My Childhood Bully is a Mafia Boss-Chapter 56

Ivy

The cold steel of the knife pressed against my throat, and I could feel every beat of my heart pounding in my chest. I’ve never been this close to death before, and it terrified me.

I thought I was afraid before. When Aidan kidnapped me the first time, or when he damn near raped me, or even when Slava picked me up. But no, this was way more scary, especially when Ellie had that crazed look in her eyes.

"Ellie," Aidan said, his face hard. "Let Ivy go."

"Let her go?" Ellie scoffed, the venom dripping from her words. "You think It’s that easy?"

My vision blurred as tears gathered in the corners of my eyes, but I fought them back. I needed to be strong.

"Please, Ellie," he nearly begged, taking a step forward, his hands raised in surrender. I was surprised at how desperate he sounded. It was almost as if he was scared for me. "We can work it out. I will make sure to make everything right. Just... just put the knife down."

"Make everything right?" Ellie laughed bitterly, her grip tightening on the knife handle.

Aidan looked pained, his expression torn between love and loyalty. But he didn’t give up. "We can try, Ellie. We can try it together. Please, just let Ivy go."

She glared at him, her eyes cold and unyielding.

"Choose," Ellie said quietly, her voice like ice. "Me or her."

Aiden’s eyes met mine, filled with agony and indecision. "Don’t do this, Ellie. You can’t make me choose."

"You think It’s that easy?" Ellie spat, her voice dripping with venom. "You think it’s just that simple?"

I fought back tears, keeping my eyes focused on her. I couldn’t let them fall now, not with a knife at my throat.

The cold steel bit into my skin, drawing a bead of blood that trickled down my neck and stung. My heart beat like a drum in my chest, each thump echoing through my whole body as Aiden stepped forward, hands raised in surrender.

I’d never seen him look so scared before. Never seen him so helpless.

Maybe it was kind of a twisted thing to think about, but I realized that the thought of him being so scared for me made me oddly happy.

"It will be okay," he pleaded, his voice wavering. "I promise I will take you back home and everything will be fine."

"Everything will be fine, huh? That’s rich," she scoffed, tossing her head back in disbelief. "How are you planning on making everything right, huh, brother? Are you going to go back in time and stop our father from raping me? And are you going to make him stop beating me when I said no?"

I choked out a gasp. Oh my god, no wonder Ellie was so messed up, so broken. This poor girl never stood a chance. No wonder she was so...angry.

"Ellie," Aidan spoke, his voice low and raspy. "I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I never forgave myself for not trying harder. I should’ve killed him then and taken you out of there, but..."

"But you left instead," Ellie finished for him. "And now here you are, coming to your little slut’s rescue." I winced as she pressed the blade harder against my throat. I felt something liquid trickle down my throat. Blood?

"I am sorry, Ellie. But Ivy has nothing to do with that. It was my own decision to leave," Aidan argued.

"Yes. I blame you for leaving and falling into the life of crime. But I blame Ivy, most of all," Ellie shouted.

Aidan grimaced his body tense from the pain of her words. "I never wanted this life," he said quietly, his eyes pleading with her. "But I had nothing else. I had no choice but to turn to crime."

Ellie scoffed. "You always had a choice."

"I never wanted Aidan to leave, Ellie," I whispered.

But Ellie wasn’t even listening to me as she raged on.

"Yes, we were poor and abused, so our future was never going to be great, but you dragged us further into the dirt," Ellie hissed. "You decided to join the worst gang you could find. You are a fucking hypocrite, Adrian. You are a hypocrite for being angry at me for finally accepting that this lifestyle is my fate, just like it’s yours."

"But you don’t need to be with Slava, Ellie," Aidan rasped. "He is a piece of shit. He is...he is not good enough for you."

Ellie chuckled bitterly. "Oh fuck off, Aidan. I am perfectly happy with Slava. You are the one who dragged me into this kind of life, and now that I am happy in it, you want to "rescue" me like that somehow makes it all better?"

