Seeing Teodoro approaching, the group immediately returned to the villa. They would have to exit from another side. Fortunately, they had a Plan B. They jumped from the terrace onto the cliff and soon reached the spot where they had hidden scuba diving equipment, just in case they needed it.
Now, they had a problem. They didn’t have scuba diving gear for the other girl. When they saw her on the security camera footage taking care of Ava, they assumed she was Teodoro’s accomplice and didn’t think it would be logical to carry extra equipment.
They had to retreat immediately. Soon, everything would be surrounded by Miller’s men, and it would only take a few minutes for them to realize what had happened. In a matter of seconds, he could order their pursuit.
Akiro, who had the most experience in deep-sea diving, offered to share his oxygen tank with the girl, exchanging it properly. Fortunately, they didn’t need to dive to great depths. The night had already fallen, and the beautiful full moon illuminated their path.
In the villa, the guards in the front gatehouse noticed that the camera footage was repeating in all areas. They realized it from the sequence numbering, which was the same. They had no idea what had happened inside.
In the footage manipulated by Aiko, they saw their colleagues on watch. They immediately went to see what was happening and found their colleagues lying on the ground, still groggy from the effects of the tranquilizer wearing off. Inside the house, they found one of the guards dead.
In another area, the other guard was waking up, not knowing what had happened. They immediately alerted the guards on the beach, who hurriedly searched the entire area without finding any results. They had been fooled, and now they would have to face Miller’s wrath.
The people on the beach had returned to the yachts to leave immediately. The guards returned to try and stop them to see if the girl had fled there, but it was impossible. They were already getting away from the villa.
At that moment, Teodoro entered the villa with the eight men who had left with him. The guards at the villa knew they would have to face his wrath.
Teodoro got out of the vehicle and immediately noticed that things were not right. He rushed to Grecia’s room and found it empty. Fury consumed him, and he began shouting at his men to search the immediate property.
“You’re all idiots. You better bring her back immediately for your own good. You have no idea what will happen to you if you don’t,” he yelled at his men as they hurried to obey, starting to search for the girl in the vicinity.
Teodoro was completely unhinged, utterly deranged. He went out onto the terrace and began shouting desperately.
“GREEEEECIAAAAA!” He hoped that she would hear him and decide to return to his side.
On the cliff, Mateo, Ava, and the others heard Teodoro’s desperate cries. They quickly descended toward the sea.
The other girl was desperate too, but she resigned herself to the fact that she had no other choice. Without thinking, she jumped into the water, trusting Akiro to guide her every step of the way. The shock of the freezing water against her body momentarily threw her off balance. Akiro held her until she recovered, which fortunately only took a moment. Then they hurried to catch up with the others.
They swam underwater to distance themselves. Due to the terrain’s curvature, they would soon be out of Teodoro’s sight. They then boarded a waiting speedboat that would take them to a safe location, where they would board a jet to return to Italy.
Back at the villa, Teodoro was destroying everything in his path. He had already deployed men to search all areas, including the cliff, but it was too late. He sent boats to scour the area, but there was no trace of Grecia or the other girl. He had no doubt who had taken them.
“That damn Mateo Licciardi! I will make him pay dearly for what he has done. Grecia belongs to me,” he seethed.
He ordered the guards and the monitors to be brought before him. The men were forced to kneel in front of him. He was very agitated.
“What the hell were you thinking? Why didn’t you inform me immediately?”
“Sir, we were deceived. They altered the camera footage. Several yachts arrived, and all those people disembarked on the beach. We thought it was best to clear the beach.”
“You thought? Do you useless imbeciles even know how to think?”
He approached and punched them in the face, one of the men tried to defend himself, but was subdued by his companions, another one took advantage of the distraction and ran towards the exit, the men guarding the entrance stopped him, he tried to plead with his eyes, his companions lowered their heads, they felt terribly sorry for what was happening, but going against Teodoro Miller was a death sentence, after bringing him to his companions, they tied him up while remaining on their knees.
The men begged for mercy, but Teodoro had no mercy for anyone, he executed them one by one, shooting them in the middle of their foreheads as a warning to the others that he did not tolerate mistakes, he spared the lives of the guards at the front gate, as their only mistake was not immediately informing him of what had happened.
He had them hang from their arms on some columns and mercilessly whipped them, he didn’t stop until he saw strips of flesh being torn off their backs.
He ordered his men to dispose of the bodies of their companions, they dug a deep grave on the side of the villa and placed the bodies there, then covered them well with dirt, as the property was surrounded by a high fence, no one outside suspected what was going on.
At the same time, a jet was taking off from a small private runway. On board were Mateo and Ava, along with all the people who had helped in the rescue. The girl who had been taking care of Ava was also with them. Before boarding, Ava called her family and urged them to leave the country immediately. She made the same request to her fiancé. That madman, Miller, could decide to harm them all.
Mateo would ensure their security. He could easily arrange for it in Milan. They asked the girl’s family and her fiancé to head to the international airport, where a plane would be waiting to take them to Italy. The girl’s parents were reluctant to leave behind what they had built with so much effort.
Mateo called them and convinced them that he would help them. He also promised to buy all their properties so they could start a new life in Italy, safe from the madman, Miller.
Mateo and Ava couldn’t stop showing their love for each other. They felt incredibly fortunate to be together again.
“My love, I knew you would come for me,” Ava said as tears streamed down her face.
“My beautiful, you know I would never leave you in the hands of that man,” he wiped away her tears with his hand and then kissed her passionately.
“You have no idea how repulsed I felt every time he came near me. It was so hard to stay calm when all I wanted to do was strike him. I wanted to unleash all the fury that was building up inside me. That man can’t possibly be related to my father; he’s an absolute monster.”
“Calm down, I know it was very difficult for you. It was a damn nightmare for me too. But for now, let’s forget about that man. Maybe we won’t be able to completely, but it’s healthy to try. We can’t allow him to keep ruining our lives.”
He held her tightly throughout the entire journey. She slept in fits and starts, waking up startled at times. Mateo reassured her each time. He watched over her the entire trip, thankful to God that everything had gone well.
For all those days, he had been terrified that something might go wrong. Although he was excited to return home, as long as Teodoro Miller remained free, their nightmare wouldn’t be over. Whether as Grecia or as Ava, she was in danger if she fell into that man’s clutches again.
The images of Teodoro kissing her haunted him every time he closed his eyes, filling him with intense anger. He wanted the chance to destroy him with his own hands.
Mateo took solace in the knowledge that, with Tadeo’s help, they had stripped him of his fortune. He was becoming increasingly cornered, and sooner or later, that pressure would bring him down.
Teodoro’s former lover had provided all the information she could to the authorities. In return, she would start a new life with a new identity in another country, far from Miller’s reach. She had loved the man without reservation, giving him everything, but receiving nothing in return. He had never truly loved her; he had only used her for his own purposes. Now she was giving him back the same.
When they arrived in Milan, they went straight to the Licciardi mansion. Ava spoke with Mateo; she couldn’t be too harsh with her mother and grandfather. The girl who had taken care of her went with them. Later, Max would take her to the airport to meet her family and her fiancé. Then he would bring them to an apartment owned by Mateo, where they would be safe until they captured Teodoro.
The girl’s family felt uncomfortable with the situation. Her parents were deeply rooted in their traditions, and accepting help from a stranger, even though they had agreed to it, was challenging for them, especially for her father, an elderly man accustomed to being independent.