Cara's POV
Pain. The kind that felt like your head was being hit with a hammer over and over again with only one goal; to drive you insane. That was exactly how I felt.
The ringing in my ears was deafening, a constant buzzing sound that made it hard to focus on anything else. I groaned, trying to piece together where I was, but everything felt disjointed, like a puzzle with missing pieces.
The last thing I remembered was frantically asking what was going on as I was rushed into some kind of underground basement that looked like an end of the world bunker.
I remembered speaking to Luca on the phone who had reassured me that he would be coming back to get me after the entire altercation was resolved. My heart clenched as I recalled his soothing voice.
My guards had created a protective ring around me and I had been safe for all of two minutes before everything suddenly went sour. A deafening explosion shook the building over us, the walls of the bunker muffling the sounds of gunfire and battle I was sure was going up upstairs. Explosion after explosion rattled the building and suddenly, the entrance to the bunker creaked open, heavy footsteps followed by the sharp sound of gunfire.
My bodyguards had immediately sprung into action, shouting for me to stay behind them as chaos erupted around us.
Sergio, Nino-they'd tried to lead me out through the confusing tunnel but the men who had surrounded us were too many, their weapons a clear sign that they had been expecting us. Shots rang out, bodies fell, and I screamed until my throat was raw.
Someone had grabbed me, rough hands yanking me back from where I had tried to reach to confirm if Sergio was still alive, and I had thrashed and kicked, desperate to break free. But it hadn't worked. A cloth had been pressed to my face, the sickly sweet smell invading my senses as I fought against it, my vision darkening.
And now I was here.
My eyes opened slowly as I took in my surroundings. The room was dimly lit, the air heavy with the smell of damp concrete and rust. My arms ached as I tried to move, only to realize with dread that I couldn't.
I looked down and felt my stomach drop.
Chains.
Thick chains bound my wrists to the arms of the chair I was seated in, the cold metal biting into my skin. Panic surged through me, hot and blinding, as I struggled against my restraints.
"No, no, no," I whispered, my voice trembling. I pulled harder, ignoring the sharp pain that shot up my arms as I struggled to break free. "This can't be happening."
Luca would know I was missing by now and I knew that he would move heaven and earth to find me. But what if he was too late?
Or worse…
I shook my head fiercely. No. I wouldn't let myself believe that.
But I couldn't just sit here and wait to confirm or deny my suspicions.
I tried to push the chair back, hoping it might fall and give me a chance to break free, but it was stuck to the ground.
"Think, Cara," I whispered to myself, my voice trembling. "There's always a way out."
I glanced around the room again, taking in every detail and that's when the sound of a door creaking open froze me in place. My head snapped up, and my blood ran cold as a figure stepped into the room.
Diego.
I shut my eyes tight. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. This was a dream. A cruel one. I was in shock and none of this was real and when I open my eyes, I'll wake up.
But he continued limping towards me, his face a mess of bruises and cuts, but the cruel smirk on his lips made my stomach tighten with disgust. His broken appearance did nothing to diminish the malice in his eyes.
"Good morning to you, Cara," he drawled, his voice dripping with venom.
I blinked, my mind racing to make sense of how this was possible. Diego was supposed to be in Luca's custody. I assumed he was dead by now. How was he here?
"What the hell is going on?" I demanded, my voice sharper than I felt.
Diego chuckled, the sound grating and full of malice. "Oh, Cara, you're in for quite the story."
He moved closer, his limp pronounced as he dragged a chair from the corner of the room and sat across from me. The gun in his hand gleamed under the dim light, a chilling reminder of just how precarious my situation was.
"I have to say," he continued, leaning back in his chair, "watching your little fantasy world come crashing down is going to be quite entertaining."
"Why are you here?" I snapped, my patience hanging by a thread. "Last I checked, you were rotting in Luca's basement."
"Wouldn't you like to know." His grin was wider than a cheshire cat's. "Turns out there are quite a number of people that are unhappy with your Luca Salvatore as don. Made the whole process of replacing a hostage so much easier."
