The Don's Obsession

"Are they going to be alright?" Madam Paula's voice trembled with worry as she stepped in front of Andreas, who was heading towards the bunker.

The mansion grounds were a flurry of activity as several vehicles were strategically positioned, and the men made final preparations for the imminent conflict.

"I cannot provide a definite answer to that, but we are doing everything we can to ensure their safe return," Andreas reassured her.

"Oh God! Is this my fault?" Madam Paula's distressed thoughts spilled out loud as she grappled with the overwhelming news.

The recent shocking revelation had left her in a state of profound disbelief and distress

Isabella and Sophia had been kidnapped.

"It isn't Madam Paula. We just weren't expecting a threat right outside of the mansion," Andreas replied, trying to calm the shaken woman down.

"Is the Don going to sack me?" Madam Paula asked as tears dropped from her eyes.

She knew just how much Luciano loved his little girl.

"Madam Paula you need to calm down!", Mia urged as she tried to help her from falling to the floor.

"No Madam Paula! You should get some rest! We're working on bringing them back.", Andreas answered as he brought Madam Paula to one of the chairs in the kitchen.

"I shouldn't have allowed them to leave without confirmation from you or The Don.", Madam Paula said, bringing her palms to her forehead.

"It's okay Madam Paula! I have to go now! The Don asked me to get something for him!", Andreas said.

Looking at Mia who stood silently beside Madam Paula, Andreas requested;

"Please give her a glass of water and make sure she gets some rest!"

"Okay!", Mia answered as she quickly went back to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

The tension looming in the mansion was no joke.

"I have to go now!", Andreas said, patting Madam Paula's back before he headed to the basement.

Andreas climbed down the ladder, impressed by how fast the bunker had turned into a neat research center.

"Our aerial view still hasn't found an access point yet!", Andreas reported to Luciano, whose attention was drawn by the tech guys.

Compared to the suits he was always dappered in, Luciano looked very unorganized as his tie hung loosely on his neck.

The Mafia Don would have never expected to hear his lover and child had been kidnapped while he was about to sign a multi million Euro deal.

"Don!", one of the men called as he finally got access to the security camera he had been trying to hack.

The other men sat in front of the computers making sure that they weren't detected by the system.

"Any progress?!", Luciano asked as he came into the room, Andreas following closely behind him.

"There is sir, we've been able to bypass the firewalls and the encryption!", the tech guy answered.

"Good, good! What's the situation looking like?!", Luciano asked as he watched the security cameras one by one.

The tech guy was rather scared, aware of the fact that a very angry Mafia Don was breathing heavily beside him.

"I thought you said the tracker led us to this building. What's going on?!", Andreas asked, confused as it didn't look like Isabella or Sophia were in the building.

"There's a second page!", The tech guy answered nervously.

"Do they know we can see and hear them?!", Luciano asked.

"No sir, we bypassed the security but didn't trigger any alarms!", the tech guy answered.

"Good! Now get me visuals on my daughter! Can you do that?!", Luciano asked, his mind racing with several possibilities.

From the report Madam Paula gave him, they had simply gone to get ice cream.

He certainly wouldn't have expected it would result in him having to trace the tracking device in the necklace he had given his daughter.

'Who could possibly be behind this?!', Luciano thought, already promising the most torturous unaliving process.

"Yes, we can Don!"

"Look, look over here!", Luciano pointed as the tech guy clicked on the next page.

"Here, this one!", Luciano pointed as the tech guy moved the cursor.

Clicking on the frame Luciano pointed at, Sophia and Isabella popped on the screen, their appearances looking so disheveled.

"It's a modified camera! It should be able to transmit audio feed as well! Get me on!", Luciano ordered, looking intently at the monitor.

"Yes Don!", The tech guy said as he pressed a button, resulting in sound from the video feed.

"It's okay sweetie!", They heard Isabella's voice say to Sophia as she kept patting her back.

"Daddy!", Sophia called out, resulting in Luciano's fist clenching tightly.

"He'll come soon!", Isabella simply reassured.

