Chapter 9 - Persecution

Giovanni did not expect that he would receive a call from the school that day. But luckily, he had answered. 

"Mister Mancini? I’m glad you answered the phone for the first time in your life." Martha Mairani said across the line. " There was an incident with Lorenzo and Cassandra, so I suggest you come to the school and bring your employee too." She said, hanging up, Martha wasn’t to be chatty.

Usually, Giovanni used to send someone else to deal with his children’s issues. But since he was here.

He tidied up his shirt, put on a red tie and fixed his blond hair and went to Laura’s room where Aria was.

The woman laughed as she watched the girl and looked at something on her laptop.

He knocked on the door and said:

"Miss Ricci, we have a place to go. Lorenzo and Cassandra are on the board. Giulia will take care of Laura."

Aria jumped in. How come everyone there used to scare so easily?

"Yes, sir." She stammered, I’m just gonna help Laura put the toys away.

"I’ll meet you outside in five minutes."

"Thank you." She smiled.

Aria breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he hadn’t approached her laptop. She was researching it. She didn’t find anything illegal in the company, but there was still something that made her suspicious because of that kidnapping.

She closed the computer and erased the history. Kissed Laura on the face and prepared to go.

-----

Mancini’s car was a luxury convertible, as she expected. He invited her to sit next to him and asked:

"Do you need help?" 

She blushed with his smile and held out her hand. Aria held it, but ended up stumbling on the crutch and fell on it. 

"Anh. I’m sorry, sir." Aria said embarrassed, trying to get up.

However, he held her for a few seconds. Giovanni looked at her mouth with a desire to kiss her. He approached their faces and almost did. Her face blushed and turned incredibly red.

Aria walked away and said:

"Sir. Will you please let me go? Thank you for picking me up and I’m sorry for falling on you. But I think I can get up on my own now."

"Oh, sure." He said, helping her sit down.

Aria took advantage of it while she was putting on her safety belt and took the opportunity to calm down.

"Stay calm, Aria. You don’t know his true intentions. And besides, what would they think of you?"

She looked away. Giovanni had already started the car. His gaze was as blank as ever outside. 

Aria would never understand the enigmatic, Giovanni Mancini. 

------

Upon arriving in the boardroom, Aria nearly fainted. Both Lorenzo and Cassandra bled.

"What happened? Did someone shoot you?" she screamed, worried. 

Giovanni didn’t know how someone with a cast could walk so fast. 

"Actually, that’s not my blood, Ari. It’s Lorenzo’s. He checked me out and ended up soiling my uniform." 

"And you? Why have you been fighting?" Aria scolded him. 

Lorenzo looked away, ashamed. 

"I’m sorry, but he was teasing Cassandra and talking mean about her. I couldn’t let him do that." 

Aria’s expression changed instantly. 

"Was I teasing Cass? Well, then okay. Very well boy." She smiled and made a jewel sign to Lorenzo, making him smile. 

"Hrum." Giovanni blew his head off. 

Both Aria and Lorenzo looked at him with fear.

"Who was it?" he asked his son. 

"The Russian, my father."

"So I don’t care." Giovanni shrugged.

"Mister Mancini, Miss Ricci. You should scold him and not stroke his head." The director said with a sigh.

"Anyway, you’ll be after school for a week, Mr Mancini."

"And Leandro? No punishment for him?" Lorenzo asked, annoyed.

"Of course I do, expulsion. I’ve endured this boy for a long time."

The director looked at the 4 and then her gaze was on Giovanni. 

"Mr. Mancini, I expect you at my party at the beginning of the month. No excuses. Now you can go. I’m busy, Lorenzo, your punishment begins tomorrow." 

She said kicking them out of the room. 

 

-----

In the car, everyone was silent. Until Aria broke the ice and asked:

"Is the feast of Mariani something recurring? "

"Yes, she does something every year. And she doesn’t take no for an answer."

"So, are you going?" Aria asked, curious. 

"No. We’re going." He smiled. 

"We? But" Aria didn’t finish the sentence because she almost fell out of the car. 

Giovanni had quickly deviated from something she could not see. 

"Sir, what’s going on?" she asked scared. 

"Don’t worry. We know how to fix this. Just get down." 

Aria heard shots and did as ordered. What the hell was going on? Were they robbers or kidnappers again? 

"Lorenzo" Giovanni warned. 

"I know, Dad," he said throwing himself at Cassandra and protecting her. 

"Don’t worry. It’s no big deal. We’ve been through situations like this." Lorenzo tried to reassure the ladies. 

"Don’t worry?" cried Aria, especially when she heard an unrecognizable noise. " Are those shots? What’s going on?" 

Giovanni was just focused on driving. Aria was sure they would flip or fall, but that never happened. The car would shake without stopping and dodge almost every shot. At least, it didn’t hit any of their heads. 

Giovanni stopped deflecting when three cars overtook the shooters and were close to theirs. 

"Don’t worry. It’s my people"

Still, Aria couldn’t breathe quietly until she got out of that car. 

Giovanni sped up and now, they were well away from those who attacked them. But, Aria’s breathing was still accelerated.

"Calm down, Miss Ricci. It’s over. Take a deep breath." 

"Sorry, sir, but I will only calm down when I put my feet on safe ground." 

Giovanni laughed and Aria checked the children. 

"Are you okay? Cass?" she looked at her worried sister. 

But Cassandra seemed fine. 

The youngest waved in agreement and Aria felt more relieved.

Giovanni had taken a new path so that they would not be followed. 

When they reached the mansion, Aria ran to the bathroom. Lorenzo took Cassandra inside and one of Giovanni’s men called him:

"Boss. One of them handed us something on the verge of death. It could be a bluff, sir. We’ve already started the investigation." 

When Giovanni saw the red cloth written Rosso in gold letters, his blood froze. But he knew that ghosts could not come back to life.