Chapter 9 Nine

That night, Alessia cried bitterly as she sat on the cold floor in the bedroom. Never in a million years did she ever envision such an ending. It was all thanks to Simone that she unfortunately found herself in such a condition.

If he hadn't tried to touch her, she would never have run away. She would never have optioned to drink at the club. She would never have slept with the stranger who ended up imprisoning her against her will. She sat on the cold floor, thunder and lightning painting the sky in shades of fear and uncertainty.

Her tears streamed down her face endlessly as the memories of everything came replaying in her head. She wailed even more the moment the thunder blasted into the sky.

One thing about her; she was scared of thunderstorms. Now left alone in the cold dark room, 'ok, the room wasn't dark', she felt her breath clogging up as she felt as if the wall was closing around her. She didn't know how long she sat on the floor crying, but sooner than expected, she felt her head spin and dizziness washing over her. 'Oh no... Is this it? Am I dying?'

She thought to herself as she held onto her chest. She turned on her fours gradually, trying to crawl towards the door from the bed area. The room was so big that she found it so difficult to reach the door in time. Her breath clogged again and her chest twisted in pain. "Ahh!" She yelled out, unable to bear it.

But the rain and thunderstorm outside stifled her voice, making it impossible for the guards just at the end of the hallway that led to her room to hear her scream. "Fuck!" She said again with much more difficulty than before. Was this how she ended up dying? Just like that? Her eyes gradually closed shut on their own as the pains intensified.

Tears streamed down her face again as she finally succumbed to the darkness gnawing at her heart.

******

Meanwhile, Marco stepped out of the car and into the rain. A guard rushed forward with an umbrella in tow, wanting to shield him from the angry rain, but Marco ignored him and strolled into the building before him. Dante stood at the entrance as he waited for him to arrive. Seeing him walking in, he closed the distance between them and stood before Marco.

"I heard you caught Double S," Marco said first, but Dante gave him a mocking look in return. Marco, seeing the look being thrown at him, raised a brow in response. "What?" He questioned. Dante chuckled and shook his head, the lightning from the rain displaying as well and giving him an even more alluring look. "You think highly of me, I merely caught Double S's right handy." He said with an eye roll which Marco clearly saw and ignored. Marco let out a disappointed sigh.

"We'll catch him." He probed instead. Dante nodded in return but with a worried look on his face. "You have just 1 month." He reminded. "Fuck, keep the reminder to yourself." Marco cursed and pushed him out of the way before strolling in. The hallways were dark, mirroring the darkness that wrapped around Marco. He suddenly had flashes of her.

That red hair seemed to have been imprinted in his mind and soul. She was everywhere he looked. Her scent, her hair, blue eyes, figure... They were hunting him and it became somewhat annoying. He needed to clear his mind off from the images of her and everything related. Thankfully, Dante had called to inform him of capturing Double S's underboss.

Dante had insisted on him coming to check him out the next day, but with the amount of relief and distraction he craved to clear his head, he decided to come over to see him that same night, notwithstanding the heavy downpour. Dante knew his cousin better than anyone, but this time felt different.

He couldn't tell what exactly was happening to Marco. One minute, he was happy and smiling. The other minute, he was lost in thought with a dreamy look on his face. That had to be one of the most confusing things ever. Marco never had a dreamy look on, never in his life. He never even had a relationship ever! It was all fuck and leave.

Different women on his bed each time. Well, it was the same for them all, including him; Dante. So Marco's behavior remained foreign to him. Whatever was wrong with his cousin, he would definitely find out soon. Marco was never supposed to like anyone, but if that red hair turned out to be the siren after his heart, they had to send her away, no matter how much it would anger Marco.

Marco needed to stay on track! Losing his position as head of the Clan was the last thing Dante wanted. Finally, they arrived at the entrance of the room that held Double S's underboss. Marco glanced at the guard at the entrance and the guard bowed politely, offering him the black gloves on a tray. Marco wasted no time as he wore the gloves and grabbed his pistol.

Dante watched with somewhat pride, proud that Marco did these things with ease. Basically, no one does it better than him. Not even the snake-eyed twins. Marco maintained grace and poise even if he was just about to behead an enemy. Marco waited two seconds before pushing open the door and walking into the room filled with the stench of dried bodies and blood.

This room was the famous black room owned by Marco. One that every Mafia Don in Reggio knew about and feared greatly due to the rumors surrounding it. The dark room earned its name not from its color, but from the grim history it held; more than 500 people had met their end there, their bodies left to rot until only bones were left.

Marco's men would regularly transport the bones to the slum. No one wished to die that way, so everyone feared the infamous Dark Room. Currently, Double S's underboss sat in the middle of the same dark room. He was just about to meet his end right then and there.

Seeing Marco walk in, the man smiled at him, as if they had known each other for long. Why was he smiling when he was about to suffer? Yet again, the man surprised him with his next words.

"You need information on the whereabouts of your guns and SS, Right or wrong?" He asked. Marco squinted at those words, everyone knew Double S and his minions lied quite a lot. Anything that could save their ass at that time. He wasn't about to fall for it.

"Keep the information to yourself, Kill him and send his body back to SS," Dante said through gritted teeth from behind. Marco ignored him and raised a brow. Then he made an offer.

"What does Double S look like? If you tell me the truth, then I'll let you go."