Page 53 of The Empress

“Hey, Mom.”

There are black circles beneath her eyes, and she looks ten years older than when we arrived in Italy.

“Hi, sweetheart.”

“There’s a storm coming, and the sky looks pretty,” I say as I turn the screen so she can see the view I’m looking at.

“Oh, that’s so beautiful,” I hear Mom say.

“Yeah.” I bring the screen back to face me as I lean against the railing. “How are you holding up?”

Mom shakes her head, her chin quivering. I watch as she battles her emotions, and it makes my eyes well with tears.

“I’m okay.” She looks at me again, then lets out a sob.

After ranting and raving the past week and a half, we’ve run out of words and just stare at each other.

I don’t even have it in me to offer her false hope anymore.

If things continue like this, I’m going to die of loneliness, Mom.

She wins the battle against her emotions, and a smile forms around her mouth. “With the storm behind you, you look so beautiful, sweetheart.”

“Thank you, Mommy,” I whisper.

As I glance up at the sky, there’s a flash of lightning freaking close to me, and I let out a shriek. My phone goes flying out of my hands, then a loud bang vibrates through the air.

“Noooo!” I scream as I grab hold of the railing, leaning over it to look down at he rocks below. “Shit!” It takes me a few seconds before I see the shattered pieces of my phone, and it has despair knocking the air from my lungs.

Not caring about the storm, I run through my bedroom and race down the stairs. I yank the sliding doors open and hurry across the veranda. Turning left by the steps, I run to where the rocks begin and look for a way to climb them.

My phone is the only way I can contact Mom and Kristen. I have to get to it!

The wind tugs at my hair and clothes as I climb onto the nearest rock. I carefully make my way in the direction of where my phone is lying, but then a big wave crashes beneath me, sending a spray of water high up. The droplets hit me, but I keep going.

Lightning hits the water in the distance, making panic flare hot through me. The wind picks up drastically, and as I look at the rocks ahead of me, my foot slips, and I lose my balance. Letting out a loud scream, I try to catch myself with my left hand, and my palm slams against the sharp edge of a rock, which rips through my skin. The rest of me follows suit and hits the hard surface, causing me to slide down a few feet before I’m able to catch myself.

Breaths explode over my lips, and my heart beats a mile a minute as I try to recover from the shock of almost falling to my death.

My left hand and wrist are on fire, and I let out a groan. Knowing I don’t have a lot of time, I struggle back to my feet.

“Mrs. Toscano!” a man shouts, making my head snap in the direction of the beach.

Shit. A guard.

I glance at the rocks where I think my phone is, and my heart sinks because I know the guard will get to me before I can make it to my phone.

Barely able to keep my balance on the rocks while another wave crashes below, the guard easily grabs hold of me and hauls me over his shoulder.

I don’t bother putting up a fight as he carries me back to the house.

I can’t talk to Mom anymore.

When I’m placed on my feet in the living room, the guard grabs hold of my hand that’s a bloody mess. The sudden movement makes a sharp pain explode in my wrist.

“You got hurt.Cazzo.He’s going to kill me.”

Hearing him speak English has my eyes flying to his face. He looks like he’s in his thirties, and there’s a thick scar on the side of his neck.