My heavy eyelids struggled to open.
My whole body felt numb and tired. I laid on the ground, my body contorted at a painful and uncomfortable angle.
With each flutter, blackspots danced in my vision, making everything hard to see and focus on. A soft groan left my mouth and the memories of what had happened, came flooding back to me.
My body jerked up and my eyes fully opened and I can tell you now that I wished that I never opened them.
What was before me was like I was staring directly into my nightmares. It was as if I was back in my cell that I had put in for weeks when Raphael took me away to Westfields. The walls were exactly the same, stone dark brick that was crumbing and decaying in some areas. the floor even looked identical, huge slate squares that were filthy and had certain substances on them.
I breathed in heavily, taking in my surroundings. Everything was exactly the same except there was no bed.
I tried to stand up, only to be pulled back resistively by huge metal chains. As I pulled tightly on the chains, I realised that I was missing something... where the hell was my baby?
"LUCA!" I screamed out, heaving myself up so that I was kneeling down.
"Where the hell have you taken my baby Raphael!" I screamed out, pulling more frantically on the chains that were hooked onto the walls.
Panic began to wash over me. What if he had killed Luca? What if he was alive and starving, I had no clue as to how many hours had passed, as there were no windows, allowing me to determine the time of day. I was extremely worried as the only milk that Luca drank was from me, he was still not used to taking formula, even though we had only tried once; it was enough to make me want to pump for a good couple of months more.
I screamed out again, in frustration and slammed my chains hard against the stone floor.
How could Rapheal be alive? It honestly didn't make any sense.
Unexpectedly, I heard a soft groan of pain. My eyes scanned all over for the source of the noise but I couldn't see anything. It was only me in the cell, that was encaged by huge railings and a massive steel door.
"For fuck sake!" I heard a voice curse, a voice that I knew extremely well, projecting around the room as if he was speaking into a microphone.
"LEO!?" I yelled out. "Where are you?!"
"LEANNE!?" Leo yelled back, I could hear the heavy clinking of chains, it sounded like Leo was moving around, or struggling to move.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?!" Leo yelled out. Where the hell was his voice coming from?
"I'm fine, but Luca's gone! They took him, Leo, he's not with me!" I cried out, I was unaware of the tears that began to flow.
"We'll find a way to get out and get him back! I'll kill every goddamn fucker that's there if that's what it takes!" Leo swore to me.
Tears continued to stream down my face, I kept looking around trying to find where Leo's voice was coming from but I couldn't see anything.
"Why can I only hear you, where are you, Leah?" Leo yelled. I could hear his chains shaking even more as he moved around.
"I don't know Leo! I'm in a caged cell, it looks exactly like what I was kept in last time," I sniffed, wiping my tears.
Not only was it the exact replica of what I was kept in, but the smell was also exactly the same. I would never forget the stench of my own body odour, blood, vomit and bodily fluids. It was absolutely vile and I had no idea as to why Raphael was doing this. Why didn't he stay dead, how could he be alive?
"Leah keep talking to me, please you need to!" Leo called out.
"I-I... Leo the smell, everything is exactly the same!" More tears began to pour down my face, it was taking everything within my being to not think about the past and everything that I had gone through with Raphael.
"Leah, I promise you nothing is going to happen! This time I'm here, I won't let him touch you, I swear it!" I could hear the anger seething in Leo's voice.
"Okay," I whispered loud enough for him to hear me. I heard Leo grown out slightly, and then I remember that he had been shot.
My heavy breathing got the better of me and soon I began to hyperventilate.
"Leah breathe it's alright," I heard Leo shout out as calmly as he could.
"Focus on my voice, breathe in and out. In and out."
"Leo," I cried out through my heavy fast breaths.
"Just keep talking baby, I'm here," he said softly.
My tears continued to drench my face. I was once again in a situation that was torturous and this time I had found myself more confused than ever, as I breathed rapidly in and out.
"Baby talk to me," Leo said again.
"I can't," I cried helplessly.
"You can bella, just talk to me. Don't think about anything else," Leo reassured. How he was managing to stay calm was beyond me, whilst I was losing my shot, big time!
Eventually, my breathing regulated and I found myself slowly inhaling and exhaling.
"That's it baby, you're gonna be fine, I'm right here."
"Leo... I can't go through this again," I whispered honestly.
"I know Leah. You're gonna be fine, you're so fucking strong! Don't ever forget that, okay?"
I stayed quiet, unable to bring myself to agree with Leo's words.
"You hear me bella, you are so strong and you can get through this."
I stayed quiet as the seconds went by. They soon turned to minutes, as I just sat on the floor trying to get a hold of myself.
"You still there bella?" Leo called out, again I heard the rattling of his chains as he tried to get my attention.
