Though it sounded like an apology, her words were cruel. I raised my hand and slapped her across the face with a loud crack.
“The last person who dared speak to me like that is nothing but dust now,” I hissed.
“How many lives do you think you have? How dare you defy me?”
Sylvia covered her face, sobbing like a cornered animal. I sneered and struck her again, the slap echoing through the room. She managed to stay upright, but I staggered and fell to the floor.
Before I could move, Matteo’s foot came down on my hand, pinning me to the ground. His cold indifference was like a stranger’s face.
“I warned you not to touch her!” he shouted.
“Victoria, why must you target someone innocent?”
My cheek throbbed, while the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. My lips curved into a bloodstained smile. Over the years, I had sent at least a hundred souls to their graves without hesitation because of Matteo.
And yet here I was, struck down by the man who had ordered to kill those men for me.