Vincenzo’s POV
I had Hacker start tracking Isabella’s phone and pulling up surveillance before she managed to escape. ‘How did she manage to escape the estate without being stopped’ I frustratedly cursed out. ‘In case you forgot Isabella isn’t an ordinary hostage’ Lorenzo muttered out. I shot him a glare before turning back to Hacker.
‘I want the surveillance of the house and hack every street camera! Track her every move, spread word to our men on the streets and our recruits to keep an eye out for her. Once you get a live visual alert me immediately’ Hacker nods his head quickly rushing out of the office to his security room.
I take a second to look at the state of the house, everyone in the mafia was distressed and on edge, even the guards missed her threatening them. My siblings were burying themselves in work to find her and even my parents seem upset I wasn’t sure they were capable of such feeling’s. Maria was also a wreck but was surprisingly keeping a strong facade.
I turn around and see the broken mirror and for some reason, my body completely freezes. I tilt my head staring at my reflection in the broken mirror. It forces the person who shattered it to stare at themselves through the cracks, the sharp shattered glass I believe it’s because they see themselves in the same light… broken.
You can know a lot about a person when they look at themselves through the reflection of broken glass, if one stares too long, they are staring down the monster within them the thing that broke and bent them. If one winces and tears up, they’re reminded of the thing that broke them or perhaps it’s to reminded them of a loved one who views themselves in the same light as the mirror. But the ones who stare at a broken mirror and smile … they’re the ones to be feared. They stared hell in the face and won.
I shook my head going back to my desk, picking up the note and re-reading it. I can’t be selfish with you … I flung the note back on the desk resting my elbows on the desk rubbing the side of my head with my fingers. ‘Where could she have gone,’ Lorenzo asks, I shrug my shoulders feeling completely helpless. Maria walked into the office she looked exhausted; her eyes red from crying her body looked slumped as she approached the desk.
‘I don’t know why you left her … I don’t care but if anything happens to my sister, I will personally make it my mission to make your life hell’ She threatened in a low voice, I was taken back by her sudden change in personalities. Like Lorenzo, Maria was a bubbly friendly and sweet girl from my time knowing her she hates everything that includes threats and even death.
I inched closer to her face, ‘I’m not in the mood to be threatened’ my voice low and stern, she smirked ‘I wasn’t in the mood to lose my sister for the second time, shit happens’
‘Maria get out’ She shook her head laughing ‘No, do you know why? Because I actually care about my sister, I want her to come back so we can BOTH leave this hell hole. The moment we met you everything went south. WE WERE HERE FOR A FRESH START TO GET AWAY FROM ALL THE EVIL THAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH. THE EVIL ISABELLA HAD TO ENDURE FOR HER WHOLE LIFE’ She yelled tears threatening to spill at any given moment.
‘We were Sixteen when our parents died, she was sixteen when she watched our parents die in front of her eyes, unable to do anything. She blames herself every day… do you know that kind of guilt? She spiralled into complete madness into an endless pit of darkness. She spent a good three months tracking down who killed our parents, killing, bribing, drugs and torture. Only to find out who he was then be imprisoned and tortured by him for three months. Then forced to work as his right hand to escape the torture.’ I shut my eyes not wanting to hear anything Maria was saying, my blood boiling hearing what she had to endure at such a young age.
‘Imagine being blinded and desperate for human contact that you accept to work for the man who killed your parents in front of you? The only way for her to do that was to kill herself first. She needed to allow the monsters to win. All she knew was kill, torture, work. She forgot me … I CAN’T LET HER FORGET ME AGAIN’ She yelled falling on her knees. I lowered my head in silence as Lorenzo quickly went to her side to aid her. ‘Vincenzo … She managed to escape the first time and come back to her senses when she saw my face and a gun pointed at my head. Please bring her back’ she whispered the last sentence.
