Elena's POV
We heard the screeching of tires against the tarmac, followed by a black van leaving the scene. Clearly, this was a hit. They don't care about me. They only wanted him dead.
I removed my jacket in a rush, folding it up and placing it beneath his head as I lay him down gently. I then immediately began applying pressure to the gunshot wound in his chest. He sounded like he was drowning in his own blood as he tried to speak and it frightened me.
"You'll be alright. We will get you treated somewhere and -"
"No." He managed. "I will not make it."
I continued pressing down on his wound to try to minimize the rapid speed of the bleeding.
"Please..." he coughed again.
"Please, Elena, you need to warn my son. There is a traitor close to him. He needs to know the truth..." he began coughing again, this time harder than the first.
"But his mind could already be poisoned by the stronzo (asshole) I once called a friend. You need to make sure his mind is clean from that poison before telling him the truth."
He tried taking in a gasp of air before continuing.
"He might not believe you straight away but even if you send someone else, just please make sure he knows and give him this."
His hand let go of mine on top of his wound. He gently pulled on a ring that was placed around the index finger of his left hand. He then tried lifting my hand from his wound. At first, I tried fighting him. I didn't want to let go of his wound. He then nodded his head gently, indicating to me it was alright. I released my tension and allowed my hand to open up as he placed the ring in the middle of my palm. He then closed my hand over it, holding my hand in both of his.
"Who are you?" My voice sounded with a shaky breath.
I watched as he tried to open his mouth and speak once more. However, the blood rushed out too much from me releasing the wound. I could hear the gurgling sounds while he tried speaking.
"V...V... Vinny."
That was his last word to me before finally going limp in my hands. His hands let go of mine and fell to his side, his head tilted slightly while his eyes remained open. I watched the life drain from them while the feel of his body began running cold to the touch.
Time stood still around me and I merely sat there in absolute silence. The rustling of the leaves as the wind blew through, brought me out of my trance. I could feel all the adrenalin within me dissipating into nothing like the harsh reality before me sunk in.
My hand opened up, the ring falling onto his torso. I turned my trembling hands over and gaped at my skin, completely stained with a mixture of dry and wet blood upon them. I felt droplets falling on my arms, causing me to realize that I was crying.
Then, it felt like all my emotions hit me at once. My fears, my shock, my uncertainties, my pain... It all flooded out of me as I began to sob.
Sure, I've seen people get shot. I've seen blood before. I've seen a lot. Being the daughter of the Don has those perks of such a lifestyle. But never have I watched someone die. Never have I watched the life leave someone's eyes. Never have I held a dying person in my hands. Never have I held a dead person in my hands.
Instinctively, my hands lifted to my mouth in an attempt to silence another sob. As I felt the connection of my wet hand to my face, I actualized the blood that was all over my lips. A small pained moan sounded from deep within my throat as I tried wiping my mouth with the back of my arm, the blood smearing up my forearm.
I needed to move. Fucking move, Elena! But my body remained completely motionless. It was as if my body was entirely detached from my mind at this very moment.
With shaking hands, I slowly took my phone out of my pocket. I swiped it open and began scrolling through my contacts. There was only one person I wanted by my side right now. Only one person who would know what to do, but understand the situation enough to know I don't want to talk about it or have anybody else in the family know.
I clicked on the name and watched as the network began dialing the number. I could hear the ringing tone from the other side as I gently placed the phone to my ear, quivering against it with some blood transferring itself onto the side of my face and hair. It took a few more rings before their voice came through, knocking me out of my thoughts.
"Elena, what's up? It's pretty late! Please don't tell me you are partying up a storm; your brother told me what happened earlier on. I am so sorry you have a dick for a sibling and-"
"Sierra?" My shaky voice croaked as I cut her off, followed by a slight sob.
"Elena!? What's wrong, Elle? Talk to me!"
I remained silent, struggling to get any more words out.
"He..."
"Where are you? Send me your location. I will be there... Alone."
With that, she ended the call. That was the thing with Sierra. She knew. She knew so well when I needed her and only her. She knew when I couldn't trust anybody else but her. Since we met, we grew unbelievably close. There was just a connection between us and to find out she was the one for my brother all along... It was like heaven sent her to this family for a reason.
