Chapter Three

She dug her nails into her small palms and not one single tear left her eyes, clenching her small fists she bravely looked into her Papa’s eyes,They were identical to her own, a brilliant blue that took your breath away, the Moretti eyes he told her, only a true Moretti had them. She saw him blink once and caught her breath, that was her sign, Papa had taught it to her.

As soon as she was old enough to understand what he wanted her to do, he told her that if he could not speak then he would blink once to let her know how much he loved her. She blinked back and he smiled although it clearly caused him pain through his spilt lips, instantly she looked at his hands and he managed to make a circle with his thumb and forefinger. She knew what that meant as well, he was telling her to be brave, that she was a Moretti, and they never showed any sign of weakness to the enemy. When she looked into his eyes again he blinked once again and she did the same adding a tiny nod of her head to show she understood what he was asking.

‘Bambina, conosci la differenza tra giusto e sbagliato, vero? Sì, certo, papà ti ha insegnato bene. Tuo padre è stato una persona molto cattiva e quindi deve essere punito come tutte le persone cattive. Purtroppo tuo padre è stato così cattivo che c'è solo una punizione appropriata per lui' [Little girl, you know the difference between right and wrong don't you? Yes, of course you do Papa taught you well. Your Papa has been a very bad person and so he must be punished as all bad people must. Sadly your Papa has been so very bad there is only one fitting punishment for him'

Alcina glared at the fat man with ice cold eyes, was this idiot really trying to justify what he was about to do to her beloved Papa? Her eyes went back to her Father and he made the sign again, she gave the tiniest nod of her little head and dug her nails harder into her palms and bit her bottom lip until she tasted blood. They both knew what was going to happen next as the huge man pulled himself to his feet again with an effort and waddled towards her Father.

'Don Carlos, mi hai eluso per anni, ma ho sempre saputo che avresti commesso un errore. La puttana inglese è stata il tuo errore. Spero che la troviate all'Inferno.' [Don Carlos You have evaded me for years but I always knew you would make a mistake. The English Whore was your mistake. I hope you find her in Hell]

Lifting his gun the fat man shot him at point blank range four times, twice in the heart and twice in the head grunting as the man slumped at his feet dead. He waddled back to his chair and looked across at the child, she never made a sound, her face remained totally impassive and he raised an eyebrow,

‘Sicuramente il suo contegno gelido non era naturale in una così giovane? Perché non aveva mostrato alcuna emozione? Dovrebbe almeno piangere per il papà morto, non è vero?' [Surely her frozen demeanour was not natural in one so young? Why hadn’t she shown any emotion? She should at least be crying for dead Papa shouldn’t she?]

He quickly crossed himself as he sank his massive frame back down into the chair his eyes never leaving the beautiful little girl,

‘Madre di Dio, che cosa ho fatto?'[Mother of God, what have I done?]

A shiver went down his spine as those brilliant blue eyes turned icy cold as she stared right back at him filled with hate and venom.

Then he heard the loud screeching of sirens and blue lights flashed behind the closed blinds.

‘La Polizia! Siamo stati traditi, uscite di qui tutti voi' [The Police! We have been betrayed. Get out of here all of you]

He hauled his bulk out of the chair and waddled off to the back door closely followed by his Personal Guards to the limousine waiting with the engine running behind the building. In their panic to get away before the Police arrived the rest of the Guards forgot to grab the little girl who watched them unemotionally waiting for her chance. Seeing them ignoring her as they raced to escape she dropped to the floor and curled up next to her Fathers body. He had taught her that in this kind of chaotic situation she was to make herself as small as possible and they would overlook her.

It worked, when the Police Chief and his men stormed into the room pointing their guns at the dead man all they found was a silent tiny child and the body of the Nanny. They continued their search of the house, noisy boots banging up and down the stairs and loud shouts as each room was cleared but they found nothing.

‘Tutto chiaro signore, temo che siano scappati tutti' [All clear Sir, I’m afraid they all escaped]                          The Police Inspector looked curiously at the pretty little girl still curled against her Father’s cooling body he was about to question her when the Commandant lifted his hand,

‘Chiedi agli uomini di rimuovere i corpi e pulire l'area, non voglio che la stampa si avvicini a questo fino a quando non sarò pronto a parlare con loro' [Get the men to remove the bodies and clean the area, I don’t want the Press anywhere near this until I’m ready to speak to them]

'Sì signore.' [Yes Sir]

The Inspector saluted and barked out commands to his men closing the door behind him the pretty child gone from his mind as he followed his orders. None of them had spoken to Alcina, she lay still hoping they would all go away and leave her alone so she could cry for her Papa. The Commander knelt down then sat on the floor beside her,

‘Era il tuo papà' [He was your Papa]

He said quietly without looking at the tiny girl and when she did not move he continued softly,

‘Ti ha insegnato a rimanere piccolo, vero? Era furbo papà, ha funzionato, no? Non ti hanno nemmeno notato" [He taught you to stay small, didn’t he? He was clever your Papa, it worked didn’t it? They never even noticed you]