I walked around and knelt ‘I promise’ I whispered. She looked up at me with glossy eyes as tears ran down her cheeks she smiled slightly. ‘You and her are very alike you know that? You both have darkness embedded in your veins but you’re both scared of tainting the other … when in reality it looked like you were saving each other from the darkness that swallowed you both’
FLASHBACK
Pulling the trigger, I watch as the bullet hits the glass bottle shattering it into a million pieces. ‘I want an epic love’ Dante speaks out, I let out a laugh ‘with a face like that? Doubt you’d get a text back’ I laughed out. Dante looked at me with confusion as he furrowed his eyebrows ‘we’re twins’ He yelled. Letting out a laugh I look at him shaking my head. ‘You caught me on a technicality’ I joked back shrugging my shoulders, I looked at the gun and re-loaded.
‘Do you think we’ll ever get to experience it?’ I shrug my shoulders ‘They say the type your parents are a good indication of the type of love you’ll settle for … because it’s all you know’ He stays quiet while I fire another shot, ‘If our parents are the indication of the kind of warmth well get when we get older I don’t want it’ Dante spoke out seriously joining me on the field.
We both extended out our arms, aiming the gun to the far-left target before shooting simultaneously. The two bottles shatter the sand erupting as the bullet penetrates it. ‘Who says we got to settle when it comes to love?’ Dante reopens the topic, I laugh and shake my head going to grab a bottle of water and throwing him one.
He sits next to me on the chair, ‘I believe there is a person out there for all of us, one special person who can make you feel so alive but also scared’ I furrowed my eyebrows waiting for him to elaborate ‘scared?’ I questioned. He turned and looked at me ‘Terrifying because it’s completely out of your control. When you finally found that one epic love, she’ll have you questioning everything … you’ll do things you never imagined yourself doing. She’ll become a drug that you can’t get enough of. You’ll know she’ll be the death of you, but you don’t care because it’d be better to die with her by your side than to die without her insight. It’s a love that consumes you. and most of the time it happens through fate, it’s unexpected but there’s something that draws you to her and you do everything in your power subconsciously to keep her in your life until you finally figure out that the insanity, you’re feeling is Love’
I smiled imaging a kind of love like that ‘Who knows maybe we’ll get to experience it’ Dante smiled before his face dropped into a frown ‘Promise me something’ He sat up straight looking at me, I squinted my eyebrows confused before leaning in ‘anything’
He hesitated before continuing ‘Promise me, we won’t end up like mum and dad’ I lowered my head before looking back up I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer towards me ‘I promise we won’t end up like them’
‘I can’t see you with a girl’ He laughed in my neck before I pushed him off laughing ‘You see me with a guy?’ I joked he shook his head laughing ‘Not just any girl I meant, whoever you end up with is going to be a very special kind of girl. She’ll drive you insane’ I laughed shaking my head ‘If the love isn’t madness, then it’s not love’ I spoke out as a smile took over my face.
END OF FLASHBACK
To insanity indeed … I slowly came back to my senses looking at Maria who is still staring at me trying to read my eyes, I shook my head and stood up trying to cover up the emotions that suddenly flooded out. I shook my head trying not to read too much into the memory that popped in my head and what Maria said.
I looked at the door and saw Anna and Giovani storm into my office ‘Mum, Dad’ Lorenzo formally greets before shooting me good luck and taking Maria outside and closing the doors behind him. I rested one hand on my hip as I massaged my forehead with my free hand feeling a headache coming on.
‘Son’ I looked up with a blank stone-faced expression waiting for them to continue. ‘Why are we making a big deal over her disappearance. She wanted to leave, why are we chasing after her’ Anna mutters out, I laugh at the irony of this conversation as Giovani chimes in ‘Granted she might have been a good tool to have in our favour, but she isn’t worth any of this … If you find her kill her’
My head snaps in both of their directions ‘Do you people hear yourself when you talk?’ I frustratingly speak up. ‘Your father is right; she went against the code’
‘No, she didn’t, she hasn’t broken her silence. That’s not the point, however, your answer to everything is to simply get over it? Get back to work? or kill the problem?’ I yell out feeling the emotions I’ve bottled away a long time go rising to my throat ready to unleash hell.
Hacker bursts inside and stopping in his tracks ‘I can come back’ I shake my head ‘NO, come in, please. What do you have?’