"We don't know who has them! Do you think this would give them away?!", Andreas asked Luciano as they watched Isabella hug Sophia tightly into her arms.

"Probably would! I don't know anyone crazy enough to kidnap my daughter!", Luciano replied.

"...And Isabella!", Andreas added.

"Yeah, except it's not someone we're familiar with!", Luciano said as he thought.

"Wait, hold on to that thought, someone just entered the room!", Andreas said, pointing to the door suddenly being opened.

"Uncle?!", Luciano questioned, wondering why his uncle was in the building.

"What's Uncle Luigi doing in the building?!", Andreas asked as he stepped closer to the monitor to confirm he wasn't seeing things.

"Shit! They got him too!", Luciano said, banging his fist on the table as he concluded.

"Who could have such an Intel!?!", Luciano wondered, his mind drifting to the traitor amongst them.

His opposition had no idea he got together with Isabella. This confirmed Luciano's suspicion that there was indeed a traitor.

'It can't be Isabella, or can it??', Luciano thought to himself.

"What?, What's going on?!", Andreas asked as Luigi's body language wasn't identical to that of Isabella's.

He didn't seem like he was held hostage.

Despite his position in Luciano's operation and the fact that he could protect himself quite well, Luigi would still react in a certain way if he was held hostage.

"...Except!", Andreas connected the dots, failing to believe the conclusion he came to.

"Luciano always liked brunettes!", Luigi started as he closed the door behind him.

Luigi's sentence threw Andreas off, giving him the answer he suspected.

"Shit!", Andreas said, seeing that his suspicion was true. He looked towards Luciano.

Wondering why his uncle didn't seem the least bit bothered about being held hostage, Luciano became confused about what his uncle was talking about.

"Leave us alone!", they heard Isabella's spitfire voice say as she wrapped Sophia in a hug.

"What's going...!", Luciano tried to ask no one in particular as he didn't want to trust the suspicion he was getting.

"Pathetic!", Luigi spat as he approached Isabella's crouched figure with Sophia laying her head on her mother's bosom.

"You know! All that mouth would have been useful if your dear husband was here!", Luigi said, using his hand to stroke Isabella's face.

Seeing this, Luciano stood quietly as his hands wrapped into a tight fist.

"Are the men ready?!", Luciano asked.

"Yes Don!", Andreas answered as they watched the scene unfold.

"You know your husband eh...

I've taught him several lessons, yet, he doesn't want to back off!

This time, I'll take what's rightfully mine!", Luigi said, getting Luciano's attention.

If there were levels of shock, Luciano was going through every one of them as he heard his uncle's last sentence.

"What do you mean?! How can you say such a thing when you know he loves you to death?!", Isabella asked, also confused by the turn of events.

She would have never thought Luciano's uncle would kidnap them, or even say the kind of words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Oh shut up you wench! What do you know?!", Luigi asked angrily as he began pacing the room.

"Are we moving out now!?", Andreas asked, since Luciano already ordered the men to be ready.

"No, not yet, I want to hear what he has to say!", Luciano answered.

He had opted to delay their sweep time as they already had their location. Luciano was intent on hearing what his Uncle was about to say.

Luciano understood that might be his only chance to hear his uncle's hate and resentment directed towards him.

"Yes Don!", Andreas answered, sending out orders for the men to stay on standby.

"The entire thing he controls! Every damn thing!

It was all supposed to be mine!!!!!!!", Luigi screamed as he came to a halt in front of Isabella.

"How does that have to do with me and my baby??!!! Huh?!?! We don't know anything about whatever both of you have going on!!!", Isabella said, equally raising her voice.

"Shut up, you don't get to shout when you speak to me!", Luigi said as he grabbed Isabella's jaw violently.

"Don!", Andreas called out seeing Isabella's face in pain.

"I'm aware Andreas! I'm waiting for him to give something up!", Luciano answered as his heart clenched.

Seeing his uncle hurt Isabella didn't sit well with him.

"You and this damned baby matter to him! So I'm going to kill you right before his eyes! Then I'm going to kill him too!", Luigi confessed.

Sophia turned fussy hearing the commotion and sensing her mother was in discomfort.

