CHAPTER LXV
~~~
Chase swallowed the pill prescribed for him before looking at Lucas. “State tutti bene? C’e qualche persona ferita?”
{“Is everyone alright? Any injured person?”}
Lucas stared at Sophia, who was seated at the edge of Chase’s bed before looking back at Chase. “Nessuno dei nostri uomini e risultato morto. Solo pochi feriti e uhh-Saige”
{“None of our men turned up dead. Just a few injured ones and uhh-Saige”}
Chase frowned. “Cosa le e successo?”
{“What happened to her?”}
“Actually,” Valerie stepped forward and passed Chase a nervous smile. “De Luca is panicked and well- uhh-one of Mirza’s men took her away. She was kidnapped, and they said they’ll only be returning her if – ” Her eyes flickered to Sophia and then back at Chase. She exhaled. “They’ll only be returning her in exchange for Sophia,”
Sophia froze.
Chase turned his hardened gaze to Lucas. “Hai detto che tutti gli uomini di Mirza erano morti. Come hanno potuto portare via Saige?” He was already throwing the comforter from his body and standing on his feet. “Siete tutti un gruppo di sciocchi. Lo sapevate, ma mi avete permesso di farmi curare invece di trovare modi per riportarla indietro!”
{“You said all of Mirza’s men were dead. How could they have taken Saige away?”} {“You are all bunch of fools. You knew thus but allowed me to take treatment rather than finding ways to bring her back!”}
Sophia was quick to rush towards Chase to hold his arm. “You – you need to calm down. You aren’t doing well. The doctor said you might have a fever if you don’t have some rest,”
Chase gently placed his hand on hers and pulled her hand away from his arm. “Saige is my fiancee and my responsibility. She’s a member of this empire, and I can’t leave her to those insufferable bastards to do as they wish. I’m going to find a way to bring her back to De Luca,”
“The only way to get her back home is to give Sophia to them,” Valerie said.
“Sophia is not going to be given to Mirza,” Lucas dragged Sophia’s arm and pulled her behind him, protectively hiding her. “Anyone who wants to take her has to pass through me first,”
“No one was ever going to take her to Mirza, Lucas,” Valerie said. “I was just stating it,”
“Fine then,” Luciano called. “The only option we have is to invade their territory. That’s the only way we can get Saige back home,”
“I- I can be of help,” Sophia moved away from Lucas’ back. “We can all make a plan and find a way out,”
“This isn’t some high- school bullshit, Gattina, “Chase’s tone was hard. “You and Valerie are going to stay back home with a few men on guard. Lucas, Luciano, and I will leave right now with some of our men,”
{“Kitten”}
Valerie knew better than to protest.
Sophia declined. “This isn’t about high school. Chase. Saige’s life is in danger, and if I can be of some help, it’s okay. I’ll help,”
“Are you fucking out of your mind, Sophia?” Lucas dragged her upper arm and turned her towards him. “You aren’t going anywhere. You’re staying back at home with Val and that’s it. We’re all going to bring Saige back. She isn’t only your friend and you’re not the only one that cares the fuck for her. She’s going to be the queen of our empire also and we’ll do all we can to save her,” He didn’t mean his words. They were all to make Sophia back down from wishing to help.
Lucas never really liked Saige, and he didn’t care if she was marrying his cousin or not. His dislike towards her had turned into hatred the day she tried to land Sophia in trouble at the airport.
Before Sophia could utter any word, Lucas’ phone rang.
“Excuse me,” He fished out his phone from his pocket and walked towards a corner to pick up the call. In less than a minute, he was back to where he was standing, Staring at Chase. “It’s one of our men that just called. Mirza has returned Saige. She’s been taken to one of the guest rooms by the head of the maids and a doctor has been called. She isn’t in good shape,”
~~
Saige laid on the large bed in the guest room, staring at the ceiling without saying anything when they all walked in.
Sophia gasped at the sight of Saige.
She was bruised all over. Her fiery red hair was sprawled all over her face, her eyes looked dead staring into empty space, her lips were chapped as blood trailed down her chin, her dress was torn at different places. There were bruises all over her arms, thighs, chest area and other parts of her body especially her face which looked as if she’d been blown and slapped. There was also blood trickling down the middle of her thighs.
Another gasp left Sophia’s lips.
“Ma’am, say something,” The head of the maid held Saige’s cold palms in hers, urging her to speak. Saige remained mute, saying nothing.
“She-,” Tears glistened in Valerie’s eyes and the remaining words flew out of her mouth without her realizing it.”They raped her!”Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.
That was when something snapped in Saige. It was as if she had been jolted back to her senses and she hurriedly got down from the bed, her eyes scanning over them all.
The moment her green eyes landed on Chase, a sob cracked from her lips. “Chase,” She rushed towards him and threw herself in his arms. “Chase,” More tears spilt from her eyes, and she clutched onto his arm, shaking her head. “They-those men. They took me away. They-they forced me. They were tired of waiting. They said they were tired of waiting for you to bring her to them. They-they made fun of me, Chase. They said horrible things about me. They said you didn’t care about me. They said you preferred her over me and that was why you didn’t take her to them. They said I am a pathetic excuse of woman who couldn’t satisfy her fiance that he even had to find satisfaction in a teenage girl. I told them it was a lie but they hit me. They told me to shut up that I was a useless and worthless woman. They called me degrading names as they took turns with me. They wanted her. They wanted to keep her. When you-,” She gripped his collar and looked at him in the eye. “Why didn’t you take her to them? They-they forced their selves on me. They were-they were five of them. They forced me. It was hurting. It still hurts. Why-why didn’t you take her to them? If you-if you did they wouldn’t have touched me like that. They wouldn’t have been my firsts,”