SURPRISE UPDATE!!! I surprised myself too. 😂

Vote, comment, and share this story with your friends. ENJOY! ❤️

Point out any errors ❤️

——————————————————

(Leo's POV)

Light brutally pierced my eyes when I tried opening them due to the faint bickering that woke me. A nagging ache in my head restricted me from moving at all. I groaned and remained still for a few moments, taking deep breaths slowly before attempting to open my lids once again.

          A chandelier was hung from the ceiling right above me. I lifted my head, despite the pain, and looked down at the gauze that wrapped all around my left shoulder. Medium bandages covered other areas of my abdomen and arms. An IV line inserted in the back of my hand pushed fluids into me. I was hooked up to a monitor, but I certainly wasn't in a hospital.

With a wince, I raised my shoulders to decipher my surroundings. It was my room in the castle. I was in fucking Sicily. Suddenly, it all hit me at once.

"Motherfucker!" I snarled and ripped the IV from my hand along with the other wires that were attached to monitor my vitals.

          "Take it easy." Mike leaped over to my side and tried to keep me on the bed.

          Ray hurried over and tried to restrict me from moving as well. "You need to rest, Leo, or else you'll rip open your stitches."

          A fire blazed in my eyes as I looked between the two idiots. "Get your fucking hands off me." I lowered my voice into a dangerous warning. "Now."

          They both released their hold on me, taking a few steps back at once. "Calm down," Ray said warily. "Your body has been through too much. You had a broken rib, some internal bleeding, open wounds. You need to let yourself heal."

I ignored every word that came out of his mouth and felt my face. A small bandage under my right cheekbone covered up the area where I pulled the shard of glass out from.

"How long have I been out?" I asked, raking my tired eyes over my briefs and the white bandage that poked out from under it.

Ray followed my gaze and spoke, "Yeah, there was some bleeding from your stitches on your thighs so I patched them up."

I raised my head slowly, my eyes dawning on Mike, the fucker who drugged me. "How long?" I asked a bit more firmly this time, the anger in me slowly rising. If we were in Sicily, then it must have been hours since Lawrence-motherfucking-Kane took Arie in Istanbul. Hours wasted for nothing.

Mike swallowed hard. "Just a day."

"Just a day?" I rose from the bed and inched closer to Mike who took a step back. He opened his mouth to defend his action, but I immediately grabbed him by his throat and pinned him to the wall. "You know what can happen in just a fucking day?"

Ray came forth. "Leo, you need to fucking relax now. You're going to rip open your fucking wounds."

My other hand reached for Ray's throat and slammed him to the wall beside Mike. I couldn't give a fuck about the shooting pain radiating throughout my body. I had lost precious time; time I could've used getting Arie home and gutting the fuckers who laid a single finger on her. Neither of them fought me. The fear settled in them when they realized I was going to crush their necks when I squeezed my fingers down harder. I only saw blood before my vision, and I didn't give a fuck who was on the receiving end. They both gripped the areas of my arms that weren't bruised at once and tried to push me away.

"I saved your fucking life. You would've bled to death," Mike barked with rage as they pushed me off together. "You're in no state to fight both of us."

My fingers coiled around Mike's shirt and jerked him forward only to land a punch against his jaw. I pounded his face again and saw the metallic red liquid smear over his nose and mouth and across my knuckles, but I wasn't in the mood to stop, and Mike didn't dare stop me. Blinded by sheer fury, I would've reshaped his face if someone hadn't pulled me off forcefully.

"Control yourself, boy." Federigo was in my face with a hard look of disapproval. "You'll kill your most trusted man over a girl?"

I knew the reason Mike did so, but it still enraged me because Arie could've been by my side right this second. I stepped up to my father, my frantic eyes trying to stay focused on his grim face. "What would you do if Mother went missing?"

"There's a reason why Amelia goes where I go."

"I'm not talking about her, I'm talking about Leona, your one true fucking love."

Federigo's facial features twisted darkly as he stepped closer to me and glared into my eyes. "Sit down, boy," he gritted out. I knew what ticked him off and I knew just how to press those buttons. He grabbed my bandaged shoulder where the bullet had ripped the flesh and forced down on it to make me sit back on the edge of the bed while I held a wince in. He was a sadistic fucker and had no remorse. "You need to get a grip on your anger before you burn yourself and us all with you."

I grabbed his wrist and forced his hand off my shoulder. My eyes darted between my father and Ray. I needed answers and I wasn't going to start my interrogation with them in the room. I had trusted them, but my skepticism was running high for all. I could trust no one, especially Ray considering Zee was his fucktoy and he still hadn't wondered about her disappearance. I didn't know who was behind this ordeal or how many were involved, but I knew I couldn't divulge much to anyone.

