PRINCESS

XVI

The cold doesn't seem biting when it's your close friend and as I stood under the dripping water, I understood what that meant.

My hands had shrivelled from the amount of time I spent in the shower, I wanted to wash off all the events of today but it was quite impossible.

I choked back a sob as I finally turned the water off and stepped into my room, the heater blasting hot air. I found a small dress to wear and sat on my bed, gazing out the window.

I didn't even know what to feel.

A knock on the door startled me and I opened it to see an unfamiliar man,

"Your father wants to see you in the conference room."

I merely nodded and shut the door. The conference room? Women were not allowed to interfere in men's matters, so I was rarely there - that is if I was there at all.

I found a shawl and wrapped it around myself before walking over to the giant doors that concealed the room within.

My father and his men seemed like a pack of wolves the moment I entered.

"Have a seat, Roxanne." Enzo.

I obliged and moved carefully, staring at them from the corners of my eyes.

The silence dwelled for a minute or two before I broke it, "Where's mom?"

"Roxanne!" Enzo, again.

I fired him a glare that, perhaps, stopped his forthcoming rant.

"Your mother is fine," Giovanni replied,

I fought the urge to let relief show in my eyes.

Predators, they were. They'll bounce on any given opportunity.

"I called you here because my men found something." Anxiety spiked through me but I tampered it down,

"I thought Angelo went out with you? What did you do to him?" Straightforward. However, Enzo was not as patient.

"Stop asking the bitch these simple questions, we all know she did something to him, but how?" He yelled, slamming his fist on the table,

"Calm down, Enzo." Giovanni nodded,

He kept quiet but it didn't stop the obvious fury in his eyes. If he could strangle me right now, I was pretty sure he would do it without a second thought.

I liked that. Let him burn.

I still didn't speak, now, Giovanni was getting impatient.

"Roxanne, I am talking to you!" He yelled,

"Check the security cameras." I absentmindedly picked my nails,

Honestly, at this point, I didn't care if they found Damien, I just refused to go down for his crime.

"That's one of the problems, the cameras were disabled." A random man responded,

That put me on alert. Disabled? How?

Oh, wait...

I resisted the urge to chuckle.

"Then I don't know what you all are talking about."

"Nonsense!" Enzo shot up from his chair and grabbed my arm with the intent to slam me against the wall, but another man stopped him,

"Che cazzo, Enzo? What the actual-" Giovanni was on his feet too,

I brushed him off like I wasn't affected and took my seat again.

"You listen to me. I am the don here, and you won't do anything unless I say you should, understood?" My father said to him,

He stiffly nodded and went back to where he previously sat. I flashed him a small smile and he visibly grew more agitated.

"Since we don't know what's going on anymore, I'll have my men investigate. For now, we have to get rid of Angelo's body." With an irritated snarl, he continued, "His people will definitely come after us. Another shit I don't feel like dealing with. Roxanne, you're dismissed, we have things to talk about."

Without a word, I stood up and walked to the door. I wasn't really invested in what they wanted to say, so that was their business.

I just wanted to sleep.

However, the sound of the massive doors reopening greeted my ears when I had barely taken a step.

Enzo's footsteps echoed in the empty hallway. What did he want again?

"Do you know your father still thinks you're a virgin?" He spoke, "Heck, Angelo paid a lot for this your so-called 'virginity'"

I refused to grant him an audience, he obviously wanted to taunt me.

He threw his head back in laughter, "Does he know his precious daughter has been whoring around?"

Daughter. That was still questionable.

"I'm not his daughter," I replied,

"Oh, forget all that Stefano bullshit, your mother was a whore alright, but you're Giovanni's flesh and blood. Apparently, your mother didn't fail in leaving her whoring tendencies with you. Kind of like passing on a family heritage."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I was about to leave when he said something that would make me halt,

"You think I don't know that you've been flirting around with that Sovetsky brat?"

I refused to dignify his words with a reply, and he took that as an incentive to say more.

"Angelo was not a good suitor, anyway, so I let him have that. His drug business was going to come crashing at any time soon, so I wonder what even prompted Giovanni to hand you over to him." His teeth met his tongue,

"I saw you, Roxanne." My heart stopped in my chest for a split second,

"Saw me what?"

"Oh, don't act dumb with me." He walked up and stared at me in the eye, "Keep that Sovetsky bastard away from this grounds, or your mother won't be your only loss."

It took me a while to understand what he meant.

"Giovanni said she's not dead." He laughed for the second time today,

"And you believe him? How about you believe the person who put a bullet through her eyes?"

A gasp escaped before I could stop it,

His filthy hand landed on my shoulder,

"Don't fuck with me, Roxanne. Keep Sovetsky out of this villa or you will join your mother, I promise you."

He turned on his heel and left whilst I stood alone...there.

My mother was gone. Everything worth fighting for...

It was over.

A lone tear dripped down my face as I harshly wiped it off.

Gone.