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“No, no, no…”

Jungkook woke up with sweat beads trickling down his forehead, his paintbrush was in his hand. Some paint had stained his pajamas, he had fallen asleep while painting. He glanced at the clock, it was 6:30 a.m. .

“Not again.” He jerked his head to pull himself out of the daze. It was that dream again. The same dream that had been haunting him for years. It was already hard to witness what he did, and he would see it in his dreams every night, as a reminder of his failure. A reminder of his messed up life that could never be improved.

Suddenly, his eyes shifted to the incomplete painting of the woman he had seen last night. Her long black hair was yet to be coloured, but her eyes, her ashy green eyes, were already staring at him, bringing life to the picture on the canvas. His mind wandered back at her, thinking where he could have seen her.

“My head hurts,” he mumbled and groaned, pressing his forehead.

He was so tired that he needed to sleep, no matter how much he fought it, he had to sleep. His eyes closed despite his attempts to stay awake, and all he heard were screams. Screams of a woman, screams of numerous men, his own screams and the memory of running away. Everything was vivid, each shriek sounded like it was coming from his own room, each step he took to run in his dream felt like a burden to his resting legs. Everything felt like it was happening right at that moment. He jolted awake.

“No, no, no…” His breaths were ragged and he took staggering steps towards his bathroom. He splashed his face with water repeatedly, as if the sound of the water would stop the painful cries he heard. The screams of the woman who meant the most to him.

“Leave me! Leave me alone!”

Seung’s face carried an expression of terror, fear and defeat. She was talking out loud in her sleep, trying to stop whatever she was seeing. When she couldn't take it anymore, she woke up. Her fear was still the same, there was no great feeling of the nightmare coming to an end, but the feeling of going through it again. Her body felt like it was burning, her mind shifting towards her nightmare again and again. No matter how much she wished for it to end, it never did.

She sat upright to control her uneven breathing, trying to concentrate on where she was at the moment. She was safe.

As she proceeded towards the bathroom, her phone started ringing. It was an unknown number.

“Hello?” she said.

“Hi Eleonora, we need you back here. Please make it quick, if possible, come today itself.” A man’s deeper-than-normal voice was heard from the other side.

“Okay, don't worry, I’ll be there today,” saying so, she cut the call.

She dialed another number and waited for a response. As soon as a “Good morning ma’am” message sounded from the other side, she said, “Mr. Lee, I need you to have my private jet prepared. I’ll leave in three hours, make sure everything is ready.”

“I will do that, Ms. Kim. May I ask where you’re going so urgently though?” Mr. Lee asked in a polite tone.

“Italy,” Seung said as a sly smirk formed on her lips.

“Okay Ms. Kim, I hope you’ll have a great journey,” Mr. Lee said before cutting the call.

“Let's get ready now,” she muttered to herself as she went to brush her teeth and have a bath. After that, she went to her walk-in closet that was connected to her bedroom. The room was massive, it had a spacious bathroom on one side, and a well painted wooden door on the other side led to her walk-in closet. The main door of the room was in the middle of those two doors. There was a television in front of her king sized bed and some shelves that held her stuff.

She strolled through the closet looking for something good to wear. Her eyes landed on a bodycon knee-length dress that had a black skirt and a red full and slightly puff-sleeved top. She wore black tights to go with it and black high heels. Her eyes also landed on a pair of sunglasses that she put in her black Chanel bag.

“Looks good.” She smiled looking at herself in the mirror. She then checked the time, she had a little more than an hour to leave.

Seung went down to the living room, looking for her parents and brother to inform them that she’ll not be in Korea for a while.

“Wow Seung, are you going anywhere? You look so gorgeous!” Mrs. Kim, her mother, exclaimed while clapping her hands; looking at her stunning daughter.

“Yes, I'll leave right now,” she responded. A few maids followed her down the stairs with two suitcases.

“Where are you going, Seung?” Mrs. Kim asked, a little taken aback by her sudden departure though it happened often.

“Italy.”

“Okay, take care of yourself Seung. And don't forget your meals,” her mother said with care before adding, “and I’m not letting you leave before you eat something.”

“Yes mom, I’m not leaving without eating.” Seung smiled as she hugged Mrs. Kim.

Seung didn't find Namjoon at home, so she decided to just call him later and left for the airport. It was a private jet, but she needed to get there quickly. Thus, she asked her driver to forget traffic rules and drive as fast as he could. Soon, she reached Incheon International Airport. Mr. Lee, Macher Wiccan’s general manager, was waiting for her there.

“Good morning Mr. Lee, thank you for arranging everything.” Seung slightly bowed to him since he was older than her, almost her father's age.

