The Moretti Heiress

Chapter Seventy Eight

TW: Torture

In the dimly lit warehouse, silence reigned—heavy and oppressive, broken only by the distant hiss of leaking pipes and the metallic hum of old machinery. The air reeked of oil, sweat, and the iron tang of blood. A single overhead bulb flickered, casting long, twitching shadows that danced on the concrete walls like ghosts waiting to feast.

Jared and Billy were shackled to rusted iron chairs bolted to the floor, their wrists bound with thick leather straps, ankles secured in chains. Blood had dried around their mouths, noses, and hands, but fresh bruises still bloomed like poison beneath their skin. The two men looked defiant, but beneath the bravado, there was fear—thick and tangible.

Alessandro stood before them, dressed in all black, his coat hanging open like a funeral shroud. In his gloved hand gleamed a pair of pliers—heavy, old, stained with rust and stories best left untold.

"You thought," Alessandro said slowly, his voice devoid of mercy, "that you could harm my daughter. That you could touch her and walk away."

Billy smirked, though his lips trembled. Blood dripped from his gums. "She's just a girl," he sneered. "Should've known her place. Thought she was fire, but she screamed like—"

The rest of the sentence died in his throat.

Alessandro didn't wait.

With clinical precision, he stepped forward, grabbed Billy's right hand, and slammed it flat against the chair arm. The pliers found their mark—his middle finger—and clamped down hard. The crunch of bone breaking was drowned by the wet, gurgled scream that tore from Billy's lungs.

"Now you scream," Alessandro hissed, twisting the pliers until blood sprayed against his coat. "That's the beginning. You're going to learn what real pain feels like."

Jared jolted in his chair, trying to inch away, but there was nowhere to go. "You're wasting time," he snapped, trying to cover the crack in his voice. "She's probably already dead."

Wrong move.

Adrian moved first—smooth and silent, like a surgeon. He pulled out a scalpel and without a word, sliced a deep line along Jared's collarbone. Jared howled, writhing, his skin flayed open like paper.

Dante and Nico arrived next, carrying their tools of choice: bolt cutters, a blowtorch, a pair of meat hooks, and an old, dented toolbox full of nails, knives, and surgical thread.

"Let's get creative," Dante said, cracking his knuckles.

Nico grinned. "I call dibs on his teeth."

Within seconds, the warehouse became a chamber of screams.

Dante broke Billy's other fingers one by one, describing in clinical detail which bones cracked first, which ligaments tore loudest. Nico shoved cloth in Jared's mouth, not out of mercy, but because he didn't want him passing out too soon.

"You want to know what it felt like for her?" Nico hissed, yanking out one of Jared's molars with pliers. "She gasped when you shot her. She couldn't breathe. And you laughed."

Blood sprayed. Bones snapped. Men cried.

And the Morettis? They didn't flinch. They enjoyed it.

Adrian calmly stitched an open wound on Billy's leg without anesthetic, whispering lullabies like a psychotic nurse. "You try to see her with those disgusting eyes," he murmured, pulling the thread tight, "and I'll stitch your eyes shut while you're still awake."

Then, Alessandro's phone buzzed.

The shrill sound cut through the chaos like a blade. Everyone stilled.

He checked the screen.

Hospital: Urgent.

His heart clenched.

He stepped away from the blood and broken bodies, answering with a terse, "Yes?"

(Terse basically means being brief and to the point- even I didn't know the meaning until I read it in one of my books)

"Mr. Moretti," the nurse on the other end was breathless. "Serena's condition hasn't improved. We're recommending a medically induced coma to prevent further organ stress. But we need your consent. Now."

Alessandro's grip tightened around the phone. His voice dropped to a whisper. "We'll be there immediately."

He turned, face pale, voice like ice. "We're done. We're leaving. Now."

"But we're just getting started," Nico protested, holding up another bloody tooth.

"And you can continue later," Alessandro said coldly. "My men will guard them. We deal with this first."

Diego and Noah had been standing watch at the warehouse doors, faces unreadable.

"What's wrong?" Diego asked.

Alessandro didn't look at him. "They want to put her in a coma."

The air went still. No one argued. No one said a word. They just moved.

The hospital smelled of antiseptic and dread. The ICU wing was colder than the rest of the building, bathed in fluorescent light that made everyone look like ghosts. The monitors beeped steadily, measuring breaths and heartbeats like a metronome counting down a life.

Alessandro arrived first, Kayden on his heels, his face tight with grief and rage.

Luca, Adrian, Dante, Nico, Diego, and Noah followed, silent shadows with fire in their veins.

The doctor approached, clipboard in hand, exhaustion written across his face. "Her condition remains critical. We've done all we can for now. Her vitals are unstable. We believe inducing a coma will give her body the chance it needs to begin healing. But we need someone to sign."

Alessandro stared at him. "Will she survive it?"

The doctor didn't lie. "We don't know. But it's her best shot."

He turned to Kayden. Kayden nodded, biting down on whatever scream he wanted to unleash.

Then to his sons. One by one, they nodded, eyes glassy with pain.

"Do it," Alessandro finally said, his voice cracking. "Do whatever it takes to save her."

The doctor nodded and disappeared through the doors.

The brothers sat in silence outside the ICU, listening to the machines hum. One mile away, blood dripped from Billy and Jared's mouths. Here, hope hung by a thread.

A/N:

The wolves are bleeding, but the girl they tried to break still breathes. 

Serena's not just fighting for her life—she's fighting for vengeance. And her family? They're ready to set the world on fire to get it. This chapter marks the turning point. No more hiding. No more mercy. No more rules. 

What happens next? 

Will Serena wake up and remember every face? 
Will Billy and Jared survive long enough to regret it? 
And who else is behind this attack? 

Comment your theories below. I read every one. Let's burn this place down together.