Chapter 52
Daisy Peonia Mary Parker
Unknown Location
My ribs ached where the soldiers had kicked me. That was how I’d spent the night: being beaten until I couldn’t breathe. Now, my face swollen and bruised, I was being dragged to who knows where, but I wasn’t afraid.
Camillo didn’t order my death. I knew he hadn’t, and I would take that certainty with me to the grave.
I had turned the peridot ring face down and was now squeezing the stone in the palm of my hand, clutching it as if it could save my life.
I knew it couldn’t, but it comforted me.
It took me back to that restaurant in Reggio Calabria, where I had been immensely happy for a few hours.
Where Camillo’s jade-like gaze told me more than any of his words or gestures.
We entered a massive room and I gasped at the sight.
In every corner of the space, there was a camera, and in the center stood a rectangular table with a hideous circular saw, its blade jagged and sharp.
But my horror wasn’t due to that. It was due to the body lying on the floor, sprawled in a pool of blood that filled the air with a heavy, metallic tang.
It was Martino Accuri.
I would recognize that treacherous face even in the dark. His eyes were wide open, glazed over, and his white shirt bore several bullet holes in his chest. Standing near his massive body was Cissio Accorinti, his skull-like face stretched into a grin.
“Signorina Parker, red and purple suit you like a glove.” He mocked me and the wounds covering my skin. “How is your stay at my humble estate going? Enjoying your free time?”
“Eat shit!” I growled, spitting in his direction. A hooded figure held me, pulling me backward by the hair.
Cissio Accorinti burst out laughing, scratching his head with the tip of his pistol.
“I love a feisty gattina, but we can only play later. Right now, I have a job for you, since I know you have experience in housekeeping.” I choked, wishing I didn't understand that pig’s plans.
“You see, here, Signor Accuri…” He placed a foot on the man’s lifeless, bloated face.
“Let’s just say he was part of the rebellious rabble.
He worked his whole life for the Vicari, but he wanted more.
He wanted… what they had. Their life. And he proved very willing to help me just to get it.
” Cissio Accorinti clicked his tongue and shrugged.
“He breached their security, gave me every piece of footage I needed, told me where his Padrone was, who he was fucking… Every single detail about Camillo Vicari’s life.
But I got to thinking: what if he does the same to me one day? I couldn’t take that risk, could I?”
I wanted to run, but the hooded man still had me by the hair.
Cissio Accorinti stepped over the dead man and stopped too close, giving me a clear view of the raw flesh of his nostrils and the scabs surrounding them.
I groaned in disgust as he slid a hand up my dress, his fingers rubbing between my legs, hurting me.
I bit the inside of my cheeks to hold back the tears and the revulsion washing over me.
Fortunately, he stopped. The skull-faced man pulled his hand away and brought it to his mouth, making me want to vomit as he licked his fingers.
“I like them younger, you know? At five years old, they’re just right.
” My eyes widened. I finally realized the kind of monster I was dealing with.
“But I know how much Don Vicari likes that cunt of yours, Signorina Parker. He’s watching right now, you know?
I wonder if he liked seeing me work my fingers inside his woman?
” My lower lip trembled. “The rest of the fun will have to wait, unfortunately. As I said, for now, I just need your housekeeping skills.”
Accorinti nodded, and a hooded figure threw me on top of Martino Accuri’s lifeless body. I shuddered, overcome by nausea and horror. He was still warm. That smell of blood took me back to the train tracks, twelve years ago, and clouded my mind.
“Butcher the body, Signorina Parker.” The order made me freeze. “Into small pieces. The size of… I don’t know, a chicken? There’s a roll of trash bags on the table. Separate everything properly.”
“Please…” I begged for the first time, writhing on the floor, getting down on my knees before that hideous creature and his men. “Please… I can’t do it.”
I wasn’t lying. It was unthinkable for me to dismember a human being.
Accorinti sighed, that malicious smile ever-present on his monstrous face. “I recommend you start by removing the guts.”
“No… No! Please, I can’t do it! I—”
“Elizabeth Parker.” The name was a punch to my stomach.
“Your aunt. Pregnant. Completely clueless. She lives in Silver River, Mississippi. Her biker boyfriend spends his days working at a local diner.” I shivered, sweat beginning to trickle down my skin.
“Do you know how much a pregnant woman is worth on the market, Signorina Parker?”
“Don’t hurt my aunt.”
He whistled. “She’s worth a lot of money.
There are some seriously messed-up people in your country, Signorina.
The elites, they like to eat newborns. Literally.
Newborns are a rare delicacy. But you’ll only know that when you try it.
It’s the tenderest of meats. Maybe I’ll let you sample some in the near future.
For now…” There were no words to describe my horror.
“If you don’t want your aunt to end up on some millionaire’s dinner table and your cousin on a plate, be a good gattina and do as I say. ”
“I—I don’t know how,” I stammered, the words catching in my throat.
Cissio Accorinti looked at his soldiers. “Put the body on the table and explain to Signorina Parker how to proceed.”
The skull-faced man disappeared. I stood up and dragged myself toward a wall, realizing my hands and knees were covered in fresh blood. Shaking, with tears once again streaming down my face, I looked toward one of the cameras.
My face twisted in a sob. Camillo, get me out of here.