‘I figured after the Dante situation, that she would have spiralled from then so. I pulled up footage after she left and heard her talking to herself that she will leave so I fast-forwarded it and minutes before she left, she enters your room along with Maria’s. The interesting thing is before she leaves, she grabs a folder containing from what I see locations and data. Whoever she’s after or is going to for help … She knows them and is well prepared.’ I nod my head slowly ‘Did we find out who the folders are for?’ Hacker shook his head ‘I tried catching a name through surveillance, but the footage was too blurry, she was also smart when she went on the streets she steered clear from security cameras both on the estate and streets. We catch her a few times but not enough to pinpoint a location’
I nod my head frustrated ‘The file looks like the ones you create, go check the system and see whose folder is missing’ He sharply nods his head giving me a sympathetic look before shaking his head and leaving.
‘What did he mean when he said the Dante situation’ Anna speaks out, ‘Was she the one who killed my baby?’
‘You’re baby?’ I questioned angrily ‘where was this reaction when he died! WHERE WAS THIS CONCERN WHEN YOUR SO-CALLED BABY WAS KILLED AND I WAS GRIEVING’ I yelled out, feeling every emotion ‘You diminished and belittled every emotion I had … do you remember your exact words? Hmm?’ I probed them both as I inched closer towards them both looked completely void of emotions as they stared at me.
‘you’re a criminal act like one” I coldly repeated to their faces, now inches away as I finally allowed all my emotions to rise to the surface. ‘None of you cried. You didn’t care. You were both drunk off your faces. You left everything to me, you left Lorenzo and Ariana to me. Per l’amor del cazzo you even MADE ME ARRANGE MY OWN BROTHERS FUNERAL.’ I cursed out, ‘Instead of being parents for a second or once in your life you decided to be children constantly fighting and yelling and making me the parent AND TELLING USE TO FUCKING GROW UP’
‘I LOST MY BROTHER AND YOU TWO DIDN’T EVEN ASK IF I WAS OKAY … My own mother didn’t hug me and tell me things were going to be okay. My dad said it was all in a day’s work. Then convinced me that emotions and my grief were pazzo. You’re the reason for my demons. The reasons I have no connection to any emotion other than anger.’
‘WE MADE YOU WHO YOU ARE’ Giovani yelled out slamming his fist on the table, I laughed out in irony ‘No, I made myself who I am. You made the demons. You both made the monsters, but you did not make me. I built myself up, Dante’s death broke me … you two you finished me’ I whispered finally accepting the truth, that I’m broken that I’m full of demons and monsters created and installed by someone else.
‘But I can’t fully blame the two of you … I chose to listen, to allow the demons and monsters to consume me until it was all I ever knew.’ I let out an airy laugh and looked back at them. They both stood there a few feet apart and I tilted my head at the distance. ‘Now the one person I cared about ran away. The one person who was with me not for power … or strength. but for me, she accepted the monsters and my wounds and chose me anyway.’ I looked down at my feet blinking the tears away as I silently prayed she doesn’t do anything stupid.
‘I am your mother’ Anna spoke out, I shook my head does she really think that’s a valid argument for anything? I mentally yelled out. ‘You may have birthed me but that doesn’t make you a mum … You were never a mother to any of us and you weren’t a father to us either’ I cringed at the mental images of Giovani beating us as boys when we would show any sign of emotion other than what he perceived to be the emotions of a man.
‘Dante made me promise to never let any of us become like you … I finally understood what he meant, and I’ll be dammed if I break that promise’ I sat back down on the chair going through the surveillance Hacker gave me staring at her holding the folder.
‘If it wasn’t for us … for the demons we installed in you. You would have never become the leader you are now without us’ Giovani spoke out staring me down as he uses to when I was younger to intimidate me. I stood up towering over him as I smirked ‘That won’t work anymore old man. I became the leader I am today, for Dante to make him proud and to make sure no one ever touches our family again. I became who you were meant to be’ I spat.
Closing my eyes, I calm myself down and sit back down staring at Isabella with guilt circulating my veins as I looked at her fragile state. To anyone else, she looked cold and merciless in this still shot but I knew her, she’s clutching the folders making her fingers go white. She feared wherever she was going but her straight posture demonstrated she had no regret, she knew what she was doing.