          "Close the door on your way out," I said to Ray who regarded me suspiciously before taking his leave. Federigo caught onto my hint and squeezed my injured shoulder hard once again for my disrespect which made me groan in return. He left and shut the double doors behind him.

I got up from the edge of the bed and slightly limped toward Mike who eyed me warily. Fucking Pavlov had to shoot my thighs which proved to be a major pain in the ass for my ambulation. They had been healing nicely, but the altercation last night strained the process and now it was back to a mild ache which was irritating, to say the least.

"I'm sorry, man," I muttered and then proceeded to hug him which took him by surprise. We weren't the lot for a bloody bromance and this was out of the ordinary for us. I still wanted to beat the living hell out of him for the stunt he pulled, but I had to control my anger before it consumed me and made me do something I regretted. I lowered my voice to a barely audible whisper and breathed out through my teeth without moving my lips. "The walls have eyes and ears."

Mike understood immediately, patting my back and then pulling away. "Man, the drugs are messing with you. You got the mood swings of a pregnant woman. Let's get you some fresh air."

He wiped the remaining of the blood from his face and led me out. When we stepped out of the room, guards bowed and kept themselves focused on the task of protecting me.

"You all stay here. I'll accompany him," Mike ordered and walked beside me tensely. We made our way down the elevator and outside to the back of the castle. Brisk, cool air surrounded me immediately, but due to my body's rising temperature, it didn't bother me much. There was a nagging ache throughout my body as I walked on the path surrounded by massive fields of grass in the garden, but the pain was not at the forefront of my mind. Arie was. The lights from the castle illuminated the dark night. Guards began to follow but I ordered them to stay with a hand.

          Once we got to a good distance and out of any earshot, Mike opened his mouth. "What's going on?"

"When Verona had met Lucian in the hospital in California, she was hysterical. She was scared for his life. She said they were everywhere and they were always watching. I thought she was just talking nonsense during her panic attack."

          "But she wasn't, was she?" He walked casually despite our conversation to not raise any suspicion.

          I shook my head. "I now realize that she wasn't. She meant it literally. Arie told me that she found a hidden address under the jewelry box Verona had sent her. It's the same day she was taken. It's not a coincidence. Verona knew something I didn't, something she couldn't tell me because she feared for Lucian's life."

          "It's someone from the family which explains how they had the power to pull it all off and leave no trail behind." Mike continued walking slowly beside me in deep thought. "I thought it'd be Marsilia, but she's dead now."

          Mike still didn't know that Nonna was alive and it'd stay that way for now until I had the traitors wiped out.

          "She had someone else doing her dirty work and I just need to get that person."

          "It's either Raffaello or Omerino then. They'd do something like this for their mother and they have the resources."

          It wasn't Zio Omer, I was sure about that. However, Zio Raff could be it. He was the oldest of the two sons and the throne was supposed to be his as the heir. I hated the idea of gutting my uncle, but that's what I'd have to do if it was truly him. Then I'd have to kill his kids, my own cousins to make sure they didn't retaliate. This was a cluster fuck, but it needed to be done. Even though I was the king, I had to be fair in some regard and know for sure who the traitor was before I began to kill them off one by one.

          "This can wait. I need you to tell me about any information you gathered regarding Arie."

          "We are getting closer," he said simply. "I looked up everything on Lawrence Kane. In the eighties, his father used to kidnap girls and use them as drug mules so they could supply drugs to the cartels down in Mexico and the other crime families in Vegas, New York, Detroit, and Chicago. He had worked with Valerio too. His father's business is how Lawrence gained an elite clientele over the years."

It wasn't a surprise that Zio Valerio dealt with Kane's father for drugs. The Bonferroni clan wasn't as big back then. We only ruled parts of Italy and some regions in New York, always at war with the Sicilian Mafia, who were also known as La Cosa Nostra. They already had their footing in that state while we didn't. Now we were bigger than they were. Every crime family in America knew of us, but they didn't dare fuck with us and we decided to leave them alone ourselves.

Once I had been crowned as the King, it had brought me additional power that I used to expand the Bonferroni empire. I had many soldiers under my rule. Zio Valerio thought it'd be the perfect time to eradicate every other mob family in America and make that country ours, but it was a risky move and he knew it too. They'd all form a truce to fight against us and that would be a bloodbath. Feds would be on our ass too. I knew they already were, but the Bonferroni name had been masked with sophistication and legal businesses for a long time. They didn't have enough proof against us and their bosses were our lapdogs.

