Chapter 60

Raffaele

Tony smirked as I walked in, hanging upside down. "Look who it is," he said with a sarcastic tone. I had asked them to flip him like this; I wanted to switch things up a bit.

I figured the blood rushing to his head would add to the fun. I gave him a solid kick in the gut, watching him cough and sway on the rope.

"You said she was dead," I said, grabbing the knife from the stand and making sure he caught a glimpse of it.

"You fed me a lot of lies to get under my skin," I continued, making a small cut on his stomach. "Now it's my turn to dig into yours," I whispered, slicing deeper.

"Shit," he gasped, struggling against the ropes. Oh, and did I mention he was completely naked? "You bastard," he spat.

"I told you I’d kill you, didn’t I?" I whispered, making a cut on his cheek. Watching the blood drip down, I couldn’t help but grin.

I had been waiting for this. I picked up a nail from the stand and pressed it into his skin, relishing his scream. I grabbed a few more nails and did the same. "Get me the hell out of here!" he shouted.

It's nearly done. I reassured myself as I lifted the hammer off the stand. A grin spread across my face as I swung it hard into his side, watching his body squirm and flail in response.

"Fuck you and that bitch!" he shouted, which made me chuckle.

"You did say you slept with her, right?" I replied, reaching for a big, sharp knife. I grabbed him by the groin, hearing his cries and pleas. I sliced it off right at the base, his scream echoing through the room. I completely severed it and forced it into his mouth while he thrashed, trying to avoid it. I kept pushing it in and taped his mouth shut so he couldn't spit it out. "I'll let you bleed out," I whispered as I walked out, spotting Flavio and Derek.

"Let him bleed to death," I said, tossing the gloves in the trash as I headed upstairs.

Annika

"Annika," Caterina beamed as she walked in. I wrapped her in a hug, spinning her around while she laughed. She had been with Raffaele's granddad during all the chaos, so I hadn't seen them in almost two days.

“I really missed you guys,” I said after hugging the other two.

"We missed you too! Grandpa and I even got matching earrings," she said with a grin, making me chuckle.

"You must be Annika, the babysitter," the older man remarked as Enzo slipped out of my arms and headed to the kitchen.

"That's me! Nice to meet you, Mr. Cattaneo," I replied.

"Pleasure to meet you. So, what's your connection with my grandson?" he asked, catching me off guard.

"Uh, what?"

"My grandson wouldn't just hire anyone. The kids mean the world to him, and he's been acting differently lately. So, what's going on between you two?" he pressed again.

"Oh, I um..." I hesitated, unsure if I should spill the beans since I figured Raffaele hadn’t said anything. Just then, I spotted Raffaele walking through the door, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Grandfather," he greeted.

"Son, where have you been?" His granfather asked.

"Just tying up some loose ends," Raffaele replied.

"Daddy!" Enzo beamed, running over and leaping into his arms.

"Hey, buddy," Raffaele said, lifting him up for a warm hug.

"You smell like metal," he chuckled, causing a glare from him.

The other two rushed over to hug their dad, both beaming with smiles. He turned to his grandfather and let out a sigh. "Could you take the kids upstairs for a bit?" he asked. I scooped up Enzo from him and headed up the stairs, guessing he wanted to have a chat with his granddad.

"Did you already take a bath?" I asked, and Enzo nodded.

"Grandpa lets me take baths by myself, but he always runs the water because I make a huge mess," he replied, making me laugh.

"You'll get the hang of it; just remember not to let it overflow," I said, noticing him yawn. I checked the clock and saw it was only 7 PM. "Tired already?" I asked, and he nodded again. Before I knew it, he had his head resting on my pillow, his eyes shutting in an instant. I tucked him in with a blanket. The other two probably went to their rooms to play games or something. I headed to my bathroom and noticed the bruises were taking their sweet time to fade. I dabbed a bit of makeup on them so the kids wouldn’t see; hopefully, I did a decent job since they didn’t ask any questions.

I was about to grab my favorite brush from the cabinet when I realized it was missing. I sighed and decided to check Raffaele's room since I had been there last.

I stepped into his room and checked the bathroom, rummaging through the cabinets. When I peeked into the drawer under the sink, I spotted my pink brush. I snatched it up and turned to leave just as Raffaele walked in.

"Are you stealing my stuff?" he teased, making me roll my eyes.

"No, you're the one stealing from me," I shot back, watching him stride over and wrap his arms around my waist.

"I wouldn't need to steal anything; you're always on my mind, angel. You never leave," he replied. I bit my lip at his smirk as he pulled me closer. He pressed his lips against mine while I set the brush down on the dresser and wrapped my arms around him. I started unbuttoning his shirt and slipped off his jacket as he lifted me up.