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Chapter 6
Last Updated:
2024-10-05 00:35:25
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Into the darkness Chapter 7
Arianna POV:I drove to my father's house, a cold calmness powering me there. I wasn’t going to let the charade continue any longer, but I needed to be safe. I didn’t know how my father would react if he would lash out. The surety Gio spoke with about my father being dangerous, flashed into my mind as I turned my car off. I found my palms slick with fear, a feeling of retreat attempting to grip me. I shook it off remembering my fury at the ongoing deceit. I wouldn’t do it any longer, I had to open the door. I forced myself into the house, I didn’t focus on my unsteady footsteps, or my shuddering breath as I moved down the hall to his office. He was sitting at his desk going over paperwork. I was about to enter the office when a thought entered my head. I don’t know why but I turned around and went to the kitchen taking photos of everything in the file. Something in me warned me against handing over the information to him. I put the file back out in my car underneath my floor mat.
Last Updated : 2024-10-05Into the darkness Chapter 8
Arianna POV: I went into the office the next day my mind fuzzy from the night before. I only had one drink but I felt hungover. Replaying the story my father told me again and again. I started questioning here and there if he ever really wanted to get out. By now I knew he never would, he wanted it all. He could claim it was for his family, I saw through it after all this time this was for him and his greed. I wanted to sink into my work that now seemed tainted I holed up in my office with a black coffee hoping its bitterness would cheer me up. Unfortunately, my desire to slink into the shadows of the machine was ignored. Instead of strolling in, he knocked on the door and asked if I was available. Leaning back in my chair contemplating whether or not to open the door I waited with a grouchy set jaw. I let him in and he walked over sitting down once again like he had every right. “Oh please sit down,” I exclaimed in false cheer as he did what he wished. Closing the door keeping m
Last Updated : 2024-10-05Into the darkness Chapter 9
Gio POV:It was already complicated enough doing business with the devil as we had to. For appearance's sake, we were in business together purely to make sure neither of us went to the cops to take the other out. It was too sticky of a situation and now, she was involved. The only genuinely kind, and moral person in the whole pack of them and she appeared when I least expected it. She saw the world with open eyes and still chose to look on the bright side of things, she had a wicked sense of humor and she was breathtaking. It was bad enough that she was a good person, but I was also attracted to her beyond belief. I was holding myself back from making a pass at her and failing every time we got close. She could see through the bullshit covers we had and called me on it with a ferocity that only pulled me in further. I had to take her father down, he was filling the streets with drugs, pressuring small business owners to make shotty cuts to benefit him. Using honest people as fronts
Last Updated : 2024-10-05Into the darkness Chapter 10
Gio POV: Every time I entered the office, I had to occupy my mind with any other thoughts that it could form. Think about the ceiling fans, and don’t watch her. She pulled her hair to twist it out of her face. That would make me think about what it would feel like my fingers through her hair and then the afternoon was gone. I tried to drown myself in business meetings and arbitrating who got a say over what. We created more and more hiccups so that we could drag this out. We both needed more time so that we could get info on the other, desperately trying to get the upper hand. Who had more say over the building, who had more say over the spending, how we filed our taxes, what we agreed upon for who made day-to-day decisions? All of it was bull shit. None of it compared to the way she straightened her spine when she focused. I wondered what I could do to get her to arch it. Foul filthy thoughts plagued me whenever I saw her. Not just those but worse thoughts followed, every time
Last Updated : 2024-10-05Into the darkness Chapter 11
Arianna POV: It felt like I had woken up from a nightmare, I went back to my house, and I sat in my bed, reading my books, and watching the news. I ate the same dinners I always did and the time away started to heal the wounds inflicted on me. I had become completely undone by the way my father was constantly inching further and further into my life, asking this and that, little things that shouldn’t have mattered, asking about this person and that person what they did, what I thought of them. Each question was a double-edged sword, how did I Judge them, would I do the task, how well did I pick up on things, was I compliant? I was being evaluated from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep at night, he wanted to see how much use I could be to him. I didn’t know which way I wanted to go, be absolutely useless and incur his wrath, or be useful and lose all control. I was too afraid of him to play dumb at the end of the day, When Gio came in and told me he would fight the b
Last Updated : 2024-10-05Into the darkness Chapter 12
Gio POV:“She’s asked to come to us?” I was stunned, she was smart I knew this had nothing to do with any feelings for me and only fear of her father, but if she trusted me to protect her It was good enough for me. “She’s determined not to return home, and she said she’ll tell you everything she knows, considering she’s the number girl I do believe she’ll know a bit,” Luca told me over the phone as I heard him ripping through town. “Open up the second master give her whatever she want’s have the maids draw a bath for her, double the guard, let her know she’s free to go anywhere in the house, and make sure the cook prepares something nice for her,” I demanded, I didn’t want her to think we had anything to hide, or that she was a prisoner. I did my best to focus on my work, to make sure that I had my bases covered. I had provoked the beast in a horrible way, hoping disrupting his supply would keep him busy, instead, it made him snarl and snap. He had decided the best way to punish me