"Shut that damned baby up!", Luigi ordered as he kicked Isabella's legs violently.

Tears already running down both their cheeks, Isabella brought her baby tighter to her chest, shielding her from the noise.

"He's going to kill you! You bloody bastard!", Isabella fired, earning a resonating slap from Luigi.

"Shut up you bitch! I'll be the one to do all the killing, like I did his parents! !", Luigi said.

Luigi started, "I should have been next in line when I killed his parents...!"

As he went on, Isabella wondered how Luciano could love this man so much and said the man would still resent him.

Isabella shook her head as she wondered how Luciano would act discovering this side of his uncle.

He continued, "I should have! But my father! That bitch of a man wouldn't let me have what belonged to me.

He turned everyone against me!

Then I had to pretend, pretending to be happy when the wench you call your husband comes around.

I have been against him this whole time!"

"How could you?!", Isabella asked, wondering why Luigi had chosen to be that cruel.

Going as far as to unalive his blood brother.

"Oh, I definitely could!

I was behind everything! Me! And I'll continue to be till I get what I want!!!!", Luigi said, raising his voice again.

"How can you do this to him?!", Isabella asked

"I've been doing this for years! A few more days wouldn't hurt now would it?!", Luigi asked as he let out a sinister laugh.

Isabella patted Sophia's back, realizing that Luciano's uncle was a maniac.

"I already sent a message, I'll expect your damned husband to be here anytime soon! Then the bloodbath will begin!", Luigi said as he left the room, banging the door loudly behind him.

Andreas looked towards Luciano to see his jaw tick.

Luciano's blank expression masked the shock and anger he felt at the moment.

As if on cue, another one of Luciano's men arrived with a box.

One nicely wrapped like it was a birthday gift.

Andreas took it, opening it to see nothing but a picture of Isabella and Sophia.

Gently passing the picture to Luciano, Andreas wondered about the thoughts going through Luciano at the moment.

Luciano traced the lines of his lover and daughter, the anger he felt only growing rapidly.

He simply flipped the picture to see his uncle's handwriting.

Luciano read the address written on the back, one of the tech guys confirming the building.

"If he's serious about everything he said, do you think he's been the one sabotaging the operation from within?!", Andreas asked.

"Venice! He's the one behind it!", Luciano said after what seemed like minutes.

"Shit!!", Andreas said in realization.

"I had all the clues but I failed to piece them together!", Luciano said as his mind went back to the suspicious activities his uncle always indulged in.

Who would want to think of their uncle in such a light?

"He was so good at hiding his plans!", Andreas said.

"I always thought he made peace with my position as The Don!", Luciano said.

"What does that mean?!", Andreas asked, quite confused.

"He killed my parents for the same reason!", Luciano answered as he approached the bulletproof vest and the guns on another table.

He continued, "The operation has a certain way it works, Andre.

It is passed to every firstborn son.

As the second son, it didn't sit well with him!", Luciano answered.

"Why didn't he just take over when your parents died?!", Andreas asked again, passing extra bullets to Luciano.

"My Grandfather at the time didn't support it! Now, I'm sure he was the one who killed my parents!", Luciano said, disgust forming in his heart for his uncle.

"He's held a grudge for over twenty years!", Andreas said as he put the pieces together.

"He shot himself in the arm to make it look believable didn't he?!", Andreas asked.

"I had treasured a maniac the whole time!", Luciano simply answered.

"I'm about to end it all!", Luciano said as he stepped out of the building.

"You coming?!", He asked Andreas who didn't hesitate to grab his gun and follow behind him.

On their way out of the mansion, Luciano said to Andreas, "Remind me to get an ice cream making machine in the mansion!"

"Yes Don!", Andreas said.

It was now clear what Luciano had to do.

He now understood he was the one to put his uncle down.

"Get the girls to safety!", Mr Morales said, barging out of his home office.

"What does that mean, it's past 5, we just got started with dinner?", Mrs Morales asked as she came face to face with her husband who was breathing rapidly.

"What is going on?", she asked yet again, as her husband bent over on his knee for a short moment to catch his breath.

