My father sold me to the Mafia King

Chapter 37: 37/Shocking song

Chapter 37:

Julie’s Perspective

Robert opened the massive door, and I felt a sudden tightening in my heart; it wasn’t just a door, it was the boundary between my small prison and the world Robert wanted to exhibit me in.

I took my first step inside, and Robert followed behind with his steady, confident strides.

The hall was teeming with life in a provocative way; the chairs were filled with men exhaling the scent of obscene wealth and absolute power.

I began walking toward the stage, my back straight, praying silently that my feet wouldn’t betray me or trip over these high heels, causing myself embarrassment in front of these monsters.

I ascended the wooden stage stairs, where I found a small four-piece band tuning their instruments, waiting for me. I said to myself with bitter irony,

”Oh Robert... you truly care about every detail to make your show perfect.”

I turned to face the audience, and my gaze collided with the front row.

There, Carlos Mendoza sat with his usual majesty, clutching his golden cane, wearing a luxurious navy suit befitting his status.

He was smiling at me a mysterious smile, as if he saw in me a successful investment.

As for the rest of the men, they were staring at me with a strange hunger, as if they had never seen a woman before,

or perhaps because the mask and the restored green dress made me look like a conquest they hadn’t yet managed to occupy.

Robert walked with firm steps and sat beside Carlos in the front row, crossing one leg over the other, watching me with hawk-like eyes.

Now, everyone was silent... everyone was waiting.

I froze in my place for a moment, my mind racing frantically:

What should I sing? Robert asked for a romantic song, but my heart refused to sing of love in a place where human beings are sold.

Suddenly, and without warning, the song ”Unstoppable” by Sia crossed my mind a song that doesn’t talk about roses, but about strength, about endurance, and about being ”unbreakable.”

I nodded to the pianist, and the first notes began to flow... they were strong, confident, and rhythmic in a way that suggested readiness for battle.

I breathed deeply, filling my lungs with air as if it were my last breath, then closed my eyes for a single second before releasing it that voice that had dazzled Robert before.

”I’ll put my armor on, show you how strong I am”

I began to sing, my voice coming out with a raspy edge of power and defiance.

I felt Robert’s gaze piercing through my golden mask; he sat in the front row, monitoring every movement of my lips.

This was not the delicate romantic song the audience expected; it was not a song that succumbed to their desires, but a loud declaration of war.

”I’m unstoppable, I’m a Porsche with no brakes”

When I reached the chorus, my voice rose to fill every corner of the hall; I felt as if the crystal chandeliers were trembling.

I opened my eyes and fixed them directly on Robert.

I was telling him through Sia’s words: I don’t need your pity, and I don’t need your protection; I am my own shield. I saw signs of astonishment etched on the men’s faces;

Carlos Mendoza stopped smiling and leaned forward with intense interest, while Robert... I saw his grip tighten on the armrest of his chair.

This wasn’t the ”merchandise” he wanted to display; it was a volcano about to erupt.

”I’m so powerful, I don’t need batteries to play”

I moved across the stage with confident steps.

Although I had sung many times on high school stages, I felt a different kind of victory at this moment. I was no longer Julie the prisoner; I was Julie ”The Unstoppable.”

My voice trembled with a calculated force a strength that tears could not break, but only sharpen.

I directed my gaze at Robert while repeating the lyrics that described my situation and the state of this damned club:

”I’ll do it ’til the sun goes down and all through the night time”

I meant him, and I meant myself; I will continue in this role, in this mask, and in this false steadfastness as long as this is my fate with you.

Then I moved closer to the microphone and whispered with a tone of bitter irony that stunned the audience:

”Oh yeah, oh yeah, I’ll tell you what you wanna hear”

Yes, Robert, I will play the role of the ”obedient jewel,” I will tell you what satisfies your vanity, but I will only do what my head tells me...

”Keep my sunglasses on while I shed a tear.. It’s never the right time”

I will never cry in front of you, Robert. You will never see my breakdown; I will never grant you that pleasure.

The song ended, and the echo of the music faded, leaving me standing under the spotlight.

The hall was plunged into a haunting silence; even Robert didn’t move a muscle, staring at me as if he were seeing Julie for the first time... not as merchandise, but as a hurricane he could not contain.

Suddenly, Carlos Mendoza broke the silence by striking his cane against the floor, and began to clap slowly... one, two, three, until the entire hall exploded with applause.