Even though Zio Valerio's son, Sebastiano, was a year older than me and in line of succession to become the leader of our mafia organization, I was the one who was bred for it and was granted the title of the leader. As the future king, they deemed it fitting for me to have it, and I didn't disappoint. Sebastiano only cared about our homeland so I gave the reins of Italy to him. At the end of the day, he still answered to me. He was the underboss there and had others ruling over cities under his command while I had other trusted underbosses who sat in major cities and in different countries. They kept my soldiers in line and my territories safe under my rule. I wasn't bothered until a matter was dire enough to require my personal attention to deal with it.

The D'Angelo family was the prime crime family in California. Zachariah D'Angelo was the boss. Their territory was one of the reasons for our alliance with them through Sophie and Wren's marriage. It would've opened an easier route for some of our shipments of drugs to come from South America. Unfortunately, that was broken.

          "Kane turned that business into a sex trafficking business instead and made millions. He's been at it for a very long time and has never been caught. Even we didn't know about him."

          "That's because we don't deal with sex trafficking. It's a rule for a reason."

          "I know. He has no family on record. It doesn't say if his father is alive or dead either," Mike continued. "We've raided all of his properties, but there was no sign of any foul business. It will take some time to figure out his unregistered properties."

"If you'd waited just a few more minutes before sticking me, I could've told you that he conducted his business from a fucking island and that I put my tracker in Arie," I gritted out frustratedly. "We would've had him by now, stronzo (asshole)."

"I figured about the tracker just an hour ago when Ray was explaining your injuries to me and he said something about the torn stitches on your wrist. I guessed what you probably did so I checked the location and the signal was bouncing all over the place, but it's contained within a fifty mile radius on the edge of Bulgaria and the Black Sea. Maybe he has something that throws off any outside signal. We gotta get in the sea and look ourselves, but it's a lot of area to cover, Leo."

If the location was still in the sea then that meant that Kane still had Arie and hadn't given her away yet. But why? To let her recover from her injuries before he delivered her to her fucking buyer?

"Have you sent our men to look?"

"I dispatched a few scouts in the area. I have the jet ready and I'll be leaving with more men in a few minutes to make sure we don't fuck up."

"I'm coming along."

Mike shook his head. "Leo, that's a bad idea. You can barely keep yourself straight. Amelia was by your side from the moment she landed with Federigo and didn't leave until a few minutes before you woke up. Federigo forced her to go to bed. She was losing her mind over you and she sure as hell won't let you go."

"Don't bring Mother into this. You already know it's futile to convince me otherwise. I've had worse. Besides, she doesn't need to know."

Mike released a defeated sigh. "Why do I even bother?"

          "Why do you?"

          We began walking back toward the castle. I could feel the tension oozing from Mike's body. He was withholding some information. For the world, they could see nothing odd with the man, but I knew him better. Something was wrong. Before we got any closer to the guards, I halted and faced him.

          "I know you're hiding something. Tell me before I break something other than your nose."

          Mike took a deep breath and looked at the castle, unable to meet my eyes. "A body was delivered to us."

          A slow exhale exited my nostrils at the thought of who it could be. "Here?"

          "It was already here before we arrived."

          "I need to see."

          He led me back in and toward the infirmary. There was a stainless steel embalming table sitting in the room under regulated temperature. Despite it, I could smell the hints of burnt flesh. It wasn't a new experience for my nostrils. I had charred many with my own hands. However, the body under the white sheet may belong to someone I cared deeply about. I slowly approached the table and braced myself before I lowered the white cover from the face.

I grimaced at the sudden stench that attacked me. The face was unrecognizable. Pulling the sheet off completely, I scanned my eyes over the completely burnt body. The surface was like charcoal, black and rough. Some areas were burnt to the bone while some were just red. It was a female. The squeezing of my heart warned me of who it was. It was too surreal to accept because she was too strong to be killed just like that.

"It's Athena," Mike spoke in a low voice. He had been staring off to the side, unable to look at the disfigured body. We had seen heinous things throughout our lives, even sights more horrendous than this, but this wasn't just a stranger or an enemy we are looking at. It was someone who was our family.

I swallowed the bitter taste in the mouth, forcing myself to say something. "Did you—"

"I did," Mike uttered immediately and heaved a solemn sigh. "I had the doctors check. The DNA matches Athena."

I stood quietly, raking my eyes up and down the torched body and mapping the structure of it. I knew what I had to do.

"Does Eros know yet?"

"He came here and stayed until they confirmed her identity only a couple of hours ago. Eros just left without a word to any of us then."

"Where'd he go?" I asked whilst concealing the body under the white sheet once again.

