Chapter 62 Marco the traitor

Chapter 62 Marco the traitor
Bianca

I straightened my spine, ignoring the trembling in my legs. "Jennifer," I rasped. My voice was rough, barely more than a whisper, but I forced volume into it. "I didn't realize kidnapping was part of the Vitale family business model."
Jennifer let out a short, sharp laugh. "Adaptability is the key to survival, Bianca. Something you're about to learn."
She circled me slowly, inspecting me like livestock at an auction. She reached out, her manicured fingers grazing the bruise on my arm where Marco had grabbed me earlier. I jerked away, but with my hands bound, I had nowhere to go.
"Why?" I asked, looking past her to Marco. He was leaning against the door, arms crossed, watching the scene with indifference. "Marco, look at me. Alessandro trusted you. I trusted you."
Marco’s expression didn't flicker. "Alessandro trusts no one. He pays people to pretend. Today, the pay wasn't enough."
"He was bought," Jennifer interrupted, her voice crisp. "And frankly, it wasn't even that expensive. Loyalty is a fluctuating commodity in our world." She stopped circling and stood directly in front of me, her face inches from mine. "You think this is about you? You’re just debris, Bianca. Collateral damage in a much necessary correction."
"Correction?" I challenged.
"The merger," she spat, the veneer of calm cracking for a split second. "The Desanti and Vitale alliance was years in the making. It would have controlled shipping from here to Naples, then Alessandro threw it away. For what? A pretty face? A charity case from a rival family?"

She stepped back, smoothing her blouse. "He insulted my family. He humiliated me publicly. ..now, he has left his flank exposed. You are the weakness he created."
"He’ll come for me," I said. "You know he will."
"I'm counting on it," Jennifer smiled, and it was a cold, terrifying expression. "That is the entire point. While he is tearing the city apart looking for you, he isn't watching the ports. He isn't watching his warehouses. By the time he finds you...if we let him find you,his empire will be burning, and the Vitale family will be there to pick through the ashes."

She turned to Marco. "Is the camera set up?"
"Ready in the next room," Marco confirmed. "We can film the proof-of-life video in an hour. Let the drugs wear off a bit more. I want her looking scared, not stoned."

"Good." Jennifer looked back at me. "You're going to star in a very expensive home movie, Bianca. You’re going to beg Alessandro to surrender his territories in exchange for your safety."
"I won't do it," I said.
Jennifer’s hand lashed out, her palm connecting hard with my cheek. The force of the slap knocked my head to the side, and I tasted copper.
"You will," she said softly. "Because if you don't, Marco has permission to start removing pieces. A finger for every hour you refuse. An ear for every day."
She didn't wait for a response. She turned on her heel, signaling the end of the conversation. "Give her water. Keep her alive. But don't make her comfortable."
"Understood," Marco said. He walked over to a bucket in the corner I hadn't noticed, grabbed a plastic water bottle, and cracked the seal. He approached me, not unkindly, but with a detached efficiency.
"Drink," he ordered, holding the bottle to my lips.
I drank greedily, the water soothing my parched throat, though half of it spilled down my chin. When I pulled away, gasping, he capped the bottle and tossed it aside.
"Nothing personal, Bianca," Marco said, echoing his words from the capture. "Business is business."
"You're a dead man," I told him, looking him in the eye. "When he finds you, there won't be anywhere on earth you can hide."
Marco paused, his hand on the door handle. For a second, a shadow of unease crossed his face—the first genuine emotion I'd seen. He knew Alessandro's reputation better than anyone.
"Maybe," he muttered. I'll be a rich dead man."
He stepped out, and Jennifer followed without a backward glance. The heavy steel door slammed shut, and the lock engaged with a final, echoing thud.
I was alone again. The sting on my cheek pulsed in time with my heartbeat. I looked at the rusted furnace, then at the heavy door. They were going to use me to destroy Alessandro.

They wanted me to be a victim, a pawn to be traded for territory.
I tested the zip-ties again, twisting my wrists until the skin broke and blood made the plastic slick. It hurt, but the pain clarified my mind. Jennifer was wrong. I wasn't just a weakness. I was a Morena. We had connections and moved silently.We are more powerful.

I looked around the room, really looking this time, not for comfort, but for a weapon. My eyes landed on the single lightbulb hanging by the frayed wire. It was just out of reach, but if I could stand on the chair...
I began to scoot the rusted metal chair toward the center of the room. I wouldn't wait for Alessandro to save me. I had an hour before the camera started rolling. I had work to do.