Stepbrother | ✔︎

41 | anacampserote

anacampserote [ ana•camo•ser•ote ]
n. something that can bring back a lost love

- v i n c e n z o -
[ half an hour ago ]

Something felt off. As my arms tightened around a pillow rather than the actual body of the woman I loved, I knew I wasn't going crazy.

I threw the pillow off the bed before putting on a pair of sweatpants. The time read that it was way past midnight, and it caused puzzlement to settle in my mind at where Bella could be.

When I walked down the stairs, the first thing I saw was the cook and that Barbie girl in the kitchen. There was no sight of Bella. As I walked right by them, their talking seemed to have muted. This caused me to stop dead in my tracks.

As I recalled previous events from earlier today, Bella had walked out of Valentino's office. She looked nervous and guilty every time she looked at me after that point. Deep down, I knew that there had to have been something she was hiding. A huge part of me had hoped she would just listen. Then again, she's Bella, and Bella never listens.

"You," I spoke, pointing towards the blonde who looked frightened. She walked towards me, trembling with each step.

"I'm going to ask you a question. Then, I'm going to need you to think long and hard about the answer. If you do so much as lie to me, I will have no problem showing you what happens to a liar," I threatened. She swallowed hard before taking a glance back at the cook. Her eyes returned to me, but they never seemed to meet mine.

"Where the hell is Bella?" I asked her. Her entire body froze. It was almost as if that were the last question she had ever wanted to hear.

"I'm afraid I can't say," she told me, her voice breaking in fear. Raising a brow, I folded my arms across my naked chest before nodding my head slowly.

"You can't say, huh?" I quizzed. She looked up at me pleadingly as if she wanted to break down and cry.

I didn't need her to tell me anything. The only person she had to fear more than me was Valentino. So, that meant if she couldn't follow my order, she was stuck under his. Walking past her, I stormed into Valentino's office. I opened up his drawers, digging through documents until finally my eyes landed on the hundreds of pictures he had of Sean. All of the pictures had his face craved out and some even had stabbing marks.

I knew my brother could get insane, but I never attempted to question how serious it was. I looked up at the computer to see a surveillance video. The footage was of Maria. I believed it was live footage as she leaned against the metal bars looking cold and deprived.

Putting things together, I realized that he had Maria. He must've had her this entire time while lying to me about Sean taking her.

Not only did he have Maria, but he was possibly putting Bella's life at risk by allowing her to assist him in a mentally draining mission. I knew my brother was crazy about revenge, but he was putting others lives at risk attempting to reach a goal.

As quickly as I could, I ran out of the house, not before throwing on an all-black sweatshirt. Just as I got to the door, Angelo was standing there looking lost as ever. "Your wife is locked away in the dungeon. I'm sure your brilliant son put her there. It seems like he didn't like his stepmother much," I told him before getting into my car.

I drove down the road, anger settling deep within me. It made me even more upset because I couldn't decide who to be madder at. Bella knew of the consequences, yet she still managed to put not only her life in jeopardy but the baby's life as well. Valentino was clear of what I told him when I walked into his office and demanded not to include Bella in his elaborate scheme.