"To mourn, I guess. I didn't have anyone follow him. And Ashton fucking passed out when he looked at the body."

I nodded and stared at the burnt face a second longer before covering it up.

"A note had come with her." Mike pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. "They fucked up big time."

"That they did."

She isn't the first and she certainly won't be the last body of your loved one that we send to you. Anyone in our path will face brutal consequences like Athena. No child, man, or woman will be spared in this war. Your reign is over and your downfall has begun.

I crumpled the paper up in my fist. The already blazing fire in my body was now roaring with anger, ready to burn everyone and everything to the ground. I was already imagining the ways I'd savor the moments of hell I'd drag them through.

          "Who else knows?"

          "Your father," Mike answered.

          "This information doesn't leave this room then. It will only cause hysteria and I can't deal with loose cannons right now. I need their anger when the time is right." I turned toward the door and began walking. "Get the men ready. We are leaving for the island right now. And send Mathias up to my room."

          I returned to my room and settled on the bed to catch my breath and grant my body a couple of minutes of rest. Even behind closed doors, Verona never uttered a single word about something she may have known because she said they were watching. There had to be a camera hidden brilliantly around here, but I wasn't going to waste my time looking for it.

          I sauntered over to the bathroom and retrieved the burner phone from the cabinet under the sink. I sent a quick text to Vince's number.

Me: Go underground now with the kids. Take Lina and Heaven with you. You know what you need to do.

          Lucian and Mariana's safety was my priority at the moment. After getting the news about the burnt body of Athena, Lina would go berserk which I couldn't risk at the moment. And Heaven went wherever Lina did. The kids needed someone they were comfortable with while in hiding so Lina had to go. Belle was still in New York. She was strong enough to handle herself and make sure our dearest Nonna was resting peacefully in her prison, though Belle wasn't going to make it easy for the woman. She would go on a rampage if she found out about her best friend, so this news couldn't reach any ears until I had what was necessary.

Vince: Yes boss.

          I smashed the phone brutally until it was in unrepairable pieces and then stashed it away. If someone was truly watching me and came looking for it, they'd find nothing on the broken device. After quickly putting on clothes and a bulletproof vest over my bandages and aching body, I strapped holsters to my body for the guns and knives. Just on time, a knock vibrated against the door.

          Sauntering back in the room, I put the suit jacket on and buttoned it up. "Come in."

          Mathias entered the room and closed the door behind him. He was a part of my inner circle like Vince was, a loyal soldier to me. He was capable and trustworthy enough to take on this task.

          "I have a job for you, Mathias."

***

(Arie's POV)

          My body felt lifeless. I didn't even have the energy to move a single finger or even open my eyes. I was doped up on drugs which left my mind woozy. I could feel the needles in me so I guessed I was being treated for my injuries from the accident only to be delivered to my buyer like a prize. My tongue shifted in my mouth and felt the small tracker that rested by my lower gums to the side. Thankfully, they hadn't found it.

          Ever since I gained consciousness, I heard voices, but I couldn't latch on. I kept going in and out. My mind was beyond fucked, but I was slowly coming to my senses.

          "How long before she recovers?" I heard a deep voice close by. I had no idea who it was, but the accent was British. Maybe it was Lawrence. I was having trouble recognizing any voice.

          "To recover completely would take a few weeks."

          "I can't wait a few weeks, Kane," the man stressed. "You don't know Leo Bonferroni. No matter how isolated you believe your island is, he will hunt you down like a dog since you kidnapped his prized possession. He already sent his goons at the auction and killed the majority of your useless men that were present there. The man will stop at nothing. He will have his entire army standing behind him outside your door soon. I know him. I need to take home what's mine now. He'll never find her with me."

          If the man knew Leo, then he should've also known that Leo would slice him up into pieces for any involvement in this. And guessing from this conversation, this cunt was probably the white shark who bought me so he was going to have it worse.

          "You know Leo Bonferroni?"

          "That's none of your fucking business now, is it, Kane?" the white shark snapped. "You already lost thirty million from the original fifty because of the condition I'm going to be taking my slave in now."

          Slave? My motherfucking ass! This fucker won't even know when I stab him to death.

          "I'll cut another ten million for the prying questions and spread the news about what happened yesterday. Your reputation will be in the dirt then."

          I knew it was Lawrence who laughed out of the two. The white shark sounded too serious to even crack a smile in my head. "As long as there are sick bastards in the world, my business will be crawling with them, and you already know this world is infested with people like us. I sell and you buy. Neither of us is a saint. We are all sick in our own ways. We are monsters for them, and they aren't wrong now, are they?"

