ARIANA’S POV~
Stupid!
God Ariana!, you are so stupid! You were supposed to get some fucking proof, and now he knows im unto him.
Typical of me, always running into danger head first without thinking.
My mind was unwinding, I had so much to do all at once, my sister in the air flying to who knows where! My brother hiding from his father.
And a dickless soon-to-be walking husband.
It’s a lot and it’s taking a toll on me, the only one who has stuck by me in all this craziness is you.
You, my dear girl, have not left my side, im grateful for you.
I gave my belly a little rub.
I needed answers, if Julius was working for my papa, I needed to know what else he knew.
Either that or I have to kill him, he knows everything about Mateo.
And he could destroy him.
I needed to get home fast and take a long bath, I beckoned to the driver to take me back to the residence.
I missed the old one, the beautiful gardens, the aesthetics of it were amazing and if I wasn’t so busy with Mateo’s mess I’d be relaxing in the pool on the roof.
As we got to the secondary residence, I frowned, the dull brown aesthetics of it turned my belly.
The place looked as though no one had lived in it in ages, it was one of the Donatelli’s estates.
As I stepped through the gates I saw someone walk by, she carried a basket of flowers and she bent low to pick the tulips growing in the garden nearby.
“We meet again” she started before looking up at me.
“Do you work here?” I inquired taking a step closer, determined to find out how she found her way here.
This is supposed to be a secret hideout until the war with the Argentos is over.
“No” she replied with a little laugh “but I live here, just like you” she stated.
She got up and offered me a tulip, she placed it in my unwilling hands before smiling.
“Who are you? I’ve never seen you before?” I inquired.
“Im your sister-in-law, widowed wife of the last Don” she finally said, I looked at her in bewilderment.
“You are wondering why im here aren’t you? We are enemies after all” she laughed again.
My thoughts exactly, she laughed again, she laughed a lot and I wondered if it was some sort of coping mechanism.
“Your husband has me confined to him” she started, “excuse me?” I exclaimed.
“I belong to him, he says im the spoils of the war,” she continued before spinning in the air with the basket and waving to the birds.
Psycho, but why isn’t she confined to the hospital?
What does Mateo want with her, or rather do to her…
“I see him sometimes,” she started, I looked back at her, “who?” I inquired, “My husband, he comes to say hello from the sky” She smiled before poking her head out to kiss the air.
Something tells me being confined for so long had messed with her, and now she sees her dead husband everywhere.
“I never got your name?” I inquired some more, “but then the devil comes, your husband is the devil” she said, I stepped back.
“I remember the day we found a rabbit in the gardens, my angel husband hacked its head off and the devil filmed it” she laughed again clapping her hands excitedly.
Then she lunged at me excitedly, “You know the crazy part, huh” she laughed over and over, “they did me next!” she exclaimed with a grunt.
“What?”
I heard a lady’s voice, “Signora Estella!” the voice called loudly, “signora!” she called before sighting us, “oh there you are!” she exclaimed with a sigh of relief.
She was a middle-aged woman who ran toward us she was slightly obsessed.
“Signora you can’t run off like that!” she cautioned before grabbing the laughing woman.
“Devil’s associate” she laughed again before regaining her composure.
“Im sorry Marie, won’t happen again,” she said softly.
“You can’t miss a dose of your medication signora, the doctor says it’s very vital” she replied, “sorry about this Mrs Donatelli” she added before pulling the frail woman away.
I stood there too stunned to utter a word, and my overthinking mind started to escalate.
So much information to process, as I walked to the door of my room I threw my bag on the bed and ran straight to the bathtub.
I turned on the shower and started tapping anxiously on the floor.
Why does she belong to him? What is Mateo playing at?
First, it was micola, and now from the look of things he could be fucking a crazy widow.
Is there never an end to the humiliation of being his wife?
I sank into the marble bathtub but careful not to slip in this huge bowl of death that I love so much.
As the water touched my body, I felt a sense of calm.
I laid there with my head back, as the events of the past twenty-four hours marinated my thoughts.
I heaved a sigh of relief, grateful for the water, I thought of the crazy Estella.
Something stuck with me.
I sprang up immediately, “Oh my God someone is framing Julius!”
MATEO’S POV~
“Don? Don Mateo” I heard someone call, I opened my eyes slowly and I could see several people wearing white all around me, my body didn’t feel like mine.
It didn’t feel like mine at all.
“Don?” a man called again, I opened my eyes again and I recognized the face close to mine.
“Do you remember where you are sir” he inquired, I recognised him, doctor Alonzo.
“Hmmm” I mumbled as words failed me, I heard them whispering as I closed my eyes again.
Though I was conscious I couldn’t open my eyes and I couldn’t tell them that.
“Let’s check back on him in 3 hours, the anaesthesia should have worn off by then,” Doctor Alonzo said.
Soon I heard the clattering of feet as they left, I tried to open my eyes again but I kept drifting in and out of consciousness.
I lay there in the darkness of myself, old memories I could conjure up played like a cassette.
The beautiful face of my mother flashed and I held on to it longer before it could fade.
Then my father came next.
No sooner had I closed my eyes again than I heard someone come in, “Thank God you are safe Mateo” he started.
Who the hell is that “Hmm” I mumbled helplessly.
My mouth dragged like sleeping balls, “don’t be afraid” he said again stepping into the dimly lit room.
“Wh.. whoo…ooo” I started, I tried to raise my hand to him but I could only raise it as high as an inch.
“You don’t remember me?” he called moving closer, I didn’t know who he was but my heart started beating out of control as he approached me.
He grabbed my hand and held them fondly, and as he came into view.
I saw that he had a big scar from his left ear down his neck, passed the shoulder and crossed into his chest.
“Don’t worry I will take care of you now” he smiled.
He looked at me with eyes intent on ripping the breathing mask off me.
His eyes looked like they would be glad to watch me drift into the nothingness of death.
I reached for the bell beside me when he grabbed it and whipped out a gun.
“Ssshhhhhhh” he gestured, raising his finger to his lips.
“Someone wants to talk to you, you remember him, your loving papa”
Soon a man walked in, average sized, he leaned at the door, his cane firmly on the ground holding his weight.
He looked very unwell.
” My son, it seems ‘the shadow’ is not a myth, you never die do you?”