My father sold me to the Mafia King-Chapter 147/Possessive Shadows

Chapter 147

Max’s Point of View

I remained rooted to the spot, feeling as though the ground had been snatched from beneath my feet.

Did she really just say that? Did Julie actually utter that word in front of Robert?

"Max is gay? I had no idea." Robert’s tone carried a lethal mix of mockery and bewilderment. As for me, the words died in my throat; I felt them fluttering away, and I couldn’t grasp a single one to defend my manhood, which had been crushed by a single syllable.

Julie replied with a forceful tone, trying to salvage the situation: "Now... put that weapon down."

Oh, Julie... If you had let him empty his magazine into my skull, it would have been easier than living under the weight of this disgusting lie. What kind of hell have you shoved me into?

Robert slowly holstered his piece, his eyes still scanning my frame with a thin veil of revulsion.

But he wasn’t finished. His eyes narrowed as he directed a question at Julie that made the blood drain from my face: "And how exactly do you know he’s gay?"

My stomach muscles cramped; a cold chill raced through my limbs. What kind of question was that? Why did he want the damn details? I was terrified of what Julie might say I knew she turned into a lunatic when cornered.

Julie replied with a staggering coldness: "I caught him kissing another guard."

My heart skipped a beat. What? Did she really just claim she caught me kissing a man? I felt a surge of nausea from the sheer humiliation.

I glanced at Robert, who shook his head with a mocking smirk: "I didn’t know my guards were queer."

Julie looked at me, her eyes brimming with regret, as if saying, ’I’m sorry, Max, it’s the only thing that came out.’ Oh, Julie, your regret is useless; you’ve buried my dignity six feet under.

In an aggressive move to distract him, Julie snapped at Robert: "What business is it of yours? Whether they are gay or straight, how does that benefit you?"

Robert replied, slowly securing his weapon: "It doesn’t... I was just surprised."

Robert let out a long exhale, then asked skeptically: "And how did this ’accident’ of yours happen?"

I closed my eyes, praying silently that she wouldn’t invent another lie; every word out of her mouth now was only making matters worse.

Julie said quickly: "I slipped and fell."

Robert raised an eyebrow: "That’s all?"

Inside, I was screaming: ’Please, Julie, shut up!’ She didn’t realize that I had told him the truth from the very beginning.

He knows I’m training you; he’s only in the dark about Olivia.

Julie insisted: "Yes, that’s all."

Robert nodded: "Fine then... go to your room."

Julie paused, looking at him with suspicion: "Are you going to kill him once I leave?"

That was an excellent question, Julie... was I about to wait for my execution? The irony was that you’ve made me die in his eyes as a "faggot" instead of dying like a man.

Robert replied in a strange tone: "I won’t kill him... since he’s gay."

I felt an overwhelming urge to scream in his face: ’Kill me! Please just kill me and don’t say that!’ But I remained silent, my body rigid, my fists clenching until my knuckles turned white.

Julie tried to pull him away from me: "Let’s go upstairs. You go to your office, and I’ll go to my room."

He answered curtly: "Let’s go."

I watched them leave the gym. I was stunned by the way she spoke to him; this young girl makes a monster like Robert submissive to her in an unnatural way.

I remembered the day she asked me to train her, and how she came back later to tell me he agreed to her coming to the gym for "athletic exercise" only, not combat.

That night, Robert had come to me and asked pointedly about my relationship with Julie and why she had entered my room. I understood then that he monitors every inch through the cameras.

I leaned my head against the cold wall, closing my eyes tightly as the details of that encounter gnawed at my memory an encounter that made the hair on my body stand up in terror just thinking about it.

I was in my room, lost in thought, when the door opened and he walked in... Mr. Robert Cross, in all his majesty and the aura that preceded him. I stood up immediately with military firmness, my body taut as a violin string. I had no idea what would drive a man of his status to come to the room of a simple guard like me.

He looked at me with hawk-like eyes and asked in his deep voice, "Your name is Max... isn’t it?"

"Yes, sir," I said, trying to maintain a confident tone despite my internal turmoil.

"A girl came to you... her name is Julie," he said with lethal coldness as he scanned the corners of the room.

My God! How did he know? In that moment, the blood froze in my veins. I didn’t know whether to tell the truth or lie, but his look suggested he wasn’t asking to find out he was asking just to see if I’d be honest or try to deceive him. I swallowed hard and said curtly, "Yes."

"And what does she want from you? What is your relationship with her?" he asked, taking a step toward me, making the room feel suddenly cramped.

"I have no relationship with her, sir," I answered with a tension I tried desperately to hide behind my stoic features. "She just wanted me to train her on how to protect herself."

He raised an eyebrow and asked in a cryptic tone, "Protect herself from whom?"

I panicked, searching for an answer that would save both me and her. "She told me she feels unsafe here," I stammered slightly.

His voice changed, becoming truly terrifying. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Who is bothering her? Who?"

"No one, as far as I know," I said quickly. "But she wants to be strong."

"And did I give you permission to train her, Max?" he said sternly, clasping his hands behind his back.

"I assumed she had asked you and that you allowed it," I said, trying to justify my position.

"She didn’t tell me she was going to train... she said she was going to exercise," he said with bitter sarcasm. Then he stepped closer until his chest almost brushed mine, whispering in a commanding hiss, "She doesn’t want me to know.

You will not open your mouth, Max. You will not tell her that I came here, or else... you know what will happen."

I swallowed hard, feeling a cold drop of sweat slide down my back. "Yes, sir," I said.

He moved even closer, his gaze boring directly into my eyes. "You will not touch her. You will not go near her. You will not look at her differently. Do you understand what I mean, Max?"

"I will consider her my little sister," I replied, trying to find a safe middle ground.

The moment I uttered those words, I saw his jaw tighten.

He ground his teeth so hard his facial muscles bulged. "Don’t ’consider’ her anything," he said with possessive sharpness. "Treat her as if you don’t even see her!"

I don’t even know how he expects me to do that when she’s constantly around me, but I had no choice but to answer: "Yes, sir... as you wish."

I understood that to him, Julie isn’t just a maid or an assistant she is something far deeper. But he warned me sternly not to tell her that he knows.

It seems he enjoys watching her tension and her desperate attempts to hide things from him.

I placed my hand over my face and let out a scorching exhale, the bitterness of the lie filling my throat. I whispered to myself in grief: "Oh, Julie... couldn’t you find any other lie besides me being gay?"