Chapter 12 #2
We drive for a few more blocks before he clears his throat, the amusement fading back into his usual business tone. "Before we go to the boutique, we have to stop at one of my offices to collect something important."
I don’t answer, keeping my eyes glued to the passing buildings, my heart still hammering against my ribs from his shameless threat.
Minutes later, he pulls the car into the underground parking garage of a sleek, towering glass corporate building. We slide into an elevator that takes us straight up to the executive suite. The moment the doors slide open, the atmosphere shifts.
The employees and low-level associates bustling through the corridors instantly freeze.
Every single person we pass watches Alessandro with a heavy, palpable dislike.
The air is thick with resentment, but beneath the glares, it is clear that they fear him.
They bow their heads and quickly step out of his path like he’s a walking landmine.
Alessandro ignores them entirely, his grip firm on the small of my back as he guides me toward a private corner office. The sheer weight of the hostility in the room makes the hairs on my arms stand up.
Once we step into the heavy security elevator to head to his private floor, I can't keep quiet anymore. I look up at him, my brow furrowed. "What is that about? Why is the tension in there so thick?"
Alessandro leans his shoulder against the elevator wall, crossing his arms as he looks down at me.
His expression is completely unbothered.
"They’ve never liked me. To the old guard, I was always the bad son.
The troublemaker. The liability. My father sent me away to Italy for years to keep me out of sight, while he poured all his attention, resources, and favor into training my brother. "
He lets out a cold, cynical laugh. "Now, half the bastards in this building would rather see Luca take over the entire business. They think he’s easier to control. But I refuse to give up what is rightfully mine. I didn't bleed for this syndicate just to hand it to a snake."
The elevator dings, opening directly into his private, minimalist office. He walks straight to a heavy, biometric wall safe behind his desk.
"I know Luca is planning something big," he continues, his jaw clenching as he enters his code. "And I don't trust leaving any vital intelligence in a building filled with people who want me dead."
He reaches into the safe and pulls out a small, sleek, dark blue laptop. He slips it securely into his leather briefcase, snapping the locks shut. "Now that I have this, we can go find you a dress."
“What is that?” I ask.
“This laptop…” he holds up the briefcase. “…is where I store every vital information on the Gallo organization. Our trade secrets, routes, ports, business accounts, banking information, everything is here.”
I shake my head. “Seems dangerous to just leave it lying around.”
He smirks. “I’m taking it home. I have a secure safe there. Let’s go.”
As we turn toward the office door, it slowly creaks open. An older female employee stands in the doorway, her hands trembling as she clutches a stack of folders to her chest. She looks absolutely terrified, her skin pale as she swallows hard and forces herself to look Alessandro in the eye.
"Mr. Gallo," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm so sorry to interrupt. But... I just got a call from the school. My daughter has a severe fever and is crying for me. She’s been sick for a while now. May I please be excused for the rest of the day?"
She braces herself, closing her eyes slightly as if she expects him to scream at her or fire her on the spot.
Alessandro stares at her, his face a completely unreadable mask. "Pack your things and go," he says coldly, his tone flat and unbothered. "Take tomorrow off too. Your files can wait until Monday."
The woman's eyes snap open, a wave of profound relief and utter shock washing over her features. "Thank you, sir. Thank you so much," she breathes, bowing her head quickly before turning on her heel and practically rushing down the hallway.
Alessandro watches her leave for a beat, his expression settling back into its harsh lines. He turns to me, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. "Excuse me for a moment."
He walks across the expansive office and disappears into an attached room, which I assume is his private executive bathroom. Within seconds, the low, muffled rumble of his voice echoes through the door. He's on a phone call.
Curiosity instantly flares inside me, overriding my better judgment. I tiptoe quietly across the plush rug, and press my back against the adjacent wall, holding my breath to listen.
"Valerio," Alessandro grumbles into the phone, his voice quiet. "One of the administrative assistants on my floor just left. The girl with the curly hair. Her kid is sick with a severe fever."
There's a brief pause as Valerio responds on the other end.
"I don't care about her missing hours," Alessandro snaps quietly, cutting him off. "Find out which hospital she’s taking the child to. Call ahead and ensure Dr. Bianchi or one of our private specialists handles the admission. Make sure they get the best care available, and put the entire medical bill on the company’s account.
