ARMANDO
The ride back to the mansion was silent, but my head wasn’t. I couldn’t shake the image of Enzo’s face-cold and lifeless-in that bag. It played on a loop in my mind, every detail-the stiffness of his features, the unnatural stillness-etching deeper with each passing second. It wasn’t just grief that gripped me. It was anger-burning, unrelenting anger.
I sat in the back seat, staring out at the rain-dotted windows with my jaw clenched so tightly that it ached a bit. The thirst for revenge was clawing at me-demanding I act, but I couldn’t afford to be reckless just yet. The police sniffing around my operations was something I just couldn’t afford at the moment.
When the limo pulled into the driveway, Matteo jumped out even before the chauffeur had fully parked. He opened the door for me-holding an umbrella in one hand. “It’s starting to pour boss. Let me-”
I waved him off and stepped out into the rain, ignoring the drizzle that quickly turned into a steady downpour. The cold water hit my face, but I barely noticed. My mind was way too restless to care about the weather.
I walked straight into the mansion-head slightly bent against the rain-and Matteo followed close behind still holding the umbrella, but I didn’t slow down for him.
The moment I pushed the door open, I stopped in my tracks. She was standing right there in the middle of the living room.
Her clothes were soaked-clinging to her frame, and her hair was a wet, tangled mess. She looked like she’d been caught in the storm for hours and water dripped onto the floor around her-pooling at her feet, but she didn’t say a word.
“What the fuck?” I muttered under my breath, stepping further into the room. “What are you doing here?”
Eleanor didn’t answer. She just stood there, shivering slightly with her lips pressed tightly together.
I took a step closer, narrowing my eyes. “Are you going to say something or are we just going to stand here playing statue? How the fuck are you standing here right now?”
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She tried again, but it was just a stutter, nothing coherent.
“Matteo,” I snapped, my voice sharp. “Go get the fucking chauffeur. Now.”
Matteo didn’t hesitate. He turned and left the room, leaving the front door slightly ajar. The rain and wind from outside seeped in, but I didn’t move to close it. My focus was entirely on Eleanor.
“Well?” I asked, my tone firm but quieter than before. “What the hell happened? How are you here?”
Her eyes darted to the floor for a moment, and then she took a shaky breath. “They took me… but I got away.” she finally said.
I raised an eyebrow. “You got away?” I repeated, my voice heavy with disbelief. “Just like that?”
“Yes.” She nodded, her eyes meeting mine briefly before flicking away again.
I took a step closer, studying her carefully. Her clothes were dirty, her skin was pale, and there was something in her expression-fear maybe.
She hesitated, her hands fidgeting at her sides. “I… I waited for the right moment,” she said quietly. “They weren’t paying attention, so I ran.”
I tilted my head slightly, narrowing my eyes. “You ran? Past armed men? And they just let you go?”
She swallowed hard, not responding right away. I could see the gears turning in her head, but whatever she was trying to piece together, it wasn’t coming fast enough.
“Do you know what this looks like, Eleanor?” I said, stepping even closer. “It looks like a setup. Like you’re playing games with me. Are you?”
Her eyes snapped up to mine, wide and defensive. “No!” she said quickly. “I would never-”
“Then start talking,” I cut her off, my voice low but commanding. “Because this little fairy tale of yours isn’t believable.”
She took a deep breath, wrapping her arms around herself as if to shield against the cold-or maybe my questions. “I swear,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “I didn’t plan this. I didn’t even know who they were. They grabbed me, but I… I got away. That’s all there is to it.”
Before I could press further, Matteo walked back in with the chauffeur trailing behind him.
“You called for me, sir?” the chauffeur asked, his voice cautious.
I pointed at Eleanor without looking away from her. “Didn’t you say she was kidnapped?”
“Yes, sir,” he said. “That’s exactly what I saw sir.”
“And now she’s standing here,” I said, my voice flat. “Explain that.”
The chauffeur glanced at Eleanor, then back at me. “I… I don’t know, sir. I just know what I saw.”
I turned back to Eleanor. “Well, what am I missing here?”
* * * * * * * *
ELEANOR
The rainwater clung to me like a second skin, soaking through my dress and leaving me cold, shivering, and humiliated. I didn’t know how to even begin explaining myself to Armando who stood just a few feet away with a sharp, unwavering gaze that could cut through stone. His questions felt heavier with each repetition, each demand that I tell him exactly what had happened. My chest tightened as I struggled to find the right words, to give him something that would make sense of everything without making me crumble under the weight of it all.
“What really happened, Eleanor?” he asked again, his tone firmer this time. “You show up here looking like this and you’re not giving me a straight answer.”
“It all happened so fast. I… I can’t even explain it all.” I answered, my voice trembling as I looked at him.
“Try.”
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, but the memory hit me all over again. “We were on the road,” I began, my voice quiet and unsteady. “your relative, he made the driver take this lone route, then, out of nowhere, a van overtook us and blocked the car. They started shooting everywhere and the bullets just kept ringing.”
Armando’s expression didn’t shift, but I could see the tension in his jaw. “His name was Enzo.”
He was listening closely, every detail sinking in.
“I-I ducked,” I continued. “We all did. The driver, me and him as well… we all bent down inside the car… trying not to get hit. He told the driver to reverse, but… but before we could, another van came from behind and blocked us. We were trapped.”
“Trapped,” Armando repeated, his voice low.