‘So, what are you going to do?’ My mum probed me. ‘Are you going to run after a girl who doesn’t want you or are you going to own up to your role and be a fucking leader’ She cursed out now inches from my face, the alcohol reeking off her breath. I stood back up and looked at her in both sadness and disgust. ‘I am being a leader. I’m getting her back So to answer your question I am owning up … I owned up a long time ago’
‘Oh, seriously Vincenzo when are you going to get over it? Are you going to hold me and your father accountable for the demons and monsters we installed in you? THEN COME ON! WE ARE RIGHT HERE COME FOR US!’ She yelled, and for once she said something useful. I jolted up grabbing the laptop and looking at the folder one more time.
FLASHBACK
I stood at the door watching Isabella demand to see the file from Hacker, ‘I need to see that’ She demanded extending her hand out waiting for him to pass it along. I shook my head, that girl really can never sit still. I watched as she scanned over the folder.
She was going to make Xavier pay for what he did to her, even if it was the last thing she’ll ever do.
END OF FLASHBACK
She’s going after Xavier.
Isabella’s POV
I looked down as I felt the blood dripping down my hands. I smiled sadly as I whispered to myself to insanity, Vincenzo King.
I looked back up and smirked at the men standing in front of me, all cowering on their knees as their blood gushed from the side of their heads. ‘You gonna be good little kittens and tell me where he is?’ I purred as I flirtatiously dragged my finger down one of their cheeks. ‘We had no idea you were back’ One of them spoke up, I turned my head in his direction and let out a little giggle ‘Oh baby … I never left’ I threatened in a low whisper.
‘Where is he?’ They nodded their heads in sync. They quickly stood up one punching me in the stomach while the other one kicks me on my side causing me to fall flat on my stomach. I lift myself up slowly as a sadistic smirk overtook my face as I felt myself going back to myself.
Faster than any of them were able to comprehend I put my foot behind one of the men’s legs and pulled causing him to fall flat on his back, getting up I headbutted him in the nose while I roundhouse kicked the man behind me. Grabbing the man that oversaw these two I pinned him against the wall. ‘What the fuck are you?’ He spits out trying to free himself as I tighten my hold on his neck. The rest of the two men on the floor unconscious I tilted my head inching closer ‘Who knows’ I drift off looking up at the sky then back to him ‘But I can tell you one thing, sometimes even the devil sits back and admires my work’ I knee him in the groin then hook him before grabbing him by his jaw and forcing him to look me in the eye.
My body and face are completely void of any emotion as I stare at him with a pissed-off expression, ‘I don’t like repeating myself kitten’ I threaten as my heart tugs as I subconsciously referenced Vincenzo. I shut my eyes and shook my head regaining my composure. He looked up at me ready to give me a response other than the answer I was looking for. With blood still on my hands, I placed my finger on my lip shushing him.
He winced in pain finally feeling defeated he told me where he was. I smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek ‘that wasn’t so hard now, was it?’ I winked and left him on the floor as I took off on my motorcycle.
After 10 minutes I arrived at the location, I looked up at the building and saw Xavier in one of the windows. ‘YOU MISS ME?!’ I shouted grabbing the attention of Xavier and his men. His men on the floor all came charging at me with their guns but in a swift motion, I shot them all in the head without so much as blinking an eye. I walked inside and everyone had their guns drawn at me. I smirked licking the corner of my lip ‘you know I love a good game’ I spoke out in a sarcastic catty manner as I raised an eyebrow looking up the stairs at a cowering Xavier. ‘But you know I’ll win, and everyone will be lying in their own pool of blood … isn’t that right Xavier. You know what I can do’
Xavier finally emerged down the stairs as he smirked looking at me like he was victorious. ‘I see Dragon is back’ he cocked. I shook my head ‘That’s not something you should be smiling about.’ I threatened as I stormed up the stairs towards him.
