How Lilies turn Black - Chapter 8

“ Huh…?”

Lilia stammered, uttering an uncharacteristically stammering sound, and looked out into the deserted hall. Her eyes were wide with panic.

Was this it?

This moment seemed even more unreal than the moment she had sung.

Was I dreaming?

The time he didn’t look away seemed to lie. Otherwise, he couldn’t have just turned invisible as soon as the song ended.

She glanced back at Maurizio urgently, as if seeking an explanation.

But Theodoro’s reaction was foreign to her… and Maurizio seemed to recognize it at once.

“Lucky or not. Or perhaps I should say unlucky.”

“What?”

“You got what you wanted, and since he didn’t say anything, that means you can start tomorrow. I’m afraid, as you can see, this isn’t a very safe place to work.”

Lilia blinked, her gaping mouth open for a moment. Then a short sigh escaped her lips.

“… Ah.”

No other words could replace the overwhelming emotion.

It worked. It may have been reckless, in some ways, yet it had paid off.

But little did Lilia know at the time.

It’s 9:00 in the evening, and she’s on her way home. On the way home, she wondered what she would wear to work tomorrow and what song she would sing.

And then something happened that would jeopardize her night, let alone the next day.

Who could have seen it coming?

It was a deserted alleyway in a run-down part of town.

Unidentified figures grabbed Lilia by the back of her head and slammed her head against the cement wall.

“Hmph…!”

“Hey, aren’t you being gentle?”

“Haha, habit.”

Those were the last two words Lilia heard before she blacked out. Before she could scream, a damp cloth was clamped over her mouth and nose.

Her body slumped down.

Maurizio’s words about this not being a safe place to work. It wasn’t a useless warning or concern.

✨

The long lashes fluttered, and the closed eyes struggled to open. The pupils of the eyes that were revealed were dull and unreadable.

“Ugh….”

Lilia frowned, her mind refusing to clear.

Her head wasn’t the only thing that didn’t feel right; her whole body felt heavy, like a giant weight was weighing down her limbs.

I rolled my eyes to make sure I wasn’t tied up, but somehow I couldn’t move my limbs at will.

‘Why is my body….’

I thought to myself, but the answer came back to me as if I had heard it.

“You’re uncomfortable, right? I gave you some medicine when I brought you in.”

When Lilia managed to lift her head, a man loomed in her blurry vision. After blinking a few times, the figure gradually became clear.

‘Antonio Benedetti…?’ 

He was wearing a bandage around his head.

What the hell had happened to him? 

Thankfully, as if he could read her mind, he blurted out her question.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a pleasant one.

“I told you about the Laura Club. This is it. What do you think? Isn’t it nice?”

Lilia looked around desperately, but she couldn’t find her bearings, and she fell out of her chair and onto the floor.

“Ugh… Hmph…”

“’Hah, crap. These bastards have turned you into a fool.”

Antonio’s footsteps drew nearer as he muttered to himself. Her body, unable to move a muscle, heaved.

“Do you see, young lady? This is the Laura Club of your dreams.”

He grabbed Lilia’s chin and spun her around with a forceful grip.

“…Ugh!”

The pain was palpable, even if it wasn’t physical, and the tiny face in the giant’s grasp was turning to mush.

“What are you… doing…?”

“Nothing. I brought you here. You’ll be working here from today.”

So this was what it felt like to be stunned and speechless. I hadn’t thought they’d be so unreasonable.

‘He’s been dismissed from the organization, and from what I’ve heard, he wasn’t such an unscrupulous guy…’

He couldn’t have done this unless there was something personal involved. What kind of grudge could he have against her, to take the risk of kidnapping her?

‘I don’t think it’s just me… I doubt it.’

As she struggled to shake off the touch, she suddenly remembered something.

‘Wait, not for me, but Theodoro?’ 

Perhaps it was some personal antipathy toward Theodoro that had sparked this.

Suddenly, the pieces of the past fit together like a puzzle, and Lilia swallowed the sob that escaped her lips.