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “At first, I thought it was just a robbery. I mean, what else could it have been? But then these men-they got out of the vans. Ten of them… w-with guns that they pointed straight at us.”
His eyes narrowed. “And then?”
“They told us to get out of the car,” I said, my voice breaking slightly. “Enzo… he told me not to worry. He said everything would be fine, then… I saw him reach into his pocket. I didn’t even know he had a gun on him.”
Armando’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t interrupt.
“I begged him not to do anything,” I said quickly, the words tumbling out now. “I told him they’d just take whatever they wanted and leave us alone. But Enzo didn’t want to listen.”
I paused, the memory making my stomach twist as Armando’s eyes burned into me, waiting for more.
“Then, one of the men ordered us to get out of the car,” I continued. “By then I was already able to convince Enzo to finally put the gun away.”
Armando crossed his arms, his gaze unrelenting. “Then what happened, Eleanor? What did they want?”
I hesitated. This was the part I didn’t know how to explain without unraveling completely. “They told us to follow them,” I said softly. “They wanted to take us somewhere. I don’t know where, but… but Enzo wasn’t having it. He-he lunged at one of them that had arrived a little later than the rest. Their leader, I think.”
I shook my head, the tears threatening to spill over. “He grabbed the man, tried to use him as a shield. I think he thought he could buy us some time, maybe even escape. But…”
“But what?” Armando’s voice was sharp, and I flinched slightly.
“It backfired,” I whispered. “The other men-they didn’t hesitate. Once the man Enzo was struggling with managed to escape his hold, they just… they just started shooting. All of them. Over and over.”
I felt the tears spill down my cheeks, mixing with the rainwater still clinging to my skin. “They didn’t stop until he was on the ground Armando. They did not stop until he was dead.”
The room was silent for a moment, save for the sound of the rain hitting the windows. Armando didn’t say anything at first, but the tension in the air was suffocating.
His face hardened as I finished telling him how Enzo had been shot down and for a moment, I thought he might leave it there. But then his gaze sharpened, and his voice cut through the heavy silence.
“What about you?” he asked. “What happened after they took you? Did you recognize anyone, anything? A voice, a place?”
My chest tightened. I had hoped he wouldn’t ask that question. My mind raced, trying to recall the excuses I had pieced together on the way back here.
“They were all masked… s-so I couldn’t recognize anyone.” I said, keeping my voice steady.
“And the place?” His eyes pinned me in place. “Where did they take you?”
“I don’t know,” I said quickly. “They knocked me out. By the time I woke up, I was on some busy street in the rain. That’s all I remember.”
I could feel my hands trembling, so I clasped them behind my back. Armando stared at me, his silence dragging on just long enough to make me squirm.
“So you don’t remember anything?” he pressed.
“No,” I said, a little too fast. “Nothing.”
He didn’t look away, his silence filling the room with tension. Then he tilted his head slightly, narrowing his eyes.
“I don’t believe you,” he said simply.
My heart dropped. My throat felt dry, and I struggled to keep my face neutral. “What do you mean?” I asked, trying to sound surprised instead of terrified.
“You’re nervous,” he said, stepping closer. “You’ve been nervous since the moment I walked into this living room. Why?”
I froze, my mind spinning as I tried to think of an answer that wouldn’t make things worse. But before I could respond, Armando sighed, shaking his head.
“Never mind,” he muttered. “You’ve been through hell. I guess I can’t blame you for being on edge after everything you saw.”
Relief washed over me, but I knew better than to let it show.
“That’s not what I don’t believe, though,” he continued. His tone was calmer now, but there was still an edge to it. “What I don’t believe is that you came back here on your own.”
“What choice did I have?” I asked, my voice softer now. “I didn’t have anywhere else to turn to. Besides, you’d find me again if I tried to run.”
He raised an eyebrow at that, and for a moment, I thought I saw something like amusement flash across his face. It was gone just as quickly as it appeared, replaced by something colder and calculating.
He glanced at me and I noticed the way his eyes lingered. Not on my face, but on the wet dress clinging to my body. My stomach churned with discomfort, and I looked away, pretending I hadn’t noticed.
“Go upstairs,” he said suddenly, his tone dismissive. “Change out of that and come back down to clean up the mess you made on my floor.”
I nodded, keeping my eyes on the floor. “Yes.”
“Good,” he said, already turning toward the staircase. He then paused halfway up, glancing back at me again. “Don’t take too long.”
I didn’t respond, just kept my head down until I heard his footsteps fade away. When I finally looked up, that man Matteo was still in the room. He just stood by the door watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
“What?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.
Although he didn’t say anything, he just shook his head slightly before stepping outside-the door clicking shut behind him, leaving me all alone inside the living room.
I let out a shaky breath, my hands gripping the edge of one of the sofas to steady myself. Armando’s questions had rattled me more than I wanted to admit, and the weight of Don Salvatore’s threats still pressed down on me like a stone.
I couldn’t stop thinking about his words, about the way he had looked at me when he mentioned my sister. The cold, calculated malice in his voice as he told me what would happen if I didn’t cooperate.
Although I had gotten away-for now, I knew it wasn’t over.
As I made my way upstairs to change, my mind raced with all kinds of dreadful possibilities. The thought of my sister-alone and vulnerable-made my stomach twist. I couldn’t let anything happen to her.
Of course I couldn’t tell Armando either, not until I figured out what to do.
For now I just had to keep my head down, follow orders, and hope that he wouldn’t somehow see through me before I found a way out of this mess.