Chapter 2 Escape attempt

"By the way, his mother gave me this," I said, pulling out the chain the woman gave me before she died. It's a chain with a gold ring and next to it is a beautiful heart-shaped locket adorned with small diamonds forming a "K." I hand him the chain, he takes it, and I can see a hint of pain in his eyes. Then he pulls my arm again, and I'm starting to get annoyed; I don't like it when he does that.

"My boss says if Mrs. Katherina said anything else," he demands urgently, sounding just like his boss.

"Yes, she said something like 'Per favore, prenditi cura del mio bambino' (please take care of my son)," I look at the little boy's father and see him nodding, "well, I think that's all, now I must go." Without looking back, I run through a small alley, hearing shouts behind me. I manage to run about five meters when I feel someone catch up to me and put a damp cloth over my nose and mouth.

I thrash desperately, trying not to breathe, but it's impossible, and I feel my body grow heavy, along with my eyelids.

Massimo Carluccio

I'm continuously surprised to see the same woman I saw two days ago. The first time I saw her, I couldn't stop staring until she vanished from my sight. I was captivated by her beauty and felt the need to have her followed to learn more about her. However, in the end, I regretted it, as women are the ones who seek me out.

Just today, I began to think this girl was responsible for Katherina's murder. Seeing her run with my son in her arms flooded me with a hatred I had never felt in all these years. But when I realized she was actually protecting Alexandre, all that hatred turned into gratitude, as she risked her own life for my son's.

We're heading towards my home in Liguria Genoa. I had to render this woman unconscious to get her into my truck and leave Orvieto. It's about a four-hour journey, and her being asleep gives me time to go through her belongings. I find her cellphone and unlock it by taking her hand. I see a video she recorded this afternoon and witness everything that happened with Katherina's death. This woman was foolish enough to keep recording without realizing it. But thanks to that, I realize that my son's mother said to her in her final breath, "D'ora in poi sarai sua madre" (from now on, you'll be his mother).

We arrive at my mansion late at night. I get out with my sleeping son in my arms and hand him over to my housekeeper as I go back to get this woman and take her to her room. When I lay her down on the bed, I see she's about to wake up, so I ask them to cover her face again with a damp cloth. I don't want her to wake up until early tomorrow; I still have a lot to process about what happened, and I don't have time to argue with her again.

I leave her room and lock it, then head to the room where my son is. My personal doctor is examining him, and from what he tells me, I know this woman took very good care of him during the time she was with him. I pick him up, and he starts crying, looking for his mother. But how do you explain to a six-month-old baby that his mother is dead? Pietro, my right-hand man, suggests I let him sleep with this woman, and maybe he'll calm down a bit. I'm not entirely convinced, but I agree, and to my surprise, Alexandre curls up next to her, hugs her, and eventually falls asleep.

Lilibeth

I wake up in a room I don't recognize. My head hurts a lot, and the beam of light coming through the huge window hurts my eyes too much, making it hard to focus. I look around but can't remember how I got here. I only remember running, leaving all those men behind, when someone covered my face with a damp cloth, and then I don't remember anything else.

I get up quickly and head to the door, which is open. I go out, but I don't see anyone. This scares me. Who would kidnap someone and then let them wander around? I go down the stairs and see a huge wooden door in front of me. I run out, but stop abruptly when I see in the garden about twenty armed men. But since they don't stop me, I try to run towards the main exit when I hear my name shouted in a strange accent. I quickly turn around and see the same man from yesterday.

"Lili...beth."

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. My parents must be very worried," I lie, hoping he doesn't notice the tremor in my voice, "I hope the baby is okay." I don't wait for him to say anything else and continue running, finally reaching the gate, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, no one is chasing me, so I decide to turn right and run even faster.

I haven't run four meters when this man comes out in front of me, surrounded by all his men aiming their weapons at me. I turn around and see they've closed the other side too, with an infinite number of men making it impossible for me to escape them. Without realizing it, he's in front of me again, lifting me over his shoulder as if I were a sack of potatoes, and my fifty-five kilos mean nothing to him.

"Put me down, you damn fool! Who do you think you are?" I kick as hard as I can and hit his muscular back with my small fists. We enter his property again, and I hear the gate close behind me, separating me from my freedom.

"You're despicable! How dare you kidnap me? I demand you put me down!" I shout and hit him in the kidneys; I feel the air leave him, and then he gives me a hard slap on my buttocks, making me ache with pain.

"My boss says to stop hitting him, or for every blow you give him, he'll give one back," one of his men replies, and I suppose it's the same one who acted as an interpreter the day before.

"No one threatens me." I continue to attack with my punches, and he immediately gives me two more blows to my buttocks, causing a small tear of pain, but mostly of anger. When I stop hitting him, we enter the room I left a moment ago, and he throws me onto the bed. I quickly move away from him and press myself against the wall while he ignores me and leaves the room, but not before giving me a cold glance and locking the door.

I approach and try to open the door without success. I start screaming, but no one opens for me. Tears threaten to spill again, and I cry for so long that I don't notice and collapse from exhaustion. When I wake up, I'm lying on the bed, and it's already late, but what really wakes me up are little hands touching my face. When I see the owner of that little body, I realize it's yesterday's baby. He smiles at me, and that makes my heart feel a little better seeing him better than yesterday. As I hug him, I give him kisses on his face, making him laugh even louder and cling to me even more.