MariannaDiego was beaten blue black even before we were taken out of my room. His hands were tied at his back, his swollen eyes tried to make sure I was still in his vicinity.Alceo's brother held me by my hair, not too tightly but tight enough. I unconsciously held my stomach, his gaze happened to follow the sudden movement he just witnessed.He pushed Diego to the floor roughly and lifted my top up without asking for any permission. He looked at me, a whimper escaped from my lips as he gently trailed his long fingernails on my body, leaving various sensations throughout my body.As we walked into the main room, I saw the bodies of the last men who were ready to stick by my side, laying dead on the floor. Some had bullets to their forehead and some, various bullets all over their bodies.“When we heard on the streets that Marianna Bezzio was dead, we couldn't believe it. I personally couldn't believe it,” he lit his cigar and dragged in a few smoke before he exhaled it in my face.“
MariannaThe van came to an abrupt stop, making us lunge forward suddenly. A silent hiss escaped from the confines of my mouth as I hit my head on the other side of the van.“Marianna, are you okay?” Diego's voice searched for me, trying to get a sense of clarity of where I was.“I'm okay, I'm fine,” I assured him.The squeaking of the van door caused me a huge discomfort. I tried to tune out but it just got louder.“Bring them out,” he commanded.Their grip on my skin burned and I couldn't help show the pain on my face. I tried to use my other senses to have a feel of the environment since the one responsible for the job was on a break.I could hear Diego's grunting behind me, I was a little bit calm, knowing he was near. My mind wandered far, on Alceo's brother words. ‘The new mafia leader will be so happy to see who I brought’.According to the story I heard about the late Isiak Romanov, he was a brutal and fierce leader. More fierce than my father, just a little compassionate and
AlceoI stood on the balcony of the house watching the van that drove in at a very close range. The door opened and the facial expression on her face showed that she was gripped painfully. Even with the blindfold on, her face was twisted in some kind of way. She hadn't changed a bit and I just wanted to run down to hold her in my arms. Kiss away whatever tears that were going to be making a mess on her beautiful face.It was going to be the fifth month and it just feels like yesterday we saw each other last. She had only put on some weight, still looking like the girl I had fallen in love with.Diego was pushed behind her and seeing him with her, I believed she was doing well.Word had it on the street of her death, I refused to believe it. Uri refused to believe it as well as the men in the house.He was hell bent on getting his revenge, most especially on her. I knew he wouldn't do anything to her behind me even if he saw her.I was assuming my father's seat temporarily until I wed
DiegoThe drama which just unfolded in front of me was the least thing I had expected or anticipated. I was able to free myself of the string used to restrain our hands behind us.We were shoved roughly into the dark space and I was quick to hold Marianna before she lost her balance.She was quiet, too quiet for my liking. The only thing I could hear from her was the way she sobbed. They were subtle enough to remind me of how heartbroken she was when she first got out from Javier's.“At least, be nice and put a fucking light in this place,” I yelled at the guard. I was just trying to drag her out of the fucked up mess with Javier and now we were tossed back in a similar place.“For the Russian leader to have asked us to put you here, you are one step closer to death. You this fucking Italians,” he spat and walked away. Left to me, this guard would never have the chance to talk back to me. But no, all thanks to the present condition of mine.I used my other senses to find a suitable pl
AlceoAll my thinking was going into the dungeon to see Marianna and maybe talk to her about her present state. How her life had been ever since it all happened. But no, I happened to meet her late father's guard instead, challenging me.We all knew that what happened that day wasn't her fault, it was the history that ran deep between them that fueled the fight.The house was connected in such a way that I could hear most of the things being said from the dungeon in my room.I couldn't afford to look weak in front of my brother, he had sacrificed so much for me. And I was sure that Marianna had gone through alot too. It was almost impossible to not notice the healed bruises on her skin. Diego would never have done that, he was so protective of her, that I wonder sometimes if that was all this was about.I found my way to my room, placing my ear against the wall to see if I would catch anymore words being said.The door opened and I knew who exactly walked in. The thing Diego talked ab
MariannaThe loud banging noise from the bars of the iron forced me up. I had no idea when I slept off in Diego's arms but now, I found myself gently laid on the cemented floor with Diego's shirt covering me. The last thing I remembered was crying and holding on to Diego like he was the oxygen I was using to breathe.There was a small lamp on the floor, casting its reflection all over the place, aiding us to see clearly. Diego's rigid wide back welcomed me, his hands were folded into a tight fist.“Diego,” I called out, finding support from the walls as I tried to get up.“Oh the little bitch is up,” I heard a voice say. I recognized it to be Uri's. “I do not have a business with you, it's her I seek.”Diego's voice was as hard as a rock, deadly and venomous.“Call her one more name and you would wish you hadn't,” he threatened. Well, except the fact that it wasn't a threat. I knew Diego well.I found a spot where I could gently stay and watch both of them. He moved closer to Diego, h
