Chapter 5: Chiara's decision

CHIARA P.O.V.

It's been five days since I came to this place, I think. I have no knowledge of the country I am in or its exact location. All I know is that I will never be allowed out, just as Wolfgang warned me.

I've gotten used to confinement. In fact, there is hardly any difference between this room and the one I had in Sicily. The room I used in my uncle's house was bigger, but that didn't make me any less miserable. I have been wearing the same clothes for 2 days, and they have not allowed me to bathe. I wonder if I should feel panic and despair in this situation, but it's like those feelings have been sucked out of me along with the hope of living.

I get out of bed and look out the tiny window in the room. Then I remember that for me there is a difference between this room and the room I lived in in my uncle Aldo's mansion. Outside this small room, there is something beautiful that makes me want to go out. The vineyard that stretches before my eyes is impressive. For the first time in a long time, I feel the desire to explore and enjoy the beauty that surrounds me.

I shake off positive thoughts, because even the change of environment does not improve my mood at all. My suicide plan is still on and I just need to find a chance to make it happen. I must find a way to keep one of the cutlery that will be brought to me with my lunch meal. Hans only brings me food once a day, with a small glass of water. The lack of food and water does not worry me, since I did not consume them regularly when I lived with my uncle Aldo. I just need to distract Hans so I can keep that fork when he comes back for the plate.

These five days of further isolation and loneliness have given me the courage I needed to want to end my life. After all, I know perfectly well that there is no one who can miss me anymore. I just long to rest from it all, like my parents did. Death seems to be the only way out.

My dark and gloomy thoughts consume me as I patiently wait for lunch time. And at the same time, I can't help but wonder if I will ever be able to escape from this nightmare or if, instead, if I don't die now, this will be my eternal prison, or my new grave, and Wolfgang would be the one to kill me.

***

A couple of hours later, I hear a soft knock on the door and I know it's Hans. Despite everything, I feel a strange sense of calm because I know it's about Hans, two days ago the food was brought by another man, so Hans didn't seem so scary to me. This new man had a scar that ran down the middle of his face, and he looked at me with contempt and disgust. Hans is different, he could just open the door and walk in whenever he wanted, but he does the opposite.

Hans enters quietly and hands me the tray with my meager food. He avoids meeting his gaze with mine, as if he wants to avoid any kind of emotional connection. I try not to think about the fact that he might also feel guilty for his part in the kidnapping. I remember the day he brought me the clothes and I could see the guilt in his eyes. But I prefer not to think about that right now, nor am I interested in any kind of emotional connection with anyone, much less with men involved in mafias.

I nod in thanks as Hans leaves. I hold the tray excitedly, eyeing the perfect iron fork that rests next to the plate of food. It seems to be the opportunity I was waiting for to carry out my plan.

My hands shake slightly with anticipation as I pick up my fork. It is my little secret, my tool to try to escape from this situation. I know it's risky, but I'm willing to do anything to get my freedom back, even if it's not the way I wanted before.

When I sit up in bed, my spirits suddenly drop more, if that's possible. Being excited to find an object to kill myself with is not a sign that I'm emotionally okay, but I haven't been okay for a long time, and I know now more than ever that nothing is going to get better if I'm alive.

I put the fork carefully in a hidden place and prepare to eat the little food they have given me. My body hardly feels hungry, so I don't eat much, after all, I don't need energy to say goodbye to this world.

***

WOLFGANG P.O.V.

My men enter the room, their faces serious and their expressions tense. I can feel an unexpected tension in the air as they prepare to give me their report. They have returned from Italy this morning, and the wait has been longer than agreed. Impatience annoys me, I wait for them to inform me about the news they have brought about Aldo and his futile attempt to find Chiara.

“Aldo has been looking everywhere for Chiara since she disappeared,” Klaus begins to speak. “He already knows that you have his niece, but he still has no information on your exact whereabouts. It will be a while before they can find them.”

I cross my arms.

“That just means that Aldo is more incompetent than I thought. Do you have the information I asked about Chiara?” I ask them.

Karl, Gunther and Klaus look at each other for a moment, their gazes tense.

“There is some information that Gio has given us about Aldo's interests,” says Karl seriously. Gio is our undercover, an Italian man who's been working for Aldo for years, but I pay him better. "Aldo has no interest in the well-being of his niece."

“He doesn't seem to have an emotional interest in Chiara. Her main goal is to find her alive, but he shows no concern for her well-being or her suffering, he never has,” Gunther adds.

I frown, what they tell me doesn't make sense at this point.

"Because?" I ask them.

