In the Closed Arm of the Don

Chapter 3

Erminio *** Seeing Alessio in the arms of that woman invoked emotions I thought I had buried deep within me. Anger, disappointment, and anxiety…. were coursing through my veins. I wanted nothing more than to snap her pretty neck in half. Her eyes…her eyes still looked as innocent as they did all those years ago, only things had changed between us. I loved her with all my heart and what did I get in return? Pain, heartbreak and betrayal. I swore to myself that I would be the one to end Noemi Colombo if I ever set my eyes on her again. When I heard she got married to my rival, it hurt like hell. Deep down, I was hoping everything was just a lie but it happened to be the biggest reality of my life. I didn't just lose Noemi the day she left, I lost every bit of humanity I had left in me. She was that beautiful ray of sunshine that lit up my world and when she left, she took every beautiful thing I had left with her. That was until I had Alessio. He was an accident but the most reasonable mistake I ever made in my life. His mother was one of the women I had s*x with on a regular just to get Noemi off my mind. She wanted to get rid of him but I couldn't bear the thought of losing my flesh and blood. She kept it at my insistence and she took off the moment she gave birth to him. I tried my best to give him a proper upbringing, he shouldn't be exposed to the darkness I'm forced to live in. Earlier that day… Stepping out of one of the many torture rooms in the basement of a building quite isolated from the city, I felt a sense of relief. The faint smell of blood hovered in the air and oddly, it brought me comfort. Within the walls of this building, I could embrace the monster I had become over the years. Only by hearing the screams of others, could I numb the voices in my head. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, I reached out for it and my brows creased as I saw the caller ID. Massimo…Massimo rarely called unless…. “Yes, any problem…” I said calmly on answering the phone. “ Boss, Alessio's missing.” His gruff voice was laced with a hint of panic. “ What do you mean missing??” “ Teresa went to his school to go pick him up but she couldn't find him.”

“ How about his teachers??” I was trying not to panic, I was reliving what happened two years ago all over again. “ They said Teresa came to pick him up…” “ But Teresa never did.” I completed his words. Damn it!! I brushed my hand through my hair in a frenzied state. Alessio can't speak. He can't speak so there's no way he could have screamed as he was being kidnapped. f**k!!!! “ Found out who dared to do it yet?? Very few people in the entire region of Campania would dare to make a stupid move like this. My hands shook violently as I was ready to spill the culprit's blood. “ We're going through the CCTV footage from the school. We haven't found anything yet but…” He paused, obviously holding back. “ Don't test me! But what??!!” I lost control and yelled. I couldn't lose Alessio, I just couldn't. “ It's just a gut feeling but I think it's Di Angelo Conte. He's the only one who's crazy enough to pull such a stunt. He's been trying so hard to gain some sort of control over us. I fear Alessio has been caught up in the dangerous game between the both of you .” “ That bastard.” I threw my fist at the wall angrily, ignoring the sting and pain that accompanied it. Di Angelo Conte, that bastard. He just took over as the leader of the Conte family a few months back and he's been stirring trouble front, right and centre just to gain control over the Underworld. “ I'm on my way.” I hung up and I flung my phone into my car. As I sped on the highway, different thoughts were running through my head. Alessio was just a five-year-old kid. The last thing I wanted was for him to suffer because of me but that had been happening ever since his existence was revealed. He was kidnapped two years ago and an assassination attempt was made on him. Since that incident happened, he never spoke again. I tried every treatment possible and they all failed. His doctor brought up the idea of putting him in an environment with kids his age. I thought that would work and now… “ f**k!!! f**k!!!” I banged the steering wheel ceaselessly. On getting home, I was given the information I needed. “ That bastard… It's high time I put him in his place.” “ We know who kidnapped him but how do we locate them? ”Massimo mused aloud.

Then it clicked.” There's a tracker on his watch. I installed a tracker on his watch!!!” I half yelled. No one would ever suspect a five-year-old’s custom cartoon-themed watch to have a tracker in it. Within a few minutes, my men were able to get a lead on Alessio's location. I stormed to the location with dozens of my men. Nobody was going to escape from me. I'll tear every single one of them who placed their filthy hands on my son from limb to limb. Massimo busted the door to the warehouse open but to our surprise,...it was empty. The only trace of Alessio was lying on the bare floor. I picked up the watch, filled with rage, and it broke under my firm grip. “ Those bastards figured it out,” Massimo said, his brows twitching as he kicked a box in anger. That moment was one of the rare times he showed any emotion. “What do we do boss??” De Luca, my third in command asked. “ Call Antonio and get more arms. We're going to the Conte estate.” I took out a cigarette from my pocket and I lit it up. The monster in me was itching for its release. Now was the perfect time. “Di Angelo Conte, you're finished,” I muttered as I took a puff out of my cigarette.