Chapter 14
I didn’t see or speak to Luca after that day; he didn’t come to me, and I didn’t want to show any weakness.
The paparazzi didn’t give up in two or three days as he claimed; my last days in Italy were spent locked up inside the house, like a prisoner, slowly saying goodbye to the ones I love.
First Luca, two days later Aurora and Letícia decided to go to Portugal to visit their parents before returning to London, then my mother and grandmother left for Portugal with my brothers to sort something out in their companies, leaving me and my father super busy, alone, with only security guards and maids .
Here I am, finally leaving my prison, with a four-car escort heading for the airport, ready to leave for London and try to leave my sadness in Rome.
The city passes by the window like splotches of color; due to the high speed, the police have streamlined the traffic so that we can leave the house without being followed by photographers.
I look out the window, seeing blurs of my hometown, and for the first time in my life, I want to get out of it as soon as possible.
Through the window, I see the security guards scanning the jet and the surrounding area, making me roll my eyes. “Is this really necessary?”
Francesco looks at me, annoyed, making me raise an eyebrow. “Yes, I’ve said that a thousand times, but it’ll only take a few minutes.”
“Do you think a paparazzi can get off the wing of a jet?” I ask with a sarcastic smile, making him look at me with clear annoyance on his face.
“If he was able to, we’d deal with him, and he wouldn’t like it.”
“I bet you would.” A gesture is made in the direction of our car, and I smile as I open the door and head toward the jet with Paolo, Francesco, and two new security guards behind me.
Paolo answers his phone, and all the security guards seem to be checking something on their phones.
I walk up the stairs and meet the captain and the flight attendants with a smile.
I look back in confusion at the delay while entering; shots are heard in the distance, and my body shudders, looking at the men protecting me in confusion.
“Protect Chiara, the Camorra is under attack,” Paolo shouts and grabs his gun, coming toward me as do all the security guards.
Francesco pulls my hand and makes me run down the stairs; my body jerks, and Francesco forces me to keep walking, leading me toward the car, gun in hand, looking in all directions, trying to detect a possible threat.
Francesco forces my body to bend and puts me in the car, then gets in, sits next to me, and the car starts to move.
I look at my hands, and they don’t stop shaking.
I try to squeeze one in the other, but it makes no difference; the tremors are still noticeable.
I feel my breathing change a little, and I close my eyes, trying to control it.
“Chiara, Chiara…” My mind is foggy, and the sound seems to come from far away; a hand grabs my shoulder, and my body shudders, making me jump.
I open my eyes and see Francisco holding my shoulder, shaking my body, making me look into his eyes and concentrate on his words.
“I need you to breathe and calm down; I know it’s not easy to control, but now is not a good time.
We’re going to protect you; nothing’s going to happen, okay?
” He looks at me, but I can’t answer. “I need you to answer me, Chiara, with words.”
“Okay…” my voice came out shaky and low, making my breathing falter as shots were fired.
“The car is bulletproof; everything will be fine; just get down.” Paolo’s voice sounds calm, but his body shows something else; the windows are opened, and Paolo and Francesco start shooting, making me cover my ears and close my eyes on the floor of the car, with my knees against my chest.
Gunshots and more gunshots are heard. I feel tears running down my face, and I realize that the same weapons that have given me security and courage all my life are also terrifying me.
A bang is heard, and Paolo and Francesco close the windows; Francesco gives me his hand and helps me up off the ground.
I look back and see two cars overturned in the middle of the road, preventing traffic from continuing.
“Where are we going?” I wipe the tears from my face and try to remain calm without being able to stop looking at the cars left behind.
“To a safe house outside the city.” Paolo turns back and looks me in the eye. “You’ll have to stay in a high-security underground panic room. Actually, it’s more like a safe, bulletproof and bombproof, but inside, you have all the essentials, including TV, so it’s not too bad.”
“Am I going to be locked in there on my own?”
“I’m staying with you!” Francesco looks at me, giving me a restrained smile, trying to show confidence and security.
I just nod without really having anything to say.
