CHAPTER 6 #2
“Clean this damn thing up and take her to her fucking room — or to her mother’s!” Nicola ordered.
“Yes, ser,” Vincent said immediately.
Nicola stormed upstairs toward D’Angelo’s room, his footsteps heavy and full of rage. Once he disappeared, silence settled through the house like dust.
Vincent motioned for me to move. “Come on,” he muttered.
“I’d like to go to my mother’s room,” I said softly, hoping he would allow it.
He shook his head, but I pleaded again, my voice trembling. “Please...”
After a pause, he sighed. “Fine. Go. But if you try to escape, I’ll fucking gut you.”
I nodded repeatedly, swallowing hard, and started walking toward Mother’s room. I glanced over my shoulder to see if Vincent was watching, but to my surprise, he wasn’t. He had turned away and walked in the opposite direction.
I swallowed the tension in my throat and continued walking — until I heard yelling from one of the rooms on my left. The sound made me freeze in place. The door was slightly ajar, just enough for me to see inside.
It was D’Angelo, arguing with Nicola. Their faces were tight with anger, voices sharp and heavy.
“What the fuck did you just say?” D’Angelo roared.
The tone in his voice made my stomach twist. I carefully leaned closer to the door, making sure not to make a sound.
Inside, D’Angelo had his hands pressed against his temples, growling under his breath while Nicola paced across the room.
Something serious had happened — I could see it written all over their faces.
To be honest, I’d be lying if I said Nicola looked calm.
He wasn’t. He was agitated, bothered... scared.
I had never seen him like this before. Nothing scared Nicola — and if something got in his way, he usually killed it.
But now? Both he and D’Angelo looked troubled, and I couldn’t figure out why.
“You heard right — it’s exactly what I said!” Nicola shouted.
Tension thickened between them as they argued. Their voices dropped low after that, too quiet for me to make out the words. I blinked, trying to focus, holding onto the edge of the door to steady myself.
“D’Angelo, I fucking told you before, but you wouldn’t listen!” Nicola snapped. “He found us — and now you and I are fucked!”
“Don’t worry, son,” D’Angelo said coldly, his tone strangely calm. “He hasn’t found us at all. If he had, Ariana wouldn’t be here today.”
“You can sit there and believe that bullshit all you want,” Nicola growled, his voice rising again, “but he’s here! He blew up the fucking retailer shop we were just at! Next, he’ll come here — he’ll take your daughter from you! Then what? Without Ariana, you’ve got nothing!”
“Shut your goddamn mouth, Nicola! You don’t know what you’re saying!” D’Angelo snapped back, anger flashing across his face. “I got rid of him that day — there’s no way he’s here!”
“Oh yeah?” Nicola hissed. “Then tell me why one of my men identified Alessandro as one of the attackers today.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. My eyes widened as my mind tried to process what I had just heard.
“Alessandro is back,” Nicola said flatly, “so I suggest you get ready for some big shit.”
My stomach turned when those words reached my ears. I felt the blood drain from my face as I tried to make sense of it.
Alessandro is not dead.
Alessandro was not dead.
To say I was shocked was an understatement — I was petrified. My heart pounded violently in my chest as my body trembled. For years, I had believed Alessandro was gone, but now...
I was terrified, because I was convinced these past five years that Alessandro was dead — and to find out now that he isn’t really made me tremble with fear.
I moved away from the door and began to saunter toward Mom’s room, my mind spinning with confusion.
If Alessandro was alive, why didn’t he come looking for me?
Why had he stayed away all these years? I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even realize how pale I’d become until I reached Mom’s room.
The moment she saw me, her eyes widened and she quickly stood up from her bed, rushing to my side.
“Cara, Dio mio...” she gasped, guiding me to sit down. “Are you okay? You look very unwell.”
“Mom,” I whispered, my voice shaking as I swallowed hard, “Alessandro didn’t die that day.” My throat felt dry and tight as I looked at her over my shoulder. “H-he’s alive.”
The words tore something open inside me, and I broke down, crying so hard that my body trembled. The realization hit me like a tidal wave — I had spent the past five years mourning Alessandro, believing he was gone, when in reality... he wasn’t.
“What?” Her reaction mirrored mine — complete shock. She wrapped her arms around me, shaking her head in disbelief. “Ariana, calm down. You know this is good news, right? It’s a good thing that Alessandro is alive, no?”
“Yes, Mom... it definitely is,” I sobbed, clutching her arms tightly, “but I have this life with Nicola that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get away from. And I’m also carrying a child that doesn’t belong to Alessandro!”
Mom’s expression hardened, her eyes filled with determination.
“Oh, Ariana, there is something you must do right away before it’s too late.
” She pulled back from our embrace and cupped my face in her hands, her palms warm against my chilled skin.
She kissed my forehead and looked into my eyes.
“Listen to me. You are going to get out of this, no matter the circumstances. Do you hear me?”
“How?” I croaked, shaking my head weakly. “It’s impossible.”
“Do you want to get married to Nicola?” she asked sharply, her voice commanding.
I looked up at her, meeting her eyes — they were filled with both rage and resolve.
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t want to marry him at all.”
“Then we are definitely going to get out of here. Do you understand?”
In that moment, it felt like Mom was my savior — the only one who could pull me out of this nightmare before it consumed me completely. And she was right. If I married Nicola, my life would be ruined forever.
I nodded, holding onto that fragile spark of hope. Maybe, just maybe, this would work.
Well, I hoped it did, because I was running out of options. And on the other hand, I had to act quickly.
I had to go ahead of Nicola — before he caught up to me.