Lethal Combination

CHAPTER 9

Alessio groaned in pain upon waking up the next day. This is one of the few times that he can totally feel how wrecked his body was, but the very first time that the cause was a woman. How long did him and Ainsdale even fight last night?

He himself never once thought that an assassin herself would take the place of his hateful fiancée who had gone missing. Ainsdale did it because she was looking for answers and she was hoping to find those answers through him. If she was Euphrosyne, he was sure she would have long been dead, since the torture she underwent while they were interrogating her is something even men, even those who already belonged in their family cowered from, but she survived it.

He can tolerate the pain from the wounds he got from the glass shards that were impaled on his arm last night while fighting Ainsdale to death, even the bruises that marred his skin, but the wound he sustained from a gunshot is a different matter. He was not able to sleep well because his arm was still wrapped in a sling. With the anesthetic gone, he could literally feel his wound like it was being burned every time he moved.

Why did he even go inside her room in the first place when he didn't even plan to at first? He knew he was about to leave back then, but he found himself entering her room with all the intention of wanting to have a glimpse of her face - even if she was already asleep, even if it was just for a moment.

He should have been able to avoid this situation if he had just gone past her room last night after killing Dian and gone straight to his own room beside hers. If he did just that, if he ignored the urge to see her, he wouldn't have learned the truth that she really wasn't Euphrosyne. He would have continued being torn: from choosing to stay away from her and wanting to be with her afterwards, from loving her and hating her at the same time, caring for her and wanting to kill her all the same.

Her being Ainzen's sister, answered most of his questions, but there were still a lot left unanswered. Questions which Ainsdale herself wanted to learn the answers too. Hence, why she came into his life pretending to be Euphrosyne.

Because of his injuries, Alessio hardly managed to take a bath that morning. Khalil came into his room a little while later, just in time when he was done and he helped change the bandage on his wound.

"You look… miserable," Doctor Petrakis pointed out.

"Yeah, tell me about it. She literally shot me without even blinking and dared to look accomplished after she did. The guts she has is outstanding."

Khalil tried not to laugh at that, but in the end, he did and Alessio gave him a stink eye which he completely ignored as he bandaged his wound.

"How is she?"

"The maids said she was not awake yet. If she is still sleeping, flagrare has been deeply embedded into her system and she will be needing the neutralizer soon. If she continues overexerting herself, her body will slowly shut down - she will sleep far longer than normal: more than a few hours, she will sleep the day away or a whole week, until she falls into a coma where she will never awaken. She's supposed to just rest, you know? How many times has she needed to do something drastic to save herself since you guys abducted her?"

Alessio thought for a moment. "If we count the encounter she had with Lucien and the interrogation she went through, three. But you should remember that it was her who tried to kill me last night."

"Yeah. After you went inside her room all bloodied because you just tortured someone to death."

Alessio chose not to retort about what Khalil said as he ignored the pain in his shoulder while he put on his button-up shirt. "How long does she have?"

"Less than a year. That is all I can tell you right now. Flagrare is a bio-weapon developed by the Brovinos with some government officials from around the world backing them up. With the recent uproar a few months ago where those officials were arrested, the production of the drug temporarily stopped, but since some of them were able to get out from prison cells even after all of the evidence was presented to court, they have already started to distribute it to different countries. It was mainly created to render agents and spies useless because it prohibits them from executing their deadly skills. I was actually wondering why they had it tested on Euphrosyne. Maybe they thought there was a possibility that she would betray them the same way she did with the Arcana and that they used it as a chain of some sort? But then again, how is she able to fight you on equal terms?"

Alessio chose to remain silent because he knew the answer to that. Ainsdale is an assassin who once worked for an organization that has ties to every government - one where his cousin Stefano used to work too. And the last assignment they were both involved in has something to do with the drug in question.

When Khalil was done patching him up for the day, he put all his medical tools back into his bag and excused himself. "Call me if Euphrosyne's already awake. I will come as soon as possible to check on her."

"You're going out of the estate?"

Khalil nodded. "I need to report to the hospital today," was all he said before he left him alone in his room.

He was about to go downstairs when the phone on his console table rang. It wasn't his. He stared at it and the word "Mom" appeared on the screen. He had completely forgotten about Ainsdale's gadgets which he took hold of when they abducted her from ISR's underground parking area. Because it was locked along with her smartwatch and, since their IT's were not capable of hacking it no matter what they did, he left those on the table. No wonder he couldn't get AVII to help him access the said gadgets. It was, after all, her creator's and the system's version is not compatible with the one installed in her things.

