A Forced Contract Marriage with the Devil novel Chapter 170

Chapter 170

I woke to the distant rumble of tires grinding against gravel. The truck swayed beneath me, the metallic clatter echoing like distant thunder in my skull. My eyes fluttered open, sticky with exhaustion. The dim, shifting light filtered through tiny cracks in the wooden slats above as Dust danced in the air, and the sharp tang of fuel and rust invaded my nose.

I blinked until the shape in front of me came into focus.

Marko.

His back was pressed against one the crates, his hands bound behind him with thick black zip ties. Despite everything, he looked oddly calm, like he was used to this. Like he’d already made peace with whatever came next.

I coughed, throat raw and dry. “Marko?” I croaked.

He looked up, relief flickering through his eyes. “You’re awake…”

My body screamed in protest as I tried to sit up, my arms awkwardly limbs weren’t your own anymore.

twisted

behind me. I hadn’t realized how hard it was to move when your

“Where are we?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. Panic was slow and creeping, like a cold fog wrapping around my lungs.

“We’re in the back of a truck,” he said, glancing at the stacked boxes that towered around us like walls.

I took in our surroundings, the dim space, the faint smell of sweat and gun qil, the muffled sound of tires rolling over uneven terrain. We were being moved.

Again.

My chest tightened. “Are they taking us somewhere… or they are going to kill us?”

Marko offered a bitter, humorless laugh. “You were complaining before,” he said quietly. “Maybe they heard it.”

The truck stopped moving and I heard the faint voices of multiple men coming from outside of it. My eyes went wide with alarm.

I frowned, “Are they speaking Italian?”

“Yes…”

The backdoor of the truck opened and a man jumped up, he was wearing a police uniform. He looked around all the boxes and then at us. He nodded at Marko and then went back out, shutting the door.

He slammed a hand over the truck and shouted, “il cessato allarme

“Are we in Italy?” I asked.

“Yes…”

I shook my head, my mouth dropped open. “Are you crazy? You brought me to Alessandro’s country after I just got away from him?”

Marko rolled his eyes, “It’s not Alessandro’s country, he is a Russian, he just has houses and businesses everywhere. It’s ours Nikolai.”

I slammed my head back in frustration. I wanted to cry, I wanted to seream at the top of my lungs, I wanted to utter a string of profanities; that’s how angry and frustrated and tired I was. “Alessandro is going to find us here in a second,” I sneered.

“He won’t, you are free here, Nikolai. Free of Alessandro De Luca,” he grinned.

Chapter 170

I highly doubt that,” I mumbled under my breath.

The truck came to a complete halt, the engine died and a few minutes later, the backdoor was opened. A man came in and covered up our faces again with a bag or something. They made us stand up and pulled us out of the truck. I walked with them silently, not saying a word because 1. trusted Marko with this but I don’t think his plan is going to work anymore, I have given up. Alessandro will be here and he will take me back I don’t know what he will do to me now but I know wherever he is, he isn’t so far behind.

They took off the bags and I saw a middle–aged couple standi

our backs and then left.

US

with big smiles on their faces. The men untied the rope from behind

I rubbed my wrists as I saw the bruises forming over them. I looked around the luxurious mansion, whoever owned this place had more money

than sense.

Definitely rich. But that didn’t mean I was safe.

I instinctively drifted closer to Marko, keeping a protective distance between myself and the well–dressed couple standing across from us. My gaze locked on the man, who smiled in that unnerving, calculated way rich men often do.

“You must be Nikolai,” he said smoothly, stepping forward with an outstretched hand. “I’m Paul Salvatore, Leah’s father.”

I blinked, stunned. “Leah’s father?”

“Yes.” His voice was calm, almost amused.

I stared at his hand but didn’t take it. “She never mentioned you.”

Of course I knew who he was. Everyone in the underworld knew the name Paul Salvatore, a ties. Not as notorious as Alessandro, maybe. But dangerous all the same.

powerful mafia billionaire with deep international

My question now was… why did Leah bring me here, was she trying to make a fool out of me. Why to this man’s mansion?!.

To him.

Was she playing me all along? Was I just another pawn in whatever game she and her father were playing?

1

Puzzled, I glanced at Marko. He gave me a subtle nod, urging me to trust, but I didn’t move. I kept my arms crossed and refused to take Paul Salvatore’s hand.

I was in a dilemma.

It was his very man who wanted his daughter to br maried to Alessandro, why would he take care of wasn’t stupid enough to just trust anyone for their word alone.

I pursed my lip, “Why? Why are do you all care about me out of the blue?“,

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