Campus Belle’s Construction Site Secret - Chapter 5: Chapter 5

His palm cracked against my backside with brutal force.
A sharp yank on my hair forced my mouth open, and before I could react, he was pressing down on me—like mounting a stubborn horse, relentless and unfeeling.
Every inch of my body screamed in protest.
I tried to push myself up, but my legs buckled beneath me, weak and trembling.
When I finally lifted my head, Vincent Lombardi was already dressed, his expression cold and detached. Without warning, he hauled both me and Sophia Valentine onto his shoulders like sacks of grain.
I hammered my fists against his back, desperation clawing at my throat. "Uncle, please! Put us down! We have to get back to school!"
Vincent turned his head just enough to flash me a chilling smirk.
"Forget school," he sneered. "You're coming to the village with me. Breeding my children—that's all you're good for now."
Before we could protest further, rough rags were shoved into our mouths, muffling our cries. A black hood descended over my vision, plunging me into darkness.
When the hoods were finally ripped away, we were in a damp, moldering basement. The air was thick with the stench of mildew and something fouler—despair.
Clutching Sophia to me, I shivered violently, my clothes torn and disheveled. Sophia was barely there—her eyes vacant, her body limp with shock.
Fear and fury twisted inside me. I cursed Sophia for trusting strangers, cursed myself for not seeing the danger sooner. But giving up wasn't an option.
I had to get us out.
Then—the groan of the basement door. The stench of cheap liquor flooded the room as Vincent returned, flanked by two men: Liam Deross and Noah Luwelton.
"Keep an eye on them," Vincent told the men, his voice dripping with smug authority.
"Do your job, and they'll be your wives soon enough."
With that, Vincent and Noah left, leaving only Liam behind.
The man swayed on his feet, his face flushed from drink. His bloodshot eyes crawled over us, lingering in ways that made my skin prickle with revulsion.
Trembling, I forced myself to speak. "Please... let us go. We're just students. You can't do this."
Liam barked a bitter laugh.
"Let you go?" He spat the words like they were poison. "Dream on. I work myself to the bone in this city and still can't get a wife. You're coming with me—bearing my children. That's your life now."
He took a staggering step closer, his breath reeking of alcohol.
"Behave," he slurred. "Come with me. Raise my kids. That's all that matters."
My pulse roared in my ears. I couldn't just sit here and wait for the worst.
An idea flickered to life.
"Big brother..." I softened my voice, forcing a shaky plea. "I'm on my period. I can't give you a child right now."
I swallowed hard, pressing on. "And... you seem like a good man. Good things come to good people. Let us go. We'll repay you. Whatever you want—we can talk later..."
For a moment, Liam wavered. Then, with a heavy sigh, he slumped to the floor, his drunken rambling taking a darker turn.
"My wife..." His voice cracked. "She died in childbirth last year. The baby too. All I want is an heir. Is that too much to ask?"
My stomach twisted—but I seized the opening.
"You're a good man," I murmured, playing into his grief. "Losing your family like that... it's horrible."
"Let us go. If you really want children, I'll help you find a wife. Or... if nothing else, we'll bear them for you. Just not like this."
Liam's face crumpled. Drunk and drowning in memories, he began rambling about his wife's death—how he'd been at a construction site when she went into labor. How he'd sent Vincent with money for the hospital, only for the doctors to take the cash and let her die.
Vincent had promised him new wives. New children.
But now, lost in his grief, Liam's hunger for us seemed to fade.
With a grunt, he staggered to his feet—and walked out, leaving us untied.
My heart leaped. This was it.
I scanned the room, searching for anything—anything—to pry open that door.