“Good morning Ms. Kim, hope you have a safe journey.” He bowed to her and dropped her till the jet’s entrance. Some guards followed her in, they weren't the ones who guarded her at the office or mansion, they were from a different place, for a different task.

Once the jet took off, Seung signaled the guards to be at ease and they settled down with their guns near them.

“God knows why Felix called me so urgently,” she muttered under her breath wondering about everything that could have happened.

The flight was a long one, more than thirteen hours. She started at 10:30 a.m., she’d only reach the MW hotel in Rome by 12:00 a.m. . She decided to look through some paperwork. One of her suitcases was full of work papers, the other had her clothes and vitals. She didn't need much clothes because she had a lot of them in Italy too.

She slept for a while, very lightly, flinching every now and then due to the dreams she had. But she woke up because she didn't want the guards to see her in a vulnerable condition.
At 11:15 p.m. according to KST, she reached Rome. It was 4:15 p.m. in Italy. Macher Wiccan’s Italian headquarters waited for her. She just checked into the  MW hotel in Rome, leaving in a little while after arriving. But she couldn't leave directly, it would raise questions and suspicions. She had to leave secretly. That's why she had the special guards. And of course she had special servants in the hotel who would help her escape.

The distance to Calabria from Rome was a little less than five hours, so she needed to cover it faster. And she had to escape unnoticed. Not to forget the change in appearance to be made.

“Remind me why I do this?” Seung asked no one but the air. She had chosen the room near the backside of the hotel and told the staff not to disturb her. In classic escape fashion, she jumped down the window on top of the pile of grass. It was 4:45 p.m., the time when the guards shifted. She had fifteen minutes to be out of sight.

One of the guards who accompanied her in the jet was waiting for her in an Aventador, and as soon as Seung hopped in, he zoomed off. A short blonde wig was in the car and she put it on. She put on blue contact lenses too, her eyes were definitely noticeable.

“Eduard, are you aware of what happened? Felix asked me to be there by today.” Seung broke the silence in the car.

“Consigliere, I know what it is, but I believe it's better if you know it when we reach there,” the driver, Eduard, said in a worried voice but tried to hide it with a calm expression.

“Alright.”

The rest of the ride was silent. Seung was lost in her thoughts and Eduard was busy driving as fast as he could. He covered the distance of five hours in four. They were in Calabria by 8:45 at night.

“Take me to the mansion quickly.” Seung was growing impatient, something was definitely wrong in a way it was never before. Else, Eduard would have told her about it.

Within five minutes, she stood at the gates of the most royal looking mansion in the entire Calabria, or perhaps even Italy. The Lorenzo mansion.

At the sight of her, every single guard went down on one knee, the mouth of their guns touched the ground and their free hands were fisted on their chests. It was the method of respect for the higher ups in the Lorenzo mafia. And there she stood, their Consigliere, who was back in Calabria after more than half a year. Luxurious clothes, short caramel blonde hair, blue eyes and an aura that demanded control. After their boss, they respected her the most. For them, she wasn't Kim Seung. She was their Consigliere, Eleonora Lorenzo.

“Consigliere! You’re here!” one of the guards exclaimed in happiness, yet, his voice carried a hidden pain.

“I am here Luca, but I want to know what happened that I needed to be here.” Seung slightly smiled at him before turning serious.

“Please follow me,” the guard, Luca, said.

Seung went behind him, not missing the sights of the gardens, fountains and weapons that were scattered everywhere before she entered the mansion. Luca took her to a giant room, one that she was familiar with. Walking in, she saw a sight that caused her to gulp and breath hard.

“Ottavio!” she let out a frightened wail while running towards the old man who was unconscious on the bed. She knelt down beside his bed, holding one of his hands in both of hers. Monitoring devices were attached to him, and an oxygen mask covered half of his face.

“What happened to him? How? He’s the boss of Lorenzo’s, how could someone harm him?” Seung said in a rushed manner, her words were unclear and unfinished.

“Calm down madam, please,” the doctor said in a soft voice.

“What happened to him?” Seung got up and stood in front of the doctor.

“Consigliere, I don't know everything, but what I do know is that Don Ottavio was attacked and he was injured severely. He took six bullets to his stomach but still survived. There are many other injuries, and it affects him more since he's an aged man.” The doctor grew teary eyed narrating what happened to the boss of the Lorenzo mafia.

“Luca!” Seung called out the guard who brought her there.

“Sí signora.” (Yes madam) Luca came to stand near her with his head bowed down.

“How is it, that despite there being all the four capos, the underboss and soldiers like you, Godfather Ottavio was attacked and injured? Why didn't you lay your lives on line for him?” Seung stared directly into his eyes with her rageful ones. She didn't shout, but her anger was visible and everyone knew it.

