Escaping my Mafia Lord.

Cassandra's POV My eyes woke up to meet the thick darkness that surrounded me. My body felt like it collided with a moving rock as the pain at the back of my head pounded heavily. "What happened?" "I went back to my room. How did I end here?" My conscious self inquired as I tried to scan through my memories. I remember, I was escaping from this hell called life. I was in the woods and almost close to the road which led to the city when I was caught and everything went blank afterward. My heart broke into pieces. I had been planning this escape, and that Tuesday night was a perfect time since Antonio had attended a party hosted by one of the cartel lords in his group. As I scanned further, like a flood, all the thoughts came rushing back in. "What are you doing, Cassandra?" The fear inside of me questioned me as I tried finding my way through the thick woods that surrounded the mansion. "Should I go back? No, I guess it's too late now." I contemplated as I lifted the twine and branches in my pathway. Tearing the lower end of the blue cotton cloth I wore, I advised myself as I walked further into the thick woods. "Cassandra, you have to hurry if you want to make it out from here." I was running from the life I was forced into and the very one to whom I unfortunately married, Antonio. He was labeled the number one drug leader in Italy, which was the home of dangerous mafias and drug Lords. I had enough and was running for my dear life, but the safety of my boys and their images weighed heavy on my heart. "Should I go back to get them?" I mumbled as I paced around, my eyes moving in different directions, trying to figure my way around as I peered through the looming darkness that had surrounded me. Leaving the mansion the way I did was a huge risk for me. But I couldn't stand Antonio's disgusting sight anymore. The pain, abuse, and ill-treatment were all unbearable. I swore deep down to come back for my boys. Lost in my thoughts, I didn't see the trap ahead of me. I walked right to one of his men, who was standing in the dark. “Please let me go!” I pleaded, as the man immediately yanked me up, dropping me on his shoulders like a bag of tubers and began walking back towards the mansion. His muscular arms grabbed my petite waist firmly. “Keep quiet madam”, one of the men who had joined us sneered at me from behind. "You want to get us killed? You brat." He spat. "Please, I can't go back to that hell!!" I continued to scream, tears running down my eyes as I trudged against the rigid back of the man who had me on his shoulder with all the strength I had in me, but he didn't flinch. “The boss has been looking for you all over the mansion, ma'am,” Marco said to me, beaming a wry smile as the man who carried me approached him. Marco was my husband’s assistant, he always wore a kind smile, but beneath that smile was a mafia monster, who had taken countless souls to the great beyond with his gun and who obviously was not scared of anything in the world. As the guard placed me down close to the black-tinted SUV by the roadside, I tried to play a fast one. Immediately, with all the strength in me, I kicked both the guards who were guarding me, targeting their most sensitive part as men. With the men crouching in their parts in pain, I took to my heels, running as fast as my legs could carry me. My heart came to life with a spark of joy when I saw an incoming vehicle. Running towards it, I waved my hands to get the driver's attention. But my delighted heart was crushed in its cage when the man behind the wheels came out, and I quickly recognized him to be Antonio's driver. I was surrounded. In a few seconds, after the driver hopped out of the car, two muscular men followed suit. Each of them held tightly a loaded M-16 rifle. I fell to the ground, tears pooling down my face as they walked hastily towards me, grabbing me firmly in both arms and leading me towards the car. My heart cringed in fear as my gaze fell on Antonio. There he was, the most feared Mafia lord in all of Italy, seated in the back passenger seat of the Black Corolla with his arms crossed against his chest. “Cassandra my darling,” he uttered, his voice making my heart skip a beat. “What makes you think you can run away from me? After we've had three handsome boys together,” he smirked. The air reeked of tobacco and whiskey, as he held his favorite tobacco brand in his right hand. “This is where you belong sweetheart, here with your family.” he voiced, his gaze burning into my very soul, as he trailed his finger across my face before grabbing my jaw tightly. "Meanwhile, I own you, Cassandra Marcini." Antonio added, his voice clearly revealing the