He ignored the first call. He thought the caller wouldn't persist, but the phone rang for the second time. It was then when the blue light from the ceiling shifted before AVII's holographic image appeared in front of him.

"Good morning Mr. Arcane! Would you like to receive it, or would you prefer I accept the call and direct it to voicemail?"

"Why are you asking me?"

AVII was programmed to be interactive. She was programmed to be intelligent. Hence, she could interact with all the knowledge the world has. And to think that the woman he fought with last night - the same one sleeping in the room beside his, created her makes him think of a lot of things. Ainsdale is danger in the flesh on a whole new level.

No wonder ISR's development skyrocketed even though it was a new company established by the younger generation of the Castigliones. They totally ventured away from their family's winery business and concentrated on producing hardware and software that competed with the known companies out there. Right now, ISR is known to be the most trusted and most advanced company when it comes to providing security and intelligence systems.

With someone as smart as Ainsdale working for the company, they were able to create software that far exceeds the one they launched before it. At the moment, AVII is the newest software they launched officially only a few days ago which they did not intend to share with the public. He was only able to use the program because of something Ainsdale herself did when she was helping the Arcana Famiglia.

"Because you are in custody of Miss Castiglione at the moment and that is her mother Celeste calling."

"You knew about her not being Euphrosyne then?"

"I was only able to identify her last night using her voice ID when she called her brother using my system installed in this manor."

He thought for a moment before he sighed. "I'd like to review the call logs done by Ainsdale so please have them ready. I will look into it if I have the time. But first, put her mother on speaker. I will talk to her."

"Of course," AVII responded before she disappeared from his sight.

Before he could say anything, a woman's voice cut him off immediately the second the call was received. She sounded enraged.

"Ainsdale Fiumeluna Castiglione!"

A fond smile etched on his lips. That was Ainsdale's whole name? A beautiful name that sounded so innocent for a woman so lethal and deadly. Something that should have belonged to an angel but ended up getting attached to a devil instead. A stunning devil at that.

"Pensavo avessi detto di aver già lasciato l'organizzazione. Allora come mai non ho più avuto tue notizie da quando hai lasciato la villa per andare all'ISR? Hai promesso che non avresti più fatto nulla di pericoloso. Ainsdale, non ti sei preoccupato per niente della tua vita? Capisco che la noia ti porterà alla follia, ma inseguire il pericolo non è la risposta. Ti ho lasciato fare le cose che volevi prima, ma non puoi rinunciare a questa cosa d'ora in poi? (I thought you said you already left the organization. Then how come I haven't heard anything from you again since you left the villa to go to ISR? You promised that you wouldn't be doing anything dangerous again. Ainsdale, did you not have any ounce of care about your life at all? I understand that boredom will drive you to madness, but chasing danger isn't the answer to it. I've let you do the things you wanted before, but can't you give up this one thing from now on?)"

He stared at the phone but he didn't say anything. How is he going to respond to that? Her family knew she had been working as an assassin but he only came to know of that fact. He knew she was Aizen's sister but he only knew that part and nothing more because they hadn't got the chance to talk last night. After they tried to kill each other and after Ainsdale handled his surgery, their lust for each other overflowed as feelings which they restrained for so long because of the boundaries they established knowingly due to their circumstances were unchained from their confines. If he was not able to stop himself and if she would have just chosen to seduce him instead, another unforgettable moment would have happened between them. But he respects her so much that he is willing to take everything slowly - one step at a time. Something he never did to all the women that came into his life before her. If it was her, he was willing to wait, no matter how long it would take.

It was Ainsdale's mother talking on the line, so he was having a hard time finding the right words to say to her. He couldn't tell her they abducted her daughter in broad daylight in ISR's underground parking lot because they mistook her as someone else, could he? That would certainly cause hell to break lose, especially if they were to learn how much she suffered in their hands. The Castigliones are a force themselves to be reckoned with. That was one of the reasons as to why he approached Aizen and Sage in the first place and made sure that they stood beside him in their underground life. Being involved in the mafia is something that ensures their lives will always be put in danger, so he made sure that the people he takes under his wing would stay loyal. But one of them strayed, so he had to make an example out of him.

