32. Adriana

Chapter thirty-two

Adriana

Alessandro, where are you?

Nothing comes close to the feeling of being helpless, forced to watch someone take everything from you. I want to stop this—stop him. But I'm weak, with a bloodied face and a burst lip, staring at him with contempt.

His presence makes my blood boil with anger. Aldo has not only taken our freedom but is a trigger pull away from taking our lives—everything Father had built.

Beatrice is shaking as Aldo trails a gun down her throat. They had moved us to another warehouse, smaller than the first.

Aldo was already here, waiting for us. It gave the bastard Piero a little more time to touch me. I'd be shoving a knife into his chest if I had the chance to right this moment.

I resent Father even more for everything. None of this would have happened if he knew how to do his one damn job—be a father to Beatrice and me.

"What should I do to you?" Aldo teases with a stupid smirk. His men are behind us, holding us still in front of him. Aldo moves his gaze to me and settles his eyes on my breasts. My shirt has shifted down to reveal some cleavage.

"Fuck you." I spit in his face.

The grip of the man holding me behind becomes tighter as he shakes me violently. Aldo turns his face to the side and has one of his men clean his face with a towel.

"You bitch," he grunts and smacks me in the face.

My breath hitches from the impact as a tear slides down my face.

"Stupid brat." He holds my neck but not tight enough to choke me. It still hurts as his fingers wrap around my throat and his nails dig into my skin.

"Let go of her," Beatrice cries.

Aldo laughs while keeping his gaze on me. He traces the tip of the gun slowly from my head down to the V-neckline of my shirt. My chest is heaving as he trails further down my chest and stops at my cleavage, pulling the shirt to show more.

"He will have your fucking head if you place your filthy hands on me," I say through gritted teeth.

Alessandro should be here already. Heaven knows I'm counting on him. There's no one else. Just how pathetic my life has become. I have no one else but the man whom I once hated with every fiber in me and now have a child with.

"Alessandro?" His grip on my neck tightens.

"I'll kill you and your fucking boyfriend. I'm having it all. This city will know who Aldo is. Before I do that though, I won't be denying myself a taste of those gorgeous tits, you know." His grip is getting tighter as his eyes bore into mine and then into my cleavage again with an intensity I don't recognize. He is crazier than I thought.

"Yo… you're crazy," I manage to say, almost breathless.

Beatrice's sobs grow louder.

He stops choking me the moment we hear a noise from outside. His eyes grow bigger as he stares at the door. The noise gets louder as yells and gunshots fill the air.

He is here.

I let out a deep sigh as Aldo releases my throat.

"Someone should fucking check what's going on out there," he grunts in anger and yells. But it's obvious that some of his men are afraid to step out first.

"Why are you standing here? Fucking get out there!"

He angrily grabs one by the collar of his shirt and yanks him towards the door. His beige-colored suit has a few dirt spots on its sides and a tiny blood splatter on the chest. He is disturbed as he paces the room frantically, squeezing his jaws.

" Puttana (Bitch)!" He growls as he spots a smile on my face.

My jaws are clenched with his fingers wrapped around them tight. "He's going to kill you and I'll be there to watch."

The guard runs back into the warehouse, slamming the door shut. "It's them. It's Alessandro, boss."

"Fuck!" Aldo releases my jaws and takes a step closer to the guard. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

He takes the guard by surprise and punches him hard in the face multiple times until he falls to the ground. I flinch from the viciousness, watching him deliver hard punches. "Take the gallons now! Burn it all down!"

He walks back to me and faces me. "None of you are coming out alive."

He turns to the man holding my arms from behind. "Kill her." He takes a glance at Beatrice and brushes his fingers through her hair. "Both of them."

"No…no! Stop!" I scream as Aldo walks to the other end of the room. He's headed to the second exit door. The room is choking with the smell of fuel.

"Aldo! Aldo!"

I'm stopped by the strong arms gripping mine, pulling me back as I try to reach for Aldo. He doesn't get to fucking leave.

I stare at the man with a matchbox who is busy lighting up the warehouse. He tosses a lit match to a pile of fuel-drenched wood, which engulfs in fire almost immediately.

Piero has a devilish grin as the warehouse lights up, with fire spreading around the corners. I'm losing my mind with no options of getting out alive.

The noise outside has gotten louder, but there's still no sight of Alessandro. My head is hurting badly. The smell of smoke seeping through my nostrils makes it worse. Sweat beads start to form on my head from the heat in the room.

No…no. Alessandro, where the fuck are you?

Aldo's men finally release Beatrice and me as they prepare to exit the room. Piero points a gun at me first and then at Beatrice. Like it's some fucking game to him and we are his helpless pawns.

I want to kick him hard in the balls and send a bullet down his throat.

"Who is going first among you, bitches?"

"Piero, we have to leave," one says behind him.

They are the only two remaining behind.

Piero grunts and pulls the trigger. My heartbeat stops as the sound of the gunshot pierces my ears. It's deafening as I jerk in fear. I can't breathe, and my vision's hazy. I'm breathing heavily as I stare down to see where he shot me, but there's no blood. My eyes move to Beatrice whose breathing heavily. I scan her body and see no blood. My eyes water and I wish I could go to her as she's shaking uncontrollably.

Piero laughs, "Better for you two to burn than getting an easy death."

With that, and one last look at us, he turns and leaves. The other guard starts running out, too, as burning wood falls to the ground, leaving Beatrice and me inside.

Ending both the Gustavo and Malgeri clans would make Aldo the most powerful mafia head in New York City. He must have been planning this for quite a while.

"My legs feel like Jell-o as I stand up and rush to Beatrice. "It's going to be okay," I whimper. I'm crying harder now as I stare at her and listen to her heavy, ragged breaths.

"I'm scared," she says.

I pull her closer to me and hold her tightly. My arms wrap around her as I place her head on my chest. I pull back and look into her eyes. "We need to find a way out of here."

I stand and pull her with me as we make our way to the door. I push on it but there's something blocking it from opening.

"Beatrice help me push."

She comes beside me and we push together and the door barely moves.

"Help! Somebody help us!" I scream at the small opening.

"Alessandro! Ale!"

I can't control my tears any longer. My head's hurting more as I hold Beatrice's hand in my own, helpless.

God, I hate this so much.

I need to save her, but I have no fucking idea how. There are more sounds of gunshots and yells coming from outside.

Alessandro should fucking come already. Where is he?

I have to do something. I will not lose my sister.

The smoke chokes me as I find it harder to breathe. I'm straining my eyes to see with tears and smoke clouding my sight.

I scream as more pieces of wood fall in front of us. The building is falling apart and there's nowhere for us to run.

I run back to the locked exit, banging hard. It doesn't budge. I can hear Beatrice crying next to me, holding herself.

A small piece of wood falls from the top. I move away just before it crashes to the ground.

A steel bat lying on the floor catches my eye. I run to grab it to break the door. My nose is burning with the smoke seeping into it.

I'm losing my breath as I hit the door with the bat. It takes a few more strikes before I break the lock. I push Beatrice out the door and run out of the building, coughing out loud. I'm holding my knees, out of breath.

I look up and freeze as a gun is pointed to my head.

It's Aldo. He is holding the gun with a smirk on his face. His face is smeared with blood rolling down his cheeks from the wound on his head.

"Now where are you going, Princess?"

"Adriana!" A voice yells from inside the building. I recognize it.

"Ale!"