Last Updated : 2024-10-05Into the darkness Chapter 13
Arianna POV: I felt like I was overstepping when he insisted upon me doing something to change the room and make it more to my taste, but waking up this morning and seeing the dark white bed and couch, dresser, nightstands, and gray walls I felt like I was living in an insane asylum. I suppose it was my mother’s fault that I grew up with so much and now already being on edge seeing all this blankness made el uneasy. The way he offered it too, so freely, so sure that it was what I needed. I didn’t like that he knew me so well we were strangers, but he knew exactly what would calm me down. I was already a stranger in my own family. I didn’t need this stranger to see me so wholly. He was clear in his intentions too, that’s why I knew coming here was safe. I had been surrounded by liars, crooks, and con men. In all of them, he was the only one to be honest, and even though he fell into the same category he also had a good heart. I got myself together and made my way downstairs deciding
Last Updated : 2024-10-17Into the darkness Chapter 14
Arianna POV: I didn’t like the idea of going out and shopping and spending his dime, I felt slightly cheap doing it, but what would be worse was spending the day in his home trying not to think of all the horrible things that would be done to us by my father. So I found myself putting on my coat and having my lovely bodyguards follow me to a car. I’m going off to spend the money of a man who had rescued me. Like the bad plot of a romance movie on some trashy television channel. I decided to start with clothes because well he was right I hadn’t brought a lot with me and I was very frantic in my packing so many of the things that I had brought weren't useful. Clothing rack after clothing rack my mind drifted back to what he would be doing today. Would he be seeing my father? Would my father be seeing him? Would someone die? I tried to focus on the pretty things in front of me and picture myself wearing them, but every time I did, my head was split open on the pavement somewhere, an
Last Updated : 2024-10-23
Latest chapter
Into the darkness Chapter 70
Arianna POV: We stopped for lunch at a little bistro, much like back in America they were heavily involved in helping businesses in their town. The owner came out and greeted Giovanni and Luca, snapping his fingers to get us a better table and the finest wine they had. I rolled my eyes as Gio winked and pulled out my chair for me, he knew damn well it wasn’t his connections that made me interested in him. Once again, the blonde from the store flashed into my mind. Did he, though? She was fawning over him so intently, praising him a cooing his name. I had never been a woman to constantly stroke her man's ego. I shook my head, removing the thought from my mind. No, I won’t do this. He’s taken me home to his family, he’s showing me the place he grew up. I won’t begin second-guessing now, not when we’ve faced demons together. As if reading my mind, he held my hand as if it was second nature, kissing it before answering a question Luca had asked him. He explained to me his favorites on
Into the darkness Chapter 69
Arianna POV: “Let me take you out today to show you the town.” he grinned as we went downstairs to breakfast. I nodded happily at the thought of running around town with him, seeing everywhere he grew up. The places that he hung around as a child with Luca and his brother. I wanted to see the town that helped him grow into who he is, all the little memories dotted around shops and cafes. “Gio?” his mother called. “You going out?” she pouted for a moment before walking into the kitchen and then handing him a list. “Get me this, please.” She kissed the top of his head and patting his shoulder She patted the empty seat next to Giovanni for me to sit in, “Come on dear, I’ve got fresh fruit and pastries,” she gestured to the pile of breads on the table. “Mama, who is going to eat all of this?” he asked, going over the list. She scoffed and turned to him. “You and Luca have emptied my pantry before. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re capable of get me my food,” SHe scolded him, wav
Into the darkness Chapter 68
Giovanni POV: I felt horrible the way she was sitting back in her chair, absentmindedly smiling as she looked around the room. My mother guided her up to my old room for me while we sat there finishing the meal. She followed a long like a child dead to the world around her. I thought once she knew we were going somewhere safe she’d relax, but it seemed meeting my family was very important to her. I tried not to grin at the thought that she cared that much for me. My mood soured though as I watched her leave and then turned to my father, he stared at me with a discerning look. I wanted to roll my eyes, but I knew that would only antagonize him. I was sure he’d tell me what was wrong with her soon enough, and I would ignore all of it. If he knew anything he would know there was no turning back for me, I had damned myself in his name to avenge my brother, now that an angel has swopped in to save me he is upset. “She's beautiful,” He commented. I didn’t say a word in response, waitin
Into the darkness Chapter 67