He started running as I got closer; he ran upstairs into the nearest room. I watched him smiling. ‘Xavier’ I greeted he nodded his head slightly out of breath as he greets me back ‘Dragon’
‘Glad to see you still remember me.’ He smiled as he ranked my body from head to toe, I let out a dry laugh before I inch closer to him ‘You are the reason I have blood on my hands. The reason I no longer hesitate to pull a trigger. The reason why, even now, years later, I can’t sleep at night. Yes, I remember you’ Now inches from one another, just being in close quarters with this man made me want to vomit, my traumas that were caused by him began reappearing in my head.
I cringed at the mental images before shaking my head to regain focus. ‘You killed my parents, you killed my youth, you killed my innocence … you killed Dante’ I whispered the last part as I felt myself tearing up. ‘Now I think your death is long overdue.’
‘I don’t think so’ He banged on the wall and suddenly all the lights in the room shut off, as I was barely able to see him. My heart started racing as I searched the room for any sign of light. I let out a horrific scream clutching my head as I inched back hitting the wall. No, no, no. I cried out feeling my biggest fear was happening once again.
Then suddenly my mind drifted to a calming place like he taught me
FLASHBACK (never mentioned scene of Vincenzo and Isabella)
I sat on my bed as I smiled looking out at the view from my windows. I calmly let in a breath as I watched the city lights of New York beam in front of me. Then in an instant, my entire room goes black, no sign of light was to be seen.
I felt my heart racing against my ribcage ready to burst out, my body shaking as I started getting choked up. I shook my head terrified of the dark ever since Xavier kept me in a cell for three months, on never-ending torture and no sign of light the sounds of thunder would echo all night throughout the hollow cell.
I let out a scream for help as I felt my body ready to give out and my chest tighten. as the unholy memory re-entered my head. ‘She’s traumatised of the dark because of that sick son of a bitch’ I heard Maria curse out trying to get in my room.
My door flew opened as I felt a strong pair of arms grip me in a tight embrace. ‘Shhh’ I sat there shaking in his arms as I cried in his chest. I shook my head trying to push him off me screaming and crying, ‘I- I can’t I-‘ he cuts me off holding me tighter and rocking me back and forth, ‘Demeter was driven mad, and as the goddess of agriculture Demeter was responsible for soil and fertility. To punish Gaia she decided to make the earth infertile.’ He spoke in a soothing tone, as I teared up realising, he heard me tell him the story when he laid in the hospital bed.
‘The goddess cried because she missed her daughter and due to the great sadness, she felt she started to neglect her tasks, Zeus got worried as this started affecting the planet. Because if Demeter didn’t perform her tasks again chaos would take over the world. The great god tried to convince Demeter to return to her tasks, but she said the world would remain infertile until she had her daughter back.’ My heart rate began slowing down to a much calmer pace as I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes listening to the sound of his voice.
‘Meanwhile, it was said that Hades had beautiful gardens built for Persephone and she was treated with respect and compassion she saw a side to Hades that no one else had seen before and she began to fall i-‘ He gets cut off as the lights turn back on. I opened my eyes feeling calmer than I did before as I smiled. ‘Many people tried comforting me in that state and you were the only one who manages to succeed … thank you’ I whispered as he smiled at me. ‘The darkness isn’t scary… it’s in all of us. But without it, we wouldn’t be able to see the gorgeous sight of the moon, or the stars that shine in its mercy’ He smiled looking out the window. ‘Next time you find yourself in a dark place, remember me and my voice. Keep this story in mind’ he softly spoke out.
‘How did the story end,’ I ask him even though I knew the answer, he looks down at me and smiles ‘I guess we’ll find out soon’
END OF FLASHBACK
I blinked away the tears as I opened my eyes, I’m not afraid of the darkness anymore. It’s in all of us, and it helps light up what people find to be the most admirable sight. Many people gaze and watch the moon accompanied by the stars. People wait for the darkness to come, and now I could finally say I was one of them. Thanks to him.
‘You’re trapped. There’s nowhere to run now’ he spoke up triumphantly as though he won. I looked up looking for his silhouette smirking as I spotted him, there was a dim light in the room but barely existent. He drew the knife and pointed it at my heart, instead of whimpering like I was or intimidated by the knife pointed at my chest I stood there confident, as I began to laugh, doubling over.
