18 hours earlier
Elena's POV
I looked at my reflection in the mirror, analyzing if my chosen outfit was acceptable. If it was respectable enough. I turned to the side and ran my hand down over my stomach, rerouting it to the side over my hip. I took a deep breath and flicked my hair into place with the tips of my fingers.
"Sorella (sister)?" I heard a knock on my door followed by my brother's voice.
"Come in."
I watched as the door opened and Niccolo stepped inside, halting at the top of the two steps that descended into my room.
"Uh, where are you going?" He quirked a brow at me as his eyes traveled to my feet then back up.
"I'm meeting Adrian." I crossed my arms in defense, already expecting the next argument.
"And Papà knows, right?"
"Actually, no, Niccolo. Papà does not know and you will not be telling him." I spoke firmly.
He seemed taken aback that I was so stern with him.
"Like hell, I won't! Are you out of your fucking mind!?" His voice began rising.
"You haven't told Papà about your little adventure tonight, which means he has not assigned a security detail for you which in turn means you are left open for an attack by our rivals! You know better than this, Elena!"
I sighed as I ignored him and continued with putting on my heels. I began stalking past him in an attempt to leave but he gently grabbed my arm to turn me to face him.
"Elena, what has gotten into you? You have been acting strangely this past couple of months and now you want to put yourself in danger? Talk to me, Sorella (sister)." His voice was laced with concern.
I looked behind him and noticed my phone on my dressing table. Shit, I almost forgot it. I tried walking towards it, however, Niccolo had other plans as he stepped in front of me, preventing me from descending the step I had climbed. I glared at him with a huff, shooting him a warning glance.
"I'm not letting you leave."
"Like hell, you won't. Remember I've got lots to tell Papà. Like how you fucked your wife in his office at one of our family lunches." I fire back at him.
"Actually, we didn't because you cockblocked that moment. Anything else Sorella (sister)?" He crossed his arms with a smug look.
My eyes narrowed on his as my mind scrambled through my memories, trying to find some sort of leverage, before landing on a specific secret. A grin appeared on my lips with the tilting of my head.
"How about I tell Sierra how Papà has known all along about your little homemade sex tape by the garage?"
I watched as his demeanor faltered slightly, assessing if I was bluffing on whether I knew the full details. He forgets that Cami, our cousin, and I are extremely close and Cami overhears everything her parents speak about. Even when her mother found the alleged sex tape in the recording history.
"You told Sierra only Aunt Ruby knew, not so? You told her nobody else was aware of it, especially not Papà? Or maybe I should let Mamma in on the little secret?"
I saw his jaw clench as a deep breath exited his flaring nostrils. I gave him a sweet smile before stepping to his side and attempted to reach my phone again, only to have him sidestep once more. I huffed deeply in annoyance, my glare becoming deadlier.
His lips were pursed as he turned to the side, allowing me a path to walk back into my room. I triumphantly waltzed passed him, noticing him removing his phone from his pocket. I could hear the typing sounds coming from it as I double checked my appearance, my mind questioning if the dress was too short.
I shook my anxious thoughts, turning on my heel to face my brother. He stood wallowing in the middle of my room. His eyes met mine for a split second before he began climbing the steps.
I grabbed my bag off my bed, along with a denim jacket. As I made my way towards the door, my phone chimed in my hand. I glanced down to see Adrian's name upon the screen. I swiped, opening up the text message which popped up instantly.
A client's network has crashed and I have been called in on an emergency retrieval. I will message you to reschedule for tomorrow night. Stay home and go to sleep, babe, it's too late for you to eat anyways. It would have been a waste. Sweet dreams. Love you.
My lips moved into a grim line while shaking my head. Always throwing his orders around. Always telling me how I should be doing things. But he's the only man willing to put up with my family and accept all of me, even with my flaws. He's the only man that has sustained my father's ways. He's the only man that is willing to make me a better version of myself, even if it is a bit forceful. He has always been accurate when he picks out my flaws though.
Shaking my head of my deliberating thoughts, I slowly slip off one of my heels before slipping off the other. Before I managed to place the other down, Niccolo sauntered back into the room with a smug look and tone.
"Sorella (sister), question..." He trailed off, waiting for me to meet his eye.
"How does it feel to be cockblocked?" His grin turned into a triumphantly wide smirk.