I shared my location coordinates with her contact number then dropped the phone on the ground as I brought my legs into me, hugging them tightly against my chest while staring at his discolored face.
Soon after, I heard the revving of my brother's Aston Vantage AMR as it pulled up to the side of the pavement. My heart began to race, wondering why his car is here instead. Did he catch Sierra leaving? Does he know what's happening here?
I saw Sierra hop out of the driver's side, slamming the door then running the rest of the way towards me. She began slowing down as she came closer, her eyes scanning the situation before her. She knelt in front of me, her hand on my knees.
"Elena, what happened here?"
I couldn't look at her. My mind could only do one thing at a time right now. And at this moment it was fixated on my brother's car being here, the fear of him knowing what happened sinking further in.
Out the corner of my eye, I noticed Sierra's gaze follow mine. She then placed her hand on my arm, my body flinching slightly.
"He doesn't know where I am, Elena. He's with Tino and his car was faster." She put my mind at ease without me telling her I required it.
I finally turned to meet her eyes. She gave me a weak smile, sitting back on her knelt legs.
"Elena, what happened?"
"He... Someone shot him." I managed.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
Her brows knitted together as she seemed confused by my words.
"It was a sniper."
"And why are you here? Alone?"
"I snuck out," I replied, diverting my gaze from hers.
"Elena! You need to stop doing that! Tonight could have gone horribly wrong and you had nobody here with you nor did anybody know you were even here!"
"It nearly did."
"What?"
"It nearly did go horribly wrong. He came here to kill me." I signaled to the dead body beside us with my head.
"He thought I was someone else and had me held at gunpoint."
"Dear God, Elena." Sierra scooted closer to me.
"When he learned of my real identity, he stopped his pursuit of me, apologized and began mumbling about being betrayed. He said it was a setup. I have no idea who he is or what he was speaking of. He was about to tell me more when he got shot. His last word was Vinny, but I don't know who that name belongs to."
I began sobbing as my eyes glanced over to his lifeless body next to us. Sierra grabbed me and held me in her arms. She rocked me back and forth for a few minutes before pulling back.
"Ok. Go get in the car. I will deal with this. I will then take you home without anybody knowing you were even gone."
I nodded at her as she let go of me and helped me to my feet. She held out the car keys for me to take.
"But Elena..." She paused, waiting for me to give her my attention when she retreated the keys from my hands.
"We need to confide in someone about this soon. This is too big to keep a secret. Your father and brother need to know what happened here. This could be the beginning of a potential threat."
"I'm not ready, Sisi," I mumbled underneath my breath.
"I know. And I will not push you, but at some point, they need to know."
I nodded my head in agreement as she dropped the keys into my hands. I quickly grabbed his ring upon his torso, placing it in my pocket as Sierra searched the perimeter for any witnesses or dangers. I then headed towards the car and sat in the passenger seat.
I sat there for nearly an hour, my mind replaying everything like a movie reel before me. I peered down at my hands a few times, their color making me feel nauseous. I then heard the driver's door open and Sierra slumped down into the seat.
She was dirty, blood smeared across her clothes and hands. Her hair was disheveled and she had beads of sweat upon her forehead that she used her arm to wipe away.
"I've dragged him further into the park, away from the kids' section. He is in the middle of a running path in between the trees. Someone should find him tomorrow morning. I have wiped him clean so your prints nor mine should be there. They shouldn't be able to trace it back to us."
"I called Andrews while I was busy. I told him to make sure he was the detective on the case and stray it away from you. I told him what happened and made him think I was calling on your father's behalf. I also told him to contact me and only me should anything arise, saying your father is unreachable for the time being. He will also delete the camera footage around the kids' play area. It's all sorted." She sighed deeply in relief as she placed her head back into the seat headrest.
"I'm sorry." I apologized, my head bowed and I played with the strings of my tracksuit pants.
"No! No, Elle, you have nothing to be sorry for! I am glad you called me. I am glad I could be here for you. I'm just exhausted and concerned about who he is, to begin with." She grabbed my hands and squeezed them tightly, making me look at her as she spoke.
I nodded my head and mouthed gratitude as more tears fell down my cheeks.
