ELEANOR
Armando’s voice broke through again, calm yet cutting. “Alessandro, you need to let her go. You’re only making things worse for yourself.”
His steady tone shocked me, a different kind of fear rippling through me. How could he stay so calm as if my life wasn’t on the line? I wanted to scream at him to take this seriously, but one glance at the knife on my skin was enough to keep me silent.
I couldn’t help but wonder if he was really willing to risk my life just to hold onto his pride.
“Pick up my cigarette,” he said in a flat and casual tone, gesturing to the man who had hit me.
With a flick of his lighter, Armando lit up the cigarette and took a long, deliberate drag, inhaling the smoke before letting it billow slowly into the air.
He looked at Alessandro with a smug and almost amused expression as his eyes narrowed.
“You didn’t hear me did you Alessandro?” Armando asked, his tone as relaxed as if he was asking about something as casual as the weather. “Probably not. I guess you’re still dazed from the beating.” He continued, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Tell you what. I’ll do you the favor of repeating myself, just so you hear it nice and clear.”
He paused, the smirk instantly fading from his face, leaving only cold, unfeeling eyes staring at us. “I said… let. Her. Go.”
Alessandro’s hand only tightened over my mouth, his fingers pressing hard enough to hurt. I felt the knife twitch against my skin as if his grip had become uncertain. I could feel the pulse in his hand, his breathing shallow as he held onto me.
“I’ve got the upper hand now. One wrong move from you, and she’s dead. So maybe you should be the one listening to me.” Alessandro spat, trying to sound confident, although I could still hear the quiver in his voice.
Armando let out a low, mocking chuckle. He didn’t look the slightest bit intimidated. “You think you’re in control? With one hand barely holding her and the other shaking like a leaf? Alessandro, look at yourself. You’re done.”
He flinched at Armando’s words, his grip on me faltering for a moment before he tightened it again, this time with more force. The knife pressed closer, and I could feel the sting of it against my skin.
“Don’t test me,” Alessandro said, his voice cracking with desperation. “You’d be surprised.”
* * * * *
————-
The tension in the room thickened as Alessandro’s knife pressed harder against Eleanor’s neck, a small line of blood seeping from where the blade had scratched her skin. She muffled in pain, her voice trapped beneath Alessandro’s rough hand covering her mouth.
“Don’t even take one step,” Alessandro warned, his tone laced with a dangerous edge.
Armando’s gaze locked on him with a cold, deadly intensity. His voice dropped, steady and menacing. “Let me warn you Alessandro, for every scratch you’ll put on her, you’ll suffer a hundred times over.”
A tear slipped down Eleanor’s cheek, her muffled voice still trying to escape from beneath Alessandro’s grip. The pain from the small cut stung sharply, a burning reminder of the danger she was in.
“Let her go,” Armando said, his tone like a low growl. “She has nothing to do with this.”
Alessandro’s grip didn’t waver. “She’s not going anywhere until I’m out of here,” he snapped.
Lorenzo finally tilted his head to face Alessandro after moments of staring into oblivion, a look of resigned frustration crossing his face.
“Alessandro,” he said, his voice soft but firm. “You don’t have to do this. Just let her go and we can sort this out.”
Alessandro let out a bitter, mocking laugh, his eyes narrowing at Lorenzo. “Oh, now you want to talk? Now, when I’m the one holding the knife, you want to play peacemaker?”
“Fuck you!” he spat. “You sat there and watched them beat me up, watched them try to kill me, and now you want to act like we’re family?” He shook his head, bitterness thick in his voice. “You were going to let someone else murder your own twin brother?”
Lorenzo’s face darkened, his calm cracking as his voice rose. “Every single one of us here trusted you, and you threw it all away.”
A flicker of uncertainty passed over Alessandro’s face, but his grip on Eleanor remained tight. He glared at Lorenzo, his voice tense. “I did what I did, but you… you chose to side with them over me? You were supposed to be my blood, my brother.”
Lorenzo’s voice grew louder, his emotions spilling over. “And what about all the men you left to die? Our men! What about them Alessandro? Do you have any idea what would have happened if I’d been on one of those missions? If I’d been killed too? How would that fit into your sense of loyalty?”
Alessandro faltered, his mouth opening slightly as if to reply, but no words came out. For the first time, his confidence seemed to waver, and his grip on Eleanor loosened just a fraction.
“You put us all in danger,” Lorenzo continued, his tone raw with anger and betrayal. “You turned us all into mere targets, played us like pawns, and now you stand there playing victim.”
Alessandro’s jaw tightened, a flash of defensiveness returning to his expression as he glanced around the room.
Lorenzo then rose slowly from his chair, his gaze fixed on Alessandro as he took a deliberate step forward. Alessandro’s grip on Eleanor tightened, his hand shaking slightly as he pressed the knife closer to her throat.
Lorenzo held his hands up slightly, his expression pleading. “Come on Alessandro. This isn’t the way.”