My eyes narrowed into slits as I stared at him, completely perplexed by his words. I then analyzed him a bit more. He had his phone, lit up and in his hand. A glimpse of the screen, as he tilted it, displayed the text messaging app open. The receiver of the message being TNT Solutions, Adrian's IT company.
Motherfucker!
"You!" I glared at him with a vicious distaste.
"Me!" His lips curved even wider as he pleasantly countered back.
"Get out!" I yelled at him.
"Oh, Sorella (sister), don't be so sour. Do you have any idea how many times you -"
I cut him off as my first reaction presented itself. I swung my arm back and threw my heel at his head as fast and hard as I could. His speech halted when he detected my motives and ducked by shooting out of my room at the speed of light. My heel reached the wood of my door, slamming it against the wall before settling on the floor.
I made my way up the steps and slammed my door shut, noticing the slight dent my heel had marked into it. I sigh, unzipping my dress and letting it fall to the floor as I walked.
I couldn't sleep. I needed some fresh air and I needed it alone. I have been feeling so out of sorts lately. Everything around me feels so controlled, every single piece of my life. From my family to my boyfriend. It all seems completely constrained against my will. Yet, even when I was happy I felt like something was missing.
I felt like I wanted more. I needed more. It's like my heart and soul are still searching even when my mind seems to think I have it all. I have always had it all before me. I have had a good life. My father gave me everything... A good life, a good upbringing, love, security, happiness... Even though I was sheltered, I was still given more than most... But still, my heart kept longing... For what? I don't yet know.
I changed into a cashmere tracksuit, zipping up the jacket and placing the hood over my head. I fitted my feet into a pair of sneakers before slipping my phone into my pocket and making my way out of the room.
I crept down the stairs quietly, careful not to make any sudden sounds. Rogue, my 4 year old Labradoodle, must be with my parents at the moment and I know she would alert them instantly. I decided to exit through the back door, its clicks in closing quieter than the front one.
As I walked outside I did my usual routine. I threw a rock at the electric fence in one corner of the house, changing the corners as I went so it didn't seem suspicious. I didn't do it often, but sometimes I needed a breakaway.
The guards have no choice but to go check what the silent alarm is referring to. If my father ever found out they didn't check and it landed up being an intruder, their lives would be on the line, nevermind their jobs. I know Aunt Ruby checks footage on a regular, so I simply delete the specific camera's footage upon my return.
Papà and Niccolo have been trying to figure out the 'glitch' causing such footage disappearances. I chuckle as I wait to hear the guards' movements. I should feel bad for making my father and brother do runarounds around a complication that was merely relative sabotage... But as I said before, every now and again I need to break away. I need to breathe and that breath isn't possible to take inside these four walls, or constantly surrounded by people.
I notice the guards walk passed me on the other side of the wall. As I hear their voices close to the area I threw the rock, I quickly unlock the side gate with my key and slide out of my childhood home. I rush down the road, away from their line of sight, as quickly as possible.
I walk the silent streets and stop at a children's park, a few blocks away from home. I sit in a swing, gently rocking back and forth with my head leaning against the metal of the chain. I glance up into the clear sky, the moon illuminating the night before me with a few stars sprawled across it.
What is missing? Why do I constantly feel this way?
"You're a long way from home." I heard a deep and gruff voice sound behind me, causing me to jump up.
As I turned around I came face to face with the circular and hollow end of a gun's barrel. Instantly, my body froze. Well done, Elena. You have managed to sneak out of a house where nobody knows you've left. You have managed to be alone in the middle of a place nobody knows you are currently at. And you have managed to be in the line of danger with someone you don't recognize pointing a gun at you, with not a single defensive option available to you or any protection.
"Who are you? What do you want? I'll give you anything, let's just put the gun down." I decided talking was my best option here right now.
"You think I want something from you? What? Money? I don't want your fucking money! Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" The man seethed, a heavy accent seeping through his words.
Does it look like I fucking know who you are, asshole?
I bit my tongue, diminishing my desperate want to be bitchy as my annoyance began to rise. Now was not the time for sass.
"No, I do not, my apologies." I calmly replied.
I took a closer look at him. He was an older man, older than my father. He was dressed neatly and smartly in a pair of suit trousers and a dress shirt, a long grey trench coat finishing off his look.
