True intentions
My brothers are a thousand times more alert after yesterday.
The atmosphere at school is tense; everyone involved with the mafia is surrounded by family or trusted friends.
Yesterday's attack was a reminder that none of us are safe.
This, whether we like it or not, weakens my family, which is responsible for a territory in Italy. It shows that we are not capable of protecting our partners and our own family.
But coming to school is good.
It sends the message that we won't hide and that we are bloodthirsty. At least my brothers are.
The boys explained to me that a security guard will be watching from afar and that I should call one of them if I see any danger.
Anabela is under the same restrictions and rules as me. She explains that she managed to leave her shift before the shooting started.
I tell her everything that happened to me, and she's already an unconditional fan of Dominic.
Classes go by quickly, which is good because Anabela had to leave early with her brothers due to a family emergency, and I ended up alone in the last few classes.
My brothers accompany me from class to class, and Sandro tells me that the security guard will take me to the parking lot after the last class because the boys have soccer practice.
I'm counting down the minutes until the end of the last class while the teacher explains Newton's laws.
I look out the window at the field and see my brothers practicing; they have a game in ten days, and I think we might have a chance to win.
The bell rings and I quickly leave the classroom, but I don't see the security guard. I walk to my locker through the crowd of students to get my things when a hand closes on my wrist and I'm pulled into a locker.
Chris puts his hand over my mouth, indicating that I shouldn't scream.
When he realizes I understand, he takes his hand away from my mouth and stares at me. “Sorry for bringing you here like this,” he says, and I just stare at him. “I just wanted to know if you were okay.”
“I’m fine,” I reply quietly, looking around.
I hate the lockers in this school; I don’t have good memories of places like this.
“You shouldn’t be in school,” I tell him urgently. “This isn’t the best place for you right now.”
“I tried to warn you yesterday, but that Russian interrupted me,” he begins, and I stare at him confused.
“Don’t tell me you knew what was going to happen?” I ask incredulously.
“I tried to warn you, but you were more interested in what Dominic had to say,” he says angrily. “So I told the teacher they were going to call you to the principal’s office, so you wouldn’t go to the parking lot.”
“Chris, stop talking!” I yell at him. “You knew everything and didn’t tell me, regardless of whether Dominic was there or not; these things need to be discussed.”
“I’m not going to share information around strangers,” Chris says coldly.
“My brothers could have been hurt,” I say exasperatedly.
“They’re alive, aren’t they?” he asks angrily, and I realize he doesn’t care.
“You always tell me you’re different from your family, but you act exactly like them,” I say in the same tone. “Never speak to me again, Christopher.”
I turn to leave, but he grabs my injured arm, making me groan in pain.
“We’re not finished yet, Elena,” he says and pushes me against the wall. “I was willing to protect you, but I guess I’m not enough.”
“You’re hurting me,” I say, and he laughs.
“You hurt me with your words and your choices too,” he says, bringing his face close to my ear. “I tried to be kind, and you treated me like an enemy, preferring Dominic to me.”
I pull my arm away, freeing myself from his grip, which presses against the wound.
“You’re crazy,” I say, struggling.
He gets angry and slaps me across the face, paralyzing me.
“Silas told me everything about you,” Chris says, caressing my red cheek. “I fought with him because of you and said I could win your heart.”
I look at him, scared. I need to get out of here.
“In the end, he was right. You’re nothing but a broken bitch,” he whispers in my ear. “But nothing I can’t fix, you just need to be mine.”
“You’re as crazy as Silas,” I say, and he laughs.
“My older brother is worse than both of us, but you met him once,” Chris says, smiling. “He and my father went to your house and saw your stepfather torturing you.”
My eyes widen and I remember those two friends of Henk's.
“They told your father everything Henk did to you,” Chris says slowly. “At first, I thought it was macabre, but after Silas distanced himself from you, I became interested.”
He kisses me on the cheek and my heart races.
“You will be mine, Elena, just as Eloisa belongs to Silas, and then we can all be happy,” Chris says, and it makes me nauseous.
“You are monsters,” I say and kick him in the groin with all my might.
He falls to the ground clutching his groin, and I seize the opportunity to leave the closet.
I run to the parking lot looking for my brothers' car, looking for someone who can help me not to freak out.
My mind is confused and my heart is racing.
I feel lost because of the panic attack growing inside me. I try to take deep breaths to find the boys' car.
I look around and see Sandro in the distance with Giorgio; they have their cell phones in their hands, calling someone. I run towards them and, when they see me, they put their cell phones away.
“Elena, why didn’t you answer the phone?” Sandro asks, irritated, as soon as I reach them.
“Phone?” I ask, confused.
My mind oscillates rapidly between reality and unconsciousness. I feel my body detaching from my mind as the reality of what happened with Chris sets in.
“Bambina, are you alright?” Giorgio asks, his voice soft.
“Take me home,” I whisper. “I need my father.”
Sandro looks at me with wide eyes and they put me in the car with the others.
Giovanni hugs me during the drive home; he calms me when my body starts to tremble and panic returns.
“Go faster,” he tells Leonardo, who is running down the street.
When we arrive, Matteo opens the car door and everyone gets out, leaving me alone with him in the back seat.
“Sorellina, can you hear me?” Matteo’s voice is calm.
“Yes, brother,” I reply, and he sighs in relief beside me. “Did you bring my father?”
I look out the window, searching for him.
I need my father, I need to apologize for the suffering I caused him. For being weak and making him suffer because of me.
“We’ll get to him soon, but first I need to know if you’re okay?” Matteo asks, and I nod. “With words, sister.”
“No, I think the stitches you put in my arm opened and my cheek hurts,” I tell him, and he immediately holds my chin and examines my face.
I see his eyes darken and he takes a deep breath.
“We’ll take care of that, okay?” He says and opens the car door.
He picks me up like a koala, I cross my legs over his waist and my arms around his neck.
We entered the room where most of my family was. Matteo carefully sat me down on the sofa and went to get the materials to bandage my arm.
I looked for my father, but he and Grandpa were nowhere to be found.
"Elena," said Giorgio, standing in front of me. "What happened?"
"Did you know that the Sinclairs are all the same?" I asked, feeling lost. "Did you know that I've met them all?"
"Bambina, what are you trying to say?" asked Uncle Salvatore, receiving a furious look from Giorgio.
"I met the father and the eldest son of the Sinclairs when I lived with my stepfather," I said, looking at my hands. "They were friends of Henk's, and whenever they were there, the beatings got worse, and they watched everything."
Tears streamed down my face.
"They said they were going to tell someone everything that happened," I said, sobbing. "They told my father everything." Giorgio lifts my chin to look into my eyes.
"How did you find out, sister?" he asks softly.
"Chris told me, he said that was the torture they inflicted on my father." I wipe the tears from my face. "They played with us for years and none of us suspected anything."