Chapter 82 The Sound of Silence

Chapter 82 The Sound of Silence
The warehouse was dark and cold. The only sound was the slow drip of water from the ceiling, as it hit the floor like a ticking clock. Alexander sat with his back against the brick wall, his breath heavy and rough. His arms were pulled tight by the heavy chains, but he didn’t feel the pain in his shoulders anymore. He only felt the cold.
Beside him, his mother sat in a wooden chair, fully soaked. Her gray hair stuck to her forehead.
"Mum?" he whispered, his voice dry from lack of water. "Mum, talk to me. Please."
She didn’t move. Her head was tilted to the side, her chin resting on her chest.
"Mum, wake up!" Alexander’s voice went up, full of fear. He lunged forward as far as the chains allowed. His fingers brushed against her damp sleeve. He shook her arm. "Come on. Open your eyes. We are going to get out of here. I promise."
But there was only silence.
"Answer me!" he screamed, shaking her harder. The chains rattled against the wall. "Mum! Breathe! Please, just breathe for me!"
He reached out and pressed his hand against her cheek. It was like ice. There was no heat left in her skin. No air came out of her mouth. Alexander stopped moving. The truth hit him like a heavyweight to his chest. He could not breathe.
"No," he sobbed. The sound broke from deep in his chest. "No, no, no. Not like this. Please, God, not like this."
He fell against the wall, his body shaking with deep sobs.
Footsteps sounded on the floor as one of the guards walked over. He pressed two fingers against his mother’s neck. He waited for ten seconds, then pulled back.
"She is gone," the guard said.
Lorenzo stood by the metal door, lighting a cigarette. He took a long breath and blew out a cloud of gray smoke.
"Get rid of the body," he said, his voice flat. "Do it now. I don’t want any rotting smell here."
"You monster!" Alexander screamed, his eyes red and wild. "You killed her! She did nothing to you!"
Lorenzo did not look back. He threw his cigarette on the floor, crushed it with his shoes, and walked out. Alexander was left in the dark, chained to a wall, staring at the empty chair where his mother had been.

In the bedroom at the Grusso house, Isabella sat on the floor staring blankly at the wall. Her face was bruised, her lip cut. Her ribs hurt every time she moved. But her mind was clear.
"He thinks he won," she whispered to the room. 
She stood up and walked to her vanity. Her hands shook, but she forced them to stay still. She opened her jewelry box and looked through the gold and silver until she found a long, thin earring pin.
She took a pair of small pliers and bent the tip of the pin into a tiny hook.
"I saw this in a movie," she muttered. Her heart thumped against her ribs. "Just push the pins. Feel the click. I hope it’s that simple."
She crept to the bedroom door and knelt on the cold tiles, pressing her ear against the wood, and listening for the guards in the hall. 
There was only silence.
She put the bent pin into the keyhole. Her fingers were wet with sweat as she moved the metal back and forth, trying to find the inside parts of the lock.
Nothing happened. 
She bit her lip until it bled. "Come on," she hissed. "Work for me," as she kept twisting the pin, feeling for the lock. 

Morning light filled Vincent Harrington’s office as he paced the length of the room. 
Where the hell was Alexander?
"That is it," he growled as he hit a button on his desk. "Get in here!"
Two of his men stepped into the room. "Yes, boss?"
"Go to Alexander’s apartment. Break the door down if you have to. Find out why he is playing games with my time."
The men left. Vincent sat at his desk, staring at his phone. An hour later, they came back, looking worried.
"He is not there, boss," the lead man said. "The neighbors have not seen him in two days. His car is also gone."
Vincent felt a cold knot in his stomach. The anger went away, replaced by worry. He picked up his phone and dialed his sister, Valeria.
"He is gone, Val!" he shouted when she picked up. "The kid is gone. He betrayed me. I cannot believe I trusted him!"
"Vincent, stop," Valeria said, her voice calm but firm.
"What? You think he has a good excuse for missing two days of work?"
"He didn’t quit, Vincent," Valeria said. "He was… taken."
Vincent stopped pacing. He sat down hard in his chair. "Taken? By who? Who would be stupid enough to touch one of my men?"
"Lorenzo Grusso," Valeria said.
Vincent’s grip on the phone got tighter. "The Damiano son-in-law? Why would that snake touch Alexander?"
"It’s complicated, Vincent. It’s part of a bigger plan I’m looking into. Lorenzo is dangerous. And now, Alexander is in the middle of it."
"Dammit, Valeria, why did you not tell me?" Vincent roared. "I have men! I could have ended this weeks ago!"
"And Alexander would be dead already," she retorted. "You have to trust me. If we move too fast, Lorenzo will panic. He will kill him just to hide the proof. I have a contact inside the Damiano family. We are working on finding the warehouse."
Vincent rubbed his face, feeling helpless. He hated that feeling. "Where is he? Give me an address, Val. I will send my best guys. We will check every building in the city."
"No," Valeria said firmly. "Stay put. Moving now will get him killed. I promise I will bring him home, Vincent. Just give me more time."
"If anything happens to him," he warned her, his voice low, "I’m holding you responsible. Do you understand? He is a good man. Find him and be careful."
"I will," she whispered.
The line went dead. 
Vincent sat in his office, looking at the empty chair across from his desk. He realized then that he didn’t just respect Alexander, he cared about him. If Lorenzo Grusso hurt him in any way, there wouldn’t be enough left of him to bury.