My father sold me to the Mafia King

He didn’t so much as blink. His hand remained steady as a rock, his weapon not moving a single millimeter. He replied in a deep, cold voice that froze the blood in my veins: ”Those are the laws, Julie.”

I stepped toward him, my body trembling, trying to draw his attention away from Max, who stood behind me with a majestic, military-like stoicism despite the situation. ”Max only helps me when I train here!” I said, my voice faltering. ”What did he do to deserve death?”

Robert’s eyes slowly shifted to settle on my face. His gaze darkened terrifyingly as his finger tightened on the grip of his weapon. ”Because he dared to hug you,” he hissed with pure malice.

I lifted my head in desperate defiance, even though I felt my heart might stop at any minute. ”What’s wrong with that?” I shouted. ”It was just a hug!”

At that moment, Robert took a single step that made me instinctively recoil.

His voice dropped, becoming sharper and more dangerous as he stared directly into my eyes: ”But he is a man... and I warned you before.”

I was trembling, my entire body convulsing with fear of losing Max. I had to find a way out, any lie to save his life now. I looked into Robert’s eyes and shouted: ”But he’s not a man!”

Robert stopped, astonishment etched on his face, and the grip on his weapon slackened: ”What?”

I looked back at Max, who was staring at me with the same bewilderment and loss, then I returned my gaze to Robert and said with a false confidence: ”He’s different... he would never think of me in that way.”

Robert asked skeptically: ”Really? And in what way is he different from other men, Julie? Tell me.”

I took a deep breath and spoke the lie I never imagined I’d utter: ”He likes men... Max is gay!”