Aidan winced. I could tell he was completely heartbroken by all this, and my heart ached for him, knowing that in his mind, he had always done his best to protect his little sister in an impossible situation. But I also knew that there was nothing I could say right now that would help.

"What do you want, Ellie?" Aidan asked.

"I want you to choose. Me, or Ivy?" Ellie hissed. "Let me kill her, and I will go back to being your sister."

I saw Aidan stiffen as her words hung heavily in the air. It was clear that Ellie’s anger towards me wasn’t just about revenge for our past encounter but also because she saw me as a threat to her relationship with her brother.

My mind raced as I tried to think of something to say, anything that could calm the situation down and prevent it from escalating further. But when I opened my mouth, no words came out.

"Ellie," Aidan finally spoke up after a tense silence. "Don’t make me choose." His expression twisted in anguish as he grappled with the impossible decision before him.

I watched him, my heart pounding in my chest, my breath coming in short, shallow gasps.

Finally, Aidan’s voice broke the silence. "I can’t...I can’t let Ivy die."

My heart sank at his admission, a surge of despair washing over me as I realized what his decision meant. He was choosing me over his own sister, over the only family he had left in the world.

Ellie’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of rage flashing across her face. "So that’s it, then?" she spat, her voice laced with venom. "You’re choosing her over me?"

Aiden’s shoulders slumped in defeat, his gaze fixed on the ground as he nodded slowly. "I’m sorry, Ellie. I can’t lose her."

Ellie’s laughter rang out like a gunshot, sharp and piercing in the tense silence of the room. "Fine," she said coldly, her voice devoid of emotion. "Have it your way."

Will she kill me now? I wondered.

But with a swift movement, she released me, pushing me away from her with a force that sent me stumbling toward the ground. I landed hard on the ground, my head spinning as I struggled to regain my bearings.

Aidan moved toward me, reaching out a hand to help me up. I gratefully took it, still shaken from the encounter with Ellie. Aidan gave me a reassuring squeeze before turning to face his sister.

"Just...get out of here. Both of you," Ellie snapped, her voice dripping with venom. "Leave before Slava comes back with more men."

Aidan hesitated, his eyes filled with regret and longing, but he knew there was nothing more he could do for his sister right now. He turned to me, an unspoken apology in his eyes.

"We have to go," he said softly.

I nodded, knowing that it was best to leave before things got even more dangerous. But as we turned to leave, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway towards us.

A group of men burst into the room. Slava was standing in front of them, his face contorted with anger.

"Not so fast, Blackwood," he barked, his dark eyes scanning the room and landing on me and Aidan.

Ellie moved beside him. "Just let them go, Slava. I am done with that bitch. I decided not to kill her."

I flinched. It sounded like it was Ellie’s idea to kidnap me. Oh god, was she really that corrupted now?

Slava glared at her. "Your asshole brother cost me a lot of men, and look at what he did to my face," he accused.

I gasped as I saw the angry red scar that marred Slava’s cheek, evidence of the fight between him and Aidan.

"If you kill me, my men will come after you, and there will be war, Morozov," Aidan glowered.

Slava laughed mockingly, shaking his head. "You think your men are any match for me and my army?" he taunted. "You’re so blinded by your love for this girl that you don’t even see how helpless you really are."

Aidan’s grip tightened on my hand, his body tense with anger.

But then Ellie stepped forward, placing herself between Slava and us. "Just let them go, Slava," she urged in a calm voice. "Please."

Slava scoffed and roughly grabbed her jaw. "You owe me for this, bitch." He turned to Aidan and me. "Get the fuck out, but this isn’t over, Blackwood."

"Don’t come near my territory, and never touch my woman again. Then there will be no more problems between us," Aidan hissed.

Slava grinned. "Ah, so you will leave Ellie alone then?"

Aidan’s eyes turned dark, and I could see he was struggling to come to terms with giving up his sister to his enemy. "Yes," he whispered, avoiding eye contact with Ellie.