Where are you Carine?

In Manhattan Mental Health  Hospital

A woman could be seen lying on the bed. She was chained to the bed. She was thrashing continuously on the bed, screaming at the top of her voice.

Lucia's heart reached out to her best friend. She felt the tears leave her eyes. Her best friend was going through all this because of some unknown bastard. She still couldn't understand why someone would want to get his revenge on Gianluca and why. Truth be told, he was in the mafia, but as far as she knows, Gianluca Martelli only punished offenders.

"Let…Let...me…go" The woman, who was Gianluca's mother yelled at the top of her voice.

Lucia couldn't control her tears.

"May I go in?" She asked Martelli's family doctor, Doctor Nathan. He has been their doctor for almost three decades now since Gianluca and Sophie were born.

"Am afraid you can't ma'am. She has been aggressive for the past two days now. She might hurt you…"

Lucia smiled at him through her tears. "It's fine Nathan, I understand that you are worried about me, but Christiana is my best friend. She won't hurt me"

Doctor Nathan nodded as he instructed a nurse to give her hospital cloth to change into.

She got in and stood next to Christiana.

"Tiana?" She called her the name she fondly calls her. She made to go close to the demented woman, but her screams stopped her.

Lucia didn't seem scared of Christiana. Instead, she walked closer to Christiana and held her.

"Tiana" She called softly as she stroked Christiana's ebony black hair.

"It's me Lucy" She muttered, still stroking Christiana's disheveled hair.

"Lucy?" Christiana's voice cracked.

Lucia tried her best to hide her tears. She needed to act strong for Christiana. She was happy that despite her condition, Christiana still recognized her.

"Yes, it's Lucy. Your best friend"

"Lucy. Please get me out of here" Christiana pleaded.

Lucia couldn't hold her tears again. She cried. Seeing her best friend bound in a chain was an eyesore for her.

"Please…" 

The next minute, she began to scream again. Lucia couldn't hold herself any longer, she walked out of the ward.

It was too much for her to behold. 

A young man of about twenty-nine years could be seen pacing around the spacious living room of the Gonzales residence. He was clad in a blue tuxedo and black shoes that screamed wealth. His short black hair was styled neatly, covering one part of his eyes. He would have been so handsome, if not for the thin mark, a scar, that ran on the left part of his cheeks, giving him a savage look. He had a beautiful pair of green eyes that reminded one of the green trees of the forest.

His handsome face was contorted into a deep frown. He scoffed.

What was Maxwell telling him? He  probably didn't hear him well . Max must be joking.

"For the last time, where the hell is my little sister?"

Matilda cowered in fear. This new version of her stepson was scaring her shitless. He looks formidable and scary. She didn't know where he was coming from. He had ran away from home years ago. What is he doing here?

She can't tell him that she sold his sister to their business partner because they couldn't pay Max's debt. That would not end well. She can't. She needed to come up with a lie.

"We already told you that Carine ran away from home two years ago"

Emilio chuckled darkly. There was something about him that made all the family members scared.

"I know right? For what reason would she run away from home? Which one of you dared lay your filthy hands on her?" He asked as he turned to face his former family members.

To him, they weren't his family members anymore. He wouldn't be here if it wasn't because of his sister,  whom he had promised that he would come back for.

And now, they were spilling nonsense before him, that she ran away from home.

"I did," He heard Luke say.

Luke was one of the family members he hated most. 

"You dared laid your fucking hands on my sister?" Emilio asked with a glint of anger in his eyes.

Luke only wanted to act as the good son and protect his family from this psycho standing before him, but deep down, he was scared of Emilio.

Emilio wasn't the dumb kid he was years ago. It made him scared.

"Gordon?" 

With just one simple word, a huge man appeared in front of Luke and began to beat him.

Luke tried to fight back, but he was no match for the man. The man looked like someone who had spent all his life in the gym.

Luke looked like he was about to pass out. When Emilio saw it, he raised his hands and the man stopped.  

"Sarò qui tra qualche mese e se non vedo mia sorella, vi ucciderò tutti" Emilio warned in Italian language meaning 'I'll be here in a few months and if I don't see my kid sister, I'll kill you all'.

With that, he turned and left the house, his men walking behind him.

Laura shuddered with fear. "Oh no!"

"Shouldn't we just tell him the truth?" She was scared of this new version of her stepbrother.

Matilda scoffed. "Are you crazy? If we tell him the truth and he gets his sister back, Mr Martelli would come for you or your sister. Now do we want that to happen?"

"It's all your fault" Luke groaned in pain.

"If you hadn't gone to borrow such a huge amount of money from someone like Gianluca, we wouldn't be in this mess," He said to Max.

"Are you crazy? Our business was going down. We were almost going bankrupt" Max defended himself.

"It's…,"

"Stop it you two. Now is not the time for that. We should try to come up with a solution,"

"Count me out of it," Luke said as he struggled to get off the floor.