“Sorry Consigliere, when the attack happened, we weren't with Godfather.” Luca’s head hung low, fear clearly evident on his and every other guard’s face as they anticipated Eleonora’s anger.

“Who was with him?” she asked while rotating her head slightly to see everyone.

“Consigliere-”

“I asked a question and I want a name as an answer.” She glared at Luca, he was a brave man but why was he being so afraid?
Nobody said a word. Not the doctor, not Luca or any other guard. Everyone was looking down.

“Fine. If you like looking at the ground so fucking much I don't want any of your heads to turn up until I get to know who assisted Godfather that day.” She let out a scoff before adding, “Remember, any head that looks up will never look up again.”

Everyone nodded, still facing downwards. They knew she would do what she said, it was better to follow her orders. She walked out and no one dared to watch her go and lift their heads. They stood still.

“Where the fuck is Felix?” she cursed in Korean while running a hand through her hair.

“Eleonora!” A male’s deep voice sounded behind her. She turned around to see Felix.

“There you are. What happened to Ottavio? Tell me!” She shifted to talking in Italian again, holding Felix’s collar and shaking him up.

“Patience lady, I called you, of course I’ll tell you everything. Come with me first, perhaps Christopher would inform you better.”
Eleonora nodded and went with him. He took her to the section of the capos of the Lorenzo mafia. Felix was a capo, and Christopher was too.

“Eleonora!” Christopher got up from his chair to greet her, and unexpectedly, he hugged her. They were friends, so she didn't mind it.

“Good to see you Chris. I just wish it was under better circumstances,” Seung said with clear distaste towards everything she got to know.

“Ella, whatever happened to Don Ottavio doesn't feel like a coincidence to me,” Chris said while gesturing to her and Felix to sit down.

“But what happened?” Seung was losing patience, everyone kept talking about something happening, yet none told her what happened.

“Ottavio was with Alessandro. They were having a stroll around Calabria in their roofless car. Suddenly, someone started shooting them. Alessandro got hit in the arm by a bullet, but Ottavio took six bullets to the torso. Their car also crashed and both of them were heavily injured. Ottavio was unconscious when we found them, but Alessandro was awake,” Christopher narrated the whole incident, her hands balled into fists that turned pale due to the pressure she was exerting on her hands.

“When did this happen?” Eleonora asked.

“Two days back,” Felix answered.

“Anything else that you found suspicious?” She raised an eyebrow, thinking hard.

“An enemy we had held captive escaped a week ago. We failed to capture him back,” Christopher said with visible confusion on his face.

“What enemy?”

“He was a member of the Grasso mafia,” Felix said in response. The two capos shared glances trying to understand her motive.

“Who was in charge of him?” she asked another question.

“Alessandro,” both the capos said in unison.

“Bravo! Alessandro is behind it, directly or indirectly.”

“But Ella, he is Godfather’s own son!” Felix contradicted her idea. She just laughed.

“You don't know how low Alessandro can stoop. He’s going to face the consequences if he really is behind it.” Eleonora looked at the photo of the Lorenzo mafia’s traditional family sword that was kept in Christopher’s room. She smiled.

“Chris, follow me.”

Christopher was confused, nonetheless, he followed her out of the room, leaving Felix behind. He didn't know as much about Eleonora’s plans as Christopher did. Christopher was almost her right hand man.

“I can't trust anyone else with this, so listen to me. I came here from Rome’s MW hotel and it's been five hours since then. I left at about quarter to five in the evening, suspicions will be raised if there's no activity from my side.” They were talking in Korean since Christopher knew the language.

“What's your order for me?” Chris placed his right fist on the left side of his chest, bowing his head down.

“Take my doppelganger to the hotel in Rome, but secretly, because I’m in the room according to them. Drive the fastest you can, reach there before midnight. Ensure that the doppelganger gets inside the room from the back of the hotel. My room is the one on the seventh floor, right in the middle. At 10:30 p.m., the guards will change shifts. You’ll have fifteen minutes to get her into my room. After that, go from the front and pretend to be my employee from Korea. Tell them that you and Seung will move to the MW hotel in Messina tomorrow morning. Stay there for the night, and by 8:00 in the morning, I want you in front of me. Clear?”

“Clear.” With that, Christopher departed.

“Now it's time to show you your place Alessandro.” Seung smirked at the thought.

She crossed the many hallways of the mansion to get to Alessandro’s room. It was locked and there were guards outside. At the sight of her, they knelt and turned their weapons to touch the ground. She slightly bowed to them and knocked on the door. No response.

“He really wants me to break in,” she mumbled while rolling her eyes.

