An ear-piercing scream tore through the dark room as the man tied to the chair sitting in the center of the room cried bitterly from all the torture being thrown at him. His bloodied face and body were the evidence of the brutality he was facing from Marco. While he looked a total mess, Marco looked calm and collected, nothing like a person who was busily inflicting pain on the other party.Dante stood behind him, watching with a stoic expression as Marco gave the man the beating of his life. Marco's movements remained elegant and effortless as he inflicted pain on the man who had refused to accept his offer. The man was unable to bear the pain anymore, so he immediately pleaded in agony. "Wait up you mother fucker!" He yelled as he spat out a mouth full of blood, a few teeth following the blood out. “Figlio di puttana!” He muttered a curse in Italian as he spat out more blood onto the ground.Marco watched with a smirk as if enjoying the view before him.“So, what now?” He aske
Once the car pulled into the driveway, Marco hurriedly climbed out of the car and rushed into the mansion, not even bothered about his wet body.Dante climbed out of the car as well and sighed.Thankfully, the rain had subsided and it wasn’t as heavy as before.He watched with a look of disdain as Marco ran straight into the house and straight to his new toy’s room.Honestly, he couldn’t decipher the new behavior from Marco anymore.A woman he barely knew and just had a one-night thing with, he felt she was his entire world, ‘ok maybe he didn’t feel that way’, but his reactions towards her were so alarming.“He possibly can’t be in love, right?” He muttered and went up to his bedroom to change up.“That’s insane! Falling for someone who you merely knew for three days?” He scoffed and closed the door behind him.He would rather eat glass than believe that Marco was in love.It definitely had to be just an attraction.Marco pushed open the door to Alessia’s room with a bang. Seeing her
The next morning, the sunlight streamed through the curtains, landing directly on Alessia's face. She blinked her eyes open, greeted by the beauty of the room again.Her senses were jumbled and she found it difficult to take in her environment. Once the fog covering her vision had cleared, the sight of the room finally became clearer and she saw it wasn't the same room she grew up in.Alessia instantly jerked up as her heart dropped at once. But when she tried to sit upright, she realized something was wrong.She couldn't move.A hand restricted her movement and she panicked at once.Who the hell was holding her?!Her brain didn't process that it was Marco, instead it processed that Simone might be the one holding her in bed. This thought disgusted her as she slowly turned to see if it truly was Simone.God forbid she ever had anything to do with her uncle!It was like all those books she collected from Grace.The ones where love with one's family or relative was considered a forbidde
The sound of Dante's laughter reverberated in the entire courtyard as he clutched to his stomach, a tear slipping from the corner of his eye.Marco chucked down the glass of the substance he had in his hand down his throat as his glare intensified.“What the fuck is funny?!" He asked through gritted teeth, his accent coming off out of anger. He rarely spoke in that accent, but right now he was pissed.Pissed that Alessia happened to be extremely difficult and stubborn to handle.Pissed at himself for not getting mad at her the way he wanted to.If only he could be genuinely mad at her, he sure as hell would discipline her in such a way that she would never try to mess with him ever again.But no, he couldn't do that to her.Despite her fierce nature, she was still a soft-looking woman. She might have tried severally to overpower him the way a man would, but she still remained a woman with a very curvy figure.Speaking of a curvy figure, she was carved to perfection.Pretty face, round
Alessia sat in the bedroom where that bastard had locked her up.Her thoughts ran wild as she commemorated the memories of the past.She had been happier, but not until Simone did what he did.She couldn’t cognize who Marco was, neither did she know his purpose for bringing her here, all she knew was that he might never let her go so coolly. So, she thought of something else.Since she had nothing else left in the world for her; Grace was unreachable and she wouldn’t want her to get into the hands of someone like this loony who confined her in the walls of his mansion.She resorted to taking her own life. It was far better and more condoling.But the shame of having lost her virginity to her captor still nettled at her heart. She glanced around the room in search of anything she could use to execute the plan. Before Marco returned, she needed to get this done feasibly.Did he want to keep her caged in here? Then he could do that to her dead body.Fortunately, she found a piece of ro
When Alessia woke up again, it was already dusk. A knock sounded at the door, but remembering whose house this was, she didn’t bother responding and just lay still on the ground where she had slept.The person at the door figured that she wouldn’t be opening the door since she was locked in there, so they unlocked the door and got in.It was a maid who seemed to be in her early fifties coming in with a tray of what seemed to be food.Seeing Alessi lying on the floor, she panicked.“Oh my, dear are you alright?” She asked worriedly and reached out to touch the woman’s shoulders.Alessia jerked the old lady’s hand away immediately and glared at her.She wasn’t about to be fooled by the fake act of sympathy.Marco was a bad man, which meant that everything and everyone around him would be exactly like him.Including this old lady.These were her thoughts as she stared at the old lady who got a bit scared of touching her.“What do you want? To harm me as well?” She asked the old lady, her