The siblings, Ainsdale and Aizen, obviously did things on their own and did not inform their family, especially their parents, about their plans, because if they did, the Castigliones would have been at his door right about now demanding him to return the Castiglione heiress, which is Ainsdale herself. He knew Sage was working with the siblings too, because that day, he knew it was his cousin they abducted at their company building, but he watched and let them take her with them as if they had planned it all along. Him and Lucien had just fallen prey to their schemes that day.

"Did you forget you still have to introduce your fiancé to us?"

He blinked. Ainsdale's engaged? To whom? His face darkened at the thought and his temples ticked for some reason. What he heard just irritated him so early in the morning. Is he about to kill someone again?

"Perché non stai dicendo nulla? Puoi provare a evaderemi, signorina, ma mi aspetto di incontrare presto il tuo fidanzato. (Why are you not saying anything? You can try and evade me, young lady, but I am expecting to meet your fiancé soon.) If your brother had not slipped, I'm sure you are not going to tell us that you already have someone dear in your heart."

Alessio cleared his throat and he heard her gasp in surprise. Probably because she never expected she'd hear a man's voice on her daughter's side of the line.

"Mi scusi, signora Castiglione. Non so come replicare a quello che hai appena detto. (I'm sorry, Mrs. Castiglione. I'm not quite sure how to retort to what you just said.)" He said while trying to hide the irritation he was feeling behind his voice because of what he just learned. He did not like the fact that Ainsdale was engaged one bit. "Your daughter's been with me from the first night that she did not return home. And before you think of anything else, I did not touch her…" he paused. Well, he did, in a completely different way, but he did not have to tell her that, "and she's been sleeping in the room next to mine at my grandfather's command."

His eyebrows furrowed when he realized something. Why is he even explaining? It's not like he needed to.

"Who are you?" She asked, sounding like her guard suddenly came up at the sound of a stranger on her daughter's side of the line.

"I'm… Scion Arcane."

Ainsdale was fond of calling him that, so he might as well introduce himself to her mother using his middle name.

"Arcane?" She paused for a moment. "Like Arcane Conglomerates and Chain of Hotels?"

The Arcanes were known in the country because of the companies they owned here and abroad. Some of them are being managed by his cousins and the Board of Directors is mostly composed of their other relatives. Male Arcanes dominated their businesses, while only some of the women worked along with them because most of them ventured away from their family business and established a company of their own. Because he is capable enough to take the CEO position even while leading his family in their underground life, he has been holding that title since a month after he graduated from university until now. Because their family business is famous for it's name and stature in the business world, his face almost always made it to the center page of magazines in the business section - may it either be him being included in the most sought after bachelors or the most successful young businessmen out there that are still single. His face even mostly made it on the pages of gossip magazines because of the women the paparazzi had seen him with on such occasions, but he never gave a damn about it because he never once cared enough about the women that got entangled with him to protect them from those who wanted to tarnish their names. They have done their part and he has given them what they wanted. As long as it is not disturbing his way of life and his family, he deemed it unnecessary to focus his attention on it because there are other more important things that he needed to do instead of explaining himself to people who only gossip behind his back.

His engagement to Euphrosyne hasn't been made public yet because she disappeared right after she had stolen something from the family. Right now, he is still fuming but at the same time thankful that she did that. Because if she didn't, his path certainly hadn't crossed with Ainsdale because he knew she was someone who wouldn't care looking back, as long as her path forward had been paved. Looking at her, it must have been her brother Aizen who had pushed her to do this thing they are doing right now - her pretending to be someone else while putting her life in danger more than she is right now.

"That would be my family's, yes," he answered.

He's starting to feel like he is being put in the hot seat and it is making him regret that he decided to accept the call. He didn't want anyone digging into his life as he left those who already knew who he was, but he couldn't seem to ignore Ainsdale's mother.

"Scion? You mean to say you're Alessandro Scion Arcane?"

"Yes."

"Oh, my god! You're my daughter's fiancé? The one she's been hiding and the reason why she decided to leave the organization she's been working at?"

What? No matter how much he thought of it, Ainsdale isn't someone who would leave that kind of life just because she fell in love. Didn't their mother know that her life is presently in danger right now because of the drug in her system? Did Aizen and Ainsdale lie about her having a fiancé to redirect their mother's attention away from it?

