Chapter 7 - The Heiress
"You watched him beat me for six months?" Sadie whispered, her voice laced with venom.
Ronan nodded slowly, showing absolutely no remorse.
"I needed to see if you would break, or if you would endure," he explained coldly.
"I require someone with unbreakable psychological resilience for a very specific operation."
Sadie backed away from him, feeling sick to her stomach.
"I don't care about your mafia operations, I want to leave right now," she demanded.
Ronan stepped over Thomas's lifeless body and blocked her path to the stairs.
"You cannot leave, because you are the exact genetic double of Natalia Morreti, the missing heiress to the largest syndicate in Europe," he revealed.
Sadie shook her head violently, refusing to process the sheer absurdity of his claim.
"I am a waitress from Ashport, my mother was a diner cook who died of cancer," she countered.
Ronan pulled a sleek tablet from the hallway table and handed it to her.
The screen displayed a photograph of a woman wearing a diamond tiara, standing on a yacht in Monaco.
The woman had the exact same green eyes, the same cheekbones, and the same dark hair as Sadie.
"Natalia died in a plane crash three years ago, but her family kept it a secret to prevent a bloody war of succession," Ronan explained.
"If you impersonate her, I can broker a peace treaty that gives me control of the eastern ports."
Sadie shoved the tablet back into his chest.
"I won't do it, I won't play your twisted games," she spat.
Ronan's expression hardened into a mask of pure cruelty.
"Carl Jenkins is not dead yet, Sadie."
She froze, the air leaving her lungs in a sudden rush.
"He is currently suspended over a vat of industrial acid at my warehouse," Ronan continued softly.
"Your cooperation buys his quick death, but if you refuse me, I will let him go, and I will tell him exactly where to find you."
She stared at the monster disguised as a savior, realizing she was completely trapped in his web.
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"Fine," Sadie whispered, her eyes filling with tears of pure hatred.
"But I demand to hold the gun that kills him."