"I'm here," I whispered out, bringing my hand up to wipe the stray tears that continued to fall.
"I love you Leah, so damn fucking much. I just want you to know that if anything happens the only thing I regret about us, is not telling you how much I love you, sooner-"
"Leo don't do this now, please. My heart can't take it. We're gonna get out, we're both gonna live, if not for ourselves then for our baby-"
"I know Leah, I just want you to be prepared. You know how fucked in the head Raphael is-"
"Please don't remind me," I groaned, turning my head to stare up at the vent.
Leo was quiet for a few moments, he didn't say anything and for a sudden, I felt so alone.
"I guess you heard me screaming in the garden then?" I spoke, breaking the silence between us and, adjusting my position on the floor. The chains connected to my ankles and wrists were cutting into my bare flesh; at every move I made. I held back my hisses of pain, but it didn't stop me from squeezing my eyes shut every time.
It took Leo a few seconds to reply and when he did I was confused.
"No."
I frowned at his answer and let out a sigh.
"What do you mean?"
"Listen to me bella and don't freak out but I had a feeling that it was Raphael and not Ric, so when I sent you outside with Luca; I made a call to the hotel in Sardinia... turns out Ric was still there-"
"What!"
"I rushed out as soon as I heard Ric's voice, but it was already too late. The garden was surrounded by men and I have no fucking idea how they got onto my father's property other than the fact that everyone thought Raphael was Ric."
Leo already knew it was Raphael... he was running out to protect me because he already knew!
I was too lost in my thoughts of panic and worry to hear Leo's voice calling me over and over. My senses were all jumbled up and in a mess, stopping me from seeing a white gas enter through the vents of the cage.
"Leah, hold your breath!" I heard Leo's words but they didn't register in my brain, as I sat on the cold ground stunned in shock.
"Leah there's gas in my cell, it's in yours too!"
"Leah!"
"Leanne!"
Leo's voice was like a distant memory, as I felt my eyes shutting and my throat being clogged up with the burning of acid.
Leo
"Leah, baby can you hear me!" I called out. It was no use, she had already inhaled the gas. It seemed like the majority of it had entered her cell, whilst mine barely had any. Due to my arms being long but also chained to the wall, I was able to turn my face into my bicep to prevent inhaling the gas.
There was a reason we were being gassed, and I needed to stay awake to find out what.
"Fucking bastard," I muttered, as soon as I saw the gas disappearing. I slowly retreated my face from my bicep and took a deep breath in.
"Leah! Bella are you alright?" I called. There was no telling how long she would be unconscious for, especially because I couldn't see her.
I suddenly heard heavy footsteps proceeding to where I was. The door of my cell was soon unlocked and two burly men entered.
"Sembra fottutamente debole!" (He looks fucking weak) The one with darker hair mocked me.
"Si, il grande Leo Russo sembra lontano dal grande," (Yes the great Leo Russo looks far from great) the other agreed.
I scoffed at them, they would see how dangerous I was if only I wasn't restrained. I kept quiet and glared menacingly at the both of them, thinking of the ways I would easily bring them pain for their disrespect.
They stalked up to me, their fists clenched and before I could even blink they both drew blows of punches to my face and all I could do was nothing. I didn't even groan when I felt a dent to my nose. How many more times would the damn thing get broken? They used all their strength, throwing punches at other places on my body, holding me up to make sure I didn't cower away.
When they were done, they looked at me with satisfied smirks as I spat out blood. I could feel blood dripping from my nose and lip. Bruises would soon be forming, but it was gonna take a lot to weaken me.
"Te ne pentirai entrambi, cazzo!" (You're both going to fucking regret that.) I growled out menacingly.
"You're fucking weak Russo," The darker hair guy spoke in a strong Italian accent.
"And you're going to fucking die, I fucking promise you that!" My words came out in snarls. They ignored me and both moved to unclip the chains from the wall, and soon dragged me up by the same chains.
I thrashed around, trying to loosen their grip on me but it wasn't working in my favour. Both of the guys were as big as me, and the fact that they had banged me up meant my reflexes and movements weren't as sharp and quick.
They dragged me out of my cell and down a dark corridor, I literally could not see or make out anything other than the fact that it took us nearly ten minutes to get to another door. The door was quickly unlocked, and they shoved me in engulfing me with the darkness and coldness of the room. Again, it was pitch black and I was unable to make out my surroundings.
"Get in there!" The other guy yelled, pushing me forcefully towards a wall. My right arm was soon chained up tightly, and just before the dark-haired bastard could chain my left arm up; I swung my fist at his jaw. The sound of disgusting crack filled the silence, also catching both men off guard. Swinging my fist again, I caught the same guy in the nose, the sound of another crack was loud and judging by the bastard's cry of pain it must have hurt like hell.
