>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O-> Lorenzo reached over and tapped me three times on my shoulder with the back of his hand to get my attention. From the passenger seat, I looked up from my phone and forward through the windshield.

"She's out," Leo stated the obvious from the backseat. He was positioned in the middle in order to get a good view. All three of us watched Ila set foot out of the parking garage. Leo questioned, "Why is she walking? Doesn't she have a car?"

"Maybe she's going somewhere near?"Lorenzo suggested.

"That and because her car is in the pound," I said. Leo's question made me remember that her car was still at the towing place.

"Why did it get towed?" Leo asked.

"Long story," I dismissed. "Anyways, call Adriano and Kianzo to follow her."

"Where are we going?" Lorenzo asked. "Are we finally going to get lunch?"

"No, we are going to get Ila her car back," I explained. "Start driving."

<-I-L-A-<<< Charlotte, Quinten, and I were planning to go out to eat while they were on their lunch break. I left 20 minutes earlier from my home, giving me enough time to reach the hospital on foot. For the past three weeks, I have been on top of things. I managed to unpack my belongings, go on a cleaning purge, and sort out a bunch of things. However, I still needed to retrieve my car back from the towing company.

As I walked, I sensed someone watching me. Not stopping nor slowing down, I casually looked around at my surroundings. Even though the weather was good, not many people were out walking the streets of New York.

I looked straight forward, watching where I walking. Still, the feeling of being watched never left. Was it possible that some Il Bisbiglios were keeping an eye on me? A chill crawled up my spine despite the warm sun heat hitting my back. Perhaps, maybe it was Stollo's men?

I shook off the thought and continued walking. I reached the hospital and for the first time since I got fired, I walked in. I waited in the lobby and sat myself down in one of the seats. My heels scrapped the white marble floors as I nervously tapped the toes of my feet. I watched all the openings where it was possible for Quinten and Charlotte to walk out of. Occasionally checking the time on my wrist watch, the two didn't appear until 10 minutes later.

"Sorry," Quinten apologized. "The surgery took longer than expected."

I pointed to his outfit, "Your white coat is still on."

"Don't worry about it. I won't have time to go back to my office and put it back on anyways," he explained.

"Let's go eat," Charlotte said. She locked arms with both of us as she took her place in the middle and led us out of the hospital.

Walking to a nearby burger joint, Charlotte, Quinten, and I got sat in a booth. The couple sat together and I sat across from them.

"How's finding work?" Charlotte asked, stuffing her face in a meaty burger.

"I've been applying and even got a few interviews later into the week," I explained. "I'm getting all nervous just thinking about it."

"Don't worry, Ila. You are a good doctor and they'll see that," Quinten tried to assure me.

"You know what else they'll see?" Charlotte asked, giggling to herself.

"What?" Quinten and I questioned.

"Her three-month suspension on her resume," Charlotte joked.

I chuckled and then whined, "Charlotte."

"I'm joking," she said. Then, after really thinking about it for a second, she took back what she said, "Not really. It's going to be on there. What are you going to say when they bring it up?"

I shrugged, "What else can I say but what really happened?"

"You should tell him it's because the CEO of Grand Oak Hospital is a crazy powered rich man who has a temper," Quinten badmouthed Mr. Heffling.

"You're not wrong," I agreed. Changing the subject, I asked, "When is your guys' next day off?"

"I think mine's in next month," Quinten said after swallowing his food.

Charlotte nodded her head, "I think that's for my case, too. Why?"

I smiled, embarrassed, and sheepishly answered, "Nothing, don't worry about it. It seems like I have a lot of time on my hands."

Quinten looked at me with soft eyes, knowing the real reason for the free time I had.

"I'm jealous. If I were you, with all that free time, I would definitely never go out and just stay in to binge watch movies and shows."

"How about you quit and we can do that together?" I asked, jokingly.

We continued to talk and munch for the remainder of their lunch break. Quinten generously picked up the tab and we walked back to the hospital. I dropped them off and made my way back to my apartment.

Reaching the safety of my home, I changed into more comfortable clothes. I hopped onto my bed, where my laptop sat, and I checked my email. There weren't any responses to my application email. Seeing that I had absolutely nothing else to do, I logged out of my mail and onto my Netflix account. Doing as Charlotte had suggested, I began to watch movies after another.

