ALESSANDRA When we finally reached the underground bunker Leonardo told me about in the middle of the city, I was completely stunned by the sight I saw. Several dangerous men walked back and forth doing their jobs in the cold, rigid morning air. Some of them were carrying some wooden boxes from the underground boxes while the rest loaded them into the backs of the trucks. I had never seen anything like it before. Father had been very quiet about his business when I was growing up, and he didn't even let Mother interfere with it either. All I knew was that he had many enemies, and the money we spent for our lavish lifestyle was nothing but dirty money. As the car finally pulled to a stop, the men suddenly stopped what they were doing and immediately gathered in front of the car. My heart raced when I saw them bow their heads towards us, offering a silent greeting. Leonardo's fingers curled around the car door handle, but he didn't open the car door like I'd expected. Instead, he tu
ALESSANDRATruthfully, I thought I was prepared to face whatever came my way when I stepped out of the car, but I was wrong.The sight of the weapons and the hardened faces of Leonardo's men was almost too much to bear. Fortunately, I had been honing my acting skills since I was eleven, so I knew how to maintain my composure in such situations.Leonardo, on the other hand, hadn't spared me even a glance since we exited the car. I was grateful for his detached demeanor because it only served to strengthen my own resolve until we stopped in front of a tall, lanky man with brown hair, whom I assumed was Leonardo's dealer.The man quickly smoothed the frown from his face before stepping forward to greet my husband. A small, nervous smile appeared on his lips after he bowed and said, “Leonardo, I didn't know you were coming today. If I had been informed earlier, I would have made preparations to welcome you properly.”“This isn't a social visit, Reynold. I'm here to inspect the weapons tha
ALESSANDRA Several days later...Since Leonardo went missing, I had been sleeping on the couch in the living room for days. Each night, a part of me hoped he would walk through that door and wrap his arms around me, but it never happened.I almost lost my goddamn mind. After bringing me to the hotel, Rocco and his men scoured the scene, searching for their boss. No one knew if he was injured or dead, but I could sense their growing sympathy when they looked at me.“You have to eat something at least, Alessandra,” Isabella pleaded. “You are going to get yourself killed at this rate. Leonardo would never want to see that.”“Well, if he cares so much about me, then he should come back to me.” I snapped in a hoarse voice. All I wanted was for him to return, and if that's what it took for me to get him back, then I didn't mind starving myself until a month. Isabella, who had moved into my hideout to accompany me, was the only one who believed her cousin wasn’t dead. Even Rocco grew more
ALESSANDRA “No,” My knees nearly buckled from shock as I stared at him with wide eyes. Disbelief clouded my voice as I whispered, “This is impossible. You are supposed to be dead.”Giovanni chuckled and wrapped his hands around Sofia's waist, pulling her to his side. “Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but a sexy angel barely saved my life. If Sofia hadn't persistently found me on that island and taken me to the hospital, I wouldn't be here today.”“Aww,” Sofia purred, running her hands on his chest. “You know how much I adore you, Giovanni. I'm not like your wife, who likes to give up on her husbands because she wants them dead.”Her words stung like a loud slap on my face, causing my muscles to tense before I reached for her again. I screamed angrily, “I dare you to repeat that again!”The men immediately whipped out their weapons at the same time I spoke those words. Everyone knew how much I adored Leonardo, yet she dared to tarnish my name by calling me a black widow. Rocco, who
ALESSANDRA That night, another private meeting was held between all of Leonardo's mafia lieutenants. No one believed us about Giovanni's reappearance at first until we showed them the pictures he gave us. Some were still in disbelief, while the others were completely shocked that my ex-husband was the one behind Leonardo's demise. Cortez stepped forward and said, “I'll get a search issue for him and arrest him. It's best we use the police to deal with him since he might have other allies that we're not aware of.”“No,” Rocco growled, pacing back and forth in the office. “We both know that the police can't be trusted in this case. I say we solve this issue between us no matter what.”As they argued back between us, I remained stuck in my head, wondering how the hell Giovanni survived. Before my marriage with him, he had been very gentle and attentive, a stark contrast to Leonardo's intense personality. My mother even swore that I'd have a happy marriage, and I believed her. After a
ALESSANDRA Silence enveloped the room after my confession. Cortez didn't look as surprised as I would have imagined while Rocco's expression darkened as he tried to process what this revelation would mean for his friends. “Your father killed his brother?!” Isabella half-asked, half-screamed. I understood her reaction the most because I had struggled to live with the secret for years. In the mafia, everyone did anything they could for power and money. But there was one concept that was sacred to all, something that allowed them to preserve their last sense of humanity. Family. Both betrayal and murder of one's kin were frowned upon, and if someone dared to touch another's family, then that person was definitely prepared to go to hell and beyond that. That's why most grudges were always settled with a person's death. "I'm so sorry, Alessandra.” Isabella wrapped her arms around me as my vision blurred with tears. Rocking me gently, she added, “Now it makes sense why you didn't wan