AlceoAs I reclined to her level, all I wanted to do was wrap her now big body into my arms and relive the memories from our past.Her face glowed and she curled her lips into a smile as the word pretty left my mouth.She opened her mouth to talk and the next thing that plastered itself on my face was the remains of pizza leaving her mouth.“Gross,” came from different parts of the room. I could bet that they said it with a disgusted look.She was confused, fear had replaced the smile on her face. Her gaze was shifting from me to everyone in the room concurrently. She was literally shaking, only I could see it.She wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her palm. “I'm sorry, I did not know that was going to happen.”I stayed still without giving her a response.“Remove your cloth and wipe his face,” Nina commanded with a stern voice. Every word of hers coming from a place of hate.“Oh, I'm sorry,” without a second thought, the ash blouse she wore went off her neck. She was lef
JavierIt's been close to a month since Marianna escaped. Her existence alone threatens my reign on that chair. Arico and the boys went out each day and returned with nothing.Lanco stopped feeding me with intel. I guess he took himself off the search.I tried to think about the possible places she could be, her late father's house was the last thing in my head.She could hide in that house for days without needing anything in the outside world. Santo made sure to stock it up.I reached for my phone, calling Arico.“It's Javier, did you check Santo's house?”“Not really but the boy stationed around hasn't reported seeing her. Maybe she did not go there,” he said.I sighed frustratingly, rubbing my sweaty palm over my face. “I do not care what you think, go inside and check. It's almost a month since she disappeared. Find her.”“Yes boss,” he said, his voice getting further away from the phone. I assumed he wanted to end the call.“One more thing,” I said. “Go now and when you get ther
AlceoWe knew exactly how dangerous wasting was but it was our only choice in order not to mess things up. I tried so hard to believe in my head that it was Javier that was with Marianna and not that bastard that I just heard about today. For like a week, we stopped every street tracking and went silent, keeping the most vital information to ourselves. Just between our circle, making whoever else Javier has on us to believe that we have given up.Rosco's call came in, I jumped from my seat and had it placed on speaker. “We've gotten Lanco’s position, I'll hold him off till you get here. I'm sending the address to you. And have some of your trusted boys go join mine at Renzo's house. I don't want a repeat of the trouble I carried.”The line went dead and without being told much, my brother's grabbed every piece of gun they could find, fixing silencers onto some of them. We weren't in our city, we had no reason to have the cops on our tail.Every one of us wanted to be there when we fou
AlceoHaving an inkling about how much he despised the so-called Lanco, I decided to know what exactly must have transpired between them. I poured wine into his glass cup and watched him down it at a go. “What happened between you and Lanco?”He sighed, shutting his eyes tightly, as if trying to shut out a bad memory. “He is a hitman or someone you call a mercenary. He's devoid of any human feelings and does things that are out of the norm. Once a girl was stolen from her home and the girl's mother came to beg me to help look for her child. I searched everywhere and information later reached me that she was taken by Lanco.“I tried to reason with him about how we were both Italians and how he should honor the bond between us, so he'd release her to me. Lanco told me that she was his plaything and vowed never to let her go. I let my ego down and promised him whatever amount he wanted, he still wouldn't listen. All of a sudden, he asked me to go back home and be at peace, that he'd sen
AlceoHis leg was wrapped up in order to avoid him bleeding to death before could say what he needed. We didn't start anything yet, he just sat in the middle of the room, sweating profusely with each of us watching him intently.“I heard the latest news,” the last person we were waiting for showed up. Rosco was in the most casual clothing I had ever seen him in, he was probably taking a nap when my call came in. Seeing Rosco had him drag his bloodied leg uncomfortably on the floor.Rosco settled beside Uri, making me wonder why. Another excuse that came to me was the fact that it was far away from where the guard was. Knowing how bad his temper was, he wouldn't want to kill him before he gave up the information we needed.He relaxed back, crossing his legs over one another. “What I hear, is it true? Is it true that you were caught speaking with the one person that has been troubling both the Italians and the Russians for months now?”Ashamed to face us, he knew very well the cost and
