JULIUS’S POV~
Why is she so afraid of me?
I watched her quiver endlessly in fear, her eyes searching the entire room for likely danger.
“Ariana! What the hell are you saying?” I inquired, my eyes searching the room for insubordination among my guards.
“Sir?” one of them started, “Take him away!” I heard her say.
I was completely shocked, an hour ago I was on a mission to hijack a fucking plane and now for some reason, im standing on trial.
“They can’t do that Ariana, without cause!” I exclaimed putting my gun down, I moved towards her and she shot her pistol, it landed a few inches close to me, penetrating the bookshelf.
“As long as I hold the authority, I have every right to hold you, seize him! Take him down and Chain him up!” she cried, her voice filled with fear.
The guards were confused, but after my quick nod, they went ahead.
Something was scaring her and it was obvious that I had been framed for something or someone.
I let them take me downstairs where I was chained against the wall.
“Hit me” I ordered, the soldiers were confused. “sir?”
“I need her to see im not a threat, so hit me, somewhere that hurts” I repeated.
They were just as confused as I was, but I knew they were loyal to me.
They punched me roughly until blood flowed from my lips.
“Good” I groaned in pain, “I need you to find out what the hell is going on and report me” I said.
They both nodded and left, earlier Manuel, after much torture had given me very important information.
There was a third party behind this, someone else was working in the shadows with Ariana’s father.
At first, I thought it was Paul Assisi trying to double-cross us or even Massimo but they all came out clean.
How did Don Rinaldi get to the meeting and the safe house so fast, someone in the cabal was feeding him information?
I hurried back to give Ariana this news when suddenly she was pointing a gun at me.
Someone has figured out im close and they are trying to mess with me.
I needed to get out of here and prove my innocence to Ariana, but before then, I needed to know what she knew, who sent her that video?
I waited for the guards to return, and when they did, the information was scanty.
“She got a call earlier, she had been waiting for that call all day,” they said, “that’s all we know, she locked herself in all day, we don’t understand what’s going on either” the other mentioned.
Waiting for a call…
I laid out all the playing cards as I do in my head, surely by now Don Argento knows his wife is dead, and now I’ve been framed for it.
Not that he would miss her; we all knew Sophia was his favourite and Silvio was the last to find out.
“Tell her I want to see her, I’m unarmed and I deserve to know what’s happening” I demanded.
“Yes sir” they chorused.
As they turned to leave I beckoned to one of them, “Give me the pin in your belt” I mentioned.
He looked at his partner before doing my bidding.
After a long time of being chained to the wall, my sides hurt like hell, my wife comes in.
“Oh my God baby what happened?” she inquired before hurriedly walking to me and cleaning the blood from my lips.
“Im fine Micola,” I replied before taking a breath, “what the hell happened Julius, one moment you were kissing me good morning and now you’ve been chained to the bloody wall! What the hell did you do to Ariana!,” she exclaimed
“Is this about Mateo?” she asked.
Mateo? What does Mateo have to do with any of this?
“Someone is making me take the fall for something” I replied.
She started pacing the room avoiding the spots with dried blood.
“Im sure we can prove your innocence, what do you need me to do baby?” she asked before touching my cheeks lightly.
“For now I need you to get out of here until the coast is clear, when I get it all sorted out I’ll call for you,” I said.
She hugged me tightly, the smell of her beautiful hair permeated my being.
She was still as beautiful as the day I met her, “go now!” I roared, shrugging her off.
She hurried out of the cell, looking left and right before running as fast s her legs could carry her.
My body ached, I may not be frail but I was worn out of my years.
The last thing I heard as I closed my eyes, was the sound of her feet before disappearing.
“How long have you been working for my father?” I heard Ariana ask.
Finally, she comes in
“I’m not working for your father, I don’t know who is feeding you these lies but..”
She grabbed my throat almost immediately, her red nails dug into my neck and I could feel blood trickling down.
“Ariana!” I groaned in pain but her grip was strong, she looked me right in the eye this time, and I knew the person staring back was not my nephew’s wife.
I could see the danger that lurked behind those beautiful striking eyes.
“How long have you been playing me? I want answers!” she thundered before letting my neck go.
I gasped for breath and looked up at her in horror, who the hell is this?
“Did you crash Mateo’s plane for my father!” she exclaimed pulling out a knife from its sheath.
“Ariana! I’m not working for your father, believe me!” I declared with my whole heart but it seemed she had made up her mind.
After all, I told her not to trust anyone.
“The story you told me about you and Mateo’s father, was it all a ploy to get me to your side, were you playing on my fucking intelligence!” she thundered before taking the knife close to my ear and placing the tip inside.
“Did you know you could drown in your blood?” she asked, before poking my inner ear.
“Ariana what the hell is wrong with you!” I cried as I winced in pain, I clenched the pin the soldier had given me, determined to stab her with it, but I had a much better plan.
“I read somewhere if I rip this tiny vessel right here” she started before going deeper with the knife.
“It would flood your brain and you could be dead in minutes” She smiled and her eyes beamed as she did.
“Ariana, please stop, please” I yelled before shaking her off me, “Be careful, you could hurt yourself” she said with another grin.
“Ariana…”
“Im not Ariana you idiot,” she said under her breath before looking back at me.
“I don’t understand?” I was confused, she looked and sounded like Ariana, but behind those eyes was something far more dangerous.
“You killed Liana Argento” she finally said.
“What!” I exclaimed, “You killed Liana Argento! There is video evidence, Julius, what’s your end goal?” she asked again.
I was quiet, she took out her phone and put it in my face.
“This isn’t you? Slicing off Liana’s head?” she inquired, I looked intently at the video, an image of myself slicing off what seemed to be a woman’s head played.
Who the fuck was that? That wasn’t me! But I knew what I had to do next.
“I can’t trust you anymore Julius, how could you do this to me!” she exclaimed heavily.
I sighed, nothing I said would make this right, “im Ariana” I stated, with one swift move I raised myself and leapt in the air, and the chains fell off my wrist.
I watched her gasp in shock as I steadied myself in mid air before landing behind Ariana.
I hit the knife away from her hand, I put both her hands behind her and used my belt to restrain her.
“I’m sorry Ariana” I left her on the cold floor, screaming at the top of her lungs.
“I’ll find you Julius and ill skin you like a fucking Rabbit!”