"Did my daughter and my son purposely not say anything about you when they were here? Aren't you friends with Aizen?"

"Yes, ma'am. I am friends with your son," he answered.

"I want to meet you."

"Ahm - "

"And I want to meet you today, so be sure to tell my beautiful daughter that we will be expecting you both here at Amalfi Villa for dinner. You would have been done with everything on your itinerary today at that time, I suppose."

Well, f**k.

Now he really is regretting that he answered the call. If they are expecting to see them both tonight at dinner, won't they question why they look like that - wounded?

"Where is my daughter, anyway? How come you are the one answering her phone?"

"She's in the other room, Mrs. Castiglione."

"Is she not awake yet?" She asked, as if her daughter still sleeping at that time of the day was not normal.

He was actually just about to go and check on her because Khalil told her last night that she'd be suffering the repercussions of the drug today, since she did not immediately feel it last night after they fought.

"I haven't seen her yet, actually, Mrs. - "

"Mom," Celeste cut him off.

"What?"

"I noticed you'd been calling me, ma'am or Mrs. Castiglione. You're about to become our son, so you should start calling me that. Stop calling me Mrs. Castiglione, that would be my mother-in-law. And stop calling me ma'am, you are not my employee.""

He chuckled. She sounded like his mother. Demanding at times like these.

"Mi hai accettato immediatamente senza incontrarmi prima. Non hai sentito parlare delle voci che si sono reintegrate su di me sulle riviste di Gossip? (You have accepted me immediately without meeting me first. Have you not heard about the rumors printed about me in the gossip magazines?)"

"I did, actually. You are, after all, a notorious playboy in the business world. But it was my daughter whom you had proposed to, did you not? A womanizer will only kneel with a ring in his hand in front of the woman who holds his heart. That is enough. Because I'm sure you have never done that to the women you met before my daughter."

"No, I did not," he answered with a smile.

In fact, in his lifetime, he had proposed to only one person. Someone who he was sure was clueless about what he did. He did it fifteen years ago, when Euphrosyne was eight years old. Though it wasn't through a ring but a gold necklace. Its pendant is the Arcane Family's crest. It was delicately adorned with glittering little stones which were natural diamonds and behind it, his name 'Scion' was engraved intricately in cursive writing. But the necklace must have been long lost. He did not see her wearing it when he saw her so many years later, after without any single contact.

"We are looking forward to meeting you soon."

"Grazie, mamma. (Thank you, mom.) We'll give you a call if I will be able to clear out my schedule this afternoon. And I apologize if tulip did not say anything about staying here in the manor with me."

"Sei perdonato, figliolo. (You are forgiven, son.) If you can't clear out your schedule today, I would appreciate it if you could both come over soon."

"We will. I promise."

"And please do tell Ainsdale to give me a call when she wakes up. She has a lot of explaining to do."

"Of course."

When the call ended, Alessio was left smiling alone in his room. Ainsdale's mother seemed kind and he couldn't wait to meet her along with her husband.

"What is wrong with you, Alessio? It's not like you two were really engaged. Why do you feel excited about meeting the parents of a woman who isn't even your fiancée for real?" He thought to himself as he shook his head before he went out of his room.

He made sure to stop by Ainsdale's room only to frown when he saw her sleeping so peacefully still. She looked like she was sleeping normally but he knew better. He stood beside her bed and looked down on her. Her chest rises up and down slowly as if nothing is wrong.

"Buongiorno, signore Alessandro! (Good morning, Sir Alessandro!)"

He looked up and saw a maid who had new bath towels in her hands. He remembered her name was Rhia and she was working in the manor in place of her mother who was no longer able to work for them because she had fallen ill.

"Rhia, did my grandfather appoint you to attend to my fiancee's needs since her arrival?"

"Sì, signore. (Yes, sir.)"

"Has she not awakened yet, even once, today?"

Rhia shook her head 'no'. "Ero qui prima questa mattina ma la signora rimase addormentata in quel modo, signore. (I was here earlier this morning but the lady remained sleeping that way, sir.)"

He looked down at Ainsdale again. Should he start worrying? But what could he do without Khalil? It's not like he is medically adept to help her.

"Call me immediately when she wakes up."

Rhia could only nod in response as she followed him with her eyes. They were aware how the young head of the Arcanes hated the existence of Euphrosyne, so what changed?

