Chapter 5. From Fear to Fury

NATALIA'S POV

My head ached, it felt like a thousand arrows were piercing through it, all at once.

Groaning, I kept my eyes shut, trying to let the pain flicker away as I racked my brain for what happened. But the more I tried, the blurrier the images in my head became. Until I finally mustered up the courage to open my eyes, and when I did, it all rushed back.

Leandro. His threats. Being hauled into the car and then…

I slept! Who sleeps in the middle of something so serious?

Breathing heavily, I panicked as I looked around my surroundings. Thoughts of my sick father reeled into my head almost immediately, doubling my panic.

God, I really hope he's safe!

Running definitely wasn't the best option right, I was sure Leandro probably had his men holding my father at gunpoint, ready to pull the trigger at his command.

I don't know how I knew this, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that my assumptions were correct.

When the door creaked open to reveal Leandro shirtless with just pants on, casually strolling into the room, I jerked from the bed immediately.

“I see you're making yourself comfortable,” he teased, each step bringing him closer to me. “You know I expected the sedative to keep you sleeping for an even longer time.”

Sedative? That explained a lot, there's no way I would have been stupid enough to sleep off in the middle of being kidnapped.

He pulled out an unlit cigar from his breast pocket and stretched it towards me.

“Do you care for this?” he asked blandly.

I shook my head, clutching the bedspread like my life depended on it. “No, thank you.”

Fear rimmed my lids immediately he retreated the cigarette, lit it up, and stretched it at me again.

“Are you sure?”

I shook my head again. “Yes” my voice sounded more confident this time around.

A sonorous laughter tore from his throat, sending chills down my spine.

By now, he was standing right in front of me, his broad shoulders towering above mine. My heart pounded faster in my chest when his face contorted into a frown.

I took a step backward, huddling myself deeper into the nearest wall.

“I get it, you're mad, you're pissed off, but jus…” my voice trailed off when a huge lump formed out of fear, in my throat. But when I regained my stance, I continued. “Just hear me out.”

He scoffed, and with one forceful pull, drew me closer to himself. I gulped hard and darted my eyes away from his.

“Save it,” he growled, and the next thing I felt was his fist slamming into my belly, not once, not even twice.

I yelped and tried to scurry away, but he pulled me closer to himself and slammed my head against the wall.

Tears stung my eyes as I choked out, “please….just hear me out.”

He needed to hear me out. He had to. I wasn't the only one involved in this. Yes, I enjoyed robbing him, particularly because of the little disagreement we had after I stepped out of the hospital, but I didn't do it alone and shouldn't be subjected to bearing the fall alone.

His fists slammed into my belly again, and this time blood gushed out of my lips, cascading freely down my neck, painting red the hoodie I had on.

Sweat dripped down my face as I cried out. Leaning forward, he snapped my wrists to the side, making my fingers spasm with reckless pain. I yelped and tried to scurry away from him, but his iron grip on my wrists pulled me back to the position he had me in.

When the door bursts open and two huge men with dark shades entered the room, a feeling of dread washed over me. With hazy eyes, I matched my eyes to Leandro's, wondering what next was going to happen.

But then, the feeling that it wasn't going to be something good nudged at me, filling me with a determination to face whatever was coming my way.

For myself and for my dad.

Before I could blink, both men held me up and dragged me to the bed. I couldn't even struggle, not after being punched multiple times in the stomach.

They tied my hands and legs to the bedpost, and after they were done, they glanced at Leandro. With a curt nod, he signalled them to leave and they did at the speed of light.

“The universe is funny, don't you think?” he questioned, after a moment of silence between us, drawing in on the cigar and letting out the smoke.

He let out a dark huff and strode to the bedside where I was tied.

“7 months ago, you stole what wasn't yours, thinking you could get away with it just because you had a damn mask on.” he snarled.

The intensity in his eyes had me trembling. “It wasn't an intentional act, I needed money and my bos–” I countered.

“Let me guess,” he cuts in, taking a seat beside me. “He sent you to rob me?”

“Y-y-yes, he s-s-said he was only g-gonna give me s-some money after I r-r-robbed you of every p-penny I could lay my hands on.” I choked out in between clots of blood in my mouth.

He smiled. “I see”

I spat out the blood, ready to let Giovanni’s skeletons out of the closet but the half baked words died on my tongue when Leandro reached up and swiped his hand roughly across my bottom lip into my hoodie.

“First you steal from me, and now you lie? You really are something principessa,”

“Yes, he–” I continued and tried to wiggle away his hand from getting closer to my breasts, but when his words replayed in my head again, I was forced to exclaim. “Wait! What? No no no no…. you're getting this all wrong, Giova–”

My breath seized when I felt his fingers trace the line of my nipples. Anger immediately built beneath my fear.

“Get your hands off me,” I yelled, my voice stern.

A wicked smile appeared on his face and then like a ticking time bomb, his nails dug into the skin of my breast.

I bit back the scream that was on my lips, I was done letting him take delight in watching me cower. I was a fighter, a survivor, always have been and always will be. I've survived worse before in the hands of men like him, if I could get through all what I went through in the past, I could definitely get through this too.

He reached into his pockets and produced a small blade. My eyes widened at the sight of the blade, was he about to skin me alive?

As if he could read my mind, he said. “Not yet…”

“Okay” I whispered, feeling relieved and tried to sit up on the bed but he shoved me back and lifted my chin with the tip of the blade.

I froze.

“The only reason why I'm being nice to you today is because our wedding is in 30 minutes. Think of this as my opening act” He growled, his voice low and even before striding away from the bedside.

When he got to the door, he swerved around and flung the knife in my direction. I palpitated in fear, an image of the knife slicing through my body had already begun forming in my head until I heard him say, “The knife is beside you, untie yourself and come downstairs in 20 minutes”

I said nothing and remained the way I was, eyes shut and toes curled, waiting to hear the sound of the door slamming shut. And when I did, the breath I didn't realize I was holding escaped my throat.

Freeing myself was the least of my worries, what consumed my entire being was vengeance – making Giovanni suffer for his treachery. He would pay and pay dearly for his betrayal.

And as for Leandro's money, every last cent would be repaid no matter what it took. I won't let a single damn dollar be left unpaid.