𝕃𝕚𝕗𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕒 ℂ𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕓𝕒𝕝

Chapter 23 - Dancing with the Enemy

Once Paolo was stripped down to just his boxers, he made his way over to me. I needed to do something to stall him. Hannibal would know I was gone and would quite possibly be looking for me. I started hysterically laughing, doing anything to stall. Maybe acting weird would turn him off.

"What's so funny?" He asked in an irritated tone.

"You look like my grandpa," I mocked, "he even has the same little boxers."

Paolo climbed over me and slapped my face.

"You will show me respect!" He yelled at me, hoping that I'd become scared and submit.

"Show respect to someone who is about to rape me?" I scoffed, "I'll show you some respect!"

I kicked him in the balls and he fell off the bed. Stupid, that's what he was. He jumped on top of me and started ripping my dress apart. To my luck, the dress was made of thick fabric and so he struggled. I tried kicking him but he held my legs down. He was furious. I was about to hit him with the lamp but the sound of someone running outside stopped me.

"About fucking time!" I exclaimed.

The door to the room slammed opened and in came Hannibal with a knife at hand. He threw the knife and it stabbed Paola's side. He let out a grunt, gripping his side. Blood was dripping onto me from him. Great, again?!

Paola fell on top of me and I shoved him off, his lifeless body crashing onto the floor. Hannibal dug through Paolo's coat and found keys to the handcuffs. He uncuffed me and I threw my arms around him.

"Took you long enough," I breathed a sigh of relief.

"We have a slight problem," He started, "remember the other cannibal I told you about? Leonardo is his name and he's here."

"Then we'll need to leave now," I got off of the bed and stepped over Paolo's body.

"Leonardo wouldn't kill in the public eye," Hannibal grinned, "I'm going to make my presence known to him, otherwise he will think of me as a coward."

"You want him to fear you."

"Exactly."

Luckily my dress was black and so the blood wasn't visible. But a bruise was soon going to form from Paolo punching me. My cuts and bruises from Steven attacking me were covered up with makeup. I felt gross with Paolo's blood on me.

   Hannibal guided me back down to the gala and we both walked over to a man who looked to be in his fifty's.

    He frowned upon seeing Hannibal and I. Especially me. I assumed he was Leonardo.

"You should be dead," he said with a fake smile to me, and then looking back at Hannibal, "and you should be mourning her death."

"Nice to meet you too," I flashed an annoyed smile at the older man.

"Well, as you can see she is not dead, and in perfect health," Hannibal smirked.

"Almost perfect health," I mumbled.

Hannibal left me with Leonardo so that he could get the orchestra to start playing music again.

"Sending one guy to kill me was not the right choice," I spoke to Leonardo, he was expecting me to leave or ignore him. I wanted to be unpredictable.

"I underestimated you, clearly," He chuckled, "next time I'll send a few more. Tell me, was Steven good at his job?"

"Some what, calling trying to get a shag in good business," I shrugged, "he didn't straight away kill me, though. He wanted to play around with me first."

"I see," Leonardo signed in annoyance.

Music started playing and before I knew it Leonardo took me to the dance floor.

"Hannibal and I used to be great friends," He told me, "but he became... distant."

"Why are you telling me this?" I raised a brow at him.

"I want to make an alliance with Hannibal. For your sake and wellbeing."

"For my sake?" I scoffed, "you know as well as I that he doesn't have alliances."

"Convince him then."

"No."

I pulled away from him and walked over to Hannibal who was watching the two of us.

"Leonardo wants to make an alliance with you. He also wants me to convince you," I informed him, "I told him no."

"And that is exactly what I would say," Hannibal took your hand and begun to walk to the exit.

My mother followed after saying her goodbyes to the group of people she was speaking to.

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