The car pulled up before the entrance of the main mansion and a guard ran forward to open the car door for Marco as usual.He strolled into the house and straight to the courtyard where he knew Matteo would be sprawled lazily on a relaxing chair, drinking the day away. Just as expected, Ezekiel was indeed there.Seeing his son walk in, a smile spread across his lips.“Marco." Marco on the other hand wasn't happy to see him.He just stayed quiet as he pulled a chair to sit on.Ezekiel was already used to his son's coldness towards him. He wasn't in the least bothered about it.“I'm here now and I would appreciate you hastening up whatever you want to say." Marco coldly said as he held his father's gaze with his.Ezekiel didn't back down either as he held Marco's gaze.If anything, he was proud of his son. Marco had made a huge impact in the mafia world in Reggio Calabria. He was basically feared by everyone.That gave him the honor that even after his reign, his son still held the po
Alessia's lips quivered when Marco added a bit of pressure to his hold on her neck. Her face turned bright red from the lack of air, but she remained stubborn, refusing to ask him for liberation from his hold on her.When she couldn't bear it any longer, she shut her eyes to let the tear slip from it as she clutched to his arm with both of her hands.“Let..go…” she managed to voice out as she bit down on her lower lip.Delilah, who initially decided to let her be, came back to make sure Marco did nothing bad to her.To her surprise, he was already busily choking Alessia.Seeing the poor girl’s reddened face, she panicked and rushed forward to get Marco's hand away from her neck. “Marco! Stop it! You'll kill her." She yelled and tapped on Marco? 's hand holding Alessia's neck. Marco finally saw he was just about to kill her, so he released his hold on her at once. She was so annoying that one wouldn't mind strangling her at once.He watched her fall on the bed as she dragged in deep
The next day, Grace arrived at the airport, ready to board the plane to her dream country.Everything she ever dreamed of was coming true, although it looked like everything was falling apart at first, it eventually came together.Standing at the airport gates and clutching her ticket tightly, she couldn’t help but look back over her shoulder. Sicily had been her home, the place where she had laughed, cried and grown. Her heart swelled with a mix of nostalgia and excitement as memories washed over her: moments of laughter with Alessia, sneaking out on wild journies, quiet nights where she and Dante would talk and cuddle until dawn. She had always dreamed of seeing the world, but leaving this life wasn’t easy. Yet, knowing that her best friend was now happy, married, and building a family of her own made it feel right. She had her dreams to chase, after all.Taking a deep breath, she turned to face the gate, trying to push aside the ache in her heart. Just as she took a step forward,
Grace was so excited that she couldn’t stop rambling on and on as she picked out the perfect wedding dress for her dear Alessia. A proud smile crossed Alessia’s face as she watched her best friend getting so excited about her wedding. She was surprised when Grace told her that Dante had also proposed to her. But Grace being Grace had rejected the proposal. To her, she wanted to go to school first.“Do you have to go to school?” Alessia asked as she glared at Grace who wouldn’t stop grinning. “Ali, we’ve talked about this before. You know I’ve always wanted to go to school in the US. Besides, it’s just 4 years.” She said and pouted.“But I don’t want you to leave,” Alessia pouted also.Grace teared up, moving to hug her friend. “Sorry my baby,” she muttered. “But if you’re happy for me, you’ll wish me well instead of crying.” Grace poked, earning a jab from Alessia.The manager of the mall watched them with a smile, wondering how these two managed to push through life to this day. Wh
A month later, Salvatore walked into Devil's Den to find Marco who had invited him there. When he arrived, he met with Selena waiting for him by the corner. “Welcome, please come with me." She said, knowing he was Marco's guest. Salvatore watched her face for a while and nodded. He followed her as they both got into the elevator and went up to the second floor. Ever since Marco and Salvatore made up, they rekindled their previous friendship. They would often drink and go for meetings together, it made Dante feel betrayed, but of course, they never left him behind. When Selena and Salvatore arrived at the top floor where the supposed Marco was supposed to be waiting for him, he found the place empty.“Where is he?" He asked as he sat on one of the couches in the room.“I presume he is on his way," Selena said robotically. Salvatore smirked, baffled by how she took this mafia work even more seriously than the men.He wondered if she ever smiled in her life considering she was always