Arianna POV: His father rose from his seat and set down his paper, I could see what his mother meant; they were similar. He had the same wide shoulders and strong jaw Giovanni had and the same nose, but Giovanni’s eyes were his mother's. If I wanted to see what he looked like thirty years later, it was at the other end of the table, salt and pepper hair, some wrinkles here and there, but still strong. The two men stood at opposite ends of the room like monoliths, refusing to bow to the other. One wanting the respect he’d earned, the other the respect he’d deserved, I sighed softly to myself. It wasn’t just looks that they were identical on; I stepped down the stairs and past Giovanni. “SIgnore Risci, thank you for welcoming me into you, especially given the circumstances,” I walked over holding out my hand. His father cocked his head to the side as he considered me for a moment, taking my hand and kissing it. “Oh, I see why my son has overlooked your past.” He looked at Giovanni,
Into the darkness Chapter 66
Arianna POV: I didn’t find a wink of sleep the whole flight, my mind racing with the possibilities. I had never met the parents before, let alone a whole family. Even if I had I knew in my bones it wouldn’t be the same as it was now, my heart would flutter, my mind wouldn’t race, my palms wouldn’t be slick. Luca and Giovanni were both asleep, heads slunk to the side in the same manner. I wondered if Giovanni’s brother had done the same. I wondered if he looked more like his father or his mother, who he acted more like. I wondered if his family would begrudge me mine or if they understood my past. I was even more on edge by the time we got off the plane as I was sure I looked a mess, from the bitter cold of an east coast winter we stepped into the cool warmth of the mediterranean. I felt as if I dragged in the sludge and sleet with me, my eyes looking more akin to a racoons and less human. The one bright spot waited for me as we stepped down from our flight. “Arianna!” Becca excla
Into the darkness Chapter 65
Arianna POV: It didn’t feel real; it felt like some wild fantasy I had found myself in. I watched on the news as they carted him out of our house and into the cop cars, a dark expression casting over his face. Then at the arraignment, I sat in the back so he couldn’t see me, like I was five hiding behind my mother's leg, but still. The judge set no bail, for fear he’d run off, the power of a federal judge and not one of the county guys, that we all knew my father had in his pocket. He was being held without bail until his trial. The judge seemed to be unbiased; still, I warned myself I told myself not to think it, but I felt like we had a chance of putting him away. I felt as if I thought it, it would flitter away and vanish. He had never been caught before, my father had been on trial a total of six times, and not once had they been able to put him in jail. He had the best lawyers, he had donated to the judge's campaigns, and he knew their families. Not once did they even come clos
Into the darkness Chapter 64
Domenico POV: There are moments in life of crisp clarity, like a camera lens focusing or a breath of fresh air after swimming. You see things just as they are, not as you wanted them to be; every little piece of information you neglected to cover, your own fears they shine brightly. I’d experienced this once before when my wife ran with our daughter in the middle of the night. All her good intentions, all our quiet evenings, the distance between us over the past weeks. They glared at me in the eyes, forcing me to realize all I had missed because I didn’t want to see that she was leaving me. I felt the same when the FBI walked boldly into my house, that punk smuggly dangling the cuffs in my face. “Tax evasion's a bad rap,” he chuckled, dragging me out of the house as cameras flashed, blinding us, as he laid conquest to my home. In a matter of seconds, the last few months flashed into my head: Vanessa’s body in the morgue, the fear and hesitation on Arianna’s face when I returned t
Into the darkness Chapter 63
Arianna POV: We were working closer and closer to my father's arrest, every day I caught moments when it felt like we would pull this off and I grabbed onto them tight. They kept me sane, most of the time I felt a green mist in the air. Something was coming for us we couldn’t see, shadows pulling at us as we neared our victory. The slimy and sinking feeling that though we had every scrap of evidence to put him away it wasn’t enough. He was too foul a beast to keep breathing. I could see the shiny strings he pulled to get us to move this way and that. Giulia had shown up and tried to get me to see some photos of Giovanni doing something that would “turn my stomach”. I had pushed her away and left but my skin had been crawling since. It was the simplest interaction she had let me go, and I felt as if I should cling to Giovanni ever since then. The rug was going to be pulled soon and we’d be sent tumbling. As hazy as the days were, never seeing where we were heading as I looked over
Into the darkness Chapter 62
Domenico POV: Pack of vipers that lay below my feet you would think one of my daughters, my flesh and blood, the fruit of my loins would have any amount of loyalty for the man who gave them life. No, not only did my eldest have to be bewitched by that Italian fuck, but my youngest in her naive stupidity had gathered evidence on me to put me in jail. The only pride I took was in their vengeance, even though I was their father they saw me as a threat and both didn’t hesitate to take care of it. Should I ask that they know better, of course, but what parent doesn’t want their child to defend themselves? It bothered even me, a man who had raked innocents over the coals to build my empire, to strike my child. I wish hadn’t had to do it, but she’d left me no choice, but to turn me in to the feds. I thought of that little neonazi blondie boy who’d been trailing us for years now. I could see the smirk on his Hitler youth face, as he put cuffs on me. Made me wanna hurl giving him the satisfa
