The revenge of the mafia son-in-law.

Chapter 2. "Shattered Resolve: Curtis Confronts Darkness"

Curtis had never felt so cold in his life. However, there was no turning back. Everything was decided, and his existence in this world would end that very night.

He was fully prepared to jump when screams stopped him at the last second.

Curtis turned out of simple curiosity. In the months of homelessness, he had witnessed a lot of crime in those dark alleys. It wasn't uncommon for someone to be robbed in that place.

But this time was very different. It was a girl being forcefully pushed against her will.

There were three guys, but the girl didn't seem scared at all. She even defended herself as best as she could. She kicked one of the guys in the groin, but she was still outnumbered and overpowered.

"Hey!" Curtis shouted loudly as he ran towards them, extending and waving his arms. "Leave her alone."

The men just laughed as they looked at each other.

"Where did this junkie come from?" one of the men asked.

"He's probably homeless. There are many of them around here," explained another guy.

"Get out of here, junkie. I don't need your help," the girl said from the ground, then spat out some blood.

The third guy pulled out his firearm and aimed it directly at Curtis's face.

"He's seen our faces. I can't let him go," he said coldly.

"Please, Dereck. He's a poor devil. Who's he going to tell, the police? No one will believe him. Just look at him."

"Frank is right. That worm isn't even worth one of our bullets. Just ignore him."

Dereck lowered his gun, and the three continued to push the girl to force her to go where they wanted to take her.

"I won't allow them to harm her. They'll have to go through my dead body," Curtis said, standing right in front of them.

"I'm tired of this asshole," Dereck exclaimed, hitting Curtis's face using his gun as a fist.

Curtis's blood and some of his teeth flew everywhere. Curtis fell to the ground, feeling unimaginable pain. However, he wouldn't stay there.

"This bastard is asking for a gunshot," Dereck said angrily and hit him hard again.

Perhaps another person would have been wise and stayed on the ground, but Curtis wasn't that kind of person.

He got up once more, prompting the three men to start beating him at the same time. It was the beating of his life, and they didn't stop until they were sure Curtis couldn't get up again.

"And what do we do with the girl?" Frank asked, catching his breath after the beating they had just given Curtis.

Dereck and the other guy were also exhausted after delivering so many blows.

"We need to deliver the message the boss sent her," Dereck replied, still panting.

"Right here?" Frank asked.

"Yes... This son of a bitch wore me out.”

The three men began to beat her in a brutal manner. However, she could endure many more blows than Curtis. It was obvious that this girl was not an ordinary woman.

It took the three thugs a bit more effort to render her immobile.

After that, Dereck pulled out a knife and began to brand her with his pocket lighter. All of this happened while Curtis could only watch from the ground, powerless.

"Leave her alone," was all he could manage to say with great effort.

"This message is from boss Tony. We don't want to see you selling your cheap drugs in our territory again," Dereck said.

The man began cutting the girl's skin with his hot-blade knife, continuing regardless of her moans of pain. He didn't stop until he had written the word "bitch."

Due to the heat of the knife, that girl now had a tattoo that she would carry for the rest of her life.

The three men had done their job, and it was time to leave, but not before giving Curtis a final kick in the stomach. Each one kicked him strongly as a farewell.

Curtis had nothing to be thankful for. Despite still being alive, he was much worse off than before. Surely, jumping from that bridge would have caused him less suffering.

"You're an idiot," she said, writhing in pain on the ground. "You were going to get yourself killed just to defend a stranger."

"I was going to die anyway."

"Yeah, sure, you were going to die of an overdose."

"No, jumping off that bridge. I've never used drugs."

She started laughing with difficulty. It was clear that even the slightest movement caused her pain.

"That's the funniest shit I've ever heard in my life. Too bad I can't laugh."

"I'm not joking. I even belonged to the Ballmer family before coming here," Curtis said.

"Yeah, right. And I'm the Queen of England."

The girl struggled to stand up and began searching for something in her bag.

"I'm Curtis."

The woman pulled a firearm from her bag and began loading it with bullets.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Curtis exclaimed.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked, puzzled. "I'm going to kill those bastards."

"Give me that." Curtis snatched the revolver from her in one swift motion. "You'll only get yourself killed."

"And who's going to defend me from them, you?"

the woman laughed, but again, pain prevented her from doing so.

"I'll go with you. There must be a better way."

"I'm going to kill those motherfuckers, with or without your help." The woman stated with a lot of fury in her gaze.

"Wait... You had a gun in your bag, and you didn't use it?"

"I'm just really bad at shooting," she confessed.

"Even more reason for me to go with you."

"Whatever."

The woman raised her hands and began walking.

And so they didn't stop until they reached a nighttime venue, the Imperial Casino, a place Curtis knew well.

"But... This is the Imperial Casino. This place belongs to Chaval, the mobster."

"And the men who beat us up also work for him," revealed the girl.