Do it quietly. She doesn't need to know it came from me. "
Another short pause. "Just get it done."
I quickly spin around and rush back to the center of the office, my heart hammering against my ribs as I pretend to examine a painting on the wall just as the bathroom door swings open.
Alessandro walks back out, completely unaware that I just eavesdropped on his private conversation. He looks as cold, menacing, and unyielding as he did five minutes ago, totally detached from the man who just ordered a private doctor for an employee's daughter.
Despite myself, a strange, unexpected warmth blossoms deep in my chest. It’s a tiny crack in his terrifying armor, revealing a fiercely protective, hidden side of him that I never, ever expected to see.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asks, his brow furrowing into a deep frown as he catches me watching him.
I instantly snap myself out of my thoughts, rolling my eyes to mask the sudden flutter in my chest. "Can we just go?"
He gives a short nod, still holding the laptop.
We walk back out into the quiet hallway and step into the private executive elevator. The heavy steel doors slide shut with a smooth, muted click, cutting off the glares of his employees, and the cabin begins its rapid descent toward the parking garage.
Suddenly, a violent jolt rocks the entire shaft.
A loud, metallic screech echoes above us, and the elevator grinds to a brutal, mid-air halt. An instant later, the overhead lights flicker violently and snap completely off, plunging us into pitch-black darkness.
I freeze, my hands immediately clenching into fists at my sides. Stay composed, I tell myself, my heart beginning to rabbit against my ribs. It's just a power glitch. It’s fine.
But it isn't fine. The air in the tiny steel box instantly feels ten times thicker, suffocating and incredibly tight.
The walls feel like they are actively moving inward, pressing against my shoulders, suffocating me.
My breathing hitches, growing shallow and rapid as a cold, paralyzing panic claws its way up my throat.
Alessandro notices the shift immediately. In the absolute dark, I hear the rustle of his jacket.
"Sienna?" his voice cuts through the dark, rough and alert. "Hey. Look at me."
I can't look at him. I can't see anything. I try to draw a deep breath, but my lungs refuse to expand, trapping a ragged, broken gasp in my chest. I'm starting to hyperventilate, my knees trembling so violently I have to lean my back against the mirrored wall to keep from collapsing.
"Sienna, breathe," Alessandro commands. Suddenly, his large, warm hands find my face in the dark, his palms cupping my cheeks, his thumbs sweeping across my skin.
His touch is a solid, grounding anchor in the void.
He leans down, his chest pressing against mine.
"Talk to me, dolcezza. What is this? Are you afraid of small spaces? "
"I... I can't," I choke out, tears of sheer terror pricking my eyes as my mind threatens to drag me backward into the dark. "The... the doors. I can't breathe, Alessandro..."
"You can breathe. Focus on my voice," he says, his tone remarkably calm, though I can feel the sudden, terrifying tension locking up his broad shoulders. "Why are you afraid of the dark, Sienna? Tell me."
"My father," I sob, the confession ripping out of me before I can stop it, driven by pure panic.
"When we... when we were little. If we misbehaved, or if we didn't sit perfectly still during his dinners... he would lock us in the small wine closet beneath the stairs. It was completely dark. No windows. He’d leave us there for hours... sometimes a whole day."
The absolute silence that follows my words is terrifying.
Underneath my hands, which are frantically gripping his shirt, Alessandro’s entire body goes completely rigid. The air around him shifts, radiating a sudden, murderous fury so potent it makes the dark feel lethal. I can hear the dangerous, rhythmic grinding of his jaw.
But he doesn't let that fury touch me. He forces his voice to remain entirely calm, completely focused on pulling me out of the memory.
"He will never touch you again," Alessandro vows, his gravelly voice dripping with an absolute, terrifying promise. "I am going to burn his world to the ground, Sienna. But right now, you are with me. You are safe. Focus on my touch."
Before the panic can swallow me whole, he leans down and captures my mouth. The tenderness of it catches me off guard.
It’s slow, steady, and impossibly grounding, as though he’s trying to pull me back from the edge one breath at a time. His lips move against mine with quiet assurance, asking for nothing, demanding nothing, simply reminding me that he’s here.