This was definitely no robbery. He was a part of this life. This was about something else, but my father has no current threats. That he knows of...
"I'm sorry, Tesoro (darling), but I need to make the first move here and attack before they reach me and endanger my family. Unfortunately, that puts you in my line of fire."
Tesoro? Does that mean he's Italian? It can't be. Why on earth would an Italian man be killing the daughter of the Italian Don, unless he has a real death wish? But his accent didn't seem Italian. There was a slightly different take to it.
And he spoke of his family being threatened. Another thing that makes no sense. My father wouldn't just place a hit on someone else's family like that. Not to mention, all the gangs in Italy are in alliance with him too. This would start a fucking war! None of this is fitting together, like the pieces are for another puzzle entirely.
"Do you..." I cleared my throat when I felt it getting raspy.
"Do you know who I am?" I quietly asked him.
"Of course, I fucking know who you are!" His voice was beginning to rise. "Although, New York is quite a far way from home. I'm surprised your father let you leave Chicago."
"Chicago?" I stared at him, completely perplexed by his words.
"I've never been to Chicago in my life!" I quickly spat out before he could cut me off or pull the trigger.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" He stepped closer to me, his hand gripping his gun tighter.
Yes, but that's beside the fact.
"I'm in no mood for your games, Piccola ragazza (little girl)!"
"I'm not playing any games! I have never been to Chicago! I was born and raised in New York! My name is Elena De- " I spoke hastily and affirmatively.
"Wait... Elena? Your name isn't Carmen? Your father is not the leader of the Chicago mob?" He began lowering his gun slightly, to look in my eyes.
"No! I am very much the daughter of the Italian Don!" I was desperate for him to hear me as I felt my heart beating out of my chest.
"Italian Don? New York?" I watched as his mind began filtering through the muddled information, putting it all together correctly.
"You are Dominic De Luca's kid!?" He queried in exclamation.
"Yes! That one!" I nodded my head vigorously.
"But, I've never seen or heard of you before."
"I'm not very surprised by that. My father doesn't involve me or my mother in the Mafia business side of things."
He began mumbling to himself as he lowered his gun completely, a deep sigh of relief releasing itself from within me.
"This was a setup. All the information given was wrong. He aimed to start a war. Oh mio dio, mio figlio (oh my God, my son)!"
He placed the gun in the back of his pants as his revelation came into play. He began walking closer to me, his hands outstretched in peace.
"I am so very sorry, Elena. This was a huge misunderstanding and I was given the wrong information. I wouldn't be surprised if it was all a complete lie. I do apologize for this!" I could hear the sincerity in his voice.
He began mumbling, clearly the nerves of what he had just done catching up to him. He kept speaking about his son being in danger, about his wife needing protection. He reached closer to me, holding my hands in his amongst his efforts.
"Sir..." I tried but it was too low.
"Signore (sir)?" I raised my voice slightly, catching his attention.
"It's alright. I won't tell anybody about this. It seems like things might be very complex back home, I understand." I spoke softly to him.
"Their aim was for me to kill you. It would have started a massive war, considering who you really are. My family would never survive such a war and I guess that is what they were counting on." He was nodding his head as he spoke.
"Who? Who are you?"
He looked up at me, my voice and interest in what he was saying clearly spiking his willingness to speak.
"My -"
Just as he was about to speak, a loud bang rung through the crisp and silent chilly air. I don't know where it came from, it echoed around me as the sound ricocheted off the walls. My body froze and my blood ran cold. I didn't know what to do and all survival tactics trained into me were not instinct at this moment.
The next feeling was of a warm liquid landing on exposed sections of my skin. The elderly man's hands left mine to grab his chest. I followed its path and watched as he held his chest with bright red blood fleeing through the cracks of his fingers. A lot was falling down his body when he began to cough amongst his attempts to speak. The very same brightness exiting through his lips too.
His one hand reached for me when he felt himself losing balance. Instinctively, I grabbed onto his arm in an attempt to help him stay standing. His weight was too much for me and we both sunk to the ground with him in my arms.
Someone just shot this man. Someone clearly wanted him to remain silent about what he had just discovered. I looked around me, realizing that I was out in the open. I was an exposed target... With a sniper on the loose.