"The- The Rossi, he's com- coming and he's angry!", Mr Morales said, looking at his wife's face going from confusion, to realization, and finally fear.

Mrs Morales quickly turned towards the kitchen, "Girls! Girls! Come on! Pack up whatever you're doing and go to your rooms. When you get in, you lock the door behind you!"

"But mama, we just started cooking d...", one of the girls tried to interject.

"You do as I say!", Mrs Morales said, banging the table with her hands, causing the girls to flinch.

"Now to your rooms!", she said, grabbing both her daughters and leading them upstairs.

The girls looked at their father wondering what was wrong, but their father's expression made them wonder if they would get an answer.

The man was afraid of whatever was coming.

It was more of a WHO than WHAT!

How much trouble you had to be in to get the biggest mafia Don to visit you personally for the second time.

A domineering man of very few words, Luciano Rossi was the biggest mafia Don in all of Rome, his influence taking roots from the majority of Italy.

Highly revered for his achievements and his prowess, the single mention of his name sends a serial chill down the spine of every other person.

His visits were very rare, and could only result from two things; the first, he respected you and the second, you were owing him a lot of money.

And he certainly didn't respect Mr Morales, thus, he was on his way to retrieve a considerable amount of money from Mr Morales.

~~

"Where's your sister?", Mrs Morales asked her other two daughters as her brain finally processed that her elder daughter wasn't in the room with them.

The two girls looked at each other before one of them had the courage to speak to their mother who looked like she was in a frenzy.

"We we don't know mama!"

"Stay here and lock the door when I leave. Do not make any noises and I'll come knocking when the dust settles!", Mrs Morales said, leaving her daughters.

She started searching the rooms, a desperate attempt to find her elder daughter and bring her to safety.

While she did that, Mr Morales sat in his room, fear written all over his face as he rummaged through his office space.

Out of the heavy feeling of fear, he didn't remember where he kept some of the things Luciano would request upon his arrival.

However, he was lucky enough to find the specific document before he heard an array of tires crush the gravel in his compound.

His heart dropped as he quickly managed to arrange the mess he had caused, like Luciano will see this and have mercy on him.

Mr Morales quickly ran to the front door, opening it to see three black cars driving into his compound.

He stared at all of them, wondering which one Mr Rossi would come out from, as the glasses were tinted!

Mrs Morales came to stand beside her husband, wanting to tell him that she couldn't find their third daughter, Isabella. However, before she could even say anything, Mr Morales said, " Quick, prepare something for the guests "

"But, I can't...",

"Now !", Mr Morales said in finality as his wife scooted to the kitchen to get something prepared for the guest.

Finally, Two armed men alighted the first car, heading to the third car, the last one on the line, where they opened the door for whom Morales suspected to be Mr Rossi.

A Tall, muscular figure stepped out, buttoning his suit jacket. His face looked unreadable, like a blank slate, a considerable contrast to the pair of beautiful emerald colored eyes he had.

It was indeed Mr Rossi.

He stepped away from his car, one of the armed men closing the door behind him.

He looked around the compound, the same way he did the first time he had been there.

Mr Morales quickly rushed to him, as if entertaining his presence would make him forget the reason he was there.

"Welcome sir! Welcome! Shall we...!", Mr Morales was suddenly cut short by a loud thud which came from his open yard.

A girl suddenly appeared from the opening on the floor after she threw a package beforehand.

Curious, Luciano turned to see how the girl was going to climb out of the hatch.

He was rather stunned to find that the girl came out of the hatch with ease, like she was experienced. He watched as she went through the back entrance, her black hair which was in a bun reflecting the rays of the sun.

Mortified, Mr Morales quickly shifted to The Mafia Don, " Please sir, I have the comforts of my office waiting for you!"

"Who's that?!", Luciano suddenly asked, his gaze intense upon Mr Morales.

"That, that's my third daughter sir, her name Is Isabella!"

Nodding, he headed Into the house, Mr Morales following after him.

Four armed men followed him inside the building, while the rest scattered themselves around the compound, breaking themselves up to find possible threats.

