Caterina jerks awake to someone dunking water on her. She is a panicking mess as she tries to figure out what's going on. It takes her a while, but she eventually comes around. The familiar face of Giovanni comes into her line of view making her roll her eyes just to spite him. Her legs and arms feel numb from being tied up to a chair for so long and her wrists have a burn mark from where the rope dogs into her skin."Rise and shine sleepy head," Giovanni says with mockery in his voice."Don't you ever get tired of doing the same thing over and over again?" "Frankly, no.""Seriously? We've been at this for over a week now.""Two weeks actually,""What?!""Yeah, you should really tell me where she is. You're running out of skin to ruin,""Well, maybe when I run out, you'll let me go.""You have two of the most important women in my life held captive. This is only going to get worse for you.""Would you even recognize her if she was standing right in front of you?""Of course," He pic
The De Luca's mansion is as quiet as a graveyard. Men are scattered around the place, armed with ammunition and awaiting orders from their Capo, Giovanni De Luca. Giuseppe walks hurriedly towards the cells to grab Caterina and takes her out of the cell and into the garage. He meets Giovanni who nods at him, signaling for him to leave them."Your people are here for you, Caterina." He says to her.Caterina who is weak and tender falls to the ground. Determined not to give him the satisfaction of breaking her, she chuckles and smiles smugly at him."You are still as dumb as you were yesterday, aren't you Giovanni?" She asks with mockery in her voice."You are yet to answer my question," Giovanni is now skeptical about her identity and questions if she is Elena Rossi."I'm still more than two seconds away from death," She replies."Very well. Get up, let's go.""Where are we going?" Without answering, Giovanni grabs her shoulders and drags her across the concrete floor. She doesn't try
It has been over an hour since Caterina was taken into the operating room. Giovanni had lost his patience twice and he is on the verge of losing it a third time."How did I fail to recognize her?" He asks himself as he paces up and down the room. "She was right in front of me and I didn't even realize it,""She much hates me now."The door to the operating room comes open and the lead surgeon walks out with his face down. Giovanni rushes over to him."How is she?""There's very little hope..." Giovanni finally snaps and draws out his gun."How is she?!" He asks again."We...I...she lost a lot of blood... wasn't brought here in time...she..." A gunshot rings through the hallways and the doctor drops. A pool of blood slowly forms around his now lifeless body. Soon, the waiting area is flooded with security men, doctors, and nurses. The operating room is now in chaos as they realize what has just happened."If she doesn't come out of that room alive, everyone dies. For every ten minute
"Mummy?!" Mummy!" Little Caterina's voice resounds through the living room. She has always been a child that demands a lot of attention. She could do just fine on her own, but she believes no one needed to know that. "Yes, baby?" Her mom walks slowly into the living room as she rubs her big belly. She was already eight months and two weeks gone, but she had no problems maneuvering her way around the pain and stress. "I want to go to the park!" "Not today, Catty. Your father said to stay indoors." Her mom eased herself into one of the cushions. "But, daddy isn't here." Caterina gave her mom one of her signature poppy dog eyes. "How about we go swimming instead?" "No! I want to go to the park!" "Catty, don't raise your voice at your elders," "But, mummy..." She stops talking when she notices her mom gripping her stomach in pain. "Mummy, are you alright?" Fear was evident in her voice. "Catty, call 911." She hurriedly picks up her mom's phone and makes the phone call. Tea
Mr. De Luca finally arrives at his destination after 20 minutes of trailing Caterina's car. He was still unsure about the source of his anger and concerns, but he didn't mind. Caterina has tickled his fancy and now he was going to see this through. He watches her as she walks into the house and gets comfortable as he plans to wait till someone comes in or out of the house.Caterina storms into her kitchen fuming with anger and her friend, Sebastian, follows closely behind her equally angered."And then he says 'It doesn't have to be like this, you know.' He is such a pig!" She rants as she hops on the kitchen counter."What?!" Sebastian exclaims."I'm telling you, I would kill that man if I had the means.""You should quit your job.""No! No, I need the money." "He treats you like shit and talks to you like trash!""The money smells neither like shit nor like trash.""Catty..." "Seb, don't Catty me. You know how difficult it is to get a new job. My dad has gone MIA for years now and
Caterina was quite familiar with fear as it is something she grew up around. Being around her father alone was enough reason for her to be afraid. At work, her boss is someone to fear if her scars were anything to go by. But the kind of fear she is feeling right now, she had never felt before. She decides that if this man stalking her was going to kill her, she would at least put in effort to get away. She couldn't fight, she is the least athletic person and she has no one to call, so she would have to use her last feminine weapon: Her mouth. 'Let's see if I can nag him to death'She halts, turns around and swallows as she takes in the huge figure of the man standing in front of her. His 6'2 figure was intimidating her 5'8 self. His gray eyes held a threatening look, but she wasn't going to back down now."It's rude to stalk someone, you know?" Her voice comes out strong, contrasting to the great fear eating her away on the inside."I'm not stalking you, princess." The sound of his v
Sebastian's worry only grew as the week went by. He knew that the moment a De Luca had an interest in something or someone, they would stop at nothing to get it. The problem wasn't Giovanni's interest in Caterina, the problem was the identity of Caterina. It is a secret not even she knows and his sole purpose in her life is to protect her from that secret and from the dangers that come with it. Although, he knew he was going to have a lot of problems protecting her when she started working as a stripper at that goddamn Casino. There was only one thing left for him to do now.Taking in a deep breath, he knocks on the black double door of an office."Come in," a voice calls from the other side. He walks in and bows in respect."Have your seat, Sebastian. What brings you here?""It's Caterina, boss.""What trouble is she causing this time?""She has caught the eyes of Giovanni De Luca.""What?!""He stalked her to her house. She's no longer safe there.""Has he approached her yet?""Yes
Caterina stares at herself in the mirror as she tries to recall the last time she got all dressed up. She isn't the type to go out and even when she did, it wasn't to a fancy restaurant like the one Sebastian was taking her to tonight. The sound of her phone ringing brings her back to reality."Hey, I'm outside." Sebastian's voice comes from the other end of the call."I'll be right out," She picks up her purse and takes one more glance in the mirror. Her gown is made of luxurious silk fabric, a rich, royal blue. The gown is sleeveless, with a sweetheart neckline that softly frames the face and accentuates the décolletage. The waistline is cinched with a sparkling gemstone belt, which adds a touch of glamour to the gown. The bodice is fitted, accentuating the hourglass figure, and the skirt flows gracefully to the floor, with a gentle train trailing behind, adding an air of regality. Nodding in approval of her look, she exits her house. Sebastian smiles as she spots her. He remembe