Francesco pulls me out of the car, taking me out of my thoughts; we are in front of a large villa with snipers on the balconies and windows.
I am pulled into it, still without strength in my legs.
“What about Luca? Is he all right?” Francesco looks at me, surprised by the question, perhaps thinking that I wouldn’t be interested in my fiancé’s well-being.
“I don’t know; we have no news.” I look at him, alarmed, and tears threaten to fall.
“What I meant was, when the house and the headquarters were attacked, Luca went to fight, just like his father and all men are doing. So I can’t tell you his condition at the moment, but I’m sure he’s fine; Luca is the best fighter I know. ”
I nod my head, trying to process the information and imagining how many times in my life I’ll go through a situation like this, maybe even with my son fighting; my eyes fill with tears, and I bite my lip hard, trying to stop them from coming out, I have to be strong.
“Can I call him before I go into the vault?”
“Unfortunately not, a distraction is not a good thing when you’re fighting for your life.
Besides, the call can be traced by the attacker; I have a radio frequency with me.
I’ll be contacted as soon as things calm down, and I’ll try to put Luca in touch with you.
Now, can you please move faster? We really need to get you into that panic room. ”
I pick up the pace, always with Francesco holding my wrist. He goes ahead of me with the gun in his hand.
We go down quite a few stairsuntil we come to a metal door.
Francesco puts in a code, and it opens, giving us a view of a giant safe.
Francesco finally lets go of my wrist, inserts the code into the safe, and opens the large metal door.
I look out to see Paolo and two other soldiers talking to Francesco before he enters and begins to close the door.
“Paolo, can you check on Luca and his family and let us know through Francesco’s radio?”
“Yes, I’ll do that as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, and be careful.”
I see Paolo nod, offering me a tense smile before the door clicks and locks.
I look around, and it seems I’m inside a studio, a small kitchen and living room, a bathroom and a bedroom, all the essentials needed for an emergency.
I sit down on the sofa and run my hands through my hair, trying to clear my head.
“What’s next?”
“Now we wait, there’s nothing we can do.” I feel Francesco sit down next to me and put his gun down on the small coffee table.
“You must hate it here; I bet you’d like to be helping.”
“I won’t deny that I’d like to help and kill a few enemies. But being here with you, being assigned to protect the bride of the future Capo, is an honor. Don’t disvalue your life because it is one of the most important to protect today.”
“When everything calms down, how will we get out of here?”
“Luca, his father, and Paolo have the code to open the safe. It can’t be opened from the insidebecause here, we can never be sure if the house is safe. At a time like this, the code must have already been sent to your father, in case the worst happens, he can get you out of here.”
“Get us out of here; thank you for not leaving me alone.”
“It’s an honor!”
I pull my legs toward my chest, rest my head on my knees, watch Francesco turn on the television, and relax a little.
It isclearly a failed attempt. I look at the TV, and it’s showing clubs, gyms, cafés, and restaurants that have been attacked; from the look on Francesco’s face, I assume they belong to the Camorra; he lifts the remote with the clear intention of changing the channel.
That’s fine; I want to know what the situation is, too.
He just nods, looking in the direction of the TV, looking tense.
“Who attacked the Camorra?” Francesco looks in my direction and stares at me for a second, perhaps pondering his answer.
“As far as I know, the Bratva and some traitor members of the Camorra.”
“They did this because of m…”
“Don’t finish that sentence; don’t beat yourself up or blame yourself.
If they did it, it was out of ambition and power, not because of an engagement.
Besides, even if many still don’t understand it, the marriage will give the Camorra more strength and will take away weapons from other mafias, leaving us clearly at an advantage.
” I nod my head, knowing all the pros of my marriageandall that we will gain from it.
“After all, it’s a marriage of benefit.” Francesco keeps looking at me, reading me, probably knowing my feelings, maybe thinking I’m pathetic for having them.
“Do you have a casualty estimate yet?” I can’t let my feelings weaken me; I have to think like the woman I want to be, a woman with power, a businesswoman who has to think about how not to let everything collapse.