Dark Romance: A Cruel Obsession

Vivian was so angry that she wanted to slam the phone down, but she held back. She muttered curses unclearly until her pent-up frustration eased a little, then she dialed Vilem’s number.

“Hey, Vivian, how have you been lately?” Vilem’s cheerful voice came through the phone.

They hadn’t seen each other for a while. At the engagement ceremony the day before yesterday, Vivian had only caught a glimpse of Vilem in passing, and the two siblings hadn’t even exchanged a single word.

Alajos seemed to value Vilem a lot. Vilem was now his capable subordinate, responsible for too many important business matters. He didn’t have much time to listen to his sister lament about her unhappy marriage.

Vilem was exhausted, shuttling back and forth between different business scenes in Houston without pause-drugs, arms, smuggling-every link in the business chain involved him. The conflict between Bratva and Houston kept escalating, and people were dying every day.

The thirty people who had initially come to Houston with Vilem had now dwindled to only seven.

Vilem didn’t know when the grim reaper would come for him. He was prepared for death, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell his dear sister.

Vilem rubbed his face harshly with the palms of his hands, deliberately controlling his emotions, using as cheerful and energetic a tone as possible to deal with his sister’s upcoming demands, but he only had half an hour.

He had a task today.

A new shipment was due at the Houston port tonight, and he needed to personally go to the port to arrange the reception. In his heart, he silently prayed to God, hoping that everything would go smoothly tonight.

“Have you been in touch with Mom recently?” Vivian asked.

“What?” Vilem inquired.

“Mom,” Vivian emphasized, “I can’t find her.”

Vilem, being a boy, was not as attached to his mother as Vivian was, and he checked in with his mother in Los Angeles regularly, but not as clingingly as Vivian, who hoped her mother would consider her in everything. But Vivian said she couldn’t find their mother?

While puzzled, Vilem also felt a hint of unease.

“I’ve been looking for her,” Vivian said. “Since the wedding, I’ve been trying to reach her, but she hasn’t answered the calls to the mansion. The servants said she was busy, constantly busy.”

Vivian’s speech sped up, carrying an anxious urgency.

Vilem’s heart sank. He realized that he might not have contacted his mother for a long time. His father’s calls were frequent, inquiring about his safety, the situation in Houston, and Alajos’s deployment. His father’s calls never mentioned Los Angeles, let alone their mother.

“Have you asked Joseph?” Vilem asked, but he immediately negated his own question. Vivian would not actively seek Joseph’s input on their mother’s situation, and even if she did, Joseph would never easily give her an answer.

As expected, Vivian said, “No, he wouldn’t tell me anything. It’s pointless to ask him.”

“I understand.” Vilem’s tone became somber. He acted very composed, just to reassure Vivian. “I will inquire, don’t worry.”

“Vilem,” just as Vilem was about to hang up the phone, Vivian called out softly, with a mix of fear of the unknown truth and hope for a last straw, “Mom will be okay, won’t she?”

Vilem fell silent for a while.

Honestly, he had been away from Los Angeles for too long. So long that his father had placed all his hopes on Joseph. He had been away for so long that his traces within the Los Angeles mafia could be erased. He had no connections or informants in Los Angeles. Just like how he had no idea that their mother had disappeared from Vivian’s life a long time ago.

Vivian’s sobbing came through the phone, and Vilem realized that he had been silent for too long. “She will be fine, Vivian. Perhaps, Mom is just too busy.”

Vilem’s gaze drifted, the wind tousling his hair. “Father intends to have Joseph take over as Capo after the wedding. This will lead to a lot of trouble, and Mother certainly needs to make some preparations. It’s normal…”

His father never allowed their mother to be involved in the mafia’s internal matters. Vilem didn’t know why their mother would be so busy when Joseph was to inherit the Capo position. She was so busy that she could forget about her poor daughter who needed comfort.

But Vilem could only say this, even if it was full of errors; he had to make the lie believable.

“Joseph’s wedding is coming soon, Father willcome from Los Angeles, and Mother will definitely come as well. You will be able to see her then.”

Because of Vilem’s words, Vivian began to look forward to the day of the wedding, which made her feel guilty towards Luzia.

As the wedding day approached, Luzia continued to live in her parents’ estate. Joseph was busy with business alongside Alajos, but he was said to frequently visit the estate to see her. Vivian had met with Luzia a few times, and it was evident that Luzia’s spirits were low, with dark circles under her eyes growing heavier.

“Do you keep having nightmares?” Vivian embraced Luzia, gently patting her back.

“I’ve been in a nightmare all this time,” Luzia closed her eyes. “But with you here, my nightmares are a little less.”

“In that case, I’ll come to keep you company more often.” Vivian even considered moving in with Luzia, but Joseph wouldn’t allow it.

“You’re too domineering, not letting Luzia return to the apartment and not allowing me to stay in the estate,” Vivian glared at Joseph. “You’re doing this on purpose.”

Joseph sneered, looking fierce. “Is your apartment such a great place? It’s not just you and your husband living there, but also your bodyguards.”

“I can’t trust my fiancee to live in an apartment with a strange man. She can’t prove her chastity to me,” Joseph’s smile was malicious. “I won’t allow my fiancee to live with a strange man in an apartment. She can’t prove her chastity to me.”

“You!” Vivian raised her hand to strike him, but Joseph grabbed her wrist.

“Don’t get so worked up, my dear sister,” Joseph’s serpent-like gaze lingered on Mare. He said to Vivian, “Your reaction is so intense that it makes me think my suspicions are true.”

Vivian’s heart skipped a beat, and she dared not make any unnecessary moves.

“You’ve gone too far, Joseph,” Vivian pretended to be calm. “Luzia is your fiancee. What’s the benefit of humiliating her?”

“Luzia is my fiancee, and how I treat her is my business,” Joseph turned the words back on Vivian, warning her with a stern look. “Don’t meddle in my affairs!”

“You…” Joseph ignored Vivian and walked over to Luzia, lifting her over his shoulder, while Vivian screamed and struggled.

This was true powerlessness. Vivian could only watch helplessly as Joseph humiliated Luzia. She had to stop Mare from acting impulsively; if their relationship with Luzia were exposed, she would be in absolute danger.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Joseph would kill Luzia. There was no doubt about that.

Exhausted, Vivian returned to her apartment. It was very late now, possibly even past the time for a midnight snack.

But Vivian couldn’t eat anything. She just wanted to take a hot bath and then bury herself under the covers.

Alajos had been unusually busy lately, and Vivian hadn’t seen him for a week. However, the living room, which should have been dark, was unexpectedly lit, and Vivian caught a whiff of blood in the air.