NO ONE’S POV

The exact moment the cars vanished from the driveway, Enzo’s arrogant face completely fell. The fake smile vanished, replaced by a manic rage. He whipped around and marched toward the kitchen hallway.

With a lowl groan, the hidden seam in the wall moved, sliding open to reveal the dark passageway.

The mysterious girl walked out, her bleeding arm still securely holding Vivien by the waist. Enzo’s bloodshot eyes locked onto them, his chest heaving with pure fury as he stalked closer.

"Did you try to run away, babygirl?" Enzo asked, his voice dropping to a quiet whisper as he stepped into Vivien’s personal space. He reached out, his cold fingers tightly gripping her chin, forcing her to look into his psychotic pupils. "You know what happens to bad girls who try to break my rules? They get punished. If you love running toward Dominic so much, what if I just break your legs? If you can’t walk, you can never leave my side again!"

Vivien’s breath hitched as she glared at him.

Before Enzo could raise his hand, the masked girl silently stepped forward, placing her own bruised and bloody body directly in front of Vivien, breaking Enzo’s grip.

"Master, she did not try to run," the girl said, her voice remaining perfectly flat and calm despite the tension. "She heard the noise. It was me who dragged her to hide when I saw the headlights of those cars approaching the estate. I was securing the asset."

Enzo stared intensely at the girl, his eyes scanning her blank expression for any sign of betrayal. The silence in the hallway was suffocating. Finally, he slapped his pocket knife against his palm.

"You had better not be lying to me," Enzo hissed, warning her. He pointed a finger at Vivien. "Take her back to her room right now. Put the heavy chains on the door if you have to, and make absolutely sure she doesn’t leave that bed. If she disappears again, your head will be the first one to roll."

The girl lowered her head in a stiff bow. "Understood, Master."

Turning around, she firmly gripped Vivien’s arm and began leading her back up the dark stairs, keeping her own body between Vivien and Enzo’s lingering glare.

Soon enough, the girl led Vivien back into the dimly lit bedroom. But this time, she didn’t just lock the door and walk away. Instead, she stood perfectly still by the edge of the mattress, her dark eyes staring intensely at Vivien.

The silence stretched between them for a long moment before the girl finally spoke, her voice holding a rare hint of genuine confusion. "Why didn’t you hit me? I know that with your strength, you could have easily injured my broken arms and forced your way out. You had the perfect chance to escape when Dominic was downstairs. Why did you stop?"

Vivien looked up at her, a soft gentle smile appearing on her face despite the terrifying night they had just endured. "It’s because you remind me so much of someone really close to me."

The girl’s eyes narrowed slightly, her posture stiffening. "Who is it?"

Vivien was secretly surprised to see that the usually robotic girl was actually willing to talk more and ask questions. She leaned back against the headboard, her gaze softening. "I don’t even know how I should describe her accurately... but she was like my closest friend, my loyal bodyguard, my caretaker... honestly, she was my everything. Her name was Lily."

The girl completely froze, staring blankly at Vivien as the name echoed in her empty mind.

Vivien looked up, her heart beating fast as she took a bold leap of faith. "For some strange reason, deep down in my gut, I feel like you are actually her."

"It’s impossible," the girl said sharply, turning her head away to avoid Vivien’s piercing gaze. "I am just a weapon."

"I know it sounds crazy," Vivien pressed on, sitting up straighter. "Then tell me, what is your real name? Where are you originally from? And how exactly are you connected to Enzo?"

The girl whipped her head back around, glaring fiercely at her. "Didn’t I tell you not to bother yourself with things that-"

Before she could finish her usual cold warning, Vivien boldly interrupted her.

"I know what you’re going to say! But why are you hesitating so much to answer me right now?" Vivien stared at her sternly, her eyes filling with tears of certainty. "It’s because you don’t actually know, right? You don’t have any memories because your soul was bought into this world along with me! You are my Lily... and that is exactly why you have a soft spot for me, no matter how much you try to deny it."

To prove her point, Vivien courageously reached out, grabbed the girl’s trembling bloody hands, and forcefully placed them directly around her own neck.

"If you really don’t care about me, and if you are truly just Enzo’s heartless puppet, then go ahead," Vivien challenged, her voice shaking but determined. "Strangle me right now with all your strength. Kill the asset."

The girl’s dark blank eyes suddenly shook with intense panic and emotion. She stared at her hands resting against Vivien’s throat, and her mind throbbed with a sudden, painful memory of a past life she couldn’t grasp. With a gasp, she violently ripped her hands away from Vivien’s skin.

"Shut up!" the girl hissed, her calm facade completely shattering. "Master will kill me if I harm a single hair on your body!"

With that frantic excuse, she turned on her heel and practically fled the room, slamming the wooden door shut behind her and leaving Vivien alone in the dark.

The moment the door slammed shut, the tension in the room snapped, and Vivien let out a low victorious snicker against her pillows. "I knew it," she whispered, a cold spark finally returning to her eyes.

