Failures
POV: Lorenzo
My head is full to the point of exploding with the amount of thoughts and anger I'm feeling right now.
Elena was my responsibility to protect after my father disappeared and I failed.
I failed to think she would be safe with Jocellyn. And I will never forgive myself for that.
I watch her leave with Matteo through the door accompanied by Angelo, Sandro and Grandma.
When we hear the car leaving the garage towards the hospital, we all get to work.
Antoni takes his notebook and hacks the school's cameras to find out who were the students involved in the "prank" that Eloisa planned.
Uncle Salvatore and Carlo call our men and order them to take Gael to the warehouse.
Giovanni and Giorgio go down to the basement to get their work tools, as they call them. Leonardo goes up to change his clothes while my aunts and I are left with the most complicated part.
I go up to Eloisa's room with my three aunts. I can hear her pacing and it takes all my calm to act sensibly.
Eloisa may be my sister, but she needs to learn that what she did was unforgivable and hurting a member of your own family has serious consequences.
I open the bedroom door and see that she has been crying, her makeup running down her red eyes.
"Let's go out," I tell her as she stands in the middle of the room staring at me.
"Where are we going?" she asks me fearfully.
I look at her with disgust and anger.
"You don't need to know yet, grab a coat and let's go," I reply curtly and Eloisa does as I say.
My aunts watch everything without saying a word. They are here to make sure I don't freak out on Eloisa or be too lenient with her.
We go downstairs to the living room and everyone is ready to leave. They look at Eloisa with disdain and I can see her shrink under their gazes.
"If everyone is ready, let's go," Uncle Massimo says, leaving the room.
"Did Antoni get the pictures?" Leonardo asks, following us to the garage.
"Yes, our men went to get them all," Giorgio informs.
"How many are there?" I ask as I grab my car keys from the dashboard.
"Besides the boy who is already in the basement, there are five, two girls and three boys," Uncle Salvatore says, getting into the SUV.
I nod and get in the car. Eloisa sits in the seat next to me, she is obviously nervous, she knows that wherever we are going is not good.
"Lorenzo, what will happen to me?" she asks fearfully.
I look at her coldly.
"You will find out when we get there," I reply and follow the other cars to our storage room.
"Lorenzo I don't want to go, please, please" Eloisa begs and I have to take a deep breath to keep from touching my sister.
What she did today was unforgivable, but I still have family rules to follow and I am bound to educate without causing harm.
And may God forgive me, but that was my will.
We have several places that we use for different things. A place for transactions, a hospital, a place for visitors, one for goods, and one for prisoners.
Let's go to the last one.
Eloisa trembles beside me, and I don't feel sorry for her. She must be scared, and rightly so, because today will be the worst day of her life.
POV: Leonardo
We arrive at the warehouse and I watch Lorenzo drag Eloisa to his office.
Everyone else goes to get ready for the fun and I go to my office.
I go in and lock the door.
My heart has been beating frantically since Elena told me the words Gael said to her. Since she admitted to having been abused since she was a child.
And my stomach has been sick since Eloisa told me what she did to Elena, the setup that destroyed her twin sister.
How did she have the nerve to do that? How did she get to this point just to push her sister away?
But am I better than her?
That question has been repeating itself in my mind for hours. But I think the answer is no, maybe I am worse.
If what Gael told Elena happened at the time he raped her, I may have broken any chance she had of trusting me.
I snap out of my thoughts when someone knocks on my door indicating that the fun is about to begin.
I grab my set of knives and go out to watch Giorgio and Giovanni in the interrogation room.
I appreciate the twins' work, they know how to play with people's heads and make them reveal their biggest secrets without even realizing it. Of course, some resist and then the torture begins.
At this moment they are talking to Gael.
To think that I already called him a friend and yet he touched my little sister.
I have to restrain myself from entering the room and ripping his throat out with my hands.
"Do you understand what you came here to do, Gael?" Giovanni asks calmly.
"Yes, I understand, but Eloisa told me that Elena wanted it, that she was just embarrassed," Gael says as if that changes what he did.
As soon as he falls silent, Lorenzo enters the room where we are holding Eloisa's arms.
It takes a moment for her to notice Gael through the glass in the other room, but when she does, I can see her face losing color.
"Eloisa is on the other side of the glass Gael, do you want to say something to her?" Giorgio asks approaching the glass.
"Eloisa tell them, tell them what you arranged with Alana and Sheila" Gael begs "Tell them it was all a joke and that you assured me that Elena wanted it".
Everyone is looking at Eloisa who looks at Gael angrily.
"That little shit doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut" she shouts irritably and turns to Lorenzo angrily "What did I come here to do?"
"You, my dear, came to learn what happens when someone messes with our family and to receive your punishment" Grandpa says sternly.
Eloisa looks at Grandpa in fear and I smile at her.
Our attention returns to the interrogation room when Giovanni speaks again.
"Elena didn't think it was a joke," Giovanni says angrily. "Do you understand what you did? Do you understand that you messed with our family? That you touched our Sorellina?"
I can't just watch anymore and I decide to start what we came here to do.
I go to the door that leads to the interrogation room, open it and turn around before entering to talk to Eloisa.
"Come here," I order coldly, but she doesn't move.
"Obey Eloisa," Lorenzo says, giving her a little push.
Eloisa looks at me with anger replacing her fear.
When she approaches, I take her arm and walk with her to the same room where the twins are with Gael.
"Hello, friend," I say with a mischievous smile at him.
I pull a chair, place it in the opposite corner of the room, but facing Gael and order Eloisa to sit in it.Giorgio calmly walks behind the chair where Eloisa is sitting and leans against the wall with his arms crossed.
The room falls silent as I walk over to the table and spread my set of knives on it, caressing each one calmly and unhurriedly.
"Leonardo, you're my friend, please don't do this," Gael begs and I laugh bitterly.
"Elena asked you not to do anything to her, didn't she?" I say, choosing the knife I'll start working with.
"I-I" Gael stutters and then turns to Eloisa "She told me that Elena wanted me, that she was playing hard to get but that she really wanted to be with me".
Eloisa curses him angrily.
"Keep your mouth shut, you idiot" she says loudly "We're in enough trouble already"
"You're saying that because you're family" Gael yells at her "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've gotten me into? Did you know that I signed my death warrant when I helped you?"
She looks at him confused and then smiles.
"This theatrics are just to scare us, they won't touch you, they can't" Eloisa says with certainty.
Gael looks at her shocked and then nods understanding what he's gotten himself into.
"Eloisa, you don't know anything about your family" he says softly and I can't help but smile with satisfaction. "You're a fool and I let myself be fooled."
I look at him, still smiling, and he swallows hard.
"You didn't answer my question, Gael," I say coldly.
"Y-yes," he replies, and his fear is palpable.
"Know that I will make you beg for death then," I say, and I thrust the knife into his hand.