The World of Mafia Kings - Vol. 3: Shaw

Dedication:

According to the WHO, one out of three women worldwide has been a victim of violence.

This book is therefore for anyone who knows how it feels to flinch just because someone moves their hand too quickly.

Who wears multiple layers of clothing so that no one can see.

You are not alone!

Triggerwarnings:

This book contains explicit content on the subject:

- Domestic violence / physical violence

- Hint at r*p*

- Murder

- References to suicide

- Torture leading to death

- Drug abuse / medication abuse

Dear reader, please only read my story if you are mentally and spiritually up to it.

As much as I appreciate every single companion who reads my work, your mental health is more important, so take care of yourself first and foremost.

With love, your

Claudia

Prologue - Lanessa

- 8 years ago -

“Nessa, come here!“

I was sitting at my desk, poring over my English homework with music playing in my ears. It was a poem interpretation by a soldier who wrote lovingly and romantically about gravestones at a cemetery. It couldn't have been more macabre...

"Nessa!"

It sounded like someone was calling my name, loud enough to drown out the music. I took one of the headphones out of my ear and listened intently, my pencil half in my mouth. The eraser had fallen off long ago.

"NESSA!"

I jumped to my feet and threw away my headphones and pencil. My father sounded angry, and that never meant anything good. He wasn't even supposed to be home yet. It was only late afternoon and he never showed up before midnight. I almost ran out of my room and down the narrow hallway to his bedroom. With trembling fingers, I gripped the door handle and tried my best to stay calm. But the room was empty, which confused me at first. He had called me from here, hadn't he?

"Father?"

My voice sounded weak and trembled just like my body. Where was he?

"Lanessa... Come here!"

An angry voice echoed from his bathroom, which I had cleaned until it sparkled just yesterday. With a queasy stomach, I went to the bathroom door and knocked briefly. Almost immediately, it flew open and nearly knocked me over. Dad stood in the doorway, tall and beefy, scratching his cauliflower ear, which he had sustained in various boxing matches. He looked down at me, who was now just a shadow of my former self in his presence.

"The toilet is blocked. Clean it!"

He walked past me and sat down on his bed, a lighter in his hand. He was probably going to lit a cigarette and wait for me to fix the problem. Glad that he hadn't immediately started throwing punches, I went into the bathroom and lifted the toilet seat. But the sight of the perfectly white ceramic made me pause.

"But... The toilet is perfectly fine? Are you sure... Ouch!"

Dad had suddenly appeared behind me and a sharp pain shot through my arm as his other hand grabbed me and held me tight. My head fell to the side, towards the pain, and then I saw it. A syringe. My father had given me a freaking injection.

"What are you doing?!"

"You won't feel a thing, Nessa. I promise."

Before I could really react, I felt dizzy and it only took a few seconds before everything around me went black. A deep, dark sleep overcame me and enveloped me in a dream. It was as if I was lying in the arms of a Greek god, drinking nectar with him. Suddenly, I was torn from this idyll and a sharp pain inside me made me whimper. My eyelids were too heavy to open, but I could feel the pain and movements.

"Your father wasn't lying... ngghhh... So tight and perfect..."

No matter what I tried, I couldn't move any part of my body, but I wasn't lying still either. Something or someone was on top of me, pressing down on my chest like a heavy weight, making it difficult to breathe. Summoning all my strength, I managed to open one eyelid a crack and saw a naked torso with tattoos, followed by an arm with another one. This one was disgusting and just plain perverted, but I couldn't look away. There were several baby heads pierced by a snake.

"Oh, you feel so good."

The pain got worse and took my vision away again. A throbbing in my ears took over and lulled me back to sleep. I was so tired that sleep enveloped me again and sent me back into the arms of a beautiful dream, while my body continued to move rhythmically. But this sweet dream was soon over... And the awakening turned out to be a nightmare. I was lying alone in my father's bed and when I opened my eyes, my gaze fell on his bedside table. An old photo of him, wearing a competition belt, stood there right next to a full ashtray. My head was pounding as if I had drunk loads of alcohol. Holding my head, I turned onto my back and was overcome by terrible pain. My skin burned with every movement, and my pelvis hurt just as much! Even my wrists were covered in bruises. Despite the pain, I somehow managed to sit up and push the blanket away. The sight of my own body sent a deep shock through me.

Bruises from my father were nothing unusual anymore... But my stomach was covered in blood, and as soon as I moved even slightly, a burning pain shot through my body that wouldn't stop. On top of that, I was naked. Panic gripped me so tightly that my lungs hurt. I tried everything to get out of that d*mn bed, but instead I collapsed right in front of it. There was even more blood... On the sheet and between my legs. The pain was overwhelming, the more I moved, so I tried to crawl out of the room. A clicking sound made me flinch and I looked up. My father was standing in the doorway. He stared down at me, unmoved, his gaze simply disgusted. I raised an arm towards him and begged for help, but he turned away almost immediately and left. He didn't even have a word of sympathy for me.

When the door closed, I started to cry. My whole body was shaking with pain and a strange sound came out of my mouth. My body felt foreign... Even my voice was no longer the same. It was as if someone had grabbed my soul and put it into a different body. Still on all fours, I reached the bedroom door, whimpering, but I didn't have the strength to stand up. I clawed at the wood almost desperately, but lost my grip several times and screamed in pain as my fingernails tore off. When I finally got hold of the door handle, I heard a bang. It was the front door. My father had left and seemed to have slammed the door so hard that it could be heard throughout the house. My legs were shaking and I felt something running down them. Slowly, I realised exactly what must have happened in that room, and as the knowledge slowly sank into my head, everything collapsed. I let go of the handle without resistance and slumped down against the door. The tears were still running, but now they were no longer from pain, but from despair.

My father had sold me... There was no other explanation.

- Lanessa's POV -

It was cold. Normal for early January when you're outside, but not when you're standing in your own bathroom. I had only been in the shower for a few minutes and my teeth were still chattering, even though I tried everything to warm me up after. Father hadn't paid the gas bill again. Nothing new for me, but since it was only the second week of January, this must have been a sad record for him. Last year, we had at least made it to the beginning of March.

I grabbed my clothes for the day from the wardrobe. They were all quite old and some of them I had mended myself. But they were warm and they were mine. With the pile in my hand, I headed over to the bed to get changed. There wasn't much else to say about my room. A wardrobe, a desk with an old wooden chair and a bed. Bookshelves were attached to the walls above, as there was no room for shelves otherwise. The room was small and probably no more than three steps wide. But it was my room,