“Stop right there brother,” Alessandro warned, his voice trembling. “I swear… if you take another step, I’ll kill her. I’m not bluffing.”
Lorenzo halted mid-step, studying Alessandro with a heavy look in his eyes-something sad, almost hollow. He tilted his head, his voice low. “And then what? What do you think comes next after you kill her Alessandro?”
Eleanor’s heart pounded wildly at Lorenzo’s question. She shook her head swift in continuous panic, silently pleading with Lorenzo not to push Alessandro any further. Her palms were up, waving back and forth in a desperate, wordless attempt to make him stop. But Lorenzo only glanced at her before shifting his focus back to Alessandro, his gaze penetrating, searching for something in his brother’s eyes.
Then, without breaking eye contact, Lorenzo took another step forward.
“Lorenzo stop pushing me!” Alessandro barked, his voice cracking, his grip on the knife faltering just slightly.
Lorenzo paused, his tone softening as he took a deep breath. “What will it take Alessandro?” he asked quietly. “Just let her go. She has no part in all this.”
Alessandro’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer. His eyes darted from Lorenzo to Armando-who stood by in tense silence, and then back to Lorenzo.
Just then, Lorenzo reached into his pocket and before anyone could react, he pulled out a gun, holding it in front of him.
He didn’t raise it or point it at Alessandro, instead he bent down, set it on the floor, and with a small push, slid it toward him.
Alessandro stared down at the gun, his expression flickering between shock and confusion. Armando watched the scene in stoic silence, the smoke from his cigarette curling around him as he observed.
Lorenzo took another step, his gaze steady. “It’s loaded Alessandro. I’m unarmed now.” He gestured at the gun on the floor. “If you really think you have to go through with this, then finish it. But I won’t stop until you let her go.”
Alessandro’s breathing grew heavier as he looked down at the weapon, then back at Lorenzo-whose footsteps resumed, slow but unwavering.
As Lorenzo got closer, Alessandro’s hand began to shake. His face contorted with anxiety and his eyes darted back and forth as he realized his brother wasn’t going to stop.
“Lorenzo, don’t…” Alessandro’s voice was barely a whisper, his hands trembling more visibly now.
Lorenzo continued his approach, his eyes fixed on Alessandro, and a strange determination in his expression.
Each step seemed to break Alessandro down a little more until, without warning, his hand jerked, his finger grazed the trigger of the gun and in a split second, there was a loud bang that flushed the atmosphere in a wave of silence. It was as though time itself had come to a halt.
Lorenzo staggered, his eyes widening in shock as his hand flew to his chest where a dark red stain began to spread across his shirt. He looked down in disbelief, his legs giving way as he crumpled to the floor.
Alessandro stood frozen, his eyes wide and his hand still locked in place as if he couldn’t comprehend what he had just done.
Eleanor was released from his grip as he stumbled backward. She fell to the floor gasping for air, too stunned to move as she watched Alessandro’s horrified gaze fix on his fallen brother.
“Lorenzo…!?” Alessandro’s voice was barely audible, trembling as he stumbled toward his brother. He dropped to his knees, gathering Lorenzo’s limp body in his arms, his hands shaking as he cradled him. “No… I… I didn’t mean to… Lorenzo! Please…”
Lorenzo’s breaths came in short, shallow gasps, his hand weakly reaching up to grasp his brother’s arm. His lips moved, but no words came out, only a soft exhale that sounded almost like a sigh. A faint smile flickered on his face, and then his hand fell limp.
Alessandro’s face crumpled, a choked sob escaping him as he clutched Lorenzo’s lifeless body, his tears falling onto his brother’s face. “Lorenzo… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I didn’t know… I didn’t mean…”
Eleanor, still frozen in place, could only watch in numb silence as Alessandro rocked back and forth, his anguished cries filling the room. She wanted to look away, to escape the horror unfolding before her, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t tear her eyes from the sight of Alessandro breaking down over his brother’s body.
Then, all of a sudden, the silence was shattered by a deafening bang that echoed through the room, making her flinch. Another shot followed, then a third, each one so loud it felt like it would tear through her skull.
The sound barely registered as she saw Alessandro’s body jerk with each shot, his upper body slumping forward until he collapsed, lifeless, next to Lorenzo’s. The gun slipped from his fingers clattering onto the floor, and the room fell into an eerie silence once more.
Armando stood a few feet away, his rifle still raised and smoke curling from the barrel. His expression was calm-almost indifferent-as he looked down on Alessandro’s body, a flicker of satisfaction crossing his face.
He turned his gaze towards Eleanor as he lowered the gun, flicking the ashes from his cigarette.
Eleanor’s gaze darted between the two bodies on the floor, her mind struggling to process what had just happened. Her hands shook, her throat dried up, and her chest tightened with fear and shock.
Her legs wobbled as she rose to her feet, eyes still glued to the lifeless forms of Lorenzo and Alessandro lying side by side-the haunting sight that would forever be etched into her memory.