MariannaThe van came to an abrupt stop, making us lunge forward suddenly. A silent hiss escaped from the confines of my mouth as I hit my head on the other side of the van.“Marianna, are you okay?” Diego's voice searched for me, trying to get a sense of clarity of where I was.“I'm okay, I'm fine,” I assured him.The squeaking of the van door caused me a huge discomfort. I tried to tune out but it just got louder.“Bring them out,” he commanded.Their grip on my skin burned and I couldn't help show the pain on my face. I tried to use my other senses to have a feel of the environment since the one responsible for the job was on a break.I could hear Diego's grunting behind me, I was a little bit calm, knowing he was near. My mind wandered far, on Alceo's brother words. ‘The new mafia leader will be so happy to see who I brought’.According to the story I heard about the late Isiak Romanov, he was a brutal and fierce leader. More fierce than my father, just a little compassionate and

DiegoThe drama which just unfolded in front of me was the least thing I had expected or anticipated. I was able to free myself of the string used to restrain our hands behind us.We were shoved roughly into the dark space and I was quick to hold Marianna before she lost her balance.She was quiet, too quiet for my liking. The only thing I could hear from her was the way she sobbed. They were subtle enough to remind me of how heartbroken she was when she first got out from Javier's.“At least, be nice and put a fucking light in this place,” I yelled at the guard. I was just trying to drag her out of the fucked up mess with Javier and now we were tossed back in a similar place.“For the Russian leader to have asked us to put you here, you are one step closer to death. You this fucking Italians,” he spat and walked away. Left to me, this guard would never have the chance to talk back to me. But no, all thanks to the present condition of mine.I used my other senses to find a suitable pl

MariannaThe loud banging noise from the bars of the iron forced me up. I had no idea when I slept off in Diego's arms but now, I found myself gently laid on the cemented floor with Diego's shirt covering me. The last thing I remembered was crying and holding on to Diego like he was the oxygen I was using to breathe.There was a small lamp on the floor, casting its reflection all over the place, aiding us to see clearly. Diego's rigid wide back welcomed me, his hands were folded into a tight fist.“Diego,” I called out, finding support from the walls as I tried to get up.“Oh the little bitch is up,” I heard a voice say. I recognized it to be Uri's. “I do not have a business with you, it's her I seek.”Diego's voice was as hard as a rock, deadly and venomous.“Call her one more name and you would wish you hadn't,” he threatened. Well, except the fact that it wasn't a threat. I knew Diego well.I found a spot where I could gently stay and watch both of them. He moved closer to Diego, h

JavierIt's been close to a month since Marianna escaped. Her existence alone threatens my reign on that chair. Arico and the boys went out each day and returned with nothing.Lanco stopped feeding me with intel. I guess he took himself off the search.I tried to think about the possible places she could be, her late father's house was the last thing in my head.She could hide in that house for days without needing anything in the outside world. Santo made sure to stock it up.I reached for my phone, calling Arico.“It's Javier, did you check Santo's house?”“Not really but the boy stationed around hasn't reported seeing her. Maybe she did not go there,” he said.I sighed frustratingly, rubbing my sweaty palm over my face. “I do not care what you think, go inside and check. It's almost a month since she disappeared. Find her.”“Yes boss,” he said, his voice getting further away from the phone. I assumed he wanted to end the call.“One more thing,” I said. “Go now and when you get ther

AlceoThe next few days had been terrible for both me and Marianna. But I guess it has been a lot worse for me. There was no one to pour out my feelings to, everyone needed me to be strong. Everyone wanted me to finally take up the legacy left behind by Isiak Romanov and that was exactly what I was doing.Uri was the exact opposite of what a brother should be. I needed someone who would understand what I felt, someone to rant to but then all in his face and head was utter hatred for the Italians. Hence transferring the largest chunk of it to Marianna.“How's she doing?” I heard Diego's voice from where I sat. It was like an echo, loud enough for me to hear. I had restricted Nina from entering my room. She needed to know her place, she wasn't my wife yet.“It's a he,” her beautiful solemn voice dragged me out of my reverie, snapping playfully. I guess they've been having this conversation for a while now. “I want him to look like his father; strong and handsome.”I pictured her rubbing