Eventually, my eyes were straining due to looking at my computer screen for too long. There was no light in my room, indicating that I must have spent my whole afternoon watching shows on Netflix. Shutting my laptop, I closed my eyes to recover.

I didn't open my eyes until I was poked in the cheek of my face. Waking up from my nap, an end tip of a machete was pointed at my neck. I sunk deeper into my bed, avoiding the sharp metal. The light to my room was turned on and I was able to make out everything. I frantically moved my eyes, scanning the place. About eight men were in my room. Some were aiming their weapons at me while others were rummaging through my things.

"Move to the living room," the one with his machete nearest to my throat ordered. Cold sweat had broken through the surface of my skin. I didn't make any attempt to move. I was scared that I'll get cut.

"Come on and get up already," another man said. He aimed his gun to the ground while he grabbed the collar of my shirt. The men in my room cleared the way as he began to drag me to my living room.

At the couch, sitting, was a man no other than Stollo. The man that brought me to Stollo let go of me. He stood beside with his gun pointed to me. Four other men joined him.

"We meet again," Stollo said, with his evil smile. "Not coincidentally, of course. Sorry about your door."

Stollo pointed at the door without looking and I followed his finger. My apartment door generally looked in great shape but I noticed that the lock and handle to it was damaged. It showed signs of forced entry. I prayed that it looked bad from the outside and hoped someone would see it and call the police.

Stollo saw me staring at the door and said, "Tape her. Tight."

He must have thought I was planning to escape. Running for it didn't reach my mind. For some reason, I already felt defeated. Things that happened after I left Il Bisbiglio never went my way. I thought I was going to be able to be happy without the mafia, instead, I was lonely without Matteo, Aiden, Marcella, or Giovanni. I thought I was going to get a job once I received the letter from my unsuspension but I haven't found any source of money income. I thought Matteo's watch was going to harm me, however, it was his watch that kept me safe.

Silent tears escaped as the men pushed me into the couch. They began to wrap my hands together and my feet. When one of the guys tried putting tape over my mouth, Stollo stopped him, "Don't mute her just yet. She's been quiet so far and I want to change that."

Stollo stood up from where he sat and walked to where he was in front of me, waiting for me to speak. I opened my mouth and spoke with my weak voice, "Just make my death quick. I've accepted that it was my share of karma."

Stollo laughed, "Woman, they always make it about themselves. I'm not going to kill you right now. I need you to do something for me."

"I'm not in Il Bisbiglio anymore," I explained.

"You might have managed to run away from Il Bisbiglio but you can't run away from me."

"What do you want from me?" I asked. This was an extreme way to ask for a favor.

"Through your phone, I need you to contact Matteo."

"Why?"

One of his men handed him my phone that they must have found in my bedsheets.

"I want Matteo with an easy capture. I know you can bring him to me. You got saved by him. You are out of Il Bisbiglio without a scratch. Il Bisbiglio men are keeping an eye on your every move. You must mean something to Il Bisbiglio. Perhaps, you mean something to Matteo himself?" Stollo questioned. The look on his face, however, told me differently. "I need you to text him, lure him. I'm feeling generous so if you do it my way, you won't die for now. If any indication of me being here with my men, I'll kill you right away. I could text him myself but that wouldn't be so fun."

The twisted man handed my phone into my hands. Stollo warned, "Don't even think about calling the police."

I nervously swallowed as my phone unlocked at the touch of my fingerprint. I found my messenger app and Matteo's contact.

"What do you want me to send?" I asked. There was no room for me not to cooperate. My thumbs acted on betrayal as they typed the message Stollo told me to send. Pressing the send button, the delivered sign appeared under the blue iMessage.

Ila: Matteo, can you come to my apartment? We need to talk about us.

"Did you sleep with him?" Stollo said, smirking as he harassed me.

I chose to stay quiet. I stared a the screen and watched the 'Delivered' turned to 'Read 10:43 PM'. The typing bubble showed up at the bottom left corner but it quickly disappeared.

Don't come, I begged in my mind. Please, don't come.

<~> Please show much love ❤️ Not to freak y'all out but the book is almost coming to an end ;)