"Let's get you home. I will say I needed to visit your mother. While I'm inside, you sneak back into your room and I will check on you before I leave. Alright?"
I nodded, fiddling with the strings again.
Sierra grabbed the keys from the middle console and started the car. She revved it and pulled away from the park. Within minutes we were in front of my parents' massive gate. Sierra used the remote attached to the car keys to open the gates. The guards waved at the car, assuming my brother was inside. The windows were tinted and in the darkness of the night, it was practically impossible to see inside.
She parked the car in front of the garage causing me to look up at the recording cameras. Sierra followed my eyes then spoke softly with her hand on my leg.
"I'll delete the footage. You just take care of yourself."
"This could get you into so much trouble with both my brother and father, Sierra."
"Eh..." She shrugged her shoulders, not phased at all. "I've done worse."
She gave me an amused smirk as I clicked at what she was hinting at. I couldn't help the slight giggle that came from me, which I was thankful for.
"That's not funny." I shook my head as my thoughts were taken back to when she nearly murdered my father.
"It's a little funny." She countered with a soft chuckle as she reached behind her seat into the back. She grabbed one of my brother's sweatshirts and a packet of wet wipes.
"And it's your brother's fault I even find it funny." She pointed out, a matter of factly, with her index finger in the air.
I shook my head before freezing, just realizing now that Sierra was alone. My brother was out so then...
"Sierra, where's Luciana?" I queried about my niece.
"Oh, she's with Zia (Aunt) Rosa for the night." She gave me a sweet smile after placing Niccolo's sweatshirt over her head, rolling it down her body. It reached just above her knees and covered her entire stained outfit underneath.
"So, you were home alone?"
"Yup. We have the whole house to ourselves for the night and your brother left me to go out drinking with Tino." She replied nonchalantly as she ripped open the wet wipes. She began wiping her face, looking in the rearview mirror to make sure she cleaned herself properly.
"Oh, boy."
"Oh, boy, is right. Don't worry, your brother has two very capable hands and a guest bedroom waiting for him." She hinted.
I remained silent and huffed softly in amusement.
"Elena?"
I lifted my head and met her gaze.
"Are you going to be ok?"
I remained silent and nodded while looking away.
"Usually, whenever I mention your brother's dick in any way you would react. I got no reaction, Elle." Even though her speech was filled with amusing words, her tone was dismal and her face crestfallen with concern.
"I just want to get to bed," I mumbled.
"Very well." She grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently before leaving the car and heading inside the house.
I gave it a few minutes before sneaking my way back inside and into my room. I shut the door behind me then turned around and leaned my body against it. I took the ring from inside my pocket and twirled it around my fingers. It had engraved letters, bejeweled on the top of the smooth squared section of the ring, the rest a smooth gold plated stainless steel.
"C... N..." I said in a whisper as I read out the engravings.
My head fell back and leaned against the door in the completely pitch black darkness inside my room. I could feel my eyes getting heavy with exhaustion, prompting me to get up and head towards my bathroom. I needed to get out of these clothes and wash myself of this... Blood...
I stood underneath the cascading hot water as I scrubbed my skin vigorously, watching as the crimson water ran down the drain. I shampooed my hair three times before feeling satisfied with the cleaning process as my tears ran alongside the water.
I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my body with another one around my hair. I couldn't be bothered with clothes right now. I just wanted to get into bed and lay my head upon my soft memory foam pillow.
I had yet to turn on the light inside of my bedroom, making me lay in the darkness as the pitch blackness hid my tears that continued to spill.
I began falling in and out of consciousness before hearing a gentle click of my door followed by its creaking. The light from the corridor drowned out once again when the door closed shut.
I heard steps inside of the room followed by a dip on the other side of the bed. I felt her delicate hands on my shoulder, running her fingers down my arm.
"Elle, are you okay?" Sierra's voice was soft and low when she spoke.
I nodded my head slowly as she hugged me from behind, laying on the bed beside me for a few minutes.
"I've got to get home in case your brother gets back. But please, try and get some rest and call me if you need me. No matter the time!" With that, she pecked my cheek before rising to her feet and exiting my room once more, leaving me to my thoughts again as the night consumed me wholly, tomorrow being an uncertain and distant possibility.