All Chapters of The Mafia's Little Raven: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

DAMIEN .. I stood before the easel, brush in hand, lost in the colors and textures on the canvas.Painting. It was one of the few things that quieted the relentless noise in my head, that allowed a different kind of focus.Then, the door opened.Not barged in, not knocked, but opened.Gerald.He didn’t wait for an invitation, which usually would have annoyed the hell out of me, but something in his expression stopped the immediate irritation.He looked rattled.Unsettled.Gerald didn’t look rattled.He walked in while the sound of his steps felt so fast, his usual controlled demeanor fractured around the edges.He stopped a few feet away, his eyes wide, fixed on mine.“Damien,” he said, his voice strained. “It’s Leila.”My hand stilled on the canvas.My focus snapped away from the painting, sharp and immediate.Something about the way he said her name, the tension in his body, sent a cold ripple through me.“What about her?” My voice was level, calm, but inside, something coile

LEILA ..I felt the sudden tension in his body, the way his muscles locked up.His eyes, I knew instinctively, would be wide with surprise, maybe even shock.He didn't hug me back and after a beat that felt like an eternity, he gently, but firmly, detached my arms from around him, putting a little distance between us again.He didn’t say anything about the hug.Just looked down at me, his expression back to that guarded neutrality, though the softness in his eyes hadn't completely vanished.“Go,” he said, his voice quiet, urgent. “Now. Before” He didn't finish the sentence, but I knew what he meant.Before Damien came back.Before my absence from my room was noted.Before the guards were told to keep a closer eye on me.I nodded, scrambling awkwardly to my feet, clutching the key like it was made of solid gold.The pain in my ankle was a dull roar, but suddenly manageable as I turned and moved quickly towards the door while the rush to leave felt so vital and in a more panicked wa

LEILA ..As we moved deeper into the less-used sections of the corridor, the lighting grew even sparser.The air felt cooler, still, stagnant, and we started seeing things.Security guards, but they weren’t patrolling diligently, weren’t scanning the halls, weren’t looking for escapees.Their minds, their eyes, were clearly not on their job.One guard leaned against a wall, head tilted back, mouth slightly open, seemingly asleep on his feet, his weapon loose in his hand, and another sat slumped on the floor, leaning against the wall, playing a game on his phone, the low, flickering glow from the screen illuminating his distracted face, his full attention on the digital world.Further down, in a recessed alcove where the shadows were deepest, where a utility closet door was slightly ajar, two figures pressed together.A security guard and maybe a maid or one of the ladies here.They were standing, their bodies locked together, a raw, animalistic intensity emanating from them even

LEILA ..“Yeah, I got a problem with your friend putting his hands on my girl!” the boyfriend shot back, standing his ground, even though he was clearly outnumbered.The situation escalated fast.The gang started trying to hit the boyfriend, circling him, throwing punches.The girlfriend was screaming, trying to push them away, shielding her boyfriend with her own body, begging them to stop.The sound of the confrontation, the shouts, the grunts, the girl’s cries, cut through the mundane sounds of the gas station, drawing the attention of the few other people around.The guys getting fuel in the trucks turned, watching, some with mild curiosity, others with that familiar look of not wanting to get involved.Gerald was sitting with us, facing away from the pumps, his baseball cap pulled low over his eyes, sipping his coffee silently.He hadn’t said anything, hadn’t reacted outwardly to the commotion.He just kept his cap pulled down, his body language completely neutral, but then,

LEILA ..My happiness knew no bound.Seeing her, holding her, feeling her arms around me… it was everything I had dreamed of, everything I had fought for, and her happiness, I could feel it in the fierce strength of her embrace, in the tremor of her body, it was as boundless as mine.After a while, the first wave of overwhelming emotion subsided slightly.I pulled back just enough to look at her, my hands still on her arms, my eyes tracing her face, seeing the changes, the lines etched by time, but also the peace Gerald’s care had clearly brought her.“Mom,” I choked out, a shaky laugh bubbling up through my tears.“You look… you look wonderful. Gerald really took care of you.” The gratitude for him, for bringing me here, for keeping her safe, surged through me.I needed to thank him. Needed him to see her, to see this moment.My mother’s body stiffened beneath my hands.The change in her demeanor was obvious.Her smile faltered, vanishing completely, replaced by a look of stark