Fatalé (18+)

Chapter thirty seven

Ilaria

"Ciao."

I chew my lips and sit, legs crossed on the couch as I wait for a response. It's been a long time since I heard his voice, and the thought of conversing with him left an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wasn't sure if it was safe, but the moment he answers my call, I know it's enough because he wasn't careless.

"Ciao, Ilaria. How are you? It's been so long, I've nearly forgotten about you."

Santo's voice penetrates my ears as I press the phone on my ear, like it's going to bring Santos any closer to me. I close my eyes shut and exhale out a breath, preparing an answer for him but I had no idea what to say. His tone was deflated, like he was tired but it didn't stop him from staying quiet. Santos was always a quiet boy, right now, he was extremely quiet.

"I know and I'm sorry." I say, my throat hurts as I speak because though Santos doesn't know this, it pains me to keep him so far away from his only family. "I'm so sorry Santos, I'm doing everything I can to get you out of there."

"You're still planning to do that?" He scoffs, his voice was low and in disbelief as he chuckles. "Where are you, Ilaria? Are you safe?"

"Of course I am still trying to get you out of Seattle." I state, raising my voice slightly to make sure he listens because he needs to know that I'm never going to abandon him, not until he has Nico. I clench my fists and fight that sudden raging urge to get on a plane and fly over to Seattle just to show Santos how committed I am and how much I think of him everyday. "I worry about you everyday Santos, and wish you were here, with me just so I can return you back to where you should be."

"Where are you, Ilaria?" He asks again. This time, his tone was firm.

"New York." I answer, Santos releases a sharp breath before he exhales out. "What happened? Talk to me, Santos."

"Ilaria, I've graduated from the base but Ricardo insists I stay. I was supposed to head to New York two weeks ago, Ricardo and Alfonso said that you were supposed to be back in Seattle to take me to New York but you never came. Now, they're sending me elsewhere."

"What?" I snap, kicking myself up on my feet as I jump off the couch. I begin to pace the room as I try to figure out what the fuck the Conti's are playing at. "You're not supposed to leave yet, you still have six months until you're eighteen." I stress, "Do you know where you're going? Who you're going with?"

"I don't know where I'm going but there's a function we have to attend later on next week, Alfonso says that will determine where we're going to go." He informs, my heart freezes and turns cold. The amount of times I've seen this happen was way too many times for me to just sit back and watch. This was the reality of the base, one of the many reasons I refused to take part. "I'm not going alone though. There's a girl here, Sofia, same age as me and she's going to be there too."

"Listen to me carefully, Santos. You're old enough to understand what's happening here, you understand right?" I ask, there was silence. I chew on my lips and feel a cold sweat running along my spine. I was itching, to fucking leave right now but I know it'll make things worse. "I'm coming to Seattle before the event takes place, you're not going to it."

"No Ilaria." Santos grunts sharply, just like his father. I furrow my brow and wait for Santos to speak because I need to know what he has to say. "I need to attend this auction, it's the only way I'm going to get out of here, because my father asked me to go."

"What?" I mumble, "Your father? You're in contact with him?"

"No." He says, his tone was unsettled, like he wasn't sure how to answer me. "Maybe, I don't know. It was only once. I received a letter, the base thinks it's from you because your name was written all over it but my Papà left a cryptic note. He asked me to make sure I attend that auction, because apparently it's the only way I'll get out." Santos informs, and everything he says was the exact reason why things couldn't be done the way Nico wanted to do it. He didn't know how the base works, or what Ricardo and Alfonso are capable of doing. We could lose Santos, I could lose my chance of getting Santos back and seeking any type of revenge that there is possible. Already, I knew it'll be a disaster, and Nico knew this too or else, he would've informed me of this by now. "Ilaria, do you know my Papà?"