She moved backwards to take a run up and kicked the door. The latch broke at once, she didn't hit the door to break it off its hinges. She only broke the latch. The sight inside the room caused her to scrunch her nose in disgust. Alessandro’s shirt was loosely hanging off him, all the buttons were undone and he was sleeping on his bed with a naked girl lying beside him, both barely covered by the sheets.

“This whore,” Eleonora scoffed. She took the jug of water from the bed stand and emptied it on Alessandro. He shook his head violently and got up.

“What the fuck Eleonora?” he yelled at her.

As soon as he got up, she pulled him by his shirt and threw him on the floor. He was taken aback because he just woke up. She pulled him to stand up again, only to push him towards a table.

“You bitch, what's wrong with you?” Alessandro threw a small statue that was kept near him on a shelf towards her. She dodged it and went straight to grab his hair and punch him in the face. His nose started bleeding. By then, she wasn't the only one who was angry. He got into his senses and started dodging attacks. He kneed her in the stomach, causing her to stumble backwards. She retreated with a powerful uppercut on his jaw.

While he was recovering from the attack, she noticed that the naked girl had woken up and hid herself behind the bed in fear. Looking at her, she only got angrier.

“Get out!” Eleonora yelled at the girl. She was afraid and slowly started to walk out without any clothes on.

“Take that sheet to cover yourself. Nobody wants a show here.” Eleonora breathed out in annoyance. The girl immediately took the bedsheet and ran out. Suddenly, Alessandro kicked her on the back, causing her to fall down.

“Why the fuck are you fighting me and why even are you here?” he shouted as he stepped in front of her, grabbing her neck. She scratched his hands with her nails and freed herself.

“Your father’s life is in danger and you’re whoring around, you fucking cunt!” she yelled back, kicking his chest.

“He's already of age, he’s bound to die some day or another.” He laughed like a madman.

“You're also bound to die someday, why don't I kill you today?” Eleonora said before pulling out her gun from her waistband and pointing it at him.

“You know you can't kill me. My father has refrained you from doing so.”

“Believe me, I can.” Her eyes darkened as her grip on the gun tightened.

“But you won't.” He smirked.

“I know you were in charge of the enemy from the Grasso mafia. He ran away and Godfather was attacked a few days after that. I know you have a hand in this,” she said as she stepped closer to Alessandro, who was sitting on the floor with his back being supported by the bed.

“Do you have proof for that?” he asked while trying to get up.

“I want you to bring me that Grasso member within the next twenty four hours.” She pushed him back down.

“I’m the Underboss, you can't order me,” Alessandro said with anger becoming more prominent in his tone.

“Do I look like I care?” Eleonora laughed while tilting her head sideways before suddenly stopping.

“Bring that guy to me, alive. And if anything serious happens to Ottavio, I take an oath to provide you with the most brutal death possible. If you want to live, ensure that I get my hands on that enemy before I get my hands on you.” Her voice deepened and she bent down to glare into his eyes. Before he could get back up, she stood and hit him on the chest with her high heels. There were wounds due to the sharp heels on his chest. But the thing that was truly wounded was Alessandro’s ego.

She strutted towards the room where Ottavio lay unconscious. Her heels were painted with Alessandro’s blood. As she walked in, a smirk crept onto her face, noticing how everyone was still looking down.

“Lift your heads up. I know Alessandro was with him and he faced the consequences of his irresponsibility,” she said in a monotone voice. Everyone's eyes widened. The Underboss was definitely going to punish them for it. He'd blame them.

“Don't worry, till Eleonora Lorenzo is alive, no one except me, not even your fucking Underboss, can harm you all.”

“I’m sorry Consigliere, I should have told you about everything,” Luca said in what seemed like a sincere apology.

“It's okay Luca, I understand you all. And well, didn't you all see what happens when you refuse to answer me?” she chuckled while smiling at him. He was her personal bodyguard in the Lorenzo clan, she didn't need one, but he was definitely a smart guy.

“We definitely did.” Luca laughed too, the other guards and the doctor were clueless due to their sudden change in demeanor.

Amidst this chaos, Eleonora's eyes shifted towards Ottavio. He was the one who helped her when she needed it, he was the one who helped her became whatever she was now. It hurt her to see him in pain. Yes, he was a mafia boss who was used to such encounters, but it was still agonizing to see him in such a fragile condition. The father lay between life and death, and all the son cared about was warming his bed.

“He will be fine, Eleonora,” Felix said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She didn't realize when he arrived.

“Definitely, but it doesn't mean I’ll spare those responsible for his condition. They’ll suffer in ways that they would beg for death.” She was thinking deeply. Thinking of ways to find the culprits and torturing them.

“Of course, you’re Eleonora Lorenzo. There's no match for you.” Felix smiled softly at her, his freckles becoming more prominent as his nose slightly scrunched.

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What do you all feel about Seung's new identity?