ELEANOR
There was this loud, piercing ringing in my ears. I’d barely registered what had hit me, but I found myself flat on the floor, my cheek throbbing and my head spinning. The pain was blinding-a sharp ache radiating through half of my face, and it took me a few seconds to push myself up. I could feel my hair tangled around my face, strands sticking to my cheek where it was hot from the slap. My vision was hazy, but it was starting to clear, and the first thing I saw was Armando, his hand wrapped around the neck of the man who’d struck me, holding him against the wall like he could squeeze the life out of him.
But I didn’t care about that-not right now. My gaze went past them and landed on the other man bleeding helplessly on the floor-barely conscious. I felt a jolt of horror, and without thinking, I scrambled over to him. Blood was streaked across his face, his clothes immensely soaked with sweat-looking like he’d been dragged through hell. I didn’t know his name or who he was, but I couldn’t just stand there and watch him suffer.
“What the hell is going on here!?” I shouted at Armando, my voice shaking as I looked between him and the beaten man on the floor.
Armando released his hold on the man he’d pinned against the wall, letting him stumble and catch his breath. Then he turned to me, his expression hard and cold as stone.
“It’s none of your business,” he said, his voice rough and dismissive. “Get out of here and keep your nose out of things that don’t concern you Eleanor.”
I didn’t back down. “You can’t just tell me not to get involved. I was inside cleaning, and I heard all this noise. I come out here, and I find someone half to death in the middle of the house! You don’t think that concerns me?” I shot back, feeling my voice rise as the fear and anger mixed in my chest.
He scoffed, rolling his eyes. But I didn’t stop. “What if the police show up, huh? What if I get pulled into whatever this is? If something happens to this man, I’m a witness now, maybe even a suspect,” I snapped, looking down at the bleeding stranger. “You need to call an ambulance or a doctor, or I swear, I’ll find a way to take him to the hospital myself. And don’t think you’re going to stop me.”
Armando’s face twisted into a scowl, a look of pure annoyance. “This bastard you’re so worried about doesn’t deserve a doctor. But by the time we’re through, he’ll have his own appointment with a morgue attendant.” His said, his voice ice-cold, and his words cutting through the room like a knife.
I felt my stomach drop. “How could you say something like that?” I whispered, the horror plain in my voice. I looked at Armando, seeing him in a way I’d tried to ignore all this time. “How can you stand there and just… watch someone bleed out, like he’s nothing?”
His eyes narrowed, irritation flickering across his face, but I didn’t stop. I could feel the anger and frustration rising up in me, bubbling over. “I knew you were cruel but this… this is something else. This is just heartless.”
His gaze was hard and unwavering, and for a second, I almost thought he’d try to shut me up himself. But instead, he just looked at me, silent, cold, like he was sizing me up.
“You don’t know a thing about this,” he said finally, his voice low and controlled. “You’re so quick to jump in, act like you understand what’s going on, but you’re clueless. This isn’t some charity case for you to fix, Eleanor. He earned every bit of what he’s getting, and he’ll get worse before this is done.”
I shook my head, trying to keep my voice steady even as my hands trembled. “I don’t care what he’s done, Armando. No one deserves to be treated like this. Not like… like some animal.”
The heat in Armando’s glare was sharp enough to burn, and he took a step closer, his face twisted in anger. “I told you it’s none of your business. Are you stupid? Go back inside to whatever you were doing.” His voice was dripping with venom. “Stop trying to get involved in things that are way over your head.”
I could feel my heart thudding in my chest but I didn’t back down. “I’m not going anywhere Armando, not until I know you’re not going to hurt him anymore,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Because it’s obvious from the way he was being dragged that it’s exactly what you want to do.”
He clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing. “Listen to me,” he hissed. “I don’t ever want to see you meddling in my business again. You don’t know what you’re talking about, and if you don’t get out of here, I might just lose my patience and kill both of you right here, right now.”
A chill ran through me, his words like ice water. His eyes were dangerous, lit up with a fury I hadn’t seen before, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. But there was something even stronger than that fear bubbling up inside me. I couldn’t just go back to cleaning and pretend none of this was happening, like I hadn’t seen a man lying there, nearly beaten to death.
I took a shaky breath, steeling myself. “I’m sorry Armando, but I’m not going to walk away and pretend this never happened. I’m not going to betray my own humanity.” I met his glare, feeling my own anger rise. “Where’s yours? Are you just a moving shell, a tin can without a trace of human feeling?”
He scoffed, a cold laugh breaking out as he stared me down. “Humanity?” He spat the word like it was a joke. “This bastard lying here doesn’t deserve anything close to human treatment.”
I looked down at the man bleeding out in front of me, a pang of horror hitting me again. His bruised face, his shallow breaths… it was too much. I looked back at Armando, struggling to keep the emotion out of my voice.
“What could he have done to deserve this?” I asked, my voice a little louder than I’d intended. “What’s so terrible that you think he needs to die? Are you really so far gone that you don’t see how sick this is?”