When Salvatore walked in fully, everyone including Alessia excused themselves to give the two some privacy.Now left alone in the hospital room, Marco smirked and said, “So it's you? You're that one stubborn mercenary." “That's a wonderful way to apologize, Marco," Salvatore said, moving to sit on the chair by the hospital bed.Marco's brow creased in confusion, “Apologize? For what?" He asked.“Please don't act like you don't know the reason we drifted apart." The smile on Tore’s face disappeared, replaced by a serious look.Seriously, Marco didn't understand what he was talking about. “I still don't get you. We drifted apart because your father hated my family." “Are you kidding me? We were friends even after the rift began. That wasn't the reason." Salvatore reminded him, this time he could feel his anger building up in him.Marco stayed silent, trying to recall what exactly had transpired between them in the past. The only thing he remembered was that Salvatore had a girlfriend…
It took Marco two days to finally wake up. When he did, he felt a bit strange. This time, the thing on his face had been removed and his right there was someone else face.Alessia sat beside him, or more like lay beside him on the bed, her dark circles visible and a sign that she hadn't slept well in a while.Marco smiled, then reached out a hand to pat her hair.What happened when he was asleep and how long it had been?When Alessia felt a hand on her hair, she immediately opened her eyes.Her eyes met his and a surprised look consumed her face. “Marco?" She asked carefully, trying to make sure she wasn't hallucinating again.“Mia Cara." He muttered to convince her that she wasn't seeing things.Alessia jerked up instantly and called his name again. “Marco?" “You aren't hallucinating, Baby." Marco chuckled.And before he could guess her next move, she threw herself at him and hugged him tightly.“Oh my goodness! You're awake! You're finally awake!"Alessia pulled away slightly, her
Alessia stared at Marcel and Salvatore, especially Dante. She was confused as to why their faces looked so worried. “Alessia…” Delilah’s voice called from the side. Alessia turned to see who the voice belonged to. Of course she knew that familiar voice.When she saw Delilah, her eyes widened in shock. "Delilah? You're here?” She asked, unknowingly walking over to Delilah. Delilah smiled through the tears coming out of her eyes and immediately hugged Alessia. "It's so good to see you again, Alessia.” She muttered, patting her back.Alessia pulled away from her and smiled thinly. “Why are you crying? Did you miss me that much?" She teased, wanting to make the old lady smile.Delilah chuckled, wiping her tears. “Yes." She said, though it was a lie. She missed Alessia, but she was more concerned about Alessia's reaction if she saw the current Marco.Alessia was confused by the worried faces of everyone. Wasn't getting Marco out a good thing? Why did they all look sad?“What happened?" S
Getting Marco out of that place wasn’t easy, but Salvatore’s men were hellbent. They called Dante and handed the items back to him.Dante was surprised, he had initially thought that Salvatore would never agree. To top it all, he hadn’t even seen Salvatore’s face before.He only wished to see Double S, not that he would tell anyone of him.He received the items, took them back to the base, and informed a few of the family members about it.He even had to forge that Marco had them all those while but chose to hide and see what Francesco and his children would do. When the twins heard of this, they sent people after Dante, they aimed to ruin the items and maybe kill Dante off.Dante, being the ever so smart one, ran off. It wasn’t easy for Lorenzo and Leonard’s men to get to him.He was faster and better than they would ever be.Salvatore’s men launched an attack on the twins, destroying and eventually killing both of them. It wasn’t easy, but they succeeded.Delilah helped Marco to hi
Marcel called Salvatore over, taking his time to plead with his son to forgive Marco for the sake of his sister.Salvatore as usual wasn't easily pleased and he immediately rejected his father's pleading.Marcel didn't give up. For the next one month, he tried his best to get some men to locate where Salvatore had hidden the items he stole from the De Lucas. If he could find it, he would return it to Dante and have him save Marco. But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find it.Alessia spent the entire day and night crying nonstop in her bedroom. She even fell sick at some point. She would also starve herself often. Salvatore saw all these, but he didn't budge.On this day, Alessia actually slit her wrist, aiming to kill herself.Salvatore went to a meeting with his father. He was about to tell his opinion on the current matter they had at hand, but to his greatest surprise, a sharp pain shot through his left wrist. Because it was unexpected, he winced instinctively.Marcel t
Alessia hurriedly asked the guards to let Dante and Grace into the mansion.She couldn’t believe they had come, although she was scared that her father and Salvatore might come out and get angry at the sight of Dante since he was a De Luca.“Alessia, what are you doing here?” Dante lowered his voice and asked. Of course, he knew this place, Marcel Stefano Marino’s house, one of the most deadly mafia lords of Sicily. It was a place where the De Lucas family was certainly unwelcome.Alessia swallowed, throwing a glance at the looming hallway before leaning closer. “I… I live here. I’m Stefano Marino’s daughter.” Her voice was steady, but the fear in her eyes was unmistakable.Dante, however, merely shook his head, cutting her off before she could explain further.“There’s no time for that.” His voice was clipped, laced with urgency. “Alessia, Marco’s father is dead. Do you understand what that means?”Alessia’s eyes dropped, and she nodded solemnly. “I know. I saw it in the news right