UriJust like that, 4 months in total had gone by since the death of Diego and the disappearance of Marianna. Alceo looked a little closer to death everyday, the house was gloomy and nothing made anybody smiley. We all admitted and accepted that we had treated Marianna in a bad way, most especially me. Not knowing that she was a top asset to us. I imagined that, only if father was alive, he would have fought tooth and nail to make sure nothing comes in between their love. It would only make him so much more protective irrespective of whatever bad blood is between him and Santo.The picture of the late Lady Del Vecchio hanging boldly on the wall in our living room gave me a little bit of hope anytime I walked past it. It was a way of reassuring me that we would find her and properly I'll tender my apologies. The way her cheek lit up and a part of her teeth showed, it was obvious, Marianna took her mother's face.For my father to have fallen in love with this woman, it meant a whole lot
Alceo2 weeks laterThe last meeting with Javier's father was relieving and at the same frustrating. Everything went silent, no new information or anything to keep our asses on the street. Rosco was busy helping us to comb the street but since he was a lot more used to it than us. My brothers have welcomed him gladly into our home but he wasn't one to cross his boundaries. Something was tying the Italians and the Russians together now, it was best we work together.The elders of the Italian house too couldn't find anything on Javier, not after the last threat I gave them. Javier was pretty stealth and I was sure that he had help else he wouldn't be able to pull this off by himself.It was late at night, everyone sat alone, moody and pissed. The door swung open and in came Rosco.I was the first to go. “You look like shit, have you had a bath recently?”“There's little or no difference between us, so wrap it up boy.”His muscular frame made him look like my older brother, so him callin
AlceoI managed to make myself a little bit neat, shaving my beards and taking a cool shower in order to help me think. My phone chimed and I got out of the bathroom, locating it immediately. It was a message from Rosco. We've combed every place we knew but everything ended in futile. There was a place we could try out, this time, it was just going to end in talks not the usual bloodshed.I dressed casually, tucking a pistol behind me. I met my brothers waiting for me downstairs.“You got the location?” Uri asked, loading the guns in the back of the car.I nodded my head in affirmation. “But we might not be needing that. We are just going there to have a talk, we are hoping he might have an idea where he is.”“Hmmm,” Uri said, still ignoring everything I said. “You never can tell what will happen. To be on the safer side, I'll just keep them here.”I didn't argue with him anymore and just found a spot to settle in. My mind was clouded, my vision was starting to become blurry due to th
JavierReality was starting to dawn on me, I thought kidnapping Marianna and having her whenever I wanted would fill the empty space in my soul. Instead it just made it wider, seeing her lose herself made me lose myself too.I sat outside in the cold, lighting a cigarette to keep me warm. One single drag in, and I felt so good, having the feeling of euphoria. This continued for a while and I threw my head back to relish the feeling I was getting.It was a quiet scenario with just the cottage in the area. A call from my other phone shattered my blissful feeling. I stared blankly at the caller ID before picking it up.In a straight, stern voice, I answered. “How can I help you Arico?”“Where are you boss? The Russians have been going berserk, killing whoever they find affiliated to you. Are you safe where you are?”“So what should I do about it? You are my boys, so it is necessary you die for me,” I didn't think twice before I said what I said. If I was in Arico’s position, I'd be quite
Alceo Everywhere went silent after the call, no one dared say a word. My anger could make a whole pasta go from raw to finished. I grabbed the phone beside me and threw it against the wall.“AARRRRRRRGH,” I destroyed everything that was in my way. The guards rushed in, trying to see if an intruder was in the house and I decided to transfer my anger on them. Going physical on them was doing little to nothing to my anger, instead it enraged me more.Before I could say jack, a real heavy punch lodged itself in my face. Turned around to see who it was and lo and behold, it turned out to be Aleksi.“You want to let off some of that heat, let's go,” he took his stance in front of me and that angered me more. He was more strategic, I was fighting blindly. Most of my punches missed him but his punches were hitting me in sensitive places, making me go weaker faster.“You bastard,” I spat out blood. “You think you can handle me?”The others stood at a corner watching the drama happening betwee
Trigger warning ⚠️ Marianna1 month later I don't know what day it was or how long I've been there but to me it felt like months. I was plunged into the dark and the only time I had any companions was when my master came in. Either to serve me or to relieve himself using me. I crave for the sun, I crave for the morning light, I crave for a particular touch but I didn't know who it belonged to.All I remembered of him was his distinctive features; full eyebrows, dark skinned with a different shade of blue eyes. His face was starting to disappear and I desperately sought to keep it. Master told me he was the one that caused all my misfortune but his face failed to give off that vibe. His face was the definition of peace, it gave me all the tingling I needed. The door opened and immediately I went on all fours. It was in the same position that I was fed and used as a tool to satisfy master's cravings. If I failed to do so, I'll be met with master's anger and I wasn't ready to face tha