Chapter 9 Antonio
My struggle against the kidnapper is in vain. As soon as Dante's gaze lands on me, a punch goes straight towards the man behind me. The loose hold on me is enough leverage for me to escape and sends a kick to the man's stomach. He falls to the concrete ground, and his attempt to escape is stopped by Dante and me. It's unfortunate that the other kidnappers have managed to escape despite Dante's attempt to catch them.
The kidnapper is now under my hold. Despite the circumstances he's in, no fear is apparent in his eyes. On the contrary, the only look he has in his eyes is full of sinister. The lack of guilt and fear in his eyes almost turns me mad, but I continue to keep my composure and focus on the task at hand: finding out who this man is.
"Who do you work for?" I ask, but the only answer I receive is silence and the same evil smirk that hasn't left his face. If he's this calm, he's either mental or just plain stupid. How could someone be this cocky while sitting in death's palm?
"Alessandra! Are you okay?"
My father. His face shows nothing but concern as he approaches me. When my gaze shifts to Dante, he nods at me, letting me know in silence to leave the kidnapper to him. I nod back at him and stand in front of my father.
"I'm fine," I say, glancing at my kidnapper. Dante keeps the kidnapper's hands behind him and keeps him in place. Around us, a small crowd has formed. Curiosity is what drives them to stay and watch the commotion I am involved in. Without any hesitation, my father's men, Carlo and Valerio, immediately handle the crowd issue.
"Who's this?" my father asks.
"He was one of the men who almost kidnapped her. The rest of them left in their van before I could catch them. The license plate is MN 423 DG, " Dante says.
"Should I call the police?" Carlo asks.
"Call them. Stay here with Valerio until the police arrive. I'll leave with Sandra and Dante now," my father says to Carlo. He nods at my father and pulls the man away from us. Good riddance.
"Let's go," my father says.
Buildings pass me by as we drive back to the hotel. Dante is in the front seat while my father is on my right. I bet my father will scold me because of what just happened.
"I've told you to stay in the hotel. Look at what almost happened to you," my father says. See? I knew it. Well, he has his reasons, but gosh, was that function boring. I should've just gone straight home so he can't force me to go back to the hotel.
"It won't happen anyway. I have Dante, and I can also defend myself," I say.
"I know, but it's better to prevent it. From now on, please stay at home and don't go anywhere. I'll figure out who tried to kidnap you," my father says.
Stay home? It's not like I want to leave anyway, besides the times when I try to run away. I have barely left my bedroom in the past few years. Even if I want to go, my father's immediate answer will be no, thanks to my past attempts at running away.
"It's not like I ever leave the house anyway," I say and roll my eyes. "Why do you want me to go back? Are you going to introduce me to someone?"
If he wants me to go back, then there must be something important there, and most of the time it's because he wants me to meet a potential suitor. I really should've gone home earlier. This meeting would've been prevented if I were home already.
"Yes. It's Fabio's son, Antonio," my father says.
Fabio is my father's business partner, or you could say, ally. He's the leader of the Ricci family, another clan of the underworld. Just the thought of me getting married into another mafia family is suffocating. If that ended up happening, it would be more difficult for me to escape this life. It's strange that he just brought him up now to be my suitor after so long, considering how close my father and Fabio are. Something's definitely up with them.
"Father, please stop with this arranged marriage thing. I don't want it," I say.
"Just give him a chance first. If he's anything like Paolo, then I'll stop doing this. That's a promise," my father says.
Oh, father, he'll definitely be like Paolo. Worse, even. From what I've learned after eavesdropping on my father's meetings, Fabio is merciless. My father sounds like a saint compared to him. Fabio won't hesitate to hurt someone. Almost as ruthless as the Romano's, but not as bad. Antonio is probably the same. Like father, like son.
"Okay. Whatever," I say.
The party doesn't seem like it's going to die down anytime soon once we're back at the hotel. In fact, it's even livelier than before as the DJ plays a more energetic song with a faster beat and tempo. If this keeps going, this place will turn into a club.
"This is my son, Antonio," Fabio shouts through the loud music. I turn to Antonio, and he flashes me a charming smile. He's quite attractive, I admit. However, good looks don't always equal good hearts. Other than that, he's not as good-looking as Dante.
Fuck. Even in this time and place, I can't stop thinking about Dante that way. Having him standing almost next to me doesn't help either.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Alessandra," Antonio says, holding out his hand for me. Out of politeness, I give him my hand to do a handshake, but Antonio has a different plan in mind. He pulls my hand towards his lips and gives it a soft kiss. Despite the discomfort, I force out a smile at him. Please make this stop soon. It's better if I make an excuse so I can go home now.
"Nice to meet you, too," I say. I clear my throat, pretending to be sick. It's time to put on an act.
"Pardon me, but I need to leave now. I don't feel so well, and the loud music hurts my head even more. Can I leave now, father? Perhaps we could speak at some other time?" I ask.
"Sure. You can leave with Dante, but first, why don't the two of you exchange numbers?" my father suggests. Without thinking any further, I do as my father says to make things quick. After I put my phone number on Antonio's phone and vice versa, I'm finally able to leave the place.
"What do you think about Antonio? I think he's fine so far. However, I'm not sure why, but he gives me a weird vibe, or is that just me and my paranoia?" I ask.
On the outside, Antonio does look polite and kind, but that's just the first impression he lets on. He's still a stranger to me now, and not knowing much about him irks me. I should've learned more about our enemies and allies earlier.
"He does seem off. Trust your feelings. Any information about him?" Dante asks.
"Not really. All I know is that his father is the leader of the Ricci family. He's our ally, if I'm not wrong," I say.
"I just remembered. His father visited the warehouse with your father a couple of times before, discussing further partnership between them," Dante says.
"Really, huh? When was it?" I ask.
"About a few months ago. You must be careful. I always think there's something off about him. Other than that, people like them always want more than what they have now," Dante says. I nod, agreeing to what he just said.
I've accompanied my father to a few of his meetings with Fabio. My father doesn't really notice it, but I can see it in Fabio's eyes that he wants more than what my father agreed to. He always has this glint of greed in his eyes. Fabio, agreeing to marry his son to me, makes it sound like a plan with hidden motives. I should be careful and tread carefully. I can probably entertain our fake relationship for a couple of months or so only to get more information about Antonio and his father.
That's settled. Let's pretend and see where this relationship will take me.