Revenge Is Mine

9: Into the Dark

Chiara Moretti

Alessandro stared down at me, his jaw tight. "You say that now," he said, and took a step toward me. "But you do not understand what you are asking for, Chiara. The mafia world is not a boardroom. It is not about signing papers or making smart investments. It is a world built on blood, loyalty, and extreme violence. It is filled with people who will not hesitate to cut your throat just to send a message."

He pointed a finger toward the large glass windows, gesturing to the city outside. "I created a perfectly safe space for you," he continued, "Viviana Marino is a shield. She is a wealthy, untouchable CEO. You can stay in that beautiful corner office. You can focus on running the company, managing the legitimate numbers, and letting me handle Marco and his mafia friends in the shadows. You do not have to touch the dirt."

I shook my head immediately. "No."

Alessandro's eyes narrowed. "No?"

"That is not the life I want," I told him, "For two years, I hid in a hospital bed. I let doctors rebuild my face. I let you build me a new identity. But I will not hide behind a desk while you fight my battles for me. Regardless of whatever I turn out to be by the end of this, I am going to make sure my father's legacy is wiped clean. I want my own hands on the wheel."

My breath hitched as he reached out. His large, warm hand gripped my jaw. His hold was not painful, but it was firm, an undeniable display of power. He tilted my head up so I was forced to look right into his dark, intense eyes. He pulled me closer, so close that my chest was almost against his. I could feel the heat radiating off his body.

"You think you are brave," Alessandro whispered. His face was only inches from mine, his breath brushing against my lips. "But I am not sure you are truly ready to see the other side of me. You only know the man who takes care of you, you do not know the monster. And once you see him, you will never be able to look at me the same way again."

My heart was hammering against my ribs, but I did not flinch."I am more than ready," I whispered back, my voice barely shaking. "Show me."

He stared at me for a long, heavy second. Slowly, he released my jaw. His hand lingered in the air for a fraction of a second before he let it drop to his side.

He took a step back, "Go upstairs and rest," Alessandro commanded softly, "We are leaving the house later tonight."

By midnight, the grand estate was completely quiet. I stood in front of my bedroom mirror. I wore simple black jeans, a tight black turtleneck sweater, and flat leather boots. I walked downstairs and found Alessandro waiting by the back door. He was dressed entirely in black, looking like a shadow. He didn't say a word as he opened the door for me. We walked out into the cool night air and got into a heavy, armored black SUV.

The drive was silent and tense. We drove for almost an hour until we reached an abandoned warehouse district near the edge of the city. Alessandro pulled the SUV into an empty, rusted garage and killed the engine.

"Stay close to me," he said as we stepped out of the car.

I nodded, my stomach tightening into a hard knot. He led me to the back of the garage, moving a heavy metal grate to reveal a concrete staircase leading deep underground. As we walked down the stairs, the air grew instantly cold.

At the bottom of the stairs, two massive men holding military-grade rifles stood guarding a door. When they saw Alessandro, they immediately lowered their weapons and bowed their heads in deep respect. "Boss," one of them said, pulling the door open.

"Is it ready?" Alessandro asked, his voice completely stripped of any warmth.

"Yes, Boss. They are waiting inside."

Alessandro stepped through the door, and I followed right behind him.

The room was grim. It was a large, soundproof concrete bunker lit by harsh, buzzing fluorescent lights. There were no windows, and the walls were stained with old, dark marks that I didn't want to think about.

In the center of the room, three men were kneeling on the hard floor. Their wrists were bound tightly with thick metal chains attached to heavy iron rings on the wall behind them. They were already bruised, their faces swollen and covered in dried blood, their clothes ripped and dirty.

The moment Alessandro walked into the room, pure terror washed over the three men. They started to shake.

"Please, Don Alessandro!" the man in the middle cried out, his voice cracking with absolute panic. "Please, have mercy! We didn't mean to do it!"

Alessandro did not answer right away. He walked slowly around them, took off his expensive watch, folded it neatly, and placed it on a small metal table nearby. He was totally calm, exactly like a predator circling trapped prey.

"These men," Alessandro said, speaking to me without looking at me, "were trusted to guard a shipment of weapons arriving at the docks last week. Instead of doing their jobs, they took a bribe from a rival family. They sold the route, the weapons were stolen, and two of my loyal men were killed in the ambush."

He stopped walking and stood directly in front of the three chained men. "Betrayal," Alessandro said softly, looking down at them, "is the one thing I do not forgive."

"We were forced!" the man on the left sobbed, tears cutting through the blood on his face. "They threatened our families! We had no choice! Please, Boss, give us another chance!"

Alessandro crouched down so he was eye-level with the crying man. The gentleness I had seen in his eyes back at the estate was completely gone. His dark eyes were empty, cold, and dead.

"You always have a choice," Alessandro whispered.

Suddenly, Alessandro's hand shot out. He grabbed the crying man's left hand, which was chained to the wall, Alessandro gripped the man's index and middle fingers and bent them backward until a loud snap echoed through the room.

The man let out a blood-curdling scream of pure agony. He threw his head back, thrashing against his chains, his face turning purple as the pain ripped through him.

My breath caught in my throat. My heart slammed against my ribs. It was brutal but I forced my eyes to stay open. Alessandro didn't even flinch at the scream. His face remained totally blank. He moved to the second man, grabbing his hand with the same terrifying grip.

"No, no, no! Please!" the second man begged, trying to pull his hand away, but Alessandro's grip was like iron.

Snap. Another loud c***k of bone. Another deafening scream filled the concrete room.

I dug my nails into the palms of my hands. My stomach churned, but a strange clarity washed over me. This was the man Marco was trying to outsmart. Marco was an arrogant fool playing with stolen money in his fancy office, completely unaware that he was angering a man who broke bones with his bare hands and didn't even blink.

Alessandro moved to the third man, the one in the middle who had spoken first. "Which hand did you use to take the bribe money?" Alessandro asked him, his voice dangerously calm over the sound of the other two men crying in pain.

"Right," the man sobbed, squeezing his eyes shut. "My right hand."

"Good," Alessandro said. He grabbed the man's right hand. Without a second of hesitation, he snapped his fingers backward, breaking them with a loud crunch. The man screamed, his body going limp against the chains as the shock took over.

Alessandro stood up slowly. He pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and calmly wiped a few drops of blood off his knuckles. He looked down at the three broken men, showing absolutely no remorse.

"Take them to the docks," Alessandro ordered the guards standing by the door. "Make sure they understand the price of their betrayal before they drown."

"Yes, Boss."

Alessandro turned around and faced me.

The room was filled with the sounds of heavy breathing and muffled sobs from the men on the floor, but the only thing I could hear was the rushing of my own blood in my ears.

Alessandro walked slowly toward me. He stopped just a few feet away."Well?" Alessandro asked, his voice deep and rough. "Are you scared of me now, Chiara?"

I looked at his bloodstained hands. Then, I lifted my chin and looked right into his terrifying, beautiful eyes.

"When I was in that car," I said, "I could smell my own flesh burning the fire melting my skin. I screamed until my throat bled, and the man I loved left me to die."

I took a single step closer to him, closing the gap between us. "I have been through far worse than broken bones and bloody hands, Alessandro," I told him, holding his gaze with absolute certainty. "So stop holding back. Stop trying to protect me, put me in fully."