The Bodyguard | [Finished Not Edited | +18]

36

Viviana's Pov:

It takes about a week, but slowly, I stop tiptoeing around the house. It's not that Valentino has come out and said he forgives me, and really I don't think he'll ever be able to. Even if he says the words and plays the part.

Strangely, I don't feel like I need that forgiveness. It's mostly because Valentino won't say a single word about it, unlike the man who raised me. My father used to rub every slight back in my face.

I quickly learn the others are slower to forgive, especially once they learned about my condition. Valentino introduced me to his brother. Maurizio, with his quiet intensity, refuses to speak to me. He seems nice since valentino kept the meeting short i couldn't find out anything more specific as my brother gave me problems after my father's death. Alexander, when he does speak, uses a chilled tone I don't recognize from the perpetual flirt of a man I'd come to know.

Not that he's ever risked flirting with me. But I saw it all too well the last time Valentino dared to take me out of the house.

That's become my problem now. Valentino refuses to take me anywhere or allow me to leave his sight longer than a few minutes. As much as I love his attention, it's hard being his sole focus because having Valentino's concentration is like being choked to death with the softest silk on the planet. You're not sure if you want to run or ask for more.

I sit in Valentino's office today while he works quietly at his desk. They'd moved an oversized chair that swallows me whole into the corner, and I have to admit it's the most comfortable piece of furniture I've ever sat on.

This is how I spend most of my time now. If not in the command room, I'm always only a few feet from him and no more. Some days, it's thrilling-like when he lifts me up on his desk and orders everyone out-and other times, it's boring.

Today, I'd rather be bored.
Alexander came in moments ago and set a DVD and a summons on Adrian's desk, and now we all stand around staring at them as if they will bite.

My first thought is...this is the beginning of the end. The high table always wins. My father said that so many times, and at some point, I started to believe it. But this time, if the high table wins...it means I lose.

I lose everything.
I won't let someone else, another man, take everything away from me again.
I grab the DVD off the desk, drawing everyone's attention, then stalk to the command room to start it up.
Alexander and Valentino follow a few seconds later and do nothing but stand silently seething at my back.

I snag the remote from the table and hit play. The video begins immediately, and it takes seconds to figure out what we are looking at: Our cooks attack.
Bile rises in my throat, and I cover my mouth as the scene progresses. She's beaten and still fighting. Fighting so hard.

Alexander makes a noise and turns his back to the screen. Valentino does the same, but I don't. I watch. Not because I want to see it, but because someone needs to witness her bravery. Someone needs to acknowledge she fought as hard as she could, and it hadn't been enough.

Something in my chest hardens.
"You see a victim," I say, shaking my head, "But I see a fighter. You might be angry but imagine how angry she is. This is her revenge. You won't take it from her. But it's not your vengeance to take. It's hers."
He waves at the screen. "The attack was on her, but this...fucking video is for me. It's a taunt for me, not for her." He lifts the envelope and throws it back on the table. "It was even addressed to me."

I slide to sit on the table, my legs shaking so hard I can't stay upright.
It was my father and my brother who did this to her.

I spread my arms across the entrance and shake my head.

"I don't know what the hell is go-" My eyes finally snag on the screen, and she knows.
She knows.
"You..." My breath shudders out of her. "You saw it?"
She folds her arms around her middle, and I want to comfort her so badly.
He smooths my curls away from my face with one hand, his fingers gentle but unyielding. His eyes hold a million questions and a million answers, but he gives me one sharp nod and then releases his grasp.
I approach her slowly, hands up in surrender. "It's okay. We are the only ones who saw it. No one else."

A choked sob escapes her throat, and she turns away to stifle any more than might come out. I give her a minute before skirting wide to look at her face again.

"It's a summons alright and a threat. It seems the high table is content to go to war with us, officially."

"Someone they want to blame and put a bounty on that person" ,Valentino corrects, his chin pressing into the hair at my crown. "The high table want me, and I plan to give them exactly what they want.This video will blame your father and brother and so you are the only Rossi left. It's about time we work with my brother".

A/N
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Word Count: 939