Chapter 86

Chapter 86
Arianna POV: 

I felt a horrible burn and a ring from two points on my chest as I came to. My entire body ached, and I couldn’t quite understand where I was or what was happening. The last thing I remembered my father had escaped, and I believe I had been taken. 

I opened up my eyes, squinting as light streamed in. I blinked, my head throbbed, and pounded. 

I tried to move to see where I was, but I couldn’t. It took me a second to realize that I was bound to a chair. I looked down to see a rope tying my legs, and I moved my hands behind me. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t think I had the strength to get out of this. 

“Oh!” I heard someone say behind me… no, not someone. Guilia.

“Guilia?” My voice came out. My sister came into view just as she gave me a sinister smirk. 

WHACK. 

She drove her hand across my face, my cheek stinging as she slapped me. 

“That’s for my dress,” she pulled back her hand, and again, WHACK. Another slap stung across my cheek. I felt a little dribble. I think some blood drips down my face. 

“And that was for?” I growled and glared at her. 

“That was just for fun,”.

She hopped onto a rickety old table in front of me. It looks like we were in a barn. I didn’t know the walls were made of old wood. The floor was concrete. There was dirt everywhere smelled. How did they know someone with a farm? I tried looking around some more, but Guilia scoffed and gained my attention.

“Look at you go, trying to figure out where you are. I mean, I have to hand it to you. You really are cute. Still believing that you’re gonna get out of this alive,” she giggled at me. 

“Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick about you. Marco came to us and said that Dad had you shipped off somewhere.” 

She gave me a dazzling smile. She hopped off the table. “What a good little boy Marco is. Daddy sent me off to an insane asylum,”. She laughed and corrected herself, “Sorry, mental institution.” 

She stated it so simply and so calmly, but it left me in a state of shock. What? How could he have done that to her? His daughter he had sent her off to an insane asylum, had her committed? 

“Are you okay?” I demanded an answer. I couldn’t believe he had done this, my poor sister. She had done one thing for herself, stood up for herself once, and what did he do? He tried to shut her up in a tower. What happens if she steps out of line again? Will he just ship her off somewhere and try to pump her full of psychosis meds? Still, at least you hadn’t left her in the hands of his men. I couldn’t even imagine what they would’ve done with her.

All the worry vanished from my body as Julia picked up some metal rebar from the ground. 

“Don’t do that,” her voice is melancholy and low. She turned to look at me, and her eyes went fierce and fiery. “Don’t try to act like you care!” 

WHACK. 

I checked in gasping breaths after she slammed the bar into my side, my ribs ached, and my lungs burned. I hadn’t expected her to do that. Where is my father, and all of this? Why wasn’t he? The one tearing me apart bit by bit, getting all the information you could out of me, telling me how disappointed he was. 

“Believe it or not, I do care, Guilia,” 

“No, you don’t!” She screeched and swung the bar again

WHACK, WHACK. 

I topple over, lying on the floor. My head hit hard. My arm and torso fountain numb from where she had slammed the rebar against me. I think I may have broken something or sprained something. I couldn’t quite tell. I tried to think of what to say or how to get it to stop to get it to calm down.

“You never gave a damn about me. You and Mom were off living your perfect little life. You had everything you ever wanted. Mom cared about you. She doted on your every waking need, taking you to school, to your soccer games, to go shopping, to hang out with all your little friends. Meanwhile, I always left at home most nights, going off and doing whatever he wanted, where was I? She never even tried to come and see me, she didn’t need to, she had you!” Guilia ranted in a high-pitched tone, waving about the metal. 

WHACK! 

I coughed, and I tasted a bit of blood in my mouth. 

“She fought for you!” I shot back. Probably not the smartest idea, as my sister was walking back and forth, dragging a metal bar, waiting to smack me anytime I opened my mouth.

“No, she didn’t!” She cried and walked forward, pushing her heel down on my cheek. “And it’s all your fault, we should’ve stayed with Dad that night. If you would’ve just listened and stayed with me, we would be fine!”

My mind flashed back to the night. Our mother grabbed us. Guilia clung to the banister, begging my mom and me to stay, calling me over and over again as my mom dragged me out of the house. She refused to leave our father, but I have left her. 

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. Couldn’t quite get words to come out well with Guilia’s heal on me.

“Don’t lie,” she growled, shoving my face away with her foot. “The good news is that Daddy sees you as you are now, and he loves me again,”.

“Sure he does,” I prepared myself for another attack as Julia charged at me, but a cold voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Now now, darling, I can’t have you losing your temper like you did with your mother,” he announced himself. 

I felt my blood run as his presence slithered over me, his shadow looming. He leaned down and grabbed me by my hair, pulling my head off the ground. I didn’t look him in the eye, and I didn’t show any fear even if I was trembling, and I knew my fate was sealed. 

“We need to be sure your sister has learned her lesson.” 

The chair was put back on its legs and straightened up, and I saw who came into view. My father rolled out a mat, pulling a knife off of it. Men laughed in the corner, and some gargantuan hands came over to hold me down. 

He slowly walked forward, pointing the tip of the steel at me. “I gotta hand it to you, kid. You really gave it your best shot.”

He slammed the knife down into my leg, his eyes blazing crazily as he stared at me, a wicked grin on his face. 

I couldn’t keep the scream inside,  it pierced the air. 

My mind went all the way back, and I took myself from this place. I wasn’t here. I was on a boat in Italy, and Giovanni’s arms were around me. That’s what I would do. I will picture him as I leave this world.