Chapter Five: The Secrets

Alessia's POV

What do I do? What if he finds me? What if he kills me? Or worse, kills us?

So many thoughts ran through my head as I paced in the kitchen. It's been a day, and I still couldn't get what happened that night out of my head.

I didn't think someone like him would be Salvatore's third in command. I mean, if he was, then how powerful would Salvatore be? And I kicked his...sh*t...I should've just listened to Luca and left when I had the chance. I—

"When you're done sweeping the floor with your feet, maybe you can try doing it with a vacuum cleaner too," Alessandro said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I heard they work wonders."

I rolled my eyes as I headed to set the dining table. 

Alessandro was my twin brother and a pain in the a**. Sometimes, I wonder what life would've been without having a pest clinging to me all the time.

"Ouch!" He winced as he grabbed one of the pancakes I had made. "What are these...made in hell?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Maybe that'll teach you to wait for the food to be served before you start trying to eat it."

He frowned, sitting down in the chair opposite mine. That was when I noticed what he was wearing. 

I set everything in place before sitting down. 

"Going somewhere?" I asked, curiosity tugging at me. 

"I'm heading out for work," He muttered before chewing on a piece of pancake.

I raised a brow at him. "Oh really."

I pulled out my phone and tapped the screen a few times before showing it to him.

"F**k! That snitch!" 

"Yeah. Carlo told me you're off from work, so where exactly are you heading to?"

He dropped his fork as he stared...no glared at me. Then he stood up.

"You're not going to eat?" I asked.

"I'm done," He said simply as he took his plate to the sink.

"Well, I'm not done talking to you. Where do you plan on going this time, and what do you—"

"That's enough, Allie!" He yelled, cutting me off. "Stop acting like Mom when you f*cking know you can and will never be like her."

I laughed, before locking eyes with him. 

"Do you think I want to be like her? Huh?" A tear rolled down my eyes. "It's not my fault I have to assume Mom's responsibility. All your life, you have done nothing but get into trouble, and I have done everything to try to get you out. I even had to..."

My voice faded as the memories came to my head. I just had to look away.

"Then stop caring," He muttered. "I'm a grown man with a job as a Forensic Scientist. So it's time you stopped acting like you're better than me."

The words stung a lot.

"Is that what you think, that I'm trying to act like I'm better than you?" I asked, my heart aching.

But he didn't reply. He just kept heading for the door, and that pissed me off.

"I wish you were dead!" The words left my lips before I could stop them. But I still continued. "That night, I wish you had died with them."

Alessandro stayed frozen, his hand on the door handle. 

Then he turned to me, a weary smile on his face. "That's the same thing I say to myself every night when I see them in my dreams."

With those words out of his lips, he opened the door and walked out of the apartment.

My heartbeat fastened as I realized what I had just done. I shouldn't have said those words to him. Not now, not ever.

I knew he had always blamed himself for the death of our parents, but I should have never said that to him.

I collapsed to the floor in a puddle as the tears that I had been holding back for years came streaming down.

***

"Good afternoon, Dr. Bianchi, you look beautiful as always," A nurse said to me.

I forced a smile onto my face. "Thank you."

That was a bit weird. None of the nurses liked me. So what the heck was going on?

"If it isn't the woman of the hour," Someone said from behind me.

Before I could turn, Marcello was standing next to me, handing me a folder. 

"Woman of the hour? What's that?" I asked, taking the folder from him. Marcello was my assistant and my eyes in the hospital. Whatever I missed, he told me about.

"Don't you know?"

"Know what?" I asked, a little confused.

 I didn't bother to look at him. My eyes were fixed on the folder. Checking to see how my patients were doing. But his next words made me halt.

"Dr. Conti has been fired."

I was stunned. I turned to him. "What? How? When?"

He seemed shocked too. "Didn't you check the hospital's news feed?"

"No, I didn't."

Marcello smiled. "A video of you physically assaulting him was posted last night. But later in the midnight, the full video, the one he...you know, held your glut, was posted anonymously. Because of your show me of boldness, a few other female staff came forward and started talking about how he had also harassed them and forced them to do some stuff. The news got to the Chairman, and he had Dr. Conti fired."

Every single thing Marcello said left me short of words. How could all of this happen in just one day? I didn't know what to say.

But one thing made me happy. I wouldn't have to see that old fart in the hospital again.

My lips were about to curve into a smile when someone called out to me.

"The Chairman wants to see you."

Panic kicked in. Was I in trouble? Would he still fire me for threatening to destroy someone's balls?

Marcello flashed an assuring smile at me, but it didn't help cheer me up.

I couldn't lose this job, especially after what happened at Porta Inferni. It'll be a while till I'll be able to go there. So for the time being, I'll need to be working.

Getting to the Chairman's office, I knocked on the door, waiting for his reply.

"Come in," Someone said from the office.

I obeyed and walked in. The Chairman, a man close to his sixties was sitting behind his table, with a guy with dark hair sitting opposite.

"Thank goodness it's you, Dr. Bianchi—the new face of Papardo Hospital," He muttered.

I was thrown off guard by his words. I wanted to politely refute his comments when he continued.

"I would like you to meet one of our hospital's VIP patients."

The man in the chair stood up and turned to me. It took everything in me to stop myself from falling as those familiar eyes stared at me.

He was the one—Salvatore's third in command—and most especially...

"Meet the famous CEO of the Valentino Group, Mr. Damiano Valentino."