Upon Alessio's arrival downstairs, different sets of eyes welcomed him but nobody dared to ask anything even after they all went out to the gardens to have their breakfast underneath the bougainvilleas that served as a canopy for the table where they eat their meals sometimes because the view from there is magnificent. It is overlooking the wide vineyard behind the Terra di Sienna Manor, past where the pool and the gardens are, where the canopy is a part of the landscape. At the far end of the vineyard is the ocean, which they can reach through the vineyard by horse. One day he is going to take Ainsdale over there since she is someone who looks like she would enjoy the scenery.

His mother looked at him openly in a way that she was silently questioning as to why he ended up that way - wounded, his left arm in a sling because of the gunshot wound in his shoulder and with a bruise on his temple glaring angrily at anyone who saw it. That was where Ainsdale hit him last night when she struggled and was able to get away from him after she took his gun and shot him for the first time and missed.

He actually wondered for a long time how she could be that strong with that small body of hers. It must have been something to do with the way she was trained to kill and if she was not presently suffering from the effects of the drug in her system, he is certain she would have been more deadly. Besides, she really does know where to hit her opponent - somewhere she can certainly render them incapable of fighting back if she landed her hit successfully. She intended to kill him last night just as much as he did to her. He was glad they were able to recognize each other through their voices after the lights turned on, but even then, she shot him on his shoulder without even blinking.

Felize stared at her only son, who didn't mind looking like that as he had his breakfast with them in the garden. In fact, it was the first time that he joined them looking like he was not rushing to go into the company building. He even looked like he didn't have plans to leave today or the next until he is fully healed.

Did he really fight with his fiancée after he went upstairs last night? Were the gunshots they heard really came from her room because Alessio and her tried to kill each other? How was that woman even able to hold herself against him? No matter how she thought about it, Euphrosyne couldn't have been able to do what she did to Alessio.

"Mamma, smettila di guardarmi come me per morire. (Mom, stop looking at me like I am about to die.) I'm fine."

"But you're…"

He shrugged. "I'll live."

"The way you are looking right now, I'm starting to think that woman sleeping upstairs is not the Euphrosyne who was just here a few months ago."

He grinned as he took one of the sliced fruit from his plate using a fork. He isn't naturally right handed, so he is having a bit of a hard time at the moment.

"She's an entirely different one, actually," he whispered.

"What?"

"Nothing, mom."

Felize's eyes focused on him. "I am aware you just said something, what was it?"

He chuckled but before he could answer his mother, Rhia came rushing to him and told her Ainsdale was already awake. He dabbed the table napkin onto his lips before he stood up and kissed his mother's temple.

"Please excuse me, I need to check on camellia."

The Arcanes were left following him with their eyes as he rushed inside the manor without looking back. Something changed in Alessio after what happened last night. The animosity and hate he felt towards the woman his grandfather, Don Alonzo, wanted him to marry was gone overnight and what was left was something they themselves couldn't comprehend.

He had never shown interest in Euphrosyne, but it seemed like he was paying her attention right now. He had never cared about her but him checking on her was because he started to. And since when did he start calling her flower names again like he did back when they were young?

"Dad, what really happened to them last night?"

"Aside from them trying to kill each other, I don't know Felize," the old patriarch answered as he looked at the door where Alessio had disappeared.

Don Alonzo himself was left questioning what changed in his grandson because, right now, he was acting opposite of what he did when Euphrosyne first stayed in the manor until she disappeared.

Alessio is supposed to kill her the moment they found her because of what she did, but he ended up staying away from her and that's it. He hated Euphrosyne openly back then, but now he is showing that he is starting to care. And he called Euphrosyne by her name full of despise before, but now he's gone back to calling her flower names.

With that, the old patriarch can't help but doubt the identity of Euphrosyne who is in the manor right now. He knew his grandson and he was not the type to change overnight for one person. He can't help but remember the day Euphrosyne was being tortured. He saw how she never showed affection to her parents whom Lucien ordered Kian to bring in just to make her speak, but she didn't as if they were strangers to her. And what he couldn't forget was the way her eyes changed colors back then. It was Euphrosyne who told them her eyes' color stayed a dull-brown when she reached adulthood and they saw that it did stay that way. So how come the eyes' color of Euphrosyne right now changes immediately the moment the color of her surroundings change?

Could there be two Euphrosyne and Alessio has become aware of it?