"You better stop or else!" The voice of the other guy yelled out. The lights of the room came on and my eyes zoomed in on the sight before me. Leah laid on the ground, her body at an awkward angle. I had no doubts that she was unconscious because of the gas but that wasn't the thing that made me stop attempting to break free, it was the fact that the other guy was pointing a gun at her.
He cocked the gun, getting ready to pull the trigger. My throat ran dry and I stared helplessly at my beautiful wife.
"Continua e lei muore," (Carry on, and she dies) the dark-haired guy threatened, putting pressure on his nose to stop the bleeding.
I held my hands up in surrender, the two men quickly chained me up to the wall, making sure that I couldn't break free and soon left without another word.
"FOR FUCK SAKE!" I roared out, slamming my chained arm against the stone-cold wall.
"Leah wake up!" I yelled, shaking the chain against the wall, trying to wake her up but it was no use, she was knocked out dry.
I sunk down to the floor, feeling helpless that I could save my wife or child, how the hell was I supposed to get them out of this mess. I sighed heavily, keeping my head down as blood continued to drip down.
I had ignored the pain of where I was shot in the chest with a damn fucking tranquiliser, the dart was pulled out and there was a little blood staining my shirt from it but there was more blood from my nose and mouth. Leah was definitely going to have a panic attack when she woke up. I didn't try to reach her because I already knew the chains would restrict me from even touching her.
It seemed like hours until Leah finally woke up, she groaned and tried her best to sit up but her body was too weak. Leah didn't even realise I was in the same cell as her until I announced my presence.
"Bella," I said as softly as I could. She sat up straight away and stared at me with tear-filled eyes.
"Leo!" she cried, trying to drag herself closer to me.
"Baby it's no use!" I exclaimed, as she pulled hard, not only hurting herself but also getting herself in a worked up state.
"We're gonna be okay Bella, they can't keep us in here forever." I soothed, hating the tears that drenched her beautiful face. Black streaks of mascara and eyeliner were dried on her cheeks and I could see that her lipstick was smudged, but despite all this, she was still utterly beautiful and I needed to keep her calm.
She nodded her head, her mouth trembling as she tried to speak. I watched as her eyes zeroed in on my appearance and it just made her cry even harder.
"Oh Leo! What d-did they do?" she cried.
"I'm fine baby, don't worry about me," I said. "It's not as bad as it looks!"
"But you got shot-"
"Tranquilised actually, and it's alright, it doesn't hurt. None of it does."
"You didn't deserve that-"
"Baby stop! Calm down Leah it's gonna be just fine, I'm here with you now." I soothed, wishing I could gather her up in my arms and hold onto her tight.
"I'm so sorry Leo-"
"Don't you fucking apologise!" I snapped at her. Why the fuck was she apologising for?
"You didn't cause this, did you? You didn't ask that psycho to take our son and then get us taken away too, did you?" I raised my eyebrows, waiting for her to answer.
"No-"
"Well then, don't apologise."
She nodded her head, looking at me with a face full of regret.
Before either of us could say another word, the door of the cell slammed open and in walked the fucking psycho himself.
He walked up to us and stood in the middle of where we were both chained up. The smirk on his face made him seem lethal and insane. Like always he wore an expensive suit and had expensive shoes on, his hair was combed back messily; something us brothers had in common.
"Hello, Leanna." Raphael sneered at Leah and soon turned to me.
"Buongiorno brother," he grinned sadistically.
"Why the fuck are you alive?" I questioned, heaving myself off the floor into a standing position, although the chains restrained me from going near Raphael.
Ralph ignored me and stalked towards Leah. I could see the panic and fear on her face as she tried to cower into the wall.
Everything happened so quickly, Rapheal grabbed Leah by her left arm, pulling her closer as he threaded his free hand into her hair; his hands tangling into her thick locks; something only I was allowed to do. My anger bubbled within me, as I clenched my fists tightly, wishing that I could pummel them into his head.
"Where is my baby!" Leah demanded in a shaky voice.
Raphael ignored Leah's demand and continued to stroke her hair.
"I always preferred your hair down," he said keeping his eyes on Leah.
Leah shuddered in fear, averting her eyes down to the floor.
"Get the fuck away from her!" I roared, trying to pull away from the restraining chains. "I swear I will kill, get away from my wife!"
Raphael turned slightly away from Leah, whilst keeping his grip on my arm and hair.
"Your wife?" Raphael laughed, turning around fully so fast that I almost got whiplash.
"Oh brother, it was only last year, that this woman who you call your wife, was very much ready to marry me instead of you!"