evil in his eyes. I yelped in pain. “I..I..I'm sorry Antonio,” I whined in pain, the tears in my eyes flowing freely as he tightened his grip around my jaw. "Please forgive me." Taking a deep sigh, Antonio loosed his grip and dropped my almost dead self to the ground. I rolled on the floor, holding my throat as I choked. He reminds me of who I am. I was nobody. My existence didn't mean much to anyone either. I was married off to Antonio as repayment of a long overdue debt by my late parents had incurred. My late parents were farmers, who had nothing but their strong will to farm and desire to succeed. Their life took a tumultuous turn when they gave birth to me. They lost their farm, their only source of livelihood to the government after the war, and with no choice, they gave me out to the monster called Antonio whom they owed after he had sworn to take in and torture my father despite the state of his health till he got every penny of his money. And ever since they dropped me, they never looked back. The last I heard about them was that my dad passed away a few days after they sold me off and a few months later, my mother, Rita Marcini, who could not bear the pain and grief, passed away too. “You are my property now darling, don't think I'm ever letting you go,” he whispered in my ears, his hot breath greasing my ears. I felt shivers run down my spine. Antonio's eyes were so dark, they revealed the evil in his heart. His tattoo could be seen, peeking from his shirt, stretching down to his right arm, and the scorn on his face made it clear that he was already pissed. I closed my eyes waiting for my time to come. Having seen him kill so many people in the past, it is safe to say that he could kill me any minute from now. He enjoyed seeing people suffer and was not a man to be messed with. “Please forgive me. I… I didn't know what came over me” I emitted as my voice trembled in fear. If looks could kill, I should be long dead by now because Anotonio had been staring daggers at me. I could feel his gaze. Maybe he's contemplating what to do with me. He was distracted by a call, tearing his gaze from me. He turned to signal one of the men to get his phone from the car. Taking a close look at his phone after it was handed to him, he swiped the call and answered. “Hello?” he growled into the phone. He didn't say much, only nodding his head occasionally as he listened. I couldn't make sense of the conversation, but I knew it was an important task, one that I could obviously tell involved business. "Okay, we will get the job done," he uttered as he dropped the phone, then turned towards me. “You have been useful to me, so I would close my eyes to the taunt you pulled out today." Now closer, and squatting in front of me, Antonio ran his firm hands through my dark brown hair. I hate this man, but his hands managed to send shivers down my spine. "Go rest now, because tomorrow is going to be a big day. Marco and a few of my men will escort you to deliver an important package to a foreign client. I'm counting on you. Don't try anything stupid if you ever want to see our sons again,” his voice, reverberated across the entire room. “Please, I'll do anything you ask. Just leave my children out of this. They are innocent, ” I pleaded. “Pick her up!” he ordered firmly, his gaze turning quickly to the guard who was standing on his right. Immediately, he yanked me roughly, like some bag of potatoes, led me towards the car Marco and some of the men drove to find me initially, and in a few minutes we arrived back at the mansion. I was quickly taken to my chamber, which was more like a cell. I slid to the floor, as tears cascaded down my face. I couldn't bear the excruciating pain that was rushing through my entire body. I needed to find a way of escaping this nightmare with my sons. It was there I fell asleep. As the memories of my failed attempt to escape flooded my mind, intruding thoughts of my late parents and how I might spend the rest of my life in this miserable state came up too. Would I have had a better life if they weren't met with so much hardship? How long would I keep on in this cycle? I was still in thoughts when Antonio, who was obviously drunk and clothed with the stench of alcohol, came in. He staggered towards me and as always tried to disrespect me by having his way with me. Drained emotionally and physically for the day, I laid lifeless as he thrusted in and out till he got his satisfaction. "Good girl!" He praised, his lips curved into a devilish smile as he licked them. "Don't forget tomorrow's a business day. Go to bed now." He added before buttoning up his shirt and strolling out of the room. I was disgusted with my life.