ALESSANDRA After waiting for several days, Cortez finally returned with news about his investigation. According to him, Sofia was an orphan from the city of San Remo who snuck out the country illegally through a stowaway. She was then caught by a prostitute smuggling ring and worked for them for four years before she met Giovanni, who paid for her freedom. “Are you sure that's all you have about her?” I asked Cortez. A wave of desperation and helplessness gripped my heart when I discovered he had brought nothing useful like I'd hoped. Today was the second day after Giovanni had given us that ultimatum, but I still didn't have anything on him or his woman. The clock was ticking, and I feared Leonardo's life would soon be forfeited if I didn't do something. Cortez glanced away before nodding, “Yes, that's all I could find. You can ask somebody else to search if you'd like.”I observed him for a few more seconds, trying to see if I could actually trust him. After the little disagreem
ALESSANDRA On the last day of the ultimatum, I sent word to Sofia to come for a meeting. Isabella and Rocco tried to convince me to wait until the ultimatum was over, but I just couldn't wait anymore. The previous night, I had a frightening nightmare that the couple had delivered Leonardo's corpse to me. That dream had scared the shit out of me that night, so I decided to take care of this mess once and for all. “What am I here, Alessandra?” Sofia questioned. Apparently, she wasn't pleased to be summoned on a Saturday because she had plans with Giovanni to go shopping. “Did you call us to give some good news about our agreement? Where's Dante?”“He's not here, and I didn't tell him anything about the deal you offered me.” I said. The couple's eager faces instantly dropped when they heard my words, but I didn't care. I came here for a mission, so I wasn't going to rest until I fulfilled it. Sofia slammed the table and fumed. “Then it means you are prepared to see your husband again
LEONARDO After making the phone call, I got up from the bed and grabbed a packet of cigarettes and a lighter from the bedside table. I walked to the balcony to clear my thoughts and plan my next steps for handling some unfinished business. The night sky was starless, clouds covering half of the bright moon.I lit a cigarette in my mouth and took a long drag. The nicotine sent a heady rush to my brain, making me feel much light-headed than before. The throbbing headache began to fade away as I released a puff of smoke into the air. Giovanni, my dear stepbrother. I had to admit he had done a very good job hiding in the dark like a cockroach. But if he thought he could reap my pained efforts and take over my mafia organization, then he clearly had a death wish. Now that I have talked to Charles, one of my clients who worked in the city's administrative office, there was no way he was going to survive past the week. As the mayor's defense secretary, Charles had major connections with
ALESSANDRA A week later...I ate breakfast and was reading a novel when I suddenly received a phone call from Rocco. Anxiety gripped my heart as I picked up the call and said. “Hello, Rocco.”“Leo has woken up, and he's been asking for you.” He announced. “I'll text you the address so you can come visit him immediately.”I shot up from my seat. “Really? I'm coming!”My heart pounded in my chest as I changed my clothes and rushed into the waiting car. When we finally arrived at the location Rocco sent us, I was already a bit dizzy from anticipation as I entered the house, ignoring the guards’ greetings. I just wanted to confirm it myself. I needed to see him with my two eyes and touch him with my fingers to convince myself that he was truly awake. After taking several turns in the large house, I finally found Isabella in the hallway. As I closed the distance between us with hurried steps, I called out to her. “Isabella, where's he?”Isabella pointed at the door near her with a smile
ALESSANDRA By a few minutes before six in the morning, Henrietta finally emerged from Leonardo's room, wiping her hands with a white handkerchief. She and Cortez looked exhausted, though Cortez tried to hide it better than Henrietta.She yawned and said, “He's out of danger for now. But he still needs to be checked for any other internal injuries and broken bones.”I turned to Cortez. “Is there something you can do about this?”“I'll make some calls to find someone in the city to help us,” Cortez replied grimly. “But that means we'll have to move him if possible.”I suddenly understood why they had been beating around the bush when speaking to me. The thought of Leonardo not being nearby sent a cold shiver down my spine. I needed him close, and I couldn't trust anyone else right now. I didn't want him out of my sight until he regained consciousness.A undercurrent of tension and unspoken words passed between me and my enforcer as we stared at each other. Henrietta's eyes darted betwe