“Chiara didn't grow up in Sicily,” Klaus explains, taking a step toward my desk. “Chiara Bianchi grew up in Verona, she studied Veterinary Medicine and her mother died when she gave birth to her. Andrea worked in a restaurant in Verona, but according to Gio's information, Andrea was not that far from the mafia, especially after learning that he had cancer."

I do my best to control my urge to swear, and not lose my cool at the possibility of involving a completely innocent girl in this hell.

“Aldo is miserable with his own niece. Besides keeping her locked up, he wouldn't let her out of the house,” Klaus continues. “Chiara tried to escape from Aldo once, but she was caught before she could, and Aldo punished her without food for a week. We could say that we robbed a thief, because Aldo kidnapped his own niece."

The little calm that was left inside me vanishes, and I explode in fury because I don't like to be wrong. And when I think about how I've been depriving Chiara of food for a whole week, I feel my stomach turn.

“How the hell did they miss all that information!?” I slam my desk hard.

“Chiara came to Sicily long before you partnered with Aldo and bought Gio's loyalty,” Karl explains. "There was no way to predict this situation, Gio told us that everything regarding Chiara was dealt with in a very mysterious way."

I look at Klaus, he's the one who communicates directly with Gio.

"What else has Gio told you?"

“Right now I can't communicate with him. Aldo is subjecting all of his men to an investigation. Luckily, the money you pay Gio goes to an account under a fake name in the Philippines, and while Gio always gives me a fair amount of information every time we talk, our communication is sporadic. I'll have to wait for him to pass Aldo's test."

Gunther shrugs.

"If Gio can pass the test and they don't kill him."

"If Gio dies, things will get complicated," Karl complains.

“What will we do with Chiara?” Kurt asks. "Will you let her go?"

“Aldo isn't emotionally attached to Chiara, but he definitely needs her for something, and his desperation shows it,” Karl says.

“Exactly,” I reply, still feeling the fire of my anger roaring under my breath. “Chiara stays here.” I look at Klaus. “In the meantime, I want you to find a damn way to communicate with Gio. I want to know what Andrea and Aldo had planned for Chiara and why she is so important."

“It's only a matter of time before Aldo's limited little brain understands that Chiara isn't in Italy,” Klaus laughs. "I'm sure he'll bring people to Germany when he finds out who you are, but Aldo won't come here, he's a coward."

I settle back in my chair, thirsty to see the light disappear from Aldo's eyes, as I saw it in my mother and grandmother.

"I hope Aldo isn't that easy to kill," I say. "It would be a disappointment if he gave up quickly."

I want Aldo to feel the weight of his actions through long torture.

Just then, Magda opens the door, and though she's still far from me, I can smell the freshly baked cheesecake. These last 5 days I did everything possible to avoid Magda with the excuse that I have a lot of work. However, the situation with Chiara has changed drastically, and I know that although I must find a way to tell Magda about Chiara, I am worried about her reaction now. Magda knows how to read her soul with her gaze, I knew what she is capable of with those skillful golden eyes since my adolescence.

Magda is my grandmother's twin sister, she and her husband Bruno moved into this house after my mother and grandmother died. My father didn't know anything about raising a child, so Magda took care of me, and Bruno was more of a father to me than my own father. After my father died, I gave Magda complete freedom regarding this house, I put Bruno as the main manager of the vineyard, but he still likes to take care of the house plants.

Klaus and Gunther turn to Magda.

“Is that cheesecake?” Klaus asks.

Magda smiles.

"You three can leave now", I order them.

“In the kitchen there is cheesecake, you can go for a piece”, Magda encourages them. Then she looks at them sternly. "But first you guys have to eat lunch."

As the boys leave the office, Magda catches up with me, placing the tray of food and cheesecake on the desk.

“I brought your favorite dessert” says Magda with her motherly smile.

"Thank you. When is Bruno coming back?” I ask him.

Magda sits in the leather chair across from my desk.

“I spoke to him last night, he told me he's coming back next week. Bruno is excited to see you.” She looks at me curiously. “I like it when you come to visit us, but I would like you to take some time to have a chat with this old lady. Is there a reason why you don't allow anyone to go to the north side of the house?"

She looks at me suspiciously. I feel the tension creep into my bones, Magda is doing it right now, she's trying to figure out what's going on. I don't want to tell her yet, I have to get Chiara out of that room first, or I know perfectly well that Magda will be very angry if she knows the conditions in which Chiara lived all these days.

"What's going on Wolfgang?" Magda insists because I don't answer her.

I'm about to give Magda a false answer, but Hans bursts into the office and runs towards us. There is despair in Hans's eyes, and I am surprised when I see his trembling hands. The last time Hans acted like this, his sister had died.

“Wolfgang, Chiara tried to kill herself,” he says quickly.