A thud echoed in my ears. Then a grunt. I opened my eyes and gasped.

A slender figure straddled Antonio, raining punches on him.

“Mikhail !” I sobbed as I rose, just as the sound of more shouting filled the air.

“Mama !” my sons screamed, racing out of the warehouse, two men in pursuit.

“My babies !” I cried, trying to stand and reach them, but I barely managed to get on my knees before Andrei hurled himself into my arms.

“Let me go, bastards ! Let go !” Mikhail shouted as one of the men picked him up and threw him to the ground.

“Mikhail !” I cried, but he stood again, placing himself between Antonio and me.

“Why did you come, Mama ? Why ?” Rafael wept, his little hands cupping my cheeks—hands that no longer seemed so little. He had grown so much with the Ivanovs.

“You shouldn’t have come, Mama !” Alexei sobbed, clutching my hand and showering it with kisses, making me cry harder.

“Go, Mama, you have to go,” Andrei insisted, backing away, his tear-filled eyes locked on mine. “He’s going to hurt you. Go, Mama,” he pleaded again.

But I shook my head, pulling them all to me, “how could I have abandoned you ? Never. Never would I have left you,” I whispered, feeling my heart break as their trembling bodies clung to mine.

“How touching,” growled the devil, now standing before Mikhail.