ALESSANDRA After what happened to Keith, Rocco and Cortez decided to conduct another identity check of every single person staying was in the private house. I stayed behind, personally watching over my unconscious husband alone while they carried out their operations.Although I had been very firm and strong on the surface when facing Keith, the truth was that I was extremely shaken by the extent of my Father's vicious plans. If I had arrived a second later, I would have surely lost Leonardo. So who could I trust now? Who exactly was my ally and my foe here?A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts. Since the knocks were light and gentle, I already had an idea who was the visitor was so I called out, “Come in.”Isabella poked her head in and said, “Cortez wanted me to tell you that he's going to personally fetch a doctor to treat Leonardo.”“Alright, thank you.” I replied. After carefully examining Leonardo's injuries, Rocco and I had come to the conclusion that his life w
ALESSANDRA When I finally arrived at the address Isabella sent me, I rushed into the house to see Rocco talking to Cortez. He leaned against the wall, one of his hands holding his abdomen while he chugged down large gulps of whiskey from the bottle. I approached them quickly and asked, "Where's Leonardo? I want to see him right now.”“He's now receiving treatment from Keith.” Cortez replied. With a single glance, he grew alarmed as he pulled me close. “Is something wrong? Were you attacked?”I shook my head. “Not me. But I think Leo's in danger.”Rocco frowned. “What do you mean?”I told them what my younger sister, Mia had told me. The expression on both their faces was not pleasant at all, but then Cortez finally said, “I have already tightened security around the place, but I'll do an extra round just to make sure no one sneaks into the place.”“I'm afraid that person is already in this building,” I snapped, running my hand in through my hair. My mind raced as I thought deeply ab
ALESSANDRA I paced back and forth in the living room of my private residence that evening, waiting for some news from Rocco and the rest. As soon as Sofia gave me that address, we held a meeting as soon as I got home. Rocco folded his arms and stared at the note on the table. “How sure are you that this isn't some sort of trap? We can't afford to have them ambush us.”I smiled reassuringly. “That's why we have Cortez here.”“Yes,” My second mafia lieutenant confirmed, stepping forward. “I'll have a few police officers on standby for backup, so they don't have the upper hand over us.”“But that would actually leave us defenseless here.” Rocco protested. “Well, it's not like they know our new mafia headquarters, and I'll just hide here until you guys return, so don't worry about it.” I assured him. When there were no further objections, Rocco finally fell silent, so we were able to make a very meticulous plan to save Leonardo. That evening, I stayed at home with my phone glued to my
ALESSANDRA On the last day of the ultimatum, I sent word to Sofia to come for a meeting. Isabella and Rocco tried to convince me to wait until the ultimatum was over, but I just couldn't wait anymore. The previous night, I had a frightening nightmare that the couple had delivered Leonardo's corpse to me. That dream had scared the shit out of me that night, so I decided to take care of this mess once and for all. “What am I here, Alessandra?” Sofia questioned. Apparently, she wasn't pleased to be summoned on a Saturday because she had plans with Giovanni to go shopping. “Did you call us to give some good news about our agreement? Where's Dante?”“He's not here, and I didn't tell him anything about the deal you offered me.” I said. The couple's eager faces instantly dropped when they heard my words, but I didn't care. I came here for a mission, so I wasn't going to rest until I fulfilled it. Sofia slammed the table and fumed. “Then it means you are prepared to see your husband again
ALESSANDRA After waiting for several days, Cortez finally returned with news about his investigation. According to him, Sofia was an orphan from the city of San Remo who snuck out the country illegally through a stowaway. She was then caught by a prostitute smuggling ring and worked for them for four years before she met Giovanni, who paid for her freedom. “Are you sure that's all you have about her?” I asked Cortez. A wave of desperation and helplessness gripped my heart when I discovered he had brought nothing useful like I'd hoped. Today was the second day after Giovanni had given us that ultimatum, but I still didn't have anything on him or his woman. The clock was ticking, and I feared Leonardo's life would soon be forfeited if I didn't do something. Cortez glanced away before nodding, “Yes, that's all I could find. You can ask somebody else to search if you'd like.”I observed him for a few more seconds, trying to see if I could actually trust him. After the little disagreem
ALESSANDRA Silence enveloped the room after my confession. Cortez didn't look as surprised as I would have imagined while Rocco's expression darkened as he tried to process what this revelation would mean for his friends. “Your father killed his brother?!” Isabella half-asked, half-screamed. I understood her reaction the most because I had struggled to live with the secret for years. In the mafia, everyone did anything they could for power and money. But there was one concept that was sacred to all, something that allowed them to preserve their last sense of humanity. Family. Both betrayal and murder of one's kin were frowned upon, and if someone dared to touch another's family, then that person was definitely prepared to go to hell and beyond that. That's why most grudges were always settled with a person's death. "I'm so sorry, Alessandra.” Isabella wrapped her arms around me as my vision blurred with tears. Rocking me gently, she added, “Now it makes sense why you didn't wan