Payback and escape

~05~

Chiara

"Have you ordered anything yet?" I teased. "You are late. You kept me waiting for half an hour." His frown deepened. "Okay, I'm sorry but I don't have a clock tied on my back so I cannot control time," I replied, pulling the chair and sitting down.

"The package?" he asked. I opened my purse and took out the hard drive along with the decryption tool and placed them on the table between us. His stupid hand jumped to take it, but I swatted it away. "Nuh-uh. You have an end to meet first." I said, clutching the items.

A grin spread on his face. "You couldn't have possibly thought that I was truly going to call off our wedding, did you?" His chuckle turned into a fit of laughter. The sound was unholy, crawling on my skin like a thousand spider legs.

"Give the items. Now." He demanded. The audacity! My grip on them only tightened in defiance. His men forcefully pulled the items from my hands and handed them to one of his men at the table. The man quickly connected it to his laptop and typed away the codes. Enzo’s eyes grew wide in size at what he was witnessing.

"Now I see why people are obsessed with you." He said, amused. I leaned over the table. Something lethal was lit inside me. "The wedding. Call. It. Off." I said over my gritted teeth. 

He shook his head. "Oh dear, you still don't get it, do you? We're getting married whether you want it or not. And I'd love to work more with you. Oh, I can't wait to see what else you are capable of." 

I raised a brow. "Is that so?" A plane crashed, and the fire inside me demanded release. I knew he was a cheating type, that’s why I had a backup plan in place. He was going to wish he’d never betrayed me. "I am serious, darling." he said.

I leaned back on my seat and took out my phone from my purse. "Is there anyone in Arizona now?" I said calmly, unlocking the screen. "No one. My club doesn’t open until night. What does it have to do with this?” 

I smirked, looking up at him. "Great," I navigated the app on my phone. His smile fell. "Why did you ask about Arizona, Chiara?" My lips tugged at the corner, "So I could show you one more of my many talents, darling." I said and pressed the red button. I got up and stored my phone. Just in time for him to receive a call. 

"What? Arizona exploded?" Panic, anger, and other dreadful emotions switched on his face. "What has remained?" He punched his fist on the table. "Nothing? What do you fucking mean by nothing?" He collapsed onto his chair, the phone to the floor. His man moved closer in worry, while I looked down at him, grinning. 

Well, you should never wish for what you can't handle.

"I will kill you! Hold her!" He shouted. "Sure. Who knows? Maybe I have another bomb right inside my purse waiting to explode on all of you." The guards moved away from me as though I were a plague. 

When I visited his club the other day to offer the deal, I’d planted bombs all over the walls without them knowing. Just sticky tiny things with a size of a coin but lethal. Arizona was his trafficking den and I was pleased to set it on fire. 

I walked out of the café with satisfaction coursing through me. Enzo proved to me that no matter what I did, he wasn’t going to budge from the wedding. So it was about time I took another step.

Either the tables are going to turn on their own, or I'm going to flip them. There was no other way around it.

****

We arrived at the function.

"We sure have a reputation for meeting at the bar." A familiar voice that crawled on my skin made me take a glance before returning to the bartender, who was yet to refill my glass because he was busy serving other people.

"Or, you are simply interested in me and stalking me," I replied. Carmelo laughed. His voice was weirdly soft to the ears. He looked dashing in his black suit and perfectly trimmed stubble. Although I’d never tell him that. "And why would I do that?" He said, leaning over the bar near me. 

"I don’t know, I’m amazing?" I shrugged. “That you are.” He said, making me stare at him in surprise. Did he just accept that I was amazing? Was I dreaming? 

I leaned forward, the stool shook beneath me, but a hand firmly held it in place as I reached for the bottle over the counter and sat back. "Thanks. So, do you drink, or do you only like to watch me drink?" I said to him and filled my glass. Carmelo chuckled and poured himself a glass as well. "You're unbelievably delusional." He said. Wasn't that the whole point of human existence?

"I was thinking… do you maybe want to—" I sprung up, bumping on his knee. “Careful,” he rasped. My palm pressed his knee in apology, "Excuse me," I said to him, and walked away. 

My mother wanted to use the restroom. So, I escorted her, giving a last glance at Marco, before we exited the hall. 

Mamma got into the stall while I entered the other one. I pushed the lid of the toilet tank with my clammy hands, took out a cross bag, and wore it before stepping out and getting to work with a rope in my hands.

A few seconds later, the stall clicked open. "Honey? What are you doing?" I turned back to find her wide-eyed. I could see wheels turning in them. I checked and tested the knots I’d tied just to be sure. 

I opened my cross-body bag and handed our IDs and passports to the lady at the counter. I was panting so hard that the woman's eyes drew together. Both of us were dressed to the nines but with no shoes on. Who wouldn't be suspicious of us?

I couldn’t panic now. "My daughter is saving me from an abusive marriage. Please let us go. I beg you." Mamma blurted, causing my eyes to tear up. 

The lady examined us, she then faced her monitor and typed something before stamping our passports. "Here you go, girl. You are doing a great job." She handed me the passports with a sympathetic smile.

We were a sobbing mess by the time we sat down on a plane. I buried my face into my mother's chest as I silently sobbed. I promised to take my mother out of that hell since I was eight, and the fact that I was close to making it happen overwhelmed me. 

"I'm so sorry, honey, please forgive me. I have been such a bad mother to you." She said in between her sobs. I shook my head and wiped her face. "No, Mamma. Don't you ever say that again, okay? You are the most wonderful mother I know."

"Aww, that was such a heart-touching speech from a mother and daughter. Wasn't it?" My heart slammed hard in my chest. No!

Blood drained from my face. I watched my mother's horror return tenfold after seeing his son. That wasn't how a mother should’ve reacted upon seeing their son.

"Okay!" he clapped his hands. "Since we're done with all this drama, let's get back home." Luca got up from the seat behind us and walked to the exit. "Shall we?" His playful smile disappeared, replaced by a deadly, darkened face.