CHAPTER ONE: The Envelope

Julia shook a wave of blonde hair behind her ear as she wiped the table vigorously. Her mother, Mrs Bianchi, had gone out to get some stuff. They just had a few minutes till the restaurant would open. As she wiped each table, her gaze surveyed the entire area. Her father had built the place with her mother before passing away. She could still imagine him juggling the customer's orders while her mum does the cooking. A tear fell from her eye. Those days are long gone; they are now simply memories.

Soon she heard a vehicle approaching, it stopped in front of the restaurant building. She was surprised to see a customer this early so she removed her apron and walked quickly to the door.

Approaching her from the vehicle was not just one but three assumed customers.

“Good day, sirs. We are not fully open yet; would you want to-”

Her words were cut short with a quick shove from one of the men. The three men dressed in dark suits entered the restaurant and began scanning the whole space as if they were looking for something.

Still in shock from the push, Julia rose and confronted them angrily.

“What do you want?” She yelled, “and who gave you the right to push me like that?”

The guy disregarded her query, "Who is in control here?"

“My mom, but she is out,” Julia answered, still furious. “Like I said, we are not fully open yet so please leave.”

The man who had pushed her turned to face her fiercely before grinning and asking, “Did you just mention your mum? Then you must be Bianchi's late daughter. You are really bold, just like him.”

“How do you know about my father?” Julia inquired, hoping they would not perceive her dread.

The man took two steps forward, leaving his escorts behind. He grinned again as he approached her and stroked his index finger behind her ear, pulling her hair back. Julia felt uneasy at his touch and slapped his hand away.

“You've got some nerve,” he smirked.

“You have absolutely no right to touch me.” She yelled, but it had no effect on them, as they started giggling.

The man turned to his escorts, “Don't you think Don would like her?”

They both nodded.

He bent over to her ears, “Soon you won't have a say about your body.” He whispered and trailed his tongue round her earlobe.

Before she could retaliate, he collected a large envelope from one of the men behind him and slammed it on her chest.

“You just have few days left, dearie.” he said as she stared at the envelope.

“What is this?”

“A little surprise. Why don't you uncover it with your mum.” he said and walked towards the exit not forgetting to give her a wink.

“See you soon!” He grinned and licked his lips seductively before leaving.

When they were gone, Julia fell to her knees trembling. She reflected on the drama that had just occurred but could not make sense of everything that had happened. She suddenly remembered the lick on her earlobe and grabbed the rag she had placed on the table to clean her ear.

“Disgusting.” She murmured to herself.

Few minutes later, Mrs Bianchi came back with a bag of groceries. Seeing the smile on her mother's face, she decided to wait and tell her all that had happened later.

When no customer was forthcoming, Julia brought her mother to sit down and brought out the envelope.

“Some men came by and left this envelope,” she said, handing it to her.

On opening it, Mrs Bianchi's expression changed to a fearful look.

“Did they do anything to you? Did they harass you?” she asked while examining her daughter's body.

“I took care of it,” She lied, “but can you tell me what all this is about?”

Her mother's voice began to tremble, “Your dad.”

“My dad? What happened? What did he do?”

“He took a loan from Rossini Financial Holdings to help stabilize the restaurant when it was crashing down. I warned him against it but he had high hopes that he would recover the money in five years. Then he got in that accident that claimed his life.”

“The Rossini Financial Holdings?” Julia asked. She has heard about them before and the weird things they do to their debtors. She had never thought her family would be one of their numerous debtors. The thought of it alone made her quiver in fear.

“But why didn't you tell me all this since? I would have figured out a way to earn more money to pay it off.”

“Didn't you just drop out of college due to lack of money? That was already enough torture. I watched you cry every night but I couldn't do anything to help. Don't you think bringing this up would have been terrible?”

Julia was speechless. Her mother was right, even now there was nothing she could do and the Rossini's would want their money back by all means. While she was still contemplating, her mother stood up, went to her safe where the daily sales money was being kept. She brought out a bundle of Euro notes and handed it to Julia with shaking hands.

“Here, take this, I have been saving it up so that you could go to college again.”

Julia looked up with a surprised expression, “What do you want me to do with it?”

Mrs Bianchi lowered her voice, “Take it and run. Just go anywhere, away from Italy. Maybe the US or any other country.”

Still perplexed, Julia inquired, "Why, Mum? Is there anything you are not telling me?”

Her mother dismissed her question: "We don't know when they will be back; you should have gone somewhere far away by then."

“No! No!!” Julia shouted, “Not until you tell me what's going on.”

“Giulia Bianchi, can't you see!” Her mother shrieked, then hid her face in her hands, sobbing silently.

Her mother just addressed her by her entire name. There must be something dangerous that is about to happen, she said to herself.

“They want you.” Her mother spoke out amidst her tears.

“Want me?”

Mrs. Bianchi handed her the envelope, "Your father signed an agreement to use you as collateral if he is unable to acquire the funds after five years."

“What!” Julia shouted as she grabbed the envelope, “No, my father can't do that.”

"He was confident he would repay it in five years," her mother continued, still weeping.

Julia was taken aback. She could not believe it.

“What about you? What would they do when they don't know my whereabouts?” Julia asked in fear, “I have heard about the Donatello family and I have already imagined something terrible if I escape.”

“Don't worry about me. Your safety is what I am thinking of now!”

“No, no mum. If there is anything, we are going to fight it together.” Julia said, shaking her head.

Mrs Bianchi sniffed, “You're just like your father. Having confidence when you can just see it failing already.”

“I just don't want to lose you too, mum.” She sniffled.

“I wish we could go back in time but the deed has been done already.” She said, almost choking on her cry.

Julia did not say anything. It was all clear to her. She now understands why that man made advances at her. She already belonged to them.