Chapter 4 Chapitre 4

The tension in the Corleone villa was palpable, like a storm brewing in the distance, ready to break out at any moment. Elvie stood there, frozen in the shadows, watching the scene unfold before her. She had never seen the Corleone brothers in such a state. All three of them were there, gathered in the great hall of the mansion, their faces tense, their gestures abrupt. But it was Adriano who, this time, seemed to have lost his calm.

The sound of voices rose, powerful and menacing, and every word they exchanged was like a bullet fired, every sentence a blow struck. From the outside, one might have thought it was a trivial discussion, but Elvie knew that the slightest mistake could lead to a bloodbath.

She tried to remain invisible in the corner of the room, her throat dry, her hands shaking, as she listened to the accusations pile up, the accusations of betrayal, the veiled threats. Every word the Corleones spoke was charged with violence, and Elvie felt her heart beat faster, each beat resonating in her chest like a war drum.

Adriano, the man she had grown to fear and respect, was at the head of this storm. He didn't let anything show, but Elvie could see the rage in his eyes, the muscles in his neck tense like a rope ready to snap. He had always been the calm one, the most thoughtful, but today he seemed about to blow everything up. And the other Corleone brothers weren't making it any easier. Marco, the youngest, with his cold manner and sharp words, and Raffaele, the youngest, unpredictable and impulsive.

The argument was reaching its peak, each brother throwing poisonous glances at the other, sharp words. Elvie gritted her teeth, trying to blend into the shadows, but the atmosphere in the room was too heavy. She knew it could escalate in an instant. Violence in the Corleones was never far away. She could feel the danger, like a pressure on her shoulders, a suffocating sensation.

Finally, Adriano stood up, the room instantly freezing. His gaze swept over each of the men present, and it was as if time had stopped. He didn't need to shout to impose his authority. The sheer intensity of his gaze was enough to dominate the room.

"You're acting like children," he said in a cold, almost monotone voice. "Corleones aren't made to quarrel like animals. We have enemies waiting for our slightest misstep."

The others remained silent, but Elvie could see the tension tightening, the burden of war weighing heavily on these men's shoulders. The Corleones were warriors in their own domain, and the slightest crack in their unity could be fatal.

Then Adriano turned his gaze to her. His dark eyes searched her face, searching for something. Elvie felt a shiver run down her spine. He didn't need to speak. She knew what he wanted from her.

"Come with me," he ordered in a tone that brooked no objection.

She had no choice but to obey, even though her stomach knotted at the thought of what awaited her. Every decision Adriano made seemed to lead her deeper into the abyss. Every moment spent in that villa, working for him, playing the role he imposed on her, made her more vulnerable. She was just a pawn, a piece in his game.

They walked out of the villa in silence, the cool evening air hitting his face as they climbed into the car. Adriano was calm, too calm, as if he was already in another world, beyond the immediate danger. He seemed to anticipate everything that was going to happen, and Elvie, for her part, felt completely helpless in the face of what was to come.

She wasn't sure what Adriano wanted from her, but she could tell it was never about simple spying. He wanted her to do much more than that. He pushed her to her limits, to explore areas she didn't want to know. And this time, she knew she couldn't run away. She had nowhere to go, and even if she wanted to escape, Adriano made sure she was always under his control.

The car stopped in a dark alley. Elvie got out without a word, following Adriano into the darkness. They approached an abandoned warehouse, a place Elvie had seen in rumors before, but never imagined she would visit. Here, in the middle of the city, in the shadow of this decrepit building, a silent war was being played out between rival families. And today, she was going to witness it.

The encounter with the enemy group was as risky as she had imagined. The men they were meeting were not strangers to Elvie, but that did not make the fear that knotted her stomach disappear. She knew that at any moment, the situation could degenerate. The exchanged glances were icy, the hands trembled, ready to grab the weapons. One false step, one misplaced word, and everything could end in blood.

Adriano was relentless. He felt no fear, no hesitation. He was the master of the game, and everything around him was just another backdrop. Elvie, on the other hand, was just a spectator in a world where men were willing to sacrifice everything to gain more power, more control. But despite the terror that paralyzed her, she knew she had no choice but to follow her master, to do what he expected of her, even if it meant finding herself in the heart of chaos.

The meeting took place in a climate of palpable tension. The words exchanged were measured, but each sentence was heavy with menace. Elvie stood there, in the middle of this dangerous dance, unable to move. She knew that every moment spent here could be her last.

When the meeting ended, Elvie felt liberated, but the liberation was only temporary. The Corleones, like hungry lions, never left room for tranquility. They fed on the weaknesses of others, on mistakes they could exploit. And as they left the warehouse, the smell of violence, of war, seemed to stick to their skin.

The tensions between the rival families were higher than ever. This was no longer a simple conflict over territory or influence. This was open warfare, a war where deaths had become commonplace. And Elvie knew she couldn't escape it. She was trapped, like a bird in a cage, and every movement, every word, brought her closer to the abyss.

But that wasn't all. That night, an incident in the city would further fuel the violence that threatened to engulf everything. An altercation in a neighborhood near the Corleone villa had ended in bloodshed. A member of a rival family had been killed in the street, in front of passersby. Rumors spread faster than light, and within hours, everyone knew that the war was about to cross a new threshold.

Elvie was there, in the villa, as the news arrived. The Corleone brothers were gathered again, this time in a closed room, their faces serious and tense. Adriano didn't need to speak for everyone to understand what was happening. The violence had reached a new level, and no one was safe.

"Everything is going to change," Adriano said in a low voice, without turning away from the window overlooking the city. "We have lost all control."

Elvie stood back, watching the events unfold like a helpless spectator. But deep down, she knew that things would never be the same again. The violence that was rising, the chaos that was devouring everything in its path, she was going to be an integral part of it. And in this world, no one escaped their fate.