Chapter one.

Isabella.

"Ugh!"

Where did Max wander of to?

I sighed in absolute frustration as I walked around the house searching for my pet dog, Max.

I love Max but sometimes I want to just throw him of my window. He was going to get me in serious trouble with my father, the Don, one of these days.

I walk along the hallway, more like sneak along the hallway.

I cant risk being caught by my father's guards, they wouldn't just bundle me back to my room, they'd make sure I never find Max.

As much as Max makes me angry, I would rather not have him dead.

I press my lips into a white slash, urgh I am so annoyed! where the hell could max be?

My pulse quickened as the reality that Max is missing hit me like a thunder bolt, shit! Shit!

Nothing can happen to Max he is not just my dog but my best friend.

I rubbed the back of my neck as my gaze moved from one corner of the overly long hallway to the other.

"Max...Here boy...Where are you?"

Aishhhh!

I dragged a hand through my hair as I walk down the hallway towards the basement, this is a very bad idea.

The basement is not somewhere I should be found wandering about.

I can't even begin to imagine what would happen if I am cought in the basement by my father's guards, or worse my father himself.

But I need to find Max, I hope he is alright...

What if...

No! I mentally slap myself, no negative thoughts Isabella, think positive.

The basement is as creepy as I remember, so dark and gloomy.

I look around for any trace of Max, but to my utmost terror I still can't find him.

As I walk deeper into the basement, I hear scratching sounds, that must be Max! Oh thank goodness.

I see max trying to get out of what looks like a bag, my eyes widened in excitement as I make my way towards him.

"Oh my baby, where have you been?"

"Woof , woof"

Max whimpered in a silly way, as if to say 'I missed you Isabella.'

I giggled as tears pooled in my eyes.

"I missed you too Max."

"Don't ever run away like that."

Aishh, I didn't realize how agitated I was to find Max until now, I feel so relieved to see that he's okay.

Now we have to get the hell out of this creepy basement before someone finds us.

" Okay boy, let's go."

" You have to be as quiet as possible okay?"

He wiggles his tail at me, silly dog. We walked quietly down the path I came through.

I sighed in relief as I saw the turn that would lead me directly to the hallway and back to my room.

I stood rooted to the spot as I heard voices coming from the opposite direction. A part of me wanted to know where those voices where coming from, another part of me wanted to get the hell out of here.

And I choose the part that wanted to get the hell out of here, but I hear a very familiar voice.

Although the sound was a bit muffled, I could still tell who the owner of the voice was.

Why was our gardener in the torture grounds?

She couldn't have possibly betrayed Dad right? I mean, she has been with us since I was a kid, apart from Dante and Luca, she's the only one who really cares about me.

So she couldn't have possibly done something that would warrant her being brought to the basement

This time curiousity took the better part of me.

Max looked at me with his eye brows creased into a cute frown, as if to say what the hell are you doing Isabella?

"Stay still Max, this would be quick okay?"

I tiptoed towards the area where the voices were coming from.

This was like a suicide mission, but I have to find out why Mama Beth is in the basement.

I look around for a good spot to hide and my eyes catch a tiny space close to the little opening of the wooden door.

I sit as slowly and quietly as possible. I look down at max to check if he's okay and he looks like he's asleep, makes things better.

I peep through the little opening on the wooden door,

I see Mama Beth on the floor, and my heart breaks into a million pieces at how bloddied she looks.

I quickly put my hand over my mouth to prevent my self from making any sounds.

What the hell did she do to make them treat her like that?

I see my father walking closer to her with a gun in his hands.

My heart started beating rapidly against my chest.

No... no... he wouldn't kill her right?

He can't kill her she's been with us for too long and she's never one day defaulted. Surely he can just punish her to warn her.

Beads of sweat crawl down my neck and I clutched Max to me tightly as panic kicked in.

" What did you see that day?" I hear my father asking her.

Did she see something she wasn't supposed to see?

Mama Beth looks at my dad with what seems like hatred and contempt in her eyes.

"You're worse than the devil." she spits out and my eyes widened at her outburst.

Doesn't she value her life? No one disrespects the Don and comes out the same.

"God please don't let anything happen to her." I whisper to myself.

Valentino, my uncle, whispers something to my father which makes him crease his brows in a disturbing frown.

He walks closer to Beth with a terrifying glare, but Beth doesn't even look the least bothered that she might die.

What has gotten into her? I can't loose another person close to me.

Can't she just beg for her life? Beg for forgiveness or say she didn't see anything.

I am sure that would make the Don free her.

But the next words I hear from Beth makes my blood run cold.

" You monster, you killed your wife!!"

My eyes widened as my heart stopped, what did she just say?

My pulse slowed down as my breathing became ragged, the air suddenly becoming too tight.

I couldn't see properly.

Papa killed Mama?

No... No... That cannot be true.

Even if papa was a jerk to us at some point, he still loved mama.

I clenched and unclenched my fist as I wondered on what I just heard.

This can't possibly be the truth. Beth must have seen wrongly.

Mama died because she slipped and fell of the stairs.

I felt a disturbing tingle in my chest and I gasped for breath as those words settled in my heart.

I shook my head violently at the possibility.

I search my father's face for any clues that Beth is lying, but what I saw next made me swallow hard.

"You shouldn't have seen that, Beth. I didn't kill Rose. She killed herself!"

I couldn't breathe, couldn't understand what was going on.

Papa didn't even try to hide it, so mama didn't die because she slipped and fell? Papa pushed her?

I covered my mouth with my two hands to prevent myself from screaming. No...no...this cannot be true, my stomach clenched in pain.

Max, as if sensing my state snuggled close to me in an attempt to comfort me.

"Monsters!" Beth screamed in agony.

"Shut up!"

"You don't know what happened. Rose cheated on me after all I've done for her, she betrayed me." I heard papa growl at Beth. "I am not even sure Isabella is my child, because her mother was a lying and cheating whore!!"

Cheated?

I scoffed in disbelief, really?

What a joke!

My mother loved him with her life, I wanted to scream that in his face.

How could he kill her?

I still couldn't come to terms with that fact. Tears rolled down my eyes as I thought of how much my mother adored my dad.

"She didn't cheat on you, you were deceived. Rosella loved you with everything in her." Beth seethed, glaring at Papa with so much hate.

She looked like she couldn't stand the presence of my father.

"How dare you talk to your Don with such disrespect?" Valentino snarled at her.

"Don? disrespect? You're a murderer! A coward and a murderer!"

"You've served your purpose Beth, now it's time for you to rest." I heard papa say then, and I hear the cock of a gun.

No...no...no...

He's going to kill her, and I can't do anything damn thing about it.

I am going to lose yet another person. I close my eyes tightly because I can't see her getting killed.

Bang!

The sound of gunshots echo around the walls of the basement.

"Take care of her body."

I hear my father say to his men.

I grit my teeth as I let the tears flow freely.

How could he? How could he kill Mum? What did she do to deserve death?

I hold on to Max tightly, as I let out a tiny whimper.

Oh shit!

"Who's there?!"

I heard my uncle Valentino say, and I almost fainted.

I can't let them find me, they might kill me too.

I sprang up to my feet and quickly make my way out of the basement.

I don't look back, I just keep running.