A lump hung in my throat. That can't be. Luca knew what Diego looked like. He wouldn't make the mistake of falling for a trick like that.
"I was already unrecognisable by then. Even my mother wouldn't have recognized me, not with what Luca had done to my face and body. I have to give it to the guy, he knew how to torture his victims." His smirk widened. "But that's the thing about me, Cara, I rise from the ashes. Like a phoenix."
"More like a cockroach," I hissed, knowing it was probably suicidal to talk to Diego like this especially because he was holding a gun and could shoot me at any time but I was so tired of his bullshit.
Diego's laugh echoed off the walls, chilling in its cruel amusement. He leaned forward, savoring my discomfort, the gun gleaming menacingly in his hand. "You still don't get it, do you?" he sneered, his eyes bright with twisted satisfaction. "I've been working with the Russians the whole time, Cara. They were nothing but a means to an end. I'm sure they've got a plan, but I've got mine." He moved closer again, his face illuminated by the dim light. "When the Salvatores are eliminated, I'll be the one sitting in your precious Luca's seat. That's the future I'm working toward."
A part of me wanted to laugh. A part of me wanted to tell him that his ambitions were as futile as his pathetic existence, but I knew better. He had been cunning enough to pull this off, to use the Russian mafia as a stepping stone to his own delusional rise. I tried not to let the panic show on my face as he continued, each word making my stomach irritated. .
"The foolish pakhan initially thought that Gina was Luca's weakness," he added with a malicious grin. "But I told them everything about you, Cara. About how you're not just his new stepsister, but his lover. You're his weakness, and I'm going to break you. You'll be the one who'll pay the price for everything that has happened to me ."
Diego's voice grew darker, more malicious as he leaned even closer while I had started to shake in terror. "I'm not going to kill you, Cara," he said, his words dripping with menace. "Not yet. I want to make sure you suffer first. You'll hurt in ways that won't heal, in ways you'll never recover from." He raised the gun slowly, pointing it at me. I looked him in the eyes, my heart pounding out of control as I braced for whatever came next.
But then there was a sound and a strike that was too fast for me to calculate.
Before Diego could react, a sharp blow landed on the back of his head. He collapsed like a rag doll, his body crumpling to the floor with a sickening thud.
I froze, unable to process what had just happened. I could only watch as the man who had taken down Diego stepped into the light.
Blonde white hair that looked almost golden, dark green eyes, an impeccable charcoal black that contrasted with his fair skin and blonde hair.
Alexei Mikhailov.
My blood ran cold as memories of the last time I had seen him flooded my mind-when he had put a bullet in Manuel's head, when he'd tried to kill Luca. He was an enemy in every sense of the word.
But this time, he wasn't aiming at me. This time, his focus was on Diego, who was now unconscious on the floor at his feet.
I didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified, but I couldn't stop myself from staring at him. My mind raced with a hundred questions, but none of them seemed to form words. All I could focus on was the way my heart beat erratically, the anxiety clawing at my chest as I tried to process the situation.
And then he turned his eyes to me.
His gaze locked with mine– unreadable. He was all sharp smiles and faux charm when I met him the last time, now he was pensive and quiet.
I swallowed hard, trying to suppress the fear that was rising in my throat. "What… what are you going to do with me?" My voice cracked, the words feeling thick and heavy in my mouth.
For a moment, Alexei didn't speak. He just stared at me, like he was studying me, trying to gauge my reaction. I tried to hold his gaze, but it felt like looking into a storm, a cold, ruthless storm that had no intention of letting me out alive.
His lips curled into a faint smile, one that didn't reach his eyes. "What I want to do with you?" he echoed, his voice low and chilling. "That's simple."
I braced myself, expecting something brutal, something that would make everything worse, when his next words hit me like a punch to the gut, drawing all the air out of my lungs.
"Welcome back home, sister."
Sister?