Page 24

Francesca

I hadn’t reached the staircase when the doorbell rang and wondered if Alessio had left his keys at home. I opened the door but froze when I saw a man wearing a balaclava. He swung something at my head and I saw a glint of silver before a blinding pain exploded at the side of my head. I crumpled on the spot and saw the man’s blue jeans before everything went black.

When I woke up, it was pitch black, and as I remembered what happened, I realised that I was in a car boot and the car was on the move. Alessio had warned me but I’d never listened to him because Rocco was always there and when he wasn’t Alessio was always with me.

A sob escaped me when I thought of why Alessio left me. I began to pray for my baby, silently begging God to save us. My hands were tied behind my back and they felt like the same zip ties that Nero had used the night I met Alessio. I wriggled my legs but my feet were tied up. I racked my brain wondering who would dare do this to us.

Alessio would go crazy when he returned home to find me missing. The car began to slow down before it turned, and I tried to use my hands so I wasn’t tossed around. I pushed my feet at the side of the boot and tried to get a grip. My heart raced and the driver continued the journey. We were on smaller roads now. I had no idea how long I had been unconscious or where he was taking me.

When the car came to a stop, I thought I would have a heart attack, so I decided to play dead. I kept my eyes closed when I heard someone get out of the car. My ears were pricked up and alert for any other sounds.

I couldn’t think of anything but survival. I had to survive. The thought forced my body to relax. I calmly took a few deep breaths, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head. I could do this until Alessio found me. I thought of the Beast and all of his rage.

The boot opened and I didn’t flinch or move. There was silence and the man didn’t move.

“Fucking bitch,”

he muttered before he gripped my hair and dragged my head up.

I forced myself to keep my act in play and it worked because after another pause he hauled me out of the car and flung me over his shoulder. My dangling hair obscured my vision, but it looked like he had brought me to a rundown rural cottage. There weren’t any other houses that I could see, but it wasn't easy to gauge because the garden had hedges surrounding it.

The man carried me into the cottage, which looked like a normal house. He took me into a room and threw me onto a bed. I kept my eyes closed and tried not to tense my body. The man left but my heart sank when I heard him lock the door. The only good thing I could think of was the fact he hadn’t taken me up any stairs.

I warily opened one eye before I opened the other and looked around the room. It had dirty pale green walls, and nothing but the bed, a wardrobe, and a side table. I listened out for footsteps, but when there was silence, I sat up, to my dismay, the window had iron bars on it.

Fuck!

I glanced at the floor, it had a brown carpet that had seen better days. I heard heavy footsteps approach and fell back on the bed, closing my eyes as he unlocked the door. This was only one man. If it were one of Alessio’s enemies there would be more. They all worked in gangs.

My hands and legs were freed and the man left again. I remained on the bed, trying to figure out how I could get away and what this person wanted from me. My head continued to throb and I drifted into unconsciousness again.

***

This time when I woke up there was no confusion as to where I was because I was determined to find out what the fuck was going on. The bed creaked as I sat up, touching my temple, and I felt the cut and dried blood around it before I noticed the black bucket in the corner of the room.

The door unlocked and this time I remained seated on the bed. I frowned as I looked at the man. He was around Alessio’s age or perhaps between thirty and forty. I was never good with ages.

“Hello, sister,”

he said with a nasty smile.

“I don’t have any siblings,”

I said flatly.

“Not from your whore of a mother’s side you don’t,”

he spat out viciously.

I swallowed as I looked at him. His hair was a sandy colour and he had blue eyes. He looked nothing like me. I’d never met my father so I had no clue what he looked like.

“I think you have made a mistake. I don't have any siblings.”

“You are Francesca Nardini, daughter of Bella Nardini, recently married to a big shot. Your family killed my father over twenty years ago and you're going to pay the price.”

I slowly shook my head.

“My family aren't murderers and as for my father, he ran away when he found out my mum was pregnant,”

I said, narrowing my eyes on him as he walked closer.

“He didn’t run anywhere because he was killed. He never came back home to us,”

he screamed at me. “And you're going to die for it.”

God, Alessio had no idea how lucky he was to have no siblings.

I didn't say anything to him because he was already losing it. I kept my eyes on him as he began to pace up and down the room.

“Because of you and your bitch of a mother, that fucking whore. My dad left us behind. My mother became dependent on alcohol. Do you fucking know what it’s like to pry an empty bottle of vodka from your mother’s hand, trying to help her only to be beaten?”

I had to admit it was difficult to feel sorry for him because it made no sense why he would blame me. Shit happens and sometimes you have to manage the cards that you're dealt with.

“What’s your name?”

I asked softly.

“Clive,”

he said running his hand through his hair.

Clive? Yeah, I would be pissed at being given a name like that too.

“Clive, what will it solve if you killed me? I wasn't around when all this happened and my mum died while she was giving birth to me. We didn't do anything to your dad,”

I said trying to talk some sense into him.

He turned to face me and I repressed a shudder at the dead evil look in his icy blue eyes.

“Your grandfather used to have ties with the Mafia. You all ruined my fucking life.”

I gulped at his words because I thought back to the day Alessio turned up at our house. No, he knew his dad, Gavino. The timeline matched because they hadn't seen one another for over twenty years.

“That can't be true. My grandfather—”

I stopped because Nonno might have been in a lot of pain after losing his only child.

The thought of my doting grandfather being capable of taking a life plagued me. I made the mistake of looking away because I didn't see the blows coming.