Chapter 1 Prologue

• EVANGELINA
• "Mom!" I screamed as I went down on my knees, holding her face in my hands.
• I looked around the whole area, and there was no sign of violence, except the glass cup that had shattered on the black tiles. The entire house was silent, and I was scared that I would lose the only parent that I had in the world as a whole.
• I returned to her face, which had smeared makeup around, shaking her even more, but she wouldn't bulge. She was dead, and there was no going back. It was final and absolute.
• "Please, don't do this to me, Mom! This is not what you promised. Why do I have to lose you at this age? Come back to your senses!" I cried once more as my tears slid down my cheeks to her face.
• "Evangelina?"
• I turned brashly to my stepfather, standing in the middle of the curvy staircase with only his pajamas and a shot of whiskey in his hand.
• "What do you do to her?" I cried.
• He frowned as he looked at me. "What do you mean by that, Evangelina? I was in the room, so what happened to your mother? Why is she on the floor, and why are you crying like someone died?"
• I scoffed as I looked away from him, turning in the direction of the glass. There was a weird-looking substance at the base of the cup, but I was too distracted to note what it was.
• "Both of you are the only ones at home, and I'm just coming back from my lessons, so why do you have to act like you have no idea that mother was battling for her life? She was screaming for help!"
• Antonio, my stepfather, quickly ran down the rest of the steps as he shoved me away from Mother before grabbing her lifeless body in his hands.
• "This child! It would be best if you had informed me that something this serious had happened instead of talking nonsense. And for the record, I did not do anything to your mother or hear her scream. So, don't go about saying nonsense to strangers."
• I staggered to my feet as he moved towards the door. "Please, let me come with you."
• He turned to me, his eyes cold as he said, "You would have to stay here till I come back. Where I'm going is not where kids like you should be. Be obedient for once, Evangelina," he said quietly.
• My right hand shot forward, but I could not say a word as he walked out of the double brass doors. The memory of coming to the house to see my mother struggle for her life. Her life had been sucked out of her.
• With a gasp, I slipped down on the floor and cried hard. 'No, I couldn't lose my mom. She was the only one that I had in this world. I couldn't stay with Antonio either. He was not a good man!' I thought to myself.
• In that same vein, I slid my hands to the left, only for a gasp to escape my lips. My eyes moved to the left, and there, I saw a snippet of blood. I had her myself, but that wasn't what got my attention. It was the same residue at the bottom of the glass cup.
• I grabbed the broken glass with shaky hands, raising it to my nose to get the scent. It smelt foul. That was not normal. Was my mom poisoned?
• ***
• It's been a week since my mother died, and I was trying to come to terms with it. It didn't help that I had informed the police about my suspicions, only for my stepfather to close up the case like it was nothing.
• I sighed as I made my way to the window. I watched the blue curtains move back and forth on the wooden dresser. It would generally calm me down when I was feeling out of sorts, but this time, the hole in my chest could not be healed.
• With a sigh, I touched the curtain, cooling back the tears that slid down my eyes in torrents. The sound of the door slamming against the wall caused my body to turn in the direction. Antonio stood there with a bottle of Tequila in his hands, his lips curving into a strange smile.
• "Did you want something?" I asked quietly as I pulled the shirt tighter around me.
• He said nothing as he swayed easily forward. I didn't know what to do as I watched. Antonio had never come to my room like this before, and now, it felt wrong. He was finally in front of my face, and his hands softly touched my hair. I pushed his hands off in fear.
• "You're a beautiful sixteen-year-old, Evangelina," he said hoarsely.
• "Get back!"
• I tried to push him away, but he slammed me against the wall harshly. A thorough pain hit my limbs, but I did not bother to flinch. My eyes were wet as I looked at him. He was smiling as he took in my face and drank his drink. Then, he was suddenly offering it to me.
• "You don't need to act so rashly," he said softly.
• "Please, I'm your stepdaughter, and what you're doing is wrong. You're meant to take care of me now that momma is dead. Please, don't do this," I pleaded.
• He sighed. "I'm not the devil, Evangelina. Come on, let us take our sorrows away through this bottle. Drink up," he said softly.
• I pushed his hands away from me as quickly as I could, causing the bottle to smash down on the floor. Next, I tried to run away from him, but something hard hit me in the back, causing me to tumble down on the floor, my head inches away from the bed.
• "You bitch! You threw my damn drink away! What do you think you are, eh? I'm going to teach you a lesson!" He cried behind.
• I gasped as I tried to rise to my feet, but his hands closed around my ankles, pulling me closer to him. "No!" I cried.
• Suddenly, I was tossed around, and he edged closer to me, his hands on the button of his shorts as he tried to pull it down. I tried to move, but he used his free hand to slap me across the face.
• "Stay put, I want to have a virgin pussy for once," he grunted out.
• Tears blurred my vision, and without overthinking, I angled my head to the side. It's not time to think but act. You can do this! Slowly, I closed my hands against the broken shard. It was the scariest thing that I could have ever done.
• "Come on, raise the damn top, I want to enjoy bitch." Antonio cursed.
• I closed my eyes as I raised my hands, connecting with a rigid body. A scream tore through the cold night, and it didn't belong to me. I didn't wait as I crawled out of there. I didn't also turn to look. All I knew was that I had to hide for as long as possible in this mansion.