Armando’s eyes darkened, and his expression turned deadly serious. The room fell silent, his anger pressing down like a weight, but I held my ground.
His voice was low as dangerous as he spoke, barely above a whisper. “He betrayed me. Yeah that’s it. That’s what you wanna know huh?”
I swallowed, trying to keep my voice steady. “So, that’s it?” I said finally, my voice soft but unwavering. “He made a mistake, and now… he has to die for it?”
Armando clenched his fists, his jaw tight as he glared at me. “It wasn’t a mistake.”
“Then explain it to me,” I shot back, my voice barely a whisper now. “Help me understand why beating him to death makes any of this right!”
He let out a sharp breath, almost a growl, as he looked away, his fists clenched tight. I could tell he was fighting to keep his composure, but his anger was simmering, barely holding back.
Finally, he turned back to me, his eyes cold. “You think you can save him?” His voice was mocking, filled with disdain. “You think you of all people have the right to question me on what’s right and wrong? Or have you forgotten where I picked you from?”
I didn’t answer yet, but his words definitely got to me. I stared at him, feeling the weight of his anger but refusing to back down. There was no point arguing further-I knew that. But something inside me wouldn’t let me walk away, wouldn’t let me turn my back on the bleeding man at my feet.
It all made sense now-why he had asked me that strange question last night about trust and betrayal, why he’d been polishing his gun so obsessively as he’d asked it.
“So this is what all those questions were about?” I said, still trying to keep my voice steady. “All that talk about what I’d do if someone betrayed me… That was about him wasn’t it? You were standing there, polishing your gun, practically counting down to this moment. Really Armando?” I took a deep breath. “This is worth killing someone over? Something that could be fixed with a conversation?”
He didn’t answer. His jaw was tight and his eyes were cold, but he didn’t look at me. Instead, he said in a dangerously low voice, “Get out of here Eleanor. Now. Before I change my mind.”
I felt a pang of fear, but I couldn’t just walk away. “But-”
“I said leave!” he shouted, his voice slicing through the room like a blade and the rage in his eyes unmistakable. His words made me flinch and my whole body went rigid-a shiver running down my spine.
Just as I turned to head back inside, something hard grabbed my wrist, jerking me backward. I barely had time to register what was happening before I was thrown to the floor, the impact sending pain shooting through my body as I landed. I tried to catch myself, but before I could even push myself up, I felt a cold blade press against my throat. My heart sank immediately and I could barely breathe anymore.
“What the-”
“Not a word!” The voice right behind me said, shaking with desperation. I was too shocked to move. The knife was sharp against my skin, and his grip was firm, the kind of grip that told me he was serious.
The wounded man’s voice came out in a shaky threat as he held me down. “If any of you move an inch, I swear, I’ll slit her throat.”
I felt my blood run cold. My hands were shaking, pressed against the floor as I struggled to keep from panicking. The tip of the knife dug in slightly-enough to prick at my skin, and I could feel his breath fast and uneven behind me.
Armando’s face hardened and his jaw clenched as he stepped forward. “Alessandro, don’t do something stupid. You think you’re getting out of here with her as a shield?”
I tried to shake my hand off, but his grip tightened on my wrist-his fingers digging in painfully as he snarled, “You’re not leaving me any choice.”
His voice was unsteady-almost pleading, but his hands didn’t falter.
I tried to speak but he pressed the knife closer, warning me to keep quiet. I glanced up, catching Armando’s eye, searching for some kind of reassurance, but all I saw in his face was steely resolve.
“Alessandro,” Armando said, his voice calm but full of barely suppressed fury, “if you so much as scratch her-”
“Shut up!” Alessandro’s voice cracked, but he tried to sound strong, his grip tightening even further. “You think you’re still in control here? No, I am. And if you think I won’t do it then go ahead and test me.”
A dark, dangerous look flickered across Armando’s face, and he took a slow, measured step toward us. “Put the knife down, Alessandro. You know this isn’t going to end well for you.”
Alessandro’s breathing grew more frantic, and his hand shook slightly as he adjusted the knife against my throat. “Stay back! I mean it. I’ll end her right here if you come any closer!”
My pulse pounded in my ears and my heart raced so fast I thought it might explode.
“Think about what you’re doing,” Armando said slowly, his tone shifting, almost coaxing. “Let her go, and maybe you’ll walk out of here with something better than a death sentence. But if you touch her…” He stopped, letting the threat linger in the air.
Alessandro swallowed hard behind me, his eyes darting between Armando and the others. He looked desperate, cornered even, like a trapped animal with no way out. His voice wavered. “You’ve backed me into a corner so what else am I supposed to do?”
Armando’s jaw clenched, “Well, you let her go first,” he replied, his voice low and controlled. “Then we’ll talk about what happens next.”
I didn’t dare breathe, still barely able to keep my balance. I could feel the tension tightening in the air-every second stretching into an eternity.
In that moment, I couldn’t tell what was going to happen. But one thing was certain; there was no way this was going to end well.