Bianca's POV

I was still trying to wrap my head around what kind of situation Alessia had gotten herself into when my phone buzzed beside me on the couch.

I had just managed to get Alessia to go to sleep even though I knew she was just pretending to be asleep. I decided to let her be. I picked up my phone and tapped on the message icon that had just popped onto the screen.

My eyes scanned through the properly written message in just a few seconds. I couldn't believe my eyes. I tried to take a look at the number that sent the message but the sender had hidden his or her number. How did they get my contact? How did they know about me? I asked myself, but then I remembered the news I had watched earlier. The man that had been murdered in that alley last night was the only son of Antonio Cappello, a ruthless gang leader that controlled some underground businesses in Verona.

So Yes! Alessia had gotten involved with some really big shots.

I swallowed hard as I read through the message again. Whoever this person is or who he is working for, they sounded like they know about me and they are offering to pay me a large sum of money to tell them where Alessia could be hiding.

I felt my heart pounding loudly in my chest, with the amount they are offering, I could finally leave this wretched town and move to New York. It has always been my dream to live in New York and to study at NYU. I glanced at my screen again, absentmindedly counting the amount of zeroes that were in the message, I licked my lips and ran my fingers through my hair.

I can't let this opportunity slip past me. I bit down on my lip as I glanced towards the bedroom where Alessia lay, asleep or pretending to be. I took a deep breath and got ready to reply to the message,

"How would I get the money?" I replied. A few seconds later, the sender replied as if he was waiting for me to reply.

"When she is delivered, you get your money in cash." I licked my lips again, nervous about the whole thing. It doesn't bother me what they would do to Alessia. After all, she was the one that got herself wrapped up in this mess in the first place. I have waited for many years for any opportunity at all that would bring my dreams closer to reality and now that it's finally here, it doesn't matter what it takes, not even Alessia can stand between me and my happily ever after.

"Get the money ready and come to my apartment tomorrow by 8am. If you can get my contact, then get my address." I replied swiftly and turned off my phone on impulse.

My heart wouldn't stop racing. What if this was all some sort of sick prank, I thought, but then, Alessia doesn't have anyone in Verona other than me and her uncle.

I could barely sleep throughout the whole night. I kept turning and tossing around. At one point, it got so bad that I had to get out of bed and head to the kitchen for a glass of water. I gulped it down in one go. I picked up my phone from the couch where I had tossed it earlier and turned it on, hoping to find a message from the mysterious sender, but there was none.

I was about to return to bed when an email popped up. It couldn't be the mysterious sender, he had only sent text messages last night. I clicked on the email and scanned through as quickly as I did with the text message from last night.

I almost dropped my phone in astonishment. What am I getting myself into?

The email was from another sender whose name was literally anonymous. He claimed to know that I had a deal with someone last night and offered double the amount if I would hand over Alessia to him. My brows arched in confusion.

What's going on? Who are these people and what are they up to?

At that moment, an idea popped into my head. If they want Alessia so badly, then why not exploit them as much as I can for that. I decided to reply to the email.

"Come to my apartment with the money tomorrow by 7am. Don't be late! If you can get my email address, then you can find my apartment address." I replied with a smirk. I would beat these men at their own game.

I had a plan. My plan is to take both offers. First, I would deliver Alessia to the first person that would arrive, which is the fellow offering double the price, and then wait for the second. After I gain possession of the cash, I would give them a fake address for Alessia's whereabouts or tell them she is in the room or something. When they are out of sight, I would escape with both bags of money.

I grinned widely as I took my seat on the couch. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, so I didn't bother. Instead, I turned on the TV as I waited for my appointment.

I kept myself entertained with some movies until it was 6am. I have less than an hour left before the first person arrives. I got up and headed to the kitchen to make something for Alessia to eat. I intended to slip something into it that would leave her unconscious until the men arrived and took her away.

I got the food ready and left it on the counter, I went to my room, packed a few clothes in a bag along side my passport and some other documents that I would need. I stuffed whatever cash I had left in my purse, grabbed my checkbook and took everything to my car outside. That's my escape plan and I am simply ensuring there are no loop holes.

