Katerina Dale

Throughout the whole drive back to the countryside, I couldn't help but check every single mirror of the car, to make sure that no one was following us. After the first half an hour of not spotting anyone following us, I was finally able to breathe and decided to get to know the Dale family's driver who had been silent this whole time. He was an American man in his late fifties and is married with two children.

"Thank you again for helping me, Mr. Winters," I mumbled softly while fidgeting with the seat belt wrapped around me. I had found out that Mr. Winters had been working for the Dale family ever since my mother married into the family. He had been assigned to being her personal chauffeur and was very happy to meet me which surprised me.

"Of course, Young Miss. It is my pleasure to assist you, I would always drive your mother to her doctor appointments when she was pregnant. She was very happy when she found out she was having twins," Mr. Winters met my eyes briefly with a warm smile before looking back on the road. I smiled at him gratefully but didn't continue the conversation about my mother.

Part of me always wanted to learn more about her but growing up, I didn't want to hurt my maternal grandparents feelings so I never asked them about her. I guess, I felt guilty knowing that my birth is what led to her death. Sighing, I reflected on my actions from yesterday and what I told Eliana replayed in my mind. I'm such a hypocrite, aren't I? I can't even take my own advice.

"We have arrived, Young Miss," Mr. Winters lightly shook me awake after three hours of driving. I had dozed off while trying to fight against my shivering body after an hour of the drive. He had no extra clothes in the car so the only thing I could do was sink myself into the heat of the car and pray to not catch a fever. Now was no time to get sick, I simply do not have that luxury since a certain Mafia boss will be coming after me soon.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I took in the front view of my grandparents bungalow in the countryside during this peaceful night. It filled me with so much happiness and peace of mind that I found myself tearing up at the sight of it. I thought I would never get to see it again.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Winters. I will forever be grateful to you," thanking the driver for all of his help, I stepped out and practically ran to the front door with excitement. It was close to midnight right now and I didn't want to wake up my grandparents so I planned to take the secret spare key out from the plant beside the front door.

After thanking the heavens for the key still being there, I turned towards the front door and was about to place the key into the doorknob but froze when I noticed it open already. For some reason, a sinking feeling began to take over the pit of my stomach as I slowly pushed the door open all the way. My breathing came out in short breaths while trying to remain as quiet as possibly despite the fear that caused my heart to thump loudly.

With cautious footsteps, I entered my home and almost fainted at the sight of it. Everything was tossed around carelessly, the furniture was thrown aside and most were broken into several pieces. I was in too much shock as I continued walking into the dark home and failed to notice the glass shards on the floor. Since I ran away from Arosio's family mansion, I did not have the time to prepare shoes in advance.

Wincing, I bent down to pull the glass shards out of both of my feet with more tears gathering in my eyes as the pain stabbed at me. Once the shards were out, I decided to turn on the lights in the main floor so that I could at least see where I was going. By now my feet had created bloody footprints on the white tiles but I ignored it and continued searching the main floor for any trace of my grandparents.

"Grandpapa? Grandmama? This isn't funny, come out...I'm scared," I whispered weakly while slowly making my way towards the living room. My grandmama is a clean freak and would never leave any mess anywhere in the house which is why I was getting even more worried.

As soon as I stepped into the living room, a scream tore through my mouth and echoed in the grand room. My legs suddenly felt weak, making me fall to the ground in utter horror and shock as my eyes snapped away from the several pictures hanging from the chandelier.

"No, please God no, this can't be happening," more sobs left my trembling lips as I curled into a fetal position on the marble flooring and prayed for God to just take me now.

In the horrific pictures that were hanged by some sadist, my grandpapa and grandmama were in some sort of dark filthy cellar with their feet and arms bound by tight ropes. My grandpapa had bruises all over his handsome face with a black eye and my grandmama had a bruise on the corner of her lips. More tears began to spill down my frightened eyes as I realized that this was all of my fault. They were taken away from me and it was all of my fault.

"Please God," my prayers were cut short by the main house phone ringing on the coffee table, making me instantly stand up. Wincing from the sudden pressure I put on my bleeding feet, I walked towards the phone quickly and picked it up without reading the caller I.D. My breathing came out in heavy pants in between my sobs as I waited for the person to speak.

"I see you have received the present I left for you," my eyes widened in shock when I recognized the older man's cold voice.

"Father?" the word left my lips before I could stop myself and I heard him sneer in disgust on the other end of the phone.