His smile fades, ‘Why aren’t you scared?’ he asks now slightly fearing what’s to come next. I straighten up and with a grin. ‘I have no need to run. Because you see,’ I gesture around the small, dimly lit room, ‘I’m not trapped in here with you.’
Faster than he can comprehend, he found himself somehow disarmed and pinned against the wall, his own knife now being held at his throat. I whisper the rest of my declaration in his ear ‘You’re trapped in here with me.’
I go to slice his throat and like the coward he was, he pushed me off him causing me to bang my head against the wall as he runs. I let out a grunt ‘Corre perra CORRE’ I yelled out as I stood up and chased after him, he runs up to the roof his men accompanying him.
I stand on the roof face to face with his four men and him. ‘You really think only four men will be able to stop me?’ I laughed out mockingly. ‘You’re going to die today, just like you killed everyone I’ve loved YOU TOOK IT ALL AWAY FROM ME,’ I yelled waving the knife. ‘Now I’m forcing you to face the one thing you fear most. Your death’ I spat out inching closer.
‘What if I told you I had information you could find very useful’ He quickly yelled out, I cocked my head debating the idea before shaking my head no. ‘No’ I shook my head there was no easy way out of this.
His men came towards me, I snapped my neck and smiled let the fun begin. ‘Que comience la fiesta’ (let the party start) I laughed out. I grabbed the knife in my hand smiling ready, I missed this a lot more than I cared to admit. ‘Dragons back’ I sang as I got closer to one of his men and stabbed him in the leg ducking his punch then stabbing him in his neck.
Pulling out my knife I kicked the man to the floor, as I flung my knife hitting the other man right in the neck. I kicked the man coming at me from behind off the roof. Quickly rushing to retrieve my knife from the guy’s neck I point it at the man’s chest ‘Say bye-bye’ He gulped as I stabbed him in the heart.
I looked over at Xavier smirking, ‘Your turn’
I go to stab him as I hear gunshots downstairs, my head snaps at the sound.
‘ISABELLA!’ my eyes widen hearing his voice. The door bursts open as Vincenzo and Lorenzo emerge. ‘Wha-‘ Lorenzo cuts himself off as he looks at the pile of bodies on the floor I smirk and nod my head to my right shrugging my shoulders looking over he sees the remaining dead bodies. ‘I was right … you are batshit crazy’ He states aloud looking at me.
I smirk shrugging my shoulders ‘what are you doing here?’ I stare at Vincenzo. ‘To get you’ I shook my head ‘No, I’m not going anywhere’ he shook his head inching closer to me ‘Isabella … let’s go home’ I laughed out looking at him ‘Isabella? Do you honestly think that’s who you’re talking to!’ I looked at Xavier.
‘It’s Dragon’ he spoke out, I pressed the knife further on his neck. ‘ISABELLA!’ Letting out a frustrated yell I looked at him. ‘WHAT! ISABELLA WHAT?! YOU DON’T KNOW A THING ABOUT ME, YET YOU JUDGED. HE KILLED DANTE NOT ME! HE KILLED ME, MY PARENTS. AND NOW HE’LL PAY FOR IT’ I yelled feeling all my emotions heightening as tears threatened to spill.
‘YOU’RE RIGHT!’ He yelled out causing me to halt, looking at him through blurry vision. ‘You didn’t kill him. I’m sorry for blaming you for that. You were a scared sixteen-year-old girl. My brother saw you for you. Not for the monster you and everyone else saw … just like how I viewed you’ He glanced at Lorenzo for a split second then back at me. My eyes softened as I lowered my hand.
‘I might not know a thing about you.’ He spoke letting me win that one, even though we both knew he knew more about me than anyone else. ‘But I know one thing, when you kiss me, I feel alive again and my whole world becomes something different. It was heaven and hell, brought together in my head. You’re my very own secret world. And I intend to burn there’
I laughed through tears smiling at Vincenzo. ‘I hate to break up this tender moment, but I got to go.’ and within a second my world flashed before my eyes as he pushed me off the roof.
‘NOOO’ Vincenzo roared.
