Spoiled by the Mafia King Chapter 02

Spoiled by the Mafia King Chapter 02

“Oh, please.” Reynolds sauntered over. “Her makeup isn’t even smudged.”

“Please, let her rest,” Sophie begged. “Just five minutes—”

“Touch her again, and I’ll add another hour.”

Sophie looked like she was about to cry, but she pulled her hand back.

I blinked hard, trying to keep the sweat from running into my eyes. “Ma’am, may I please have some water?”

Reynolds stopped and tilted her head.

“Water?”

She twisted off the cap. “Of course.”

Before I could react, ice-cold water poured over my head.

It soaked my hair, ran down my neck, and dripped into my boots.

“Feel better now, princess?” She tossed the empty bottle at my feet. “This isn’t a spa. If you can’t handle a little sweat, what are you even doing here?”

“I just came here to study,” I whispered.

“Spare me, nepo baby.” She turned toward the other cadets. “Listen up! Because of Valentina Rossi’s attitude, everyone gets an extra twenty minutes of drills.”

A wave of complaints broke out.

“Great. Thanks a lot.”

“Why do we have to suffer because of her?”

“Spoiled rich girl.”

My nails dug deep into my palms until blood began to seep out.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Reynolds murmured, leaning closer. “You think crying will save you? Wake up. Men don’t save women like you. They only use you.”

“My brothers,” I said hoarsely, “would never let anyone do this to me.”

“Your brothers?” She sneered. “What are they going to do, call your daddy?”

“Today, even God doesn’t outrank me.”

“Whoever comes to save you, I’ll send him packing. Do you understand?”

I stared blankly ahead, despair sinking through me.

By three o’clock, the sun was still blazing overhead.

“Valentina! Head up! Or do I need to drag you upright myself?”

Under Reynolds’s orders, we began a field march drill.

My uniform was soaked through, stiff with dried salt and sweat.

Reynolds pulled up beside us in a black SUV, the windows rolled down and music blasting loud enough to rattle the air.

“Move faster! Keep moving!”

She slowed beside me and leaned out the window.

“Enjoying the view, Your Highness?”

I gasped for air, each breath shallow and frantic. Black spots flickered in front of my eyes, bursting now and then into flashes of white light.

“Valentina, are you okay?”

Sophie jogged over to my side, her face full of worry.

“I… I’m fine.”

I clenched my teeth and forced myself to keep pace with the group.

But my body had already reached its limit.

The next second, my heart lurched, and I crashed hard onto the gravel path. Blood welled from my elbow almost instantly.

“Instructor! Valentina passed out!”

Sophie screamed and dropped to her knees beside me, trying to pull me up.

A few other girls gathered around us too.

“Oh my God, look at her face. She’s covered in cold sweat!”

Tires shrieked against the ground.

Reynolds jumped out of the SUV and strode over with obvious impatience.

She lifted her heavy boot and jabbed the toe of it hard into my calf.

“Stop pretending. Get up.”

Pain slammed through me, dragging me back into a half-conscious haze.

I curled in on myself, trembling all over.

“Instructor, she really passed out! Stop kicking her!”

Sophie threw herself between us, spreading her arms wide as tears ran down her face.

“Move!”

Reynolds roared. “I served for twenty years. I know what real heatstroke looks like.”

She crouched down, grabbed the front of my shirt, and yanked me up by the collar.

“You think throwing a tantrum will get you special treatment?”

“Valentina Rossi, your little act is pathetic.”

My head drooped forward. Cold sweat dripped from my chin onto the back of her hand.

“Help me,” I rasped. “Please, help me.”

Reynolds recoiled as if I had burned her.

My head hit the ground hard with a sickening thud.

“Drag her under a tree,” she snapped, standing up and brushing dust from her pants. “Don’t let her die here. What a damn inconvenience.”

Two girls hurried over and dragged me into the shade.

I lay sprawled across the dry leaves, my chest heaving violently.

Since the day I was born, even a sneeze from me was enough to send my brothers into a panic.

I wanted to go home.

I missed my brothers.

My trembling hand fumbled inside the inner pocket of my jacket.

The wrinkled, dirt-streaked envelope was still there.

On the front, Luca’s rough handwriting was blurred but still readable.

[Chin up, Valentina. We’re proud of you. If it gets too hard, call me. I’ll come get you.]

A rough hand came down from above and snatched the letter away.

“Back from the dead?” Reynolds looked down at me. “Reading personal letters during training is prohibited. I’m confiscating it.”

Everything went black.