"How many times did I tell you not to fuck up? But what did you do? You stole your sisters husband and made my princess return home with a bruised face, you slut," his enraged voice boomed through the phone but I quickly cut him off before he could insult me further.

"No, I swear that's not what happened. Please, believe me. I do not want to be married to that man! I was only helping you and Isabella, I swear. Please let my grandparents come home, please," I could hear his sadistic laughter as he listened to me beg him for mercy.

"Oh, I'll be letting them come home to you..." he started and I could finally feel my heart beat return to me until he spoke his next few words that shook my whole being.

"in pieces of course. Tomorrow evening, you will receive your beloved grandparents bodies cut up into several pieces. Consider it as a marriage gift from my family to yours," he stated coldly as my heart shattered into a million pieces. I was his family too, how could he do this to us? They are his late wife's parents, how could he be such a monster?

"No please, don't hurt them. I will call the police and you will get arrested and put into jail," I have no idea where the sudden confidence came from but I instantly regretted it when I heard the heartless man let out a genuine laugh.

"I dare you to call the police, bitch. I will kill your grandparents and leave them on your doorstep in the morning if you do that," he threatened me in that same cold tone that made me terrified and want to hide under my blanket in my bedroom upstairs.

"Father please... please don't do this," I begged one more time as a last resort but he simply ended the call as if he had not just threatened to take away my only family in this world.

In a fit of rage, I took the phone and threw it against the nearest wall, shattering it to pieces. Crying heavily, my shivering body walked towards the pictures hanging by a thread on the chandelier before I ripped them off and clutched them against my chest.

I have no one to call for help. If I call the police, he will kill them earlier and I know that the prestigious Dale family holds powerful connections so I doubt the police would even help. I have close friends from College but they moved to New York which would take many hours by plane just to get to this countryside.

The possibility of losing the only people who ever loved and cared for me while I am utterly helpless began to seep into my mind and take it hostage. I felt my breathing escape me as my vision blurred and my body became to heavy to hold up. In the next second, my body fell to the marble floor but not before my head collided with the coffee table.

I welcomed the pain and darkness that followed.

***

"Che cazzo è successo qui? What the fuck are these bloody footprints?" I awoke on the cold floor to someone yelling from the front door and tried to pry my heavy eyelids open but failed miserably. (What the fuck happened in here?)

My body still felt heavy from the events of last night and I felt feverish from having passed out in the wet clothing. My head pounded as if someone had hit it with a cooking pan and I froze when my hand reached up and felt dried liquid on the side of my head.

Blood.

"Aro, calm down. We will find her," a familiar voice spoke but I was unable to make it out through the buzzing of my head. Slowly, I opened my eyes and tried to adjust to the sudden brightness as the sun shun through the grand windows in the living room.

A loud whimper left my lips when I slowly lifted myself up to a sitting position. My feet were still aching from the glass shards last night and the pain in my head made it almost impossible to breathe properly. I heard several pairs of footsteps rush into the living room but I didn't pay it any mind since my eyes were frozen on the photographs laying on my lap.

Grandpapa and grandmama.

Looking at the photographs again made a rush of emotions hit me full force as I began to cry out loudly again, not caring of whoever was in my home. They were probably sent by my father to kill me anyway and right now, I would gladly accept death.

"Cucciola?" Arosio's deep voice rang through the silent room as my gaze snapped up to the entrance of the living room. His eyes widened in shock when he took in my bloody appearance and his jaw clenched in anger. I saw a murderous rage flash across his dark eyes, succeeding in awakening me from the fog that I was just stuck in. Alejandro and Giovanni stood behind him in shock as well as they stared at my bloody feet and forehead.

Within seconds, I had sprung up to my feet and rushed across the room towards the man who made me feel safe despite everything that happened between us last night. Taking all of us by surprise, I did something that I never thought I would do in a million years. I threw myself into the arms of the Italian Mafia boss and wrapped my arms around his neck tightly as I continued to cry into his shoulder.

Almost immediately, Arosio wrapped his strong arms around my waist and pressed me tighter against his warm body. His hand reached up and gently rubbed my messy hair up and down in a soothing manner as I continued to cry. Every single bit of sadness and helplessness that I felt in the past few days seemed to seep out of me, and I couldn't get myself to stop crying.

"Please...help...me...I...they...Dale...my grandparents," were the only words that I could choke out in between my sobs and I felt Arosio tighten his hold around me even more.