~~

"Where were you!?", Mrs Morales asked as she saw her daughter, Isabella coming in through the back door.

"I was in the yard", Isabella answered, wondering what was wrong with her mother, she never really asked what she was up to, thus, she found the confrontation rather weird.

"I have been looking all over for you!", Mrs Morales replied.

She continued, "that doesn't matter! Now, you go to your room and lock the door behind you!", Mrs Morales said, pushing Isabella out of the kitchen.

"But aren't we going to cook dinner?", Isabella asked, wondering what was wrong.

"We can have dinner later, we have very unwanted guests! Now go to your room!", Mrs Morales said in finality as she shoved Isabella up the stairs.

~~~

The temperature in the Morales' home office seemed to drop minute by minute as the renowned vicious Don and the debtor, Mr Morales remained in the room.

Standing by the window sill, Luciano's jaw tightened hearing what Mr Morales reported to him after six months.

"You could only raise twenty five thousand euros out of a sum of five hundred million euros?", Luciano asked, confirming he heard what Mr Morales was saying.

"Yes, uhm, sir, I know, I'm aware it doesn't justify anything. However, if you give me more time, I'm sure...", Mr Morales suddenly kept quiet as Luciano turned to stare into his soul with his eyes.

"You had six months!"

"Yes, yes, I'm aware, but the investment failed sir, and I tried to salvage it, but it it wasn't possible sir. I'm sorry !!" Mr Morales said, quickly landing on his knees.

"If I could just have more time sir!"

"Nonsense!", Luciano Bellowed, walking towards the table.

"We signed a contract when you took out the loan. You requested six months Morales! Don't act like you don't know that part!", Luciano said, taking a seat.

Shaking from fear, Mr Morales had that fact at the back of his mind, and he had desperately hoped Luciano would not remember.

He started to sweat profusely at Luciano's words.

"According to the contract, I'm going to have to take whatever I want!", Luciano said, his eyes scanning the room.

"Now let's see, your house isn't worth much!", he paused, wondering what he could have.

"So I'll have the girl from earlier! I'll have her as collateral. You get her back as soon as you finish paying the sum of two hundred million Euros!", Luciano said .

"But sir, she doesn't know anything about the loan! You can't take her! Please!"

"You doubt me, don't you!?", Luciano asked, crossing one leg over the other on the chair he was sitting on.

"No, no I could never!", Mr Morales refuted in desperation.

"Good!, it's either the girl and that method of payment, or I take this house, all your properties, and everything you hold dear!"

Hearing this, Mr Morales gulped, his eyes widening, aware of just how ruthless Luciano can be!

Not waiting for his acknowledgement, Luciano continued...

" I have a meeting around this axis in three days, I'll come pick her up then!" Luciano said, leaving no room for an argument or a plea.

He stood up and exited the building the same way he had come In.

Hearing the sound of the ignition of all three cars, Mrs Morales peeped through the kitchen window to find the convoy leaving the compound. She was still confused to see some men, a group of 6, still in the compound.

Leaving the kitchen, Mrs Morales inhaled the heavy cologne that still lingered in the house. A quick reminder that the Italian Don was in their house moments before.

She hurried towards her husband's office, surprised to see her husband sitted on the floor, sweating through his shirt.

"What happened!", Mrs Morales asked, helping her husband to a chair.

"He wants Isa!", Mr Morales said under his breath as if still in disbelief.

His wife however wasn't quick to catch on to this!

"What did he want!", she urged, curiosity eating her up.

"He wants Isa!", Mr Morales repeated in a louder voice as he looked at his wife.

Said information hadn't been processed by his wife until after a few seconds.

"What? Why?", Mrs Morales asked, her eyes wide from said information.

"Why does he want her?!" She asked again.

"He's going to hold her hostage till I'm able to provide two hundred million Euros!"

"How are we going to tell Isabella ?!", Mrs Morales wondered.

"Whichever way we have to tell her, she has to be ready in three days as he's personally coming to pick her up himself!", he replied, speaking very slowly, as if trying to digest the information.

"What of the men still in the compound?!", Mrs Morales asked.

"He probably left them to ensure we don't do anything funny!"

"He's really going to take our daughter away!? Can't we come to another agreement?!", Mrs Morales asked curiously.

"It was either that or everything else!"