He held up his hands at Gina when she tried to help him.

***********

Carine woke up hours later to find herself on the floor. She frowned. What the hell? She remembered that psycho bringing her here.

She glanced at the clock laying on the wall. It was past eight.

What? She slept for almost ten hours. Her stomach grumbled.

That was when it dawned on her that she hadn't had anything to eat for the past two days. Yes. She hadn't had anything to eat when she came back from her running class before her family broke the news to her 

"What the fuck?" She cussed.

Just then, she heard the door open and an old lady peeked through.

Carine didn't bother to stand up from the floor.

"Hi dear?" The old lady greeted her. She seemed friendly, but Carine wasn't buying that. All the residents of this house were Assholes.

"I've come up to check on you, but you were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you"

Carine didn't say anything. She just stared out of the window.

"Anyways, I brought you food"

"Am not hungry. Take it away" She yelled at the old lady.

Lucia flinched. She was only trying to be friendly. She ignored the young lady as she went to place the food on the side table.

What Carine did, surprised her, as she kicked the table and it fell on the floor, including the tray.

"I said take the damn food away,"

Lucia exhaled as she left, leaving the food on the floor. She was going to report to Gianluca.

Carine exhaled sharply. She scolded herself. That wasn't necessary. Now she has just wasted the food. 

If she wants to escape from here, she needs strength, and to have strength, she needs food.

The door opened and even without looking, she knew who it was. She felt his presence. Mr. Asshole.

"If there is one thing I don't condone in my house, it's food waste. I don't take it lightly with people who waste food,"

"Who cares what you condone or whatever,"

Luca smirked.

Carine wanted nothing but to wipe that smirk off his face.

"For somebody your age, you do have a smart mouth"

"For somebody your age, you must be dumb for placing the sins of my brother on me"

Luca's smirk only grew. "It didn't get past my knowledge that you haven't eaten for two days now. So, I'll overlook the fact that you wasted the food Lucia gave you. I'll have her bring another food for you and if you don't eat it…"

"You would beat me, hit me, slap me?" She cut him off with a scoff.

"Let me remind you, I've been through all those and more. I'm not scared of anyone hitting me in this life again"

She turned her back to him, revealing the everlasting marks Matilda and her children had inscribed on her body.

"You see that? Am sure you do. Just know that I'm not scared of hitting again. I've been accustomed to it"

Gianluca felt anger wash over him. He may not know what she had been through at the hands of her family members, but that was too much. Her back looked like where beasts had fought a battle.

If for anything, she should be grateful that he did her a favor by taking her away from her family.

He didn't say anything. He just turned and left the room, locking the door behind him.

Carine inhaled sharply. Tears filled her eyes all of a sudden. The pains in her leg were excruciating. The asshole didn't even bother to call a doctor to treat her.

Her stomach grumbled again. She was damn hungry.

She forced herself off the bed, as she made her way to the bathroom to freshen up.

She wore one of the T-shirts and pants she found in the closet.

She ignored the grumbling in her stomach as she lay on the bed, lost in her thoughts.

She suddenly thought about her brother. Where he was or what he was doing. 

He had promised her five years ago on her seventeenth birthday that he would come back to take her away.

It's been five years now, and no sign of him. She wondered if he was dead or alive.

He better not be dead. He was the only family she had left. The only real family she had.

Shortly, she heard the door open again,  and the old lady from earlier entered with a tray in her hands.

"My advice to you is that if you want to escape,  then you must have the strength to and to have strength,  you have to eat," The lady said as she placed the food on the table.

Carine heard her stomach grumble.  She hid her face in embarrassment.

"No need to be embarrassed my dear" Lucia smiled at her.

'The lady seemed friendly' Carine thought.  But then again, she won't be deceived by her. 

Carine glared hard at the food. It was a meal of Fettuccine al Pomodoro, her favorite.

Her mouth watered. But then again,  she won't embarrass herself in front of the old lady.

Lucia smiled as she walked out of the room, locking the door behind her as usual. 

Carine climbed down from her bed and began to eat the food hungrily.

****************

"Boss, there is still no information about her whereabouts," Gordon said to Emilio. He had ask his men to search for his sister. He may not know what she looks like now, but he had shown them her pictures of five years ago and ordered them to look for someone older. Or if possible, someone who looked like her.

Emilio breathed sharply.  His family was provoking him. If by the end of six months,  they still aren't able to bring his sister back,  he would send them straight to hell as he promised.

As a mafia man, he was never one to be patient. The six months he gave them may be a long period, but it's his sister who they were talking about here.

He just needs to be patient. He stared at her picture in his hands for the umpteenth time. He had taken the picture himself when he took her out on her seventeenth birthday.

She's all grown up now, she must have become the beautiful Carine he envisioned her to be.

"Where are you, Carine?" He muttered as he wiped his tears with the back of his palms. He didn't care that his men were present with him.

'What? This formidable mafia boss of his was crying?'