I went back inside to find Alessia in the kitchen. She had taken a large bite of the toast and drank the coffee half way.

"Good morning Bianca, I hope you don't mind? I woke up really hungry and decided to help myself." She said while rubbing her eyes.

"No! Of course not." I replied with a smile, she makes it so easy to do this, I thought. "Feeling better?" I asked, she nodded in reply.

"Where were you? When I woke up, you were not in the house and it sounded like you were coming in from outside."

"Oh! I just took out the trash. I was so worried about you and I couldn't sleep so I had to keep myself busy. I was up all night watching TV." I replied, pretending to look really tired. She was about to say something but she stumbled backwards instead, she kept stumbling around for a few seconds until she slumped.

I walked over to her with a smile on my face, things were going so well and I hope it stays that way. I dragged her back to the bedroom and laid her on the bed. I was contemplating if I should take a shower or not when my alarm rang out. It's 7am.

I headed to the living room immediately. I stood beside the window, watching for anyone that would pull up in my driveway. I didn't have to wait long when a black car pulled up in front of my house and two men stepped out. They were dressed in black suits and looked like they meant business. The second man pulled a briefcase after him and I sighed in relief.

I can't believe this is really happening! I am finally going to live my dream.

Shortly after, the doorbell rang. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"You must be Bianca. Where is she?" The first man said.

Down to business, I like that.

"Give me the bag first," I insisted, and they handed it over without a fuss. I took a quick look at the contents and the neatly stacked dollar notes. "She is in the bedroom," I said, and stepped aside for them to step inside.

I waited for them to come back out. The second man had the unconscious Alessia slung over his shoulder. They walked out without a word, placed Alessia in the back seat, got themselves into their car and drove off. I stepped outside and placed the bag in my car, then walked back inside to wait for the second person.

I can't believe I have successfully pulled off the first deal.

It wasn't up to an hour when I heard a car pull up the driveway. I peeked out the window and found four men alighting from the car. They looked similar to the first men that arrived earlier, in terms of their outfit and the color of the car.

I waited for the doorbell to ring but it never came. Instead, I heard a loud bang on the back door. I rushed to the back door just in time to see them kick open the door.

"The plan was for you to use the front door," I said with a frown.

"Where is the girl?" One of them asked, his voice husky. They didn't sound, neither did they act like the first men. Those ones acted more dignified while these ones sounded more like thugs.

"Not until I get the money," I replied. I wasn't going to let them scare me out of my money.

"Listen, you really don't want to mess with us." The first man said as he stepped inside and gripped my arm, he twisted it and I yelped in pain. "Now, where is she?"

"In... In.... In bed... Bedroom." I stammered. I could hear my own heart beating loudly in fear. The reality of the kind of dangerous situation I had gotten myself into began to dawn on me, but I had more than enough money in the car, so I decided to escape with just that.

The men began to head towards the bedroom. The man that held onto me didn't let me go. Instead, his grip tightened and he dragged me towards the bedroom. If they find out that Alessia isn't in the bedroom, I knew they would hurt me.

I had to think of something and fast!

"Let me go!" I yelled as I tried to get out of his grip, but it was too tight. "This wasn't the plan." I hissed.

"Cappello does not take orders from a girl." The first man replied with a scowl and kicked open the bedroom door.

The bed was empty, the other men stepped inside and began to look around the apartment. When they couldn't find her, the first man who was holding onto me turned to me with a hard stare.

"How dare you!" He yelled and hit me hard across the face. I heard a loud ringing in my ears and the pain shot up my face. "Where is she?" He bellowed, obviously losing his patience.

"I can get you to her. Please just... Just listen to me. I can fix this." I fumbled with my words as I tried to come up with another plan. Fear gripped me as he pushed his coat aside to reveal a gun in it's holster.

"No... No! Please don't. Please just..." I cried out, tears threatening to spill down my face, but he wasn't even listening. He pulled out the gun. I pushed him aside roughly and tried to scramble away.

I heard a loud bang and then everything went dark.