Gasping, Mrs Morales looked into the distance as she heard the staircase creak.

"We have to tell her as soon as possible! Go fetch her!", Mr Morales said.

~~

"Mama! What's going on? We saw some cars drive in and some men, they're still in the house! What's going on!?", Isabella's sisters asked as soon as they saw their mother.

"Come girls!", Where's your sister?", their mother asked as she led them towards the living room.

"Your father facilitated a loan sometime ago, but the investment plan didn't work out as expected. The men from earlier just came to make sure everything's alright! Go on, go prepare dinner! I'll be there shortly!", Mrs Morales said.

She gave them a watered down version of what was going on, considering the fact that she felt the details were too gory for them.

She headed up the stairs to fetch her daughter, her middle child, the one Luciano had requested.

"Isa! Isa! Isabe...!", Her mother was suddenly cut short by the door of her room opening.

"Mama what's going on, why are there men in our house?!", Isabella asked, confused.

"My daughter!", Mrs Morales said, stroking her daughter's face, as well as her hair, as if memorizing her details.

"Come with me! Your father wants to see you!, Mr Morales said, Pulling Isabella gently by her wrist.

Utterly confused, Isabella wondered why her mother wasn't giving her any answer, she wondered why her father requested her presence, but most of all, she remained curious as to why the men in black suits were still in their house.

The atmosphere of the house felt different, it felt weird, It felt off to be precise. It felt as if there was tension in the house.

"Isabella!", her father called as soon as she stepped into the room alongside her mother.

She looked at the room, wondering why her father's office was slightly disorganized.

"Father! What's going on, why isn't mama saying anything?, Isabella asked, searching her father's face for answers .

She kept looking between her mother and her father, in search of answers. However they were too busy wondering how best to break the news to her.

Silence ensued, only the sound of cutting, boiling and chatter could be heard coming from the kitchen.

"You have to go somewhere!"

"You have to go somewhere!", Mr Morales said, confusing Isabella even more.

"What, what do you mean?", Isabella asked, still looking between her parents for answers.

However, it didn't look like she was getting any favorable answers with how still her parents stood.

The room still in silence, Isabella pressed, "Why aren't we all going?", she asked, going further into the room to touch her father's hands.

The tension combined with the silence made her afraid for some reason.

"No Isa, you have to be the one to go!", her father answered.

"What? Go where?", Isabella asked.

"You should take a seat for what your father's about to say!", Mrs Morales said, taking her daughter's hand and helping her to sit on the office chair in front of her father's desk.

"I took out a loan sometime ago...!", Mr Morales drawled, wondering how best to tell his daughter.

They might have given the younger girls a watered down version, but Isabella was much older and she couldn't be deceived.

"What does your loan have to do with me going anywhere?", The confusion still apparent on Isabella's face.

"I took the loan from the Don, the Mafia Don!", Mr Morales completed, striking fear into Isabella's heart.

"What!? That's Luciano Rossi! Father, he's a ruthless man! Why didn't you...?", Isabella said, suddenly standing up.

"It was unexpected, Isa!! Now, you don't tell me what to do!", Mr Morales replied, starting to get annoyed at the questions from Isabella.

"But father, he's a very ruthless man!", Isabella said, trying to refute.

She continued, "We could have worked it out! We could have come up with a better plan, where we didn't have to...!"

The questions Isabella asked annoyed Mr Morales even more.

He didn't need said questions at the moment, thus, he banged the table.

This caused Isabella and her mother to flinch.

Mr Morales approached the window sill where Luciano stood earlier, except this time, the sun was already setting.

"Yes, I took a loan from the Don, I took a huge loan from the Don and, yes Isabella, yes, I couldn't pay it back, I couldn't..."

Isabella watched how her usually composed father fidgeted around the room, fear setting into her heart, at the thought of the conclusion of his words.

"Luciano would take you, just until I can pay back some more, just a little bit more , and then, then you can come back to us!", Mr Morales said.

Tears already welling up in her eyes, Isabella tried to refute, "... but father, I don't want to go with Luciano. We can, we can work from here...!"