Argh…

Yes, that might be it.

For as much as Theodoro loved the use of force, for some reason he hated drugs and prostitution, even though he knew it would pay the bills.

That’s why I heard he bumped into Antonio without even trying.

‘At least Luciano was Antonio’s only cousin, so he didn’t get into fights with him…’

By the mid-’60s, Theodoro had finally taken down Antonio’s clubs in the name of ‘legalizing the business’, which was the organization’s mantra at the time.

‘How did I end up as a scapegoat in their war of egos?’

Her guess was about right… He tossed Lilia into a chair and stubbed out his cigarette, muttering an expletive under his breath.

“Bloody bastard. Son of a b— You think I came to see you because I liked you, I put up with you not wanting so much for work… and now you’re here, you ignorant fool.”

“…”

“Don’t do it in front of the others. If all else fails, you can go back to your garbage dump of a bar and ignore this place. What, some stupid club, you say?”

Who knew that phrase would be a trigger for his tantrums?

“You don’t say anything, either… It’s like that little bastard is always being an idiot. He thinks I’m a jerk for putting up with him, darn it.”

His gaze shifted to Lilia. Antonio’s expression quickly changed, his eyes darkening, and he looked annoyed.

“What were you doing there, young lady? If you’d just said yes when I suggested it, none of this would have happened, would it?”

He reached over and gently stroked Lilia’s pale cheek.

“Do you hear me? You’re the reason.”

Lilia’s stiff neck snapped, and her head dropped to the floor.

She shuddered, not knowing where this man who pretended to be so tender might go, but Antonio’s words were outrageous and made her furious.

“I didn’t start this. I clearly turned down your offer… and you’re the one who clung to me and made a mess. You’re the one who earned it.”

Lilia chewed her lip and glared up at him. She hadn’t been able to say all she wanted to earlier, when she’d been trying to get the job at the bar. 

Now was different.

The words that had risen to the top of her throat slipped out of her lips.

“That’s funny, if I take you over here and sat you down, would I get a busted head?”

“…”

A moment of silence passed between the two, and then a distracted Antonio burst out laughing.

“Hahaha!”

Lilia stiffened at the deafening roar of laughter. A shiver ran down her spine, sending cold sweats through her body.

Then the laughter died down, and he curled the corners of his lips in a creepily affectionate way.

“My little girl is a very well-spoken girl, and she’s not a coward.”

“…”

“Well, the busted head wouldn’t fix it, but… I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun.”

What do you mean, ‘fun’?

In an instant, Lilia wrapped her arms around herself in a panic, her head spinning and her heart sinking. 

To her dismay, all she returned was an adorable smile.

“It’s not that fun, did you expect it? Tell me what you want.”

Antonio interrupted and checked his wristwatch.

“Oh, it’s almost time to prepare. I’m dressing up, because we’ve invited our noble master, Theodoro.”

As he wasted no time in ringing the bell on the table, Lilia pondered his words, holding her shivering self close.

‘You invited Theodoro?’

My head spun. How could he invite him after the beating he’d taken earlier? It was hard to comprehend with such confusion.

But before I had time to organize my thoughts, the door opened and three women entered, each carrying a bag of clothes and cosmetics.

Antonio gestured to one of the women as if he had been waiting for her.

“You got it, right? We’re going to load it in three separate bags. Get one for me right now.”

“Okay, I got it.”

A quick glance at…

I knew in my gut that whatever this was, it wasn’t going to help solve the problem.

Exhausted from her musings, she tried to push herself up and fell out of her chair.

Thud!

The sound made Antonio, who had been dealing with the woman, snap around. His eyebrows creased into a supple curve as he met Lilia’s gaze.

“Why are you freaking out already? Don’t worry, it’s good for you.”

“…What do you mean, how could I?”

“Well, it’s only going to be more exciting.”

She didn’t know what he meant by ‘more exciting,’ but her body reacted first.

Lilia stumbled backward, pawing the floor.