Aria's POV When we get back to the house Don Giovanni is waiting outside on the terrace. I quickly let go of Stefano’s hand. He looks from Stefano to me, a wide grin spreads across his face. It is like he knows something. My hair is a mess from the time I spent under the waterfall with Stefano. I drag my fingers through the curls trying to make them look presentable. I can already feel the heat spreading to my cheeks. “Well, what do we have here?” Don Giovanni says as we approach. He puffs small little clouds of smoke from his cigar into the air. “I was just showing Aria around” Stefano says. “I am sure you were” Don Giovanni says with that grin making its way back to his face again. “Oh, daddy leave them!” Lilliana calls out from behind the Don. “There is a carnival in town. Would you two like to join me? I plan to go there tonight” Stefano turns to me, his one brow raised in question. “Yes, I would love to go” I say, excited to get to see anything other than this house. “It i

Aria's POV Stefano has his arm draped around me tightly. I lift it up slowly making sure not to disturb his sleep. He has not let me out of his sight since we came back from the carnival, he is smothering me with his concern. I grab my nightgown and head for the door, calculating my steps carefully. These floors are centuries old. One wrong move and the creaking floors will give me away. I must find Johnny. I need to know what is going on. Once I successfully make it out of the room without waking Stefano, I look down the hallway. Where would they keep Johnny? Knowing Stefano, he is in the furthest part of the house as far away from me as possible. That would put him in the west wing. I turn to the left. I have been wandering these halls so often now, I can do it with my eyes closed. I know I have found Johnny’s room when I see the guards placed outside one of the many rooms. There is no way they are going to let me see him, I will need a plan to get in there. I trace my steps back,

Aria's POV The helicopter whizzes through the air, taking us to yet another secret destination. The sun is low on the horizon, streaking the clouds with golden orange patches. “Where are we going now?” I ask Stefano. “Look” he says pointing towards a small island, just off the coast. “Don’t tell me you own an island” I say. “Okay, I won’t tell you that I own the island down there” Stefano says with a wicked grin. I roll my eyes. This man impossible. There is only one house on the entire island. We land on the helicopter pad next to the mansion. It is situated right on the beach, looking towards the thousands of sparkling lights of the mainland. Once the helicopter is gone, we are greeted by the serene sound of the waves slowly lapping against the shore. The entire pathway is lit up with dozens of lanterns and candles, showing us the way. The house has a beautiful modern design. Everything is made with glass and wood, keeping to the beach theme, and blending spectacularly with th

Aria's POVFurious with Stefano, I storm off to my room. If he hurts Johnny, I will never speak to him again. As I move through the house, I notice it is darker than usual. The light from the crescent moon is too feint to light up the hallways. The house is so quiet. It is making me uneasy. The stillness causes the sound of my footsteps to echo off the wooden floors. Even the forest outside seems to be holding its breath. I feel a chill creep down my spine. I pick up the pace, racing towards the safety of my room. Something does not feel right.As soon as I enter the room, I lock the door behind me. Everything looks exactly the way I left it. I release a deep breath, feeling a bit silly for letting my imagination run away with me like that. The curtains sway rhythmically in the soft breeze coming from the open windows. I quickly rush over to the window to pull it closed. I pause, just then realising, I never opened my windows. I was away all day. The uneasy feeling from earlier return

Aria's POVThe only hiding place I could find was under Don Giovanni’s bed. The night frill curtaining the bed gives me enough cover to not be seen yet is still sheer enough for me to see the pair of polished shoes now standing right next to the bed.“Old friend. It is such a shame to see you like this” the owner of the polished shoes says to Don Giovanni.“You only have yourself to blame for this Giovanni. You should have handed the girl over while you still had the chance. I do not know why you are protecting her. She hates you. You have always protected her and look at where that got you. You did it back then and you are doing it again now, but this time she is going to be the reason you die” the man says, and I cannot help to wonder what he means by this. Is Don Giovanni protecting me?The man walks over to the window. He is standing with his back towards me, his hands are in his pockets as he stares out the window overlooking the forest. I have seen this man once before.“Soon we