"Isabella!", Mr Morales shouted, "you will go with Luciano and that's final! Now get out of my office and go pack your bags!" , Mr Morales said, leaving the room.

He passed his wife as he headed up to his room. The situation was much bigger than him, he wasn't going to make her think they could disobey the Don.

Tears running down her cheeks, Isabella turned towards her mother, "Mama, they cannot take me!", Isabella said, shaking her head rather vigorously, despite the tears running down her cheeks.

"Isabella, you have to do as your father says! He's going to be here soon!", Mrs Morales said.

"But I don't want to go!", Isabella said, holding her mother.

"Come on Isa, have dinner first and we can discuss the other details!", Mrs Morales said, trying to get Isabella to the dining area.

"I don't want dinner mama! I don't want to go with them!", Isabella said with pleading eyes to her mother.

"Mama what's going on with Isabella, what's going on at all!", One of Isabella's sisters suddenly asked with wide eyes as she saw tears on her sister's face.

"You don't have to worry girls...!", as Mrs Morales continued, Isabella understood that her younger siblings hadn't been told the entirety of the story.

Thus, she decided to head up to her room, to at least protect the innocence of her siblings.

Mrs Morales sighed seeing the sad figure of her daughter going up the stairs.

"Isabella's going to be okay, come on, let's go have dinner!", Mrs Morales said, giving her other daughters a portion of the truth.

Isabella had no clue the individuals who had dinner that night, especially with the burden of the news that was broken to her.

Dinner was rather bland, considering the thick air of tension that lingered in the Morales' house. They only scraped their meals, storing the leftovers in the freezer.

Opening the door to her room, Isabella started to entertain the different scenarios where she wouldn't get killed, or she would be shown mercy by the mafia Don.

However she burst into tears again as she remembered all the terrorizing things she had heard about him.

'Would he kill me?'

'Or would he have me work for him?'

'What if he has sick ideas ?'

'What if I'm imprisoned?'

His reputation didn't exactly contain showing mercy.

Tears rolled down her eyes as she heard her younger sisters go up the stairs with plates rattling. It was a normal routine as their father didn't go downstairs for dinner.

She listened intensely as her sister's footsteps got closer and closer till she suddenly heard the knocking sounds right above her head.

"Isa!", her sister called out as she knocked some more, and a little more, till she called out again.

"Isa, do you want me to bring you dinner?!", she asked one more time, hearing nothing but silence.

Isabella turned rather weak from hearing the news, thus, she didn't feel like talking or having dinner.

She slid down her door, bursting into tears, wondering how she was going to navigate her life.

She stayed still for what seemed like hours, only accompanied by the ticking of her bedside clock.

The situation made her headache feel like she had more than a migraine.

She wondered what she was going to do, she didn't want to entertain the gory details that came to form in her head.

Her father had said she would come back after he had paid a certain amount.

'What if he couldn't pay back?'

'What if...?'

Isabella's gory thoughts were cut short by knocking sounds on her bedroom door.

She was too deep in thought to notice the creaking of the stairs or recognise who approached her room through their footsteps.

"Amore, open the door, let me talk to you!", Mrs Morales said, more like whispered as she was trying to get her daughter to open the door.

"Amore!", she called out again, putting her ear against the door, hearing nothing but silence.

"Isabella, please open the door!", Mrs Morales pressed, still in that gentle voice as she knew exactly how stubborn her middle child could be.

She waited a while till she heard shuffling from inside the room.

Mrs Morales didn't know for sure if Isabella was going to open the door till she heard the key being inserted into the lock.

The door was suddenly opened, with Isabella's back turned as she approached her bed.

Mrs Morales quickly entered the room, closing the door behind her.

She approached Isabella's bed, sitting beside her daughter whose face was stained with several lines of tears.

"Your father made a mistake,a very terrible one at that, you can't condemn his efforts!", Mrs Morales started.

"Why do I have to be the one to pay for the mistake?!", Isabella asked in a solemn tone.

"You're not paying for his mistake amore! You just simply have to go somewhere!", Mrs Morales said, a desperate attempt to save her daughter from the details of whatever was awaiting her.

