Chapter Three
998 Words
CHAPTER THREE
Choosing violence.
ADELA
“Get dressed,” Enzo leads me into a small room.
My chest caves in slowly as if my heart is being squeezed by a fist.
Fuck.
Everything can’t have been for nothing. All the suffering, all the pain, for nothing? I refuse to accept that.
As if he can read my mind, Enzo warns, “Do not try to run, Adela. This is the best-case scenario. Let’s not make it messier than it already is.”
Heat spreads through my chest and explodes in my face, “f**k you, Enzo.”
He narrows his gaze at me, folds his arms, and shrugs, “You seem to have a lot on your mind, so get it out now.”
I blink, lungs tightening, “W … what?”
“Unload all your anger right now.” He snaps, jaw clenched hard, “There will be no room for any stupidity, Adela. In twenty minutes, you will walk down the aisle. The hall will be filled with powerful people. You will not ruin this for us.”
My heart slams against my ribcage hard, thrashing, desperate to be free.
I clench my jaw hard, my eyes burning with tears I refuse to let fall. “Go to hell, Enzo. I … Go to hell. I have nothing to say to you!” The words burst out of me, pulling tears from my eyes.
He does not speak. He just looks at me.
My knees weaken, and the heat spreads to my entire body.
I am drowning in rage, and there is no air.
My chest caves in painfully, and I almost collapse to the ground.
This is not the end. I refuse to accept this. Absolutely not.
“Get dressed. Do not try to run.” His voice is devoid of emotion.
He is colder than ever. I want to ask what happened to him in the last eight years, but I do not care.
So, I nod, wipe my tears, and smile, “Okay.”
He narrows his gaze at me, suspicious, but walks out.
I hear the click of the door and collapse onto the chair.
I allow myself respite for two seconds, then I’m up.
Desperately, I get on the chair and check the windows, but it is bolted shut. I don’t even know where we are.
The car ride here was stifling and unbearable. Vincenzo had a victorious smirk on his face that made me want to abandon the plan and kill him right there.
I get down and pull out the knife from between my thighs. It’s small, but it will do the work.
Anything can be used to kill as long as enough pressure is applied.
I place it on the table before me and strip slowly.
My hand is trembling as I get out of my jeans and top.
I pull the wedding dress from the hanger, and my heart stutters to a halt.
It’s short, low cut and … perfectly my size. Vincenzo is a f*****g creep. How long has he been watching me?
None of this will matter when he’s dead.
I clench my jaw hard, ignore the fear coursing through my body, and get dressed. My cleavage spills out. I know it is intentional.
Five minutes later, the door opens, and Enzo walks in.
I am dressed. The knife is in my sleeve.
His suspicion is palpable and correct, because in ten minutes, Vincenzo will be dead.
“Come on,” he grabs my wrist and leads me out.
I look around, committing everything to memory.
We seem to be in a Brownstone. Upper East Side.
Could Beth be here? Highly unlikely, though. I need to find her, and Enzo is my way.
I let him hold me properly as he leads me into the hall.
He offers no word of comfort. I am glad that we don’t have to pretend.
I have always been an inconvenience, and he has always been complicit like his father.
My step halts for a moment as waves of grief crash into me.
My father is dead.
Would his mother and siblings be in there?
Oh, God.
I don’t want to see Alessia, but I don’t have any choice.
He allows me one moment before we continue.
We step into the hall, and my gaze zeroes in on Vincenzo immediately.
He has changed into a different attire. A bit performative since he does not care about all of this.
Enzo pushes me forward.
I run my gaze over him. He is watching me. There is a cigar between his lips. His eyes are cold, but seem to sparkle. His sleeves are rolled up, showing an arm full of ink, and fingers stacked with rings.
Something simmers in my belly, and my eyes stay on him a bit longer than I intend. A pull… a tug. I look away.
For a moment, I look around, and my heart rate spikes.
I do not know these people. I recognise some of them, but I do not know them. They are here to watch a union years in the making, one that my escape didn’t stop, because no one escapes the mafia.
I square my shoulders, clench my jaw hard. I will follow through with this plan.
Enzo stops, and he lets me go.
Fresh wave of panic seeps into my joints.
My whole body trembles as I look at Vincenzo.
Cold floods my whole body, and my knees weaken.
I have to do this. I cannot walk willingly into another cage.
The priest begins, and I shift my weight.
I reach for the knife in my sleeve and hold it in my palm.
Vincenzo watches me. He kills the cigar fire and tosses it in the trash. He is still smirking. That should have been my first sign.
I’m wrapped up in my panic. I stop stalling.
My pulse hammers. I pull out the knife, and I lunge at him.
- Writer
