Dangerous Numbers

Chapter 25

VITTORIO

Both I and the car were in overdrive since I left the warehouse at the port. As I approach the estate, the guards open the gates, and I don't even stop until the car is outside the house entrance. Paolo along with some of his men were sitting on a bench. They look up at me startled as the car stops, raising a cloud of dust behind. I get out of the car and giving a nod to them I storm inside. I would not put my mind to rest until I see her and make sure she's safe.

I see Bianca popping her head out from the kitchen, but I had no time for greetings. Putting up with Juliano was one thing, but now the situation escalated to a higher level. Dimitri was a bastard I've been watching for many years. Now it's the perfect, and maybe my only chance. But I'm scared about Alex. I want her out of this for certain.

The door slams open as I enter her room, knocking was a waste of time right now, and see her jumping up from her seat next to the window, turning to look at the door. Her body relaxes when her eyes land on me and I can say I feel the same too.

As I walk toward her, she instinctively places her hands around me, giving me a hug with all the strength she got. I follow her lead and hug her back. She must have been petrified by my reaction earlier. I owe her an explanation.

The thought that I have to tell her why Dimitri Vokov was a threat opens a chest firmly locked in my heart for the last ten years. A very painful one.

I break the hug but don't leave her. I take my right hand and place it under her chin, lifting slightly her head up to look at her. Her dark brown eyes are even darkened with fear. I could feel her body slightly trembling and I tightened my grip around her waist.

"You've seen anything strange on the way here?" I ask her softly. I don't want to scare her even more than she already is.

"Nothing." She replies shaking her head sideways.

"Everything is going to be fine," I plant a kiss on her forehead and take her hand in mine.

Slowly, I let her go and walk to close the door. She sits on the bed, and I join next to her.

"I owe you an explanation about my reaction earlier, and this is what I'm about to do. But before I begin, please listen until the end and then you can ask me anything. I know that after hearing all this maybe you change your opinion about me, but I'm ready to take that risk."

Worry spreads across her face but she gently places her hands over mine and gives me a soft squeeze to continue.

"So," I continue taking a deep breath. "My family was not always my father and me. I had a mother and a sister too. They were both lovely. Simona was a caring mother and a lovely wife. When they were looking at each other, you could see the love and passion one felt for the other. She was supportive, kind, a true jewel."

I let out the rest of the breath turning my eyes to the floor beneath us.

"Eva and I were twins. Identical. She was a bit shorter than me, with a long braid on her hair. We were in serious trouble when we were kids, but our mother always didn't seem angry with anything we'd do. Father on the other hand was stern, turning to furious when we were misbehaving."

I make a little pause trying to find the courage in me about what I'm about to speak. I feel my chest heavy.

"Ten years ago, on our twentieth birthday, Eva was supposed to meet me at a café in town before heading home for our family party. She didn't show up. I went to my father's office and tried to explain to him the strange feeling I had, like something bad happened to her. Father then told me that he had just received a letter, saying Eva was abducted by the Russian mafia in retaliation for the sabotage of their deal from my father."

I hear Alex's breath cutting short in shock.

"My mother was devastated. We had no news of her for almost a week. I was still low on the ladder and hadn't much influence. I managed to gather some men to get out in search of her and get her back. But my father ordered me not to make a single move. He didn't want to lose me too, because I would end up success him in taking the lead of all this. Before I could blink, I found myself locked down in the cellar, heavily guarded."

I start brushing my thumbs above her hands. It felt more difficult to keep talking about this than I thought.

"I tried everything I could to get out of there. I offered them money - everything I could with the power I had so far - but the guards were merely laughing at me, saying I'll end up being the same as my father for a joke. I was so furious I even started punching the wall in hope that the wall will break, and that I'll be out to find my sister. My mother was coming down to get me food. She had dark circles below her once bright eyes, she looked like she had lost all the light within, looking like a ghost. I lost the essence of time, being locked up down there. After a long time in the cellar, one of my father's men approaches and opens my cage. I run upstairs and stop in my tracks at the sight of a large wooden box in the middle of the living room. My mother was collapsed on her knees - screaming inarticulate cries - and my father was standing still, no different from the columns of the house."

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Hi everyone!

Exams are over for now, so I'll be back on my regular publishing schedule of two chapters per week.

I hope you liked this one! Vittorio has more to say on the next chapter, coming soon!