"Go somewhere? Mama, we woke up this morning like a normal family, and we all went about our days! Don't you think this is a shock for me?!", Isabella asked, scoffing in disbelief.

"I'm not arguing with that Isa, but regardless of emotions and everything you're thinking about right now, he's going to be back here to come get you!", Mrs Morales said .

"How many days from now?", Isabella asked.

"Three days !", her mother answered as she watched her daughter's face pale from the news being broken to her.

"How could you do this to me mama?", Isabella asked, putting Mrs Morales in a conflicting position.

"We couldn't read Luciano's mind Amore. Your father said he would work out something with him, but we didn't know it would come to this!", Mrs Morales said, holding her daughter's hand.

"Mama!", Isabella cried out amidst sobs, "I don't want to go with him!"

"I know Isa, I know you don't want to go, but it will only take a while, just a short while!", Mrs Morales said, trying to reassure her daughter.

Mrs Morales kissed Isabella on her forehead before she approached the door.

"You have to start getting ready, Isa, they'll be back in three days!", She said before she left the room.

Isabella only shook her head as she looked towards the window in her room.

She had always dreamed of independence, hoping that one day, she'll live her life away from the confines of her small town, maybe travel the world while she was at it.

She dreamt of a life where she wouldn't answer to the whims of any person, however said dreams were about to be clipped in the wings by Luciano.

"What did he even want with me?", Isabella asked no one in particular as she broke the deafening silence in the room.

"How much could he have borrowed that would make him want to collect a human person in return?!", she asked again.

"Would I even survive whatever torment papa has gotten me into!"

Isabella looked around her room, memorizing the details of one of her favorite places in the entire world.

She wondered what would become of the space if she left.

The amount of 'what ifs' in her head not helping the situation one bit

~~

While Isabella went through several horrific scenarios In her head, the object of her nightmares stood at the Dock, wiping his gun clean from the blood splatter.

Lying motionless on the floor before him was a mercenary who had been caught snooping around in his operation.

Cunningness was a particular trait Luciano could not condone, especially when it came to his business.

Walking away from the body, "clean this up!", he briefly said to the armed men who were closest to him.

Stopping in his tracks, he continued, "investigate whatever this is!"

"Yes Don!", the men answered, moving to clean up the mess.

He walked towards the car waiting for him, his assistant coming out of the front seat to open the door for him before he reached.

"The girl from earlier sir! What do you want to do with her?", Andreas Ancelotti, Luciano's personal assistant asked.

Luciano suddenly being reminded of the black haired girl who triggered his curiosity.

"I don't know yet!", Luciano answered, moving to sit comfortably in the backseat.

Bringing out his phone, Luciano was suddenly interrupted by Andreas asking, "Dinner?"

With a simple nod, Andreas started driving heading towards a restaurant nearby to get dinner for the Don.

The normalcy of the Don's job soon to become a rather gory topic for Isabella.

~~~

The Morales house remained strained for the remainder of the night, Luciano's guards remaining scattered around its compound.

Their job was simple, 'keep the family from doing anything crazy'

Luciano had authorized gun power WHEN necessary.

The use of said gunpower soon to be triggered by Isabella herself.

As soon as her mother left the room, she suddenly had a bright idea, a rather dangerous one at that.

Despite her headache, She looked at her window, and then her door, and then the window again.

A bright smile formed on her face despite the dried streaks of tears on her cheeks.

She quickly approached the door, gently locking it with the key, so as not to alarm anyone.

She quickly packed some things she thought would be useful inside a small bag before she changed into something more mobile.

Sighing, she looked around her room, taking a mental picture before she moved toward her window.

Isabella quickly took her bedsheets and tied them together before she threw the makeshift rope outside of her window.

Her backpack followed after making a loud thud.

However, just as she was about to follow, she suddenly heard a deep voice, alongside the cooking of two guns.

"Don't even think about it!"