I will always love you
POV: Fernando Valentini (father)
Returning home after years was something I had stopped dreaming about a long time ago.
Watching my children grow up and become men was difficult.
Hearing stories about them and my family, stories I will never be able to live because of the Sinclair family. It infuriates me.
I wish I could march to the American mafia's house and burn everything down with them inside, because everything and everyone who lives in that place are monsters who don't deserve to live.
After I was arrested and tortured, they decided to play with my most precious possession, my daughters.
At that time, I didn't imagine that Eloisa wasn't my daughter, since she looked so much like Jocellyn, I imagined she simply hadn't taken after me.
When Jorge Sinclair told me what happened to Elena, it took me a while to believe it, until one day he showed me a picture of my wounded princess.
And since then he'd told me about every visit he made to her, but he never told me if Eloisa was alright, if she was alive.
Being tortured was nothing compared to not knowing if one of the girls was alive and hearing what was happening to the other.
Right now, in the basement, with my father, we're interrogating one of the school shooters.
The man is almost unconscious and has already lost a lot of blood. I assess his wounds and I can tell that Giorgio and Giovanni are perfect at what they do.
None of the wounds are fatal, but they're in the most painful places on his body, each one carefully calculated and distributed.
“Last chance to tell us,” I say calmly, and the man smiles.
I get up from my chair with a tablet in my hand and show him a picture of his sister and two children. We would never touch them, but he doesn't know that.
“These photos are from ten minutes ago, we can torture them in your place, if you prefer,” I say, and his eyes widen.
“I’ll talk, just don’t involve them in this,” the man says quickly. “It was the Sinclairs, the eldest son organized everything. He wants to take the north docks as quickly as possible, and if you were busy with a funeral, it would be easier.”
“It wasn’t that difficult,” my father says, drawing a gun.
He shoots the man in the forehead because we know we won’t get any more information than that. The rest would just be deception.
A knock on the door makes us leave the interrogation room.
Matteo is outside and looks worried.
“What happened?” my father asks, wiping his blood-stained hands.
“Elena came home from school acting strangely and said she wants to see you, uncle,” Matteo tells me, and I raise my eyebrows in surprise.
We run out of the basement to the living room. On the way, I check to make sure I’m not covered in blood before seeing my little girl.
I see her clinging to Giorgio, who is trying to calm her down while she cries.
"Elena," I call, and she quickly pulls away from her cousin and stands up.
She runs to me and throws herself into my arms. I don't waste any time hugging my little girl, the hug I've waited so long for.
"Forgive me," Elena sobs in my ear, and my heart aches. "I've only caused suffering since I came into your life. Forgive me for being weak."
I move away from her and kneel down to her eye level.
"You were the best gift I ever received, princess," I say sincerely. "Nothing that happened was your fault. The monsters who created you and those that exist in this world are to blame. Not you."
She sobs copiously.
"You have every reason in the world to hate me," she says through tears. "Because you always endured everything that happened to me and suffered the same pain. All because of me."
I wipe away her tears and pull her to my chest again.
“Never in my whole life will I be able to hate you, my princess,” I whisper in her ear. “You were and always will be my ray of sunshine.”
She hugs me tightly and I stroke her back.
“I’m here with you now, my daughter, and I promise that no one else will hurt you,” I say as I stroke her back.
“I love you, Dad,” she says, and I feel my world explode with happiness.
“I love you so much more, daughter,” I say with all the love I feel in my heart.
Minutes later, Matteo separates me from Elena to redo the bandage on her arm.
Hours later, the maids announce that dinner is ready.
Elena ends up falling asleep after eating. She leans on Antoni’s shoulder, who hugs her tenderly as she takes a deep breath.
We all watch her; We see a brave girl who has already been through a lot, but we also see our princess who needs to be protected and cared for.
And I know that everyone in this room would destroy the world to keep her safe.
POV: Elena
Gael's hand pulls my hair and he forcefully turns me around, making my chest hit the wall. His hand goes down to the button of my pants and I start to beg and hit him.
Gael whispers in my ear to relax, that it would soon start to feel good.
He pulls down my pants and I try to fight, but he pulls my hair back and slams my head hard against the wall.
I feel dizzy and he takes advantage. A pain cuts my body in two.
I let out a cry of pain and he laughs and compliments me, saying I'm perfect.
His hand slides across my chest while the other pulls my hair back.
He groans in my ear while I feel pain.
"You were perfect, darling," Gael's voice is replaced by Chris's, who speaks and kisses me on the mouth.
I look back and see Chris in Gael's place, smiling maliciously at me.
A laugh startles me, and Silas emerges with Eloisa from behind a bookcase.
Everyone laughs at me, and I lean against the wall, covering my ears.
"Pathetic as always," Silas says, and my throat begins to close up. "It would be good if you died soon."
I look at them, and my heart clenches as I see Silas hand me a gun.
"No one will miss you anyway," Silas says, and Eloisa laughs.
I don't take the gun, and then Chris snatches it from Silas's hand and points it at me.
"You decided your own fate, Elena," Chris says and shoots.
I wake up startled, get out of bed quickly, and run to the bathroom to vomit.
I stay there for a few minutes until the nausea passes and I can breathe again.
I wash my face and return to my room. The clock strikes two in the morning, and I know I don't want to sleep anymore if it's just to have nightmares.
I grab my pillow, tuck it under my arm, and head out into the hallway.
I glance at my brothers' rooms, knock on Luca's door a few times, but he doesn't answer.
Then I remember that he, Sandro, Antoni, and Angelo were going to a soccer tournament.
I decide to knock on Vicente's door, but he doesn't answer either. I sigh in frustration and stand between Leonardo and Lorenzo.
I knock on Leonardo's door, and he yells from inside for me to come in.
"How did you know it was me?" I ask as soon as I enter.
I look around the room and see that it's dark, with shades of green and orange.
Leonardo is lying on the bed reading a book. Yes, reading.
"You're the only one in this house who knocks before entering," he says, looking at me. "Is everything alright?"
"Nightmare," I reply, and walk over to his bed.
I lie down beside him, and he watches everything with a raised eyebrow. I hug my pillow and rest my head on his chest.
"You were the only option, so don't complain," I say, and he laughs.
"I won't say anything, sorellina," Leonardo says, picking up the book again.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" I ask, and he sighs.
"I have trouble sleeping, so reading sometimes helps, but not always," he says, with a frustrated tone.
I look up and stare at him for a few seconds. I take the book from his hands and gesture for him to lie down.
He looks at me suspiciously for a few seconds, but then obeys.
"I'm not going to kill you while you sleep, brother," I say as he lies down.
"You wouldn't kill a fly, Elena," he says and yawns.
"You're underestimating me," I tell him with a mischievous smile, but then I remember what I was doing.
I put my serious mask back on after Leonardo lies down and gets comfortable, and I sit on the bed and start humming softly while stroking his hair.
At first, he laughs at me and I pat his head, then continue doing what I was doing.
It takes ten minutes for my brother to fall into a deep sleep, but I don't stop looking after him until I'm asleep sitting up with him, his head in my lap.