In His Grasp: A Mafia Romance

Chapter 47: Mental Breakdown

"Wow, Isabella, you really know how to enjoy yourself. Living in such a big apartment! You know, you used to live in the attic," Chloe said, admiring the apartment's environment as she entered.

This luxurious place was filled with large furniture, thick carpets, and vases with fresh, dew-kissed flowers all around.

Indeed, the apartment was vast and spacious, decorated with the kind of luxury that Chloe had always dreamt of. While her family had money, she had grown tired of the countryside. No matter how spacious it was, or how large, it couldn't compare to Chicago and this apartment.

Chloe daydreamed about standing on the balcony, gazing down at the city lights, sipping a glass of wine in a rocking chair, and enjoying the street view. She couldn't help but think about how wonderful it would be if this were her place.

At this moment, Chloe couldn't help but think about it.

Isabella watched Chloe, behaving like the apartment's lady, and bit her lip, not saying a word. She was just too timid. She had spent so many years living in Chloe's shadow, almost as if it had become a reflex to stop resisting when she saw Chloe.

"Alright, Isabella, tell me, which room are you staying in now?" Chloe turned to look at Isabella.

Isabella pointed to the master bedroom. Originally, this apartment had been just for her, and Emanuele had moved all of her stuff into the master bedroom. So she had been living in there all along. Later, when Emanuele came, he hadn't asked her to leave, so naturally, she stayed in the adjacent guest room.

Chloe immediately pushed open Isabella's bedroom door, and when she saw the spacious interior, she was stunned.

"Wow, this is really nice. Isabella, look at you! A lowly bitch like you can actually live in such a good place! It's unbelievable." Chloe closed the door and sat down on Isabella's bed without any politeness. "Yeah, this bed is soft and comfortable. Isabella, how did you manage this? Why would Emanuele allow you to live in such a nice house? Didn't he see your wretched nature? You're only fit to live in a dark warehouse, not here."

Chloe continued, getting up to open Isabella's closet. When she saw the high-end luxury clothes and bags, her jealousy went through the roof.

"God, damn it, Isabella, why the hell do you have all of this?" Chloe's own closet didn't have so many high-end clothes; her mom only allowed her to buy three or four expensive outfits a year. But Isabella's closet was full of them!

Jealousy was driving Isabella to the brink of madness.

Why did Isabella get to have so much while she had nothing?

After thoroughly inspecting Isabella's room, Chloe turned back to Isabella and slapped her.

"You wretch, you slut! Do you think you can resist me now just because you have all of this? Today, I allowed you to come out, and you dare to refuse me!"

Isabella's cheek stung from the slap, and she was forced to shrink back, unable to move. Her rational side told her she should resist, that she shouldn't let it go on like this. But her emotions continued to contro her actions. For all these years, she had grown accustomed to being bullied by Chloe, making it impossible to act against her.

Isabella's weakness only fueled Chloe's cruelty. She reached out, grabbed Isabella's hair, and forcefully slammed her head against the nearby wall.

"Wow, you wretched bitch. Look at you now, just like a piece of crap. Do you dare to resist me now? Huh? Do you think Emanuele likes you, and you can do whatever you want? If you weren't his stepsister, would he take care of you like this? He's just playing with you, and there are plenty of other women around him. Once he gets tired of you, he'll replace you. When that happens, I'll kill you."

Chloe's sharp voice was piercing, making Isabella's head pound against the wall. She felt a ringing in her ears and thought she was going to die.

After lecturing Isabella, Chloe let her go. It was a relief because this wasn't her own place. With so many people paying attention to her, causing serious injuries would only bring trouble.

"Isabella, go tell Emanuele you want to live with me," Chloe decided when she saw the luxurious apartment. She liked Emanuele, but when they first met, he had seemed to despise her and avoided contact. Yet he had been quite good to Isabella. So, Chloe thought she could manipulate Isabella into living together and getting closer to Emanuele. Emanuele would surely accept her proposal, and soon she would have him all to herself.

Chloe was very confident. She had a slender figure and good manners, far better than the overweight Isabella. Emanuele would definitely fall for her; it was just a matter of time.

Upon hearing Chloe's words, Isabella was shocked, as if she had heard something terrifying. She stared at Emanuele with an incredulous look in her eyes. "What did you say?" Isabella couldn't believe her ears.

"I said I want to live with you both. Go tell Emanuele that we, as cousins, haven't seen each other in a long time. You miss me and want to live with me."

"I won't say that!" Isabella clenched her teeth. This was the first time she had gathered the courage to resist Chloe. She could imagine that if Chloe moved in, she would torture her relentlessly.

Isabella knew she had to be strong and protect herself. She was no longer the fragile little girl she once was, living in Chloe's shadow. If she couldn't hold her ground now, she might fall back into the same miserable life she had known as a child.

Slap!

As soon as Isabella spoke, Chloe slapped her across the face again. Isabella's vision dimmed, and her cheek burned, but she remained standing. She refused to give in, to let Chloe have her way.

"You bitch, what did you say? You don't want me to move in? Are you out of your mind? I'll kill you!" Chloe shouted in anger. She was like a raging lioness, her dignity challenged. She had never imagined that Isabella, who had always obeyed her, would learn to resist.

Isabella endured several slaps from Chloe. At this moment, she felt as if she had been transported back to her childhood, the time when Chloe had tormented her from age six to seventeen. She was now twenty-two, and she had thought she had escaped Chloe's control. But she realized she had never truly broken free.

In this moment, Chloe was torturing her with such ferocity that Isabella couldn't move.

Not until Chloe realized that things might not be going her way did she immediately release Isabella. Isabella, now unsteady on her feet, collapsed onto the floor.

"I've got to go now. I'll visit you again next time, Isabella. If Emanuele asks, you know what to say, right?" Chloe tidied her hair, maintaining her appearance as a refined lady, in stark contrast to the battered and bruised Isabella on the floor.

Before leaving, Chloe took two dresses from Isabella's closet.

"These dresses will look better on me, Isabella. You're too fat to pull them off."

Isabella stared at Chloe's departing figure. She felt like her world was collapsing, descending into darkness, and there was no glimpse of a future.

All the confidence and strength she had built over the years had crumbled in this moment.

Trembling, she reached for a bottle of pills, doubled the dose, and swallowed them to stop her body from shaking so violently. But her spirit had already collapsed.