~ Lilliana's POV
I stood there, watching her smirk at me. I put the phone in my pocket and tried to reason with her. "Christian asked it to keep me safe," I said. "Not whatever game you're playing here."
She chuckled, her eyes gleaming under the dim light of the room. "Oh, honey, it started the moment you said 'I do' at the wedding."
I took a deep breath and lunged at her, pushing her to the corner and opening the door. I ran out of the room and rushed through the estate, going wherever my weak legs were taking me. I made it out of the estate, and the guards didn't even pay attention for some reason. I ran into the woods as branches scratched my arms and legs, while I ran barefoot through the muddy ground.
Elizabeth's voice rang from behind me. "You're making this harder than it has to be, darling."
I didn't care, so I just kept running because deep down, I knew what she would do to me if she caught me. That woman didn't look any better than the wolves circling these very woods. I hit a garden wall like a boundary inside the woods.
Before I could move, masked men flooded out of the trees like shadows. One of them slammed their hand over my mouth, while I screamed, as he yanked me off the ground. I kicked and thrashed under his grip until someone pricked me with a needle in my arm.
And then, everything swirled around.
~ After a While
When I woke, I felt myself tied to a chair in a room that smelled gross. A man was leaning against the wall, smoking.
"I was beginning to think you weren't worth the trouble," he said without even looking at me, his voice smooth and slow. "But here you are. Still breathing. That's a start."
"Who are you?" I croaked out with a sore throat.
He finally turned around and for some reason, I knew---I knew who he was.
The man from the picture, hidden behind Eva's painting.
IL Fantasma.
The Phantom.
Alessandro.
There was no need for introductions for the ghost himself. He waved a hand, and two guards stepped toward me---one of them cracking his knuckles.
"Let's test her," Alessandro said lazily. "Loyal wives don't go snooping through murder files."
The punch hit harder than anything as my head snapped sideways, stars exploding in my eyes, as blood started to drip down.
"Wait!" I gasped. "You knew Eva! You know what happened to her---"
Another guard raised his hand as I closed my eyes, ready for the hit that never came.
"I know everything," Alessandro said with his cold voice. "What I don't know is if I can trust you."
My wrists started to burn against the ropes. "Then untie me and ask like a human being."
He tilted his head. "You know I'm not one," he smirked. "You married the man who murdered your mother and had your sister buried in pieces. Forgive me if I'm not convinced you're the honest type."
That made me silent.
Alessandro stepped closer to me, crouching down in front of me, his eyes gazing into mine. "She was brave, your sister. Foolish, but brave. She thought she could save everyone. You? I think you're just trying to survive."
"I want answers."
"And I want leverage," He stood up again and threw a thick folder onto a metal table beside me. "Eva worked with the feds. She had a full file on Christian, including footage from your mother's supposed 'accident.' Your sister didn't die because she had to. She died because she got too close and too careless."
He opened the folder beside me. Inside were several surveillance photos. Bank transactions. FBI logs and just in the middle was a black-and-white image of Christian shaking hands with a man I recognized from old family photos.
It was my uncle---who disappeared after a huge argument between him and my mother six years ago.
"What is this?"
"Your legacy."
Then, he slid an envelope out of the file and tossed it into my lap. He untied me, gesturing for me to open the envelope. Inside was a photograph of a six-year-old girl, sitting in a corridor, painting on a canvas.
"Who is she?"
"Your sister's daughter."
My breath hitched in my throat.
"That's impossible--" I couldn't believe my sister had a daughter she never told me about.
But then, it hit me. Eva's dead, which means---
"Is she also---?"
Alessandro shook his head. "She's alive," he said. "Your sister kept her hidden---far away from the mafia. Christian never knew. He wanted a son, not a reminder that he couldn't control everything."
I swallowed a huge lump in my throat.
"Where is she?"
His stare sharpened. "That's not how this works. Do you want the truth? Earn it. I need you to deliver a message."
He handed me a piece of paper with coordinates and a fake memo about a planned FBI raid. "Feed this to Christian. Let's see which side you're really on."
"Why would he believe me?"
"Because you'll make him."
~ After A While
Alessandro let me go before sunrise, and when I returned to the estate, the house was still asleep, so I moved to Christian's study, knowing he'd be there and grateful that Elizabeth was nowhere in sight.
I limped to him, and he rushed to me as soon as his eyes landed on me. I told him that some men kidnapped me a while ago and had my eyes closed while they handed me some piece of paper to give to Christian. I skipped out the Elizabeth part, leaving it for later.
"Are you sure, Lilliana? Because I always find out when someone's lying." He murmured, sitting me down on the couch.
"I'm not lying."
He laughed, a cruel sound. "If you say so,"
That night, he helped tend to the small wounds all over my body, but then I excused myself from him to take a shower, and he did.
"Don't worry, I'll find out who took you. It won't happen again. Ever." He said, gritting his teeth, and I gulped, nodding. I walked out of his study and went straight to my bedroom.
The moment I stepped inside the room, I knew something was off. I looked around the space and realized that my pillows were slashed and feathers were scattered like snow. The closet door was hanging open, swinging slightly.
And then, I saw it---
It was written in blood-red paint all over the mirror.
"Just like your sister, you're next. Sleep well, Mrs. Esposito."