          There were a few seconds of silence, making me wonder what they were even doing.

          "You can take her tomorrow and fuck her bloody for all I care. For now, she needs to rest and let her wounds heal a bit without risking too much too soon," Kane said. "This will be the only time I allow a bid to lower considering the circumstances. I expect the money during the exchange tomorrow. Hopefully, she'll be conscious by then."

          "She already is," the white shark informed. "Her breathing isn't as shallow anymore."

          I felt a finger caress my cheek which made me turn my head away from the touch.

          "Ah, my feisty little kitten is awake."

          "I'm not yours," I mumbled and managed to open my eyes by a fraction. Everything was blurry, even the face of the man who hovered over me. I couldn't make out who it was at first, but the more my eyes adjusted, the more Lawrence's face registered.

          "That's right," the white shark stated confidently. He was close, probably behind the head of the bed I was on, but he was out of my line of sight. I stirred a little when I felt a hand grasp my neck gently, hot breath fanning against my ear. "You're not Kane's. You're only mine."

          "I will paint the walls with your insides before you ever get to make me yours," I snarled, turning my head toward him forcefully and hitting him hard. A sharp pain immediately erupted in my skull that forced my eyes shut once more. Painful move!

          The man retracted his hand from my neck and stepped away. "Bloody hell."

          "I warned you. She's a fighter even when down. I think you will have more pain than pleasure with her as your whore," Kane chuckled.

          "I happen to like pain," the white shark declared as I felt his hand combing the top of my head. "You will enjoy it too, love."

          I grimaced at the sound of "love" from his filthy mouth. It was an endearment that was only meant for Leo to use for me. It felt like a curse coming from this asshole. I couldn't allow him to taint that word for me.

          "Don't fucking call me that."

          "I will call you whatever the fuck I want. Leo won't be able to save you from me. The sooner you realize that, the better it'll be for you."

          Footsteps withdrew from me and ceased after a loud bang of the door closing. I was left alone and I couldn't be more glad. If I had more strength, I could think of something and get out of here, but I was certain Lawrence had an army outside the room. He wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating me again.

          It didn't take much for me to pass out again. My mind and body were too exhausted to remain conscious. I didn't know how long it had been before I was awoken by mild tapping to my face.

          "Wake up now!"

          My mind was so out of it that I couldn't even tell if it was a female or a male who said that. I groaned in pain as I felt needles prick out of me. A harsh breeze of cold surrounded my body when the sheets were pulled off. Then suddenly, a slap landed across my face.

          "Wake up!" the person spoke harshly.

          "Fuck," I cursed and opened my eyes. Everything was still a bit blurry. I saw a figure moving quickly around me and ripping any devices attached to my body. Then the person injected me with something.

          "Morphine," the person informed. I realized it was a lady as my mind began coming out of a daze. She was dressed all black with a hood over her head. Her face was concealed behind a fabric, but her eyes were uncovered. I still couldn't recognize the voice with the few words that she spoke, but I knew I had heard it before. I couldn't tell if I was being rescued or being sent away with the white shark, but I didn't have the energy to fight yet.

          The woman jerked me to my feet too quickly and caused me to almost fall due to the sudden rush to my head. "Let's get you out of here."

          My heart lurched up to my throat when I finally realized who it was. This had to be a fucking joke.

———————————————————

Hola!

Instead of studying for my finals, I decided to finish the chapter otherwise it would've been on my mind the entire time.

Because of the pandemic, I have to do the finals from home which has its perks, but the whole situation got people fucked up. I had an exam today but they moved it to Thursday now.

Just wash your hands properly and stay safe guys! Stay home instead of going out and mingling with people. Be an introvert like me 😂 until it's under control. I don't not want to lose any of you.

AND STOP FUCKING HOARDING TOILET PAPERS TO THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE!!! That's just shitty 💩😂 ... I'll stop.

Is Leo paranoid about being watched or is he onto something now?

Who could be watching if it's true?

Can Federigo be trusted?

You guys wanted Athena so I gave you her body now. Don't worry! We will get our revenge in the best way possible 😉

Where did Eros disappear to?

How long do you think Vince will have to stay underground with the kids?

What job do you think Leo gave Mathias?

So the white shark is officially in the picture. We have yet to see who it really is but you guys can take guesses. I'm excited for his reveal actually!

Who was the female at the end?

Thoughts on Leo?

Or Arie?

Further comments and questions are always welcome ❤️

HIT ME WITH THE THEORIES!

Follow me on INSTAGRAM @reetilicious for sneak peeks of the future chapters and fun question times.

Much love ❤️
~Reet