ANTONIO.Without hesitation, I parked my car and scrammed out of it. Lorenzo’s gaze was on me as I trudged towards them in long strides with a frown masking my features.“We have a company now.” Lorenzo grinned as I approached them. I disliked him. He had an off-putting aura about him that I couldn't quite place.“What are you doing?” I quickly asked.“Getting answers.” He simply replied, and I blew out a sharp breath, shaking my head.Did he really intend to kill them just to feed his curiosity?“Aren’t you curious to know who these people are?” He continued.I pressed my lips tightly together. “Do you want to start a feud?"“A feud?” He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “These people aren’t precious enough to make Roberto retaliate if I kill them. He would be pissed, but not enough to start a feud. And by the way, I don’t have to kill them. They were about to talk.” He flicked his gaze at them. “Right?”“Right?” He asked again with a firmer voice, pressing the cold
ROSALINDA.“You still don’t know who the father is?” Antonio asked again as he approached us, his eyes growing darker with each step he took."Uhm, he was adopted, and we..." Papà scratched his temple, looking confused as he tried to concoct a lie.“Cut that.” Antonio groaned, shaking his head slightly. “I know that this boy right here is your grandson.”“He’s not—” Papà tried to persist with his lies, but Antonio cut him off.“And Rosalinda here,” he said, pointing his index finger at me. “Is the mother."Why did he seem so sure? I wondered as I narrowed my eyes at him. How did he find out?A thought came to my mind, but I shook it off. I knew Antonio was a Mafia boss, but I didn’t think he was cruel enough to torture innocent people just to feed his curiosity.“Is that why you said she wasn’t a good fit for the agreement?” He continued, his eyes growing darker by the second.“How did you know?” Papà asked, a scowl creasing his forehead. “Don’t tell me you did what I am thinking.”“N
ANTONIO.I had been searching for Carlo’s father for days now, and I hadn’t found any clue. Her phone calls and text messages from three years ago had been traced, and the only people she ever talked to were her family and one Ruby Thompson. Her movements, where she frequents, had been traced by the professional private investigator I hired, and he couldn’t unearth any leads.I didn’t know how Rosalinda managed to cover her tracks, but I was determined to find him, and if I did, I was going to fucking kill him.The list of phone calls she'd made over the last three years was in my hand, and I had been going through it for almost twenty minutes, refusing to believe she hadn't been in contact with any man aside from her family. Talking about her family, could it be that—“No.” I said to myself and shook my head as I waved off the thought. It couldn’t possibly be a case of incest. But how the fuck did she contact her baby daddy?The door suddenly dinged open, and I hoisted my head up to
ANTONIO. “I fucking asked you to treat her with care!” I yelled at the men—Enzo and Stefano—who I asked to bring Ruby to me as they entered with her.Uncontrollable tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her mouth was tightly taped, her hands were securely tied, and she had bruises around her wrists from trying to set herself loose.“She’s a stubborn one, boss.” Stefano said, and I let out a sigh as I observed her.She was indeed a stubborn one. Despite her mouth being taped and her hands tied, she continued to shout and struggle to run. I understood that my men had to do what they had to do to avoid getting caught by the cops.“Make her sit." I ordered my men as I gestured at a sofa, and they promptly followed my instruction.I inched closer to her and crouched in front of her. The horror in her eyes intensified, and I let out a sigh.“I am not going to hurt you.” I assured her, but she wouldn’t stop crying and attempting to scream through the duct tape.I let out another sigh as I t
ROSALINDA.The muffled sound of distant noises and the rhythmic beeping of machinery I heard were unusual. I wondered who was making the noises and what machine was beeping as I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt so heavy, as if weighed down by an invisible force. With a great effort, I summoned the strength to force them open, and the world exploded into blinding lights, forcing me to quickly close my eyes.What was happening?The intensity was overwhelming, like staring directly into the heart of the sun. I tried to open my eyes again, but this time I squinted at first, and an indistinct glow of light pierced through. I slowly opened them wider until they adjusted to the onslaught of light. Everything was blurry at first, but gradually, shapes and colours began to emerge. It took me a minute to notice the unfamiliar surroundings.Where was I? I thought. A hospital?One of the nurses around rushed outside, and she soon returned with a doctor, and behind them were my family—Pa
ANTONIO.I have been sitting here for a while now, observing Ruby, as I contemplated whether to question her now or wait till she’s settled. She still appeared visibly terrified.She had refused to eat or drink anything since she was brought here and hadn’t uttered a word to me since I was seated here. Although she looked frightened, it didn’t seem like she was scared of me. She was scared of something else. Perhaps she was scared of losing Rosalinda.“Is she okay?” She finally asked after a while, breaking the long stretch of silence.Without uttering a word In response, I continued staring at her.“Tell me.” She persisted, her voice growing more desperate. “I know you went to see her. Is she okay? Does she know that you were the one who sent those men?”I maintained my silence, debating whether to ask her what I needed to know now or later.“Say something, please.” She pleaded when she didn’t get a response.“I have something to ask you, which is why you are here. But I won’t ask no
ROSALINDA. Everyone had gone home, leaving me to my loneliness. I had been watching the news for over an hour now, and I was bored already, but there was nothing more to do. I hated it here. I had been trying to remember what happened that led to the accident, but my head was blank. The last thing I remembered was that I was supposed to meet Ruby.Right, Ruby. I was all over the news, and I wondered why she hadn’t visited or called already. She probably hasn’t heard of it. If she knew that I was in the hospital, she would have rushed here that second. Looking to my side, I picked up the phone that was on the bedside table to call Ruby. Papà had given me another phone through which they could contact me, and luckily, my SIM card was retrieved from my damaged phone and was still working well. I dialled Ruby’s number, but it wasn’t reachable, and I wondered why. Before I could try her number again, a knock sounded on the door, and the people behind the door didn’t even wait for my pe
I loved this moment!After laughing for a few seconds, silence fell, and our eyes locked as we stared deeply into each other's eyes.“I am glad you are okay.” He said after a while, breaking the silence, and I nodded slightly.“Thank you.” A small smile curled my lips. “Thank you for making me laugh. I was bored to death before you came.”Thoughts of Ruby suddenly crossed my mind again, and I reached for my phone to try her line again.“Who are you calling?” Antonio asked as I dialled her number.“Ruby. She’s my best friend. I’ve been trying her line; I don’t know why she’s not reachable. I just hope she’s okay.” I told him, and he only nodded in response.He embodied all the traits of a typical mafia boss. He was so emotionless. He didn’t even care if my friend was in trouble or not. I just hoped she wasn’t.I sighed in frustration after trying Ruby's line for a while, but to no avail. I really hoped she was okay.“Are you okay?” Antonio asked, and I turned to look at him.I wasn’t