His words were like knives to my heart. I knew what Raphael was doing, he was trying to make me angry. He wanted the rage and anger that I was known for, to escape and cause havoc.
My eyes found Leah's and I stared at her in confusion. What Raphael had just said was news to me. Leah had never spoken about a marriage proposal, only the sexual violence and what he had done to her.
My anger continued to boil within me, causing my skin to overheat. Red was tainting my few and all I could think about was killing this psycho and making sure that he stayed dead.
"It wasn't like that... you made me believe that he was dead Raphael!" Leah protested out through her tears that began to drench her face all over again.
"Believe me Bella, you would've married me if you didn't run away! Dios mio, we had so much fun together, didn't we Leanna; such a shame you run away!" Raphael sneered, turning back around to face Leah.
"Such a bad girl Leanna," he tutted, letting go of Leah's hair and using that same hand to caress her cheek.
"I told you to get away from her Raphael! Touch her again and I swear you'll regret it!" I yelled, pulling at the chains.
"Leah get away from him!" I yelled to my wife, even though I knew it was something she couldn't do.
"So I'll regret it if I do this?" Raphael taunted, trailing his hands around Leah's body and grabbing her left breast over the material of her dress. She gasped in pain at the sudden tight grip on her breast and squirmed away.
"You son of a-"
"Ah ah ah! Don't be so nasty about our mother, brother!" Raphael tutted.
"You sick fuck!"
"Dante get in here!" Raphael yelled out.
I stared at Leah, her mouth flying open in even more shock, tears silently falling. The look she gave me, was the type of look that stated 'you fucked up'.
In walked Dante, his left leg limping slightly from when I shot him in the kneecap, at the time he kidnapped Leah whilst she was pregnant.
"Sembra che Leonardo non riesca a tenere la bocca chiusa, fa in modo che lo faccia!" ("Seems like Leonardo can't keep his mouth shut, see to it that he does!) Raphael yelled. Dante nodded his head, leaving a lingering glance as he walked past Leah. She narrowed her eyes at him but soon cowered away as he glanced up and down at her body.
"Take your eyes off her, or else!" I threatened Dante, as soon as he limped his way over to me.
"What are you going to do Russo, you're chained to the wall. You can't do shit!" he laughed.
"I can do this you fucking cunt!" I stated, as he stared at me in shook and before he could open his mouth I threw my head forward, headbutting the dick so that he stumbled back and lost his footing, almost falling to the floor.
Dante let out a string of curses and quickly pulled out a gun from his gun holder, as soon as he was back on his feet.
"You better watch yourself, or you'll never see Leanna again!"
"For a guy with a limp, you make some big threats-"
"ENOUGH!" Raphael yelled out, annoyance clear on his face.
The hard glare I had on my face, soon softened when my eyes connected with Leah's. She was holding back tears, as her body shook in fear.
"You wanted to know why I'm alive, didn't you brother," Raphael stated, his hands roaming Leah's body.
"I'm alive because everything was a fix, my death; all fake. But you knew that anyway, you just couldn't admit it to yourself," he laughed, turning his attention to me as he continued to grope Leah.
She didn't fight back, she didn't speak to him. Her actions towards Raphael were so passive that it made me think twice about the things that happened to her. Her actions were nothing like the night where he caused her miscarriage, the night where she answered back and bit his tongue... that Leah was gone.
"Everything down to you incarceration, the threats that you received on holiday; it was all planned. I have my reasons but right now I feel like you deserve a live show of my special time with Leah..."
I began to shake in anger at Raphael's words.
"You fucking touch her and I promise it will be the last thi-"
"Your threats mean nothing!" Dante roared, throwing a punch to my abdominal. It didn't hurt but it made me wince at the impact.
I watched helplessly, as Raphael turned his full attention to Leah. Her eyes were glued onto me, never breaking eye contact until he gripped her chin, making her look at him.
"I'm missed your body Leanna, I've missed everything about you."
Raphael leaned in to kiss Leah, his mouth giving her a bruising kiss as she thrashed about trying to break free. He held onto her small body tightly and painfully, as if he could easily break her. His mouth dominated hers, as I yelled and thrashed about trying to break free.
I stood and watched as Raphael produced a knife and cut at Leah's long dress to her thighs. He pinned her down onto the floor, and I tried to look away. The guilt and pain of seeing my wife about to be molested and violated in the worst way were breaking me.
"Leonardo, watch as I take your wife here and right now!"
"Watch you coward!" Dante yelled, holding my face so I couldn't turn away.
"No, no! NO, NO, NOO!" Leah screamed out. Her screams her blood curdling, breaking my heart as I watched Raphael thrust into her, repeatedly.
My worst nightmare was about to happen and there was nothing I could do but stand and watch...