He waited a few moments before pulling away from me and lifting his hand towards my face, causing me to flinch back in fear, thinking he was going to hit me. I saw hurt flash across his darkened eyes but it disappeared just as fast as it appeared. Slowly, he placed his hand on my cheek and I leaned into the warmth as my whole body felt frozen since I passed out in wet clothes on the cold marble flooring.

"Listen carefully, I am only going to ask you one time. Who hurt you, tesoro?" Arosio questioned darkly in a cold tone that sent shivers down my spine as I witnessed the same bloodthirsty and murderous rage swirling around in his dark orbs.

Whimpering from the sudden danger he exuded from his powerful aura, I began to fight against his tight hold with more tears falling down my face. One moment, he was caring and managed to stop my tears but the next moment, his terrifying presence made me start crying even more than before.

Arosio's gaze softened as both of his hands gently lifted up to my face before he used his thumbs to wipe my tears away. I could tell that he was struggling to reign in his anger so that he wouldn't scare me further. He noticed my hesitation to answer his question and sighed in frustration before pulling me into his protective embrace that made me feel the safest that I had ever felt in my whole life.

"Aro, I think this is why principessa is crying," Giovanni stated from beside us and I caught him out of the corner of my eyes, holding up the pictures of my grandparents that he had picked up from the floor.

Wait, my grandparents.

They're going to die...and it's all his fault.

My father is extracting revenge on me because he thinks that I seduced my own sisters husband but I did no such thing.

It's all this bastards fault.

Arosio still held me in his tight embrace while he took a second to study the pictures. Without wasting another second, I roughly pushed him away from my body and stumbled back from him in pain. The sudden movement seemed to reopen the wounds on my feet and I could feel blood seep onto the floor again. My head began to pound as I clutched it in my hands and felt the room sway. Arosio reached out towards me but I shoved his hands away from my body and screamed at him.

"NO, don't you dare fucking touch me!" I screamed as I backed away from them and begged my head to stop making the room spin around.

Arosio's expression darkened as he glared at me furiously, obviously not liking my disrespect. His two friends were also staring at me in surprise but I paid them no mind. Instead, I strode forward in painful steps before tightly gripping onto Arosio's black dress shirt's collar with my pale hands.

"You sick fucking bastard. This is all your fault! Thanks to your disgusting marriage trick, I am about to lose the only people who ever loved and cared for a curse like me. My father vowed to kill them and send their dead chopped up body parts tonight for Christ sake! And, why? Because he's under the sick impression that I seduced my own twin sisters husband. Why in the fuck would I want to be tied to a man like you for the rest of my life? You sick fucking asshole, I hate you, do you hear me? I FUCKING HATE YOU AROSIO DE LUCA, I HATE YOU WITH EVERY BREATH IN MY BODY, AROSIO DE LUCA," I continued to scream as I shook the shocked and enraged Mafia boss back and forth with my small fists on his shirt's collar. Alejandro tried to pull me away from Arosio but I shook his hold away from me and began to pound my fists against Arosio's hard chest.

"What did I do to deserve this? What did they do to deserve this? I'll admit, I was wrong to try to trick you and your family... but I didn't even have a choice. My father had blackmailed me into acting as Isabella. Did I even do anything to hurt you or your family? No! Not once did I ever approach you or your family with any malicious intentions. I treated them sincerely with love and affection because I thought in my heart that they were good people. But I was wrong, so very wrong... Is this how you repay someone's honest heart? Is it my fault for showing you heartless people some kindness? I hate you, why should I lose my loved ones because of you? A heartless devil like you should die, not my innocent grandparents. I HATE YOU AND WILL ALWAYS HATE YOU... AROSIO... DE... LUCA," through more sobs I condemned the coldblooded man to death with my fists still pounding against his chest as he made no move to stop me.

Instead, he stared down at me in shock and with another emotion that almost looked like guilt but I couldn't stare long enough to tell what it was as my vision blurred and my words slurred towards the end of my sentence.

The next thing I knew, I was falling backwards and fainting for the second time but not before feeling Arosio catch me and lift me up into his strong arms.

"You did nothing wrong, my sweet angel. Your kind and honest heart is what captivated me. I'm so sorry, tesoro. I promise, I will never let you lose any of your loved ones," Arosio's shocking words fell into my ears as I succumbed to the darkness yet again.

***

Hello lovely readers,

Couldn't sleep again so here's another update.

Hope you enjoyed!

PLEASE READ, COMMENT & VOTE!