I fixed my sight on Robert; he was the only one who didn’t clap.

He remained seated in his rigid posture, staring at me with a deep, dark gaze, loaded with thousands of words he had not yet spoken.

The silence of the hall was cut by the voice of a man from the back shouting enthusiastically, ”Another song!”

Soon, voices rose in support, and others began demanding more, thinking I was there to entertain them all night like any maid in their palaces.

But they didn’t understand yet... I didn’t stand here to sing for them; I stood here to sing for ”Me.”

I reached my hand to the edge of the cold golden mask, and with a slow, confident motion,

I pulled it off.

A sudden silence fell a silence thousands of times heavier than the one before.

The white bandage appeared with stark clarity on my face that bandage they were trying so hard to hide.

I looked directly at Robert;

astonishment was etched on his face in a way I had never seen before.

His features, which were always under control, shook now. The shock wasn’t limited to him; it included everyone in attendance, even Carlos Mendoza, whose hand froze atop his cane.

I stood there, breathing heavily, feeling the cool air of the hall hit the skin they had tried to keep hidden.

The silence was no longer a sign of respect; it was the sound of a carefully constructed illusion shattering into a million pieces.

By revealing this bandage, I wasn’t just showing a wound; I was exposing Robert’s failure to own me.

I looked at the men in the room the predators, the buyers and I saw the confusion in their eyes.

They wanted a perfect doll, but I gave them a broken, defiant human.

I felt a surge of adrenaline as I realized that for the first time in this nightmare, I was the one holding the power.

Robert thought he could sell a fantasy, but I forced everyone to look at my reality. My face may be scarred, but my spirit remains untouched, and tonight, the world finally saw the truth behind the gold.

______________

Carlos Mendoza’s Point of View

It never crossed my mind that watching a girl sing could do all this to me; she awakened senses I thought had gone dormant, and I felt a hidden pleasure coursing through my veins as I traced her swaying atop the stage.

The green dress wrapped around her sculpted waist tightly, tracing the details of her body perfectly, making me grip the golden head of my cane with even more force.

She wasn’t just singing; she was hurling words like projectiles into Robert’s face.

I slowly turned my eyes toward him; he was feigning coldness as usual, but I spotted the veins in his neck bulging, and his chest rising and falling with suppressed breaths.

He is burning from the inside.

We have been friends for years, and I know exactly when his volcano begins to boil behind that icy mask.

I returned my gaze to her, roaming my eyes over her gold-covered face.

I remembered her image yesterday, when I stormed into the office and found her wearing that oversized men’s shirt.

At first, I didn’t give it much importance; for her breathtaking beauty had passed before me hundreds of times,

and I used to settle for staring at the most beautiful women for mere seconds, then fold their pages as if they never existed.

But this girl... she shattered all my rules.

I recalled in my mind the scene of her sitting in Robert’s massive chair, how she leaned her back and looked at me with defiant eyes.

She played the role of the ”Owner” with stunning brilliance.

I leaned my back a bit, contemplating her steadiness on the stage.

I replayed our short dialogue in my mind; how she conversed with me, throwing her heavy words in my face without a single flinch.

She was using words with absolute mastery, as if they were polished daggers that knew exactly where to strike.

What impressed me most was that moment when she told how her father sold her; there were no tears filling her eyes, nor a tremble of weakness in her voice.

She was narrating her tragedy with a majestic coldness, as if she were telling me that she was no longer that female who could be broken, but had become a raging fire preparing to burn everyone, including herself.

I watched her defiant stance before Robert; the man everyone trembles at the mere mention of his name she was lunging toward him with a rare firmness.

At that moment, my heart muscle contracted with a sudden interest; I realized she is a rare ”piece” that does not repeat, and that I must have her at any cost.

I felt a strange thirst, not just for her body, but to hear her voice as she speaks again.

I, Carlos Mendoza, who am accustomed to women in my bed being mere silent bodies or fleeting screams, find myself now panting after a ”conversation” with her.

I want to hear the whips of her words as they lash my pride once more.

I gripped my golden cane so hard that the veins in my hand bulged, and I made my decision: I must speak with her again today.

This noise in my head will not quiet down until I face that fire face to face.

Power was oozing from her pores, and now, as she removes the mask and reveals that bandage, I felt an overwhelming urge to stand and offer an endless applause.