The pieces were completely falling into place. "Enzo is such a pathetic, desperate psycho... he actually ripped my person away from her own world just to use her as a weapon against me. Damn him," Vivien muttered, her fists clenching tightly against the bedsheets.

She sat up, staring at the locked door as a dark aura settled over her shoulders. The frightened, helpless girl who had been running through hallways was gone.

"Oh, Enzo... you messed up big time," Vivien whispered, her eyes glowing with an intensity under the dim moonlight. "You’re not dealing with a defenseless Vivien this time. You’re dealing with the soul of Viella inside me. And you will deeply, deeply regret ever crossing me."

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The next morning, the bright sunlight offered no warmth inside the grand study.

Enzo stood over his massive desk, staring down at the bloody geometric symbols he had spent all night perfecting. He traced the dried bloody lines with a satisfied grin, his chest swelling with pride. Everything was perfectly aligned. The ritual array was complete.

"Everything is ready," Enzo whispered, his voice trembling with excitement. "Now, now... shall we finally begin?"

He snapped his head up, his bloodshot eyes locking onto the girl who stood by the door, silent as a corpse.

"Go bring my babygirl down to the ritual chamber," Enzo commanded, a sickening smirk stretching across his face. "But first, prepare her. Dress her up in that beautiful white gown and the jewelry I bought specifically for her. After all, we absolutely can’t start our beautiful new life together looking so messy and unkempt, right?"

The girl in front of him stared blankly, her eyes entirely unreadable behind her mask. Without a single word of protest, she nodded stiffly, picked up the garment boxes resting on the armchair, and left the room.

Left alone in his study, Enzo turned toward the massive glass window, looking out over the sprawling estate grounds. A mocking laugh vibrated in his throat.

"Oh, Dominic... you absolute fool," Enzo hummed tone-deafly, a look of pure victory on his face. "Search the city all you want. You will never, ever find your precious Vivien again~"

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Vivien looked up from the edge of the bed as the door creaked open. The girl walked in, her arms piled high with elegant boxes and a breathtaking white gown.

"So, the time has come, huh?" Vivien muttered softly, her voice remarkably calm despite the gravity of the situation.

The girl didn’t answer right away. She walked over to the vanity table and set down the heavy things with a quiet thud. "Master told me to get you prepared," she replied, her voice remaining perfectly. "We need to move quickly."

Vivien stood up and walked over, her fingers lightly brushing against the expensive fabric of the gown. She turned her head and looked pitifully into the girl’s blank eyes. "Are you really going to do this to me, Lily? Are you really going to let him do that ritual?"

The girl stood completely still, her posture stiffening at the mention of the name, but she refused to look back at Vivien.

"Lily, have you really forgotten your lady? Hm?" Vivien stepped closer, her voice dropping into a teasing melody that carried a hint of bittersweet nostalgia. "I distinctly remember you calling me ’My Lady’ all the time, you know~ Always standing half a step behind me, protecting me from everything."

The girl’s hand visibly trembled for a split second. She abruptly pulled away, letting go of the dress fabric. "Let’s get you ready," she snapped, her voice tightening as she forced her cold facade back into place. "I don’t have time for your absolute nonsense."

Vivien let out a dramatic sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. She felt a brief wave of defeat, but she wasn’t about to give up entirely. "Fine! I won’t talk to you anymore then, hmpf!" Vivien huffed, turning her back to the girl and deliberately looking away.

The nameless girl stood frozen for a moment, her gaze staring down at Vivien’s puffed-up, childish cheeks. A strange unfamiliar warmth tugged at the corner of her heart, making her chest ache with confusion. Vivien looked so much like a stubborn child right now, a sight that felt deeply familiar.

Meanwhile, across the city, the atmosphere inside the Valente command center was suffocatingly tense. Computer screens blinked with tracking data, and armed men moved in perfect chaos.

"Boss, everything is ready. The men are positioned, and the assets are locked down," Dominic’s assistant reported, stepping into the private office. He held a tablet, but he hesitated, swallowing hard before speaking again. "boss... are you absolutely sure about this move? Because if we deploy this level of force and we don’t find Miss Vivien this time... there will be massive issues for us in the business industry. The legal and political backlash will ruin our trade standing."

Dominic slowly turned his head, his piercing, icy eyes locking onto the assistant. The murderous coldness radiating from his glare was enough to make the man instantly shut his mouth and look at the floor in terror.

"I know exactly what I am doing," Dominic said, his deep voice carrying a weight that brooked no argument.

He turned back toward his desk, ignoring the frantic updates and the risks to his multi-billion dollar empire. To him, the industry meant absolutely nothing compared to her. He picked up a small, framed picture of Vivien, his thumb gently tracing her smiling face in the photograph. His jaw clenched in pure determination. Enzo had run out of time, and Dominic was about to tear the world apart to bring his girl back home.

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TO BE CONTINUED