Chapter 128 ELENA GETS KIDNAPPED

Chapter 128 ELENA GETS KIDNAPPED

~ELENA~

“I'll take the throne,” Vincenzo declares.

The words hang heavy.

Riccardo nods once. “Long live the new Mafia Lord.”

Nico bows his head slightly.

I swallow hard.

Vincenzo has taken after his father and I just hope he doesn't turn out to be like his father.

Just then, footsteps thunder down the hallway.

Guards.

Lots of them.

They pour into the room, guns raised, faces tense, until they see the body on the floor.

Murmurs ripple through them.

“Don Romano is…”

“He’s dead,” Riccardo completes it.

Confusion, panic and fear fills the guards.

Then Vincenzo steps forward. Tall. Calm. Deadly.

“Lower your weapons,” he commands.

Some hesitate.

Riccardo raises his gun slightly.

“I wouldn’t disobey if I were you,” he warns.

Silence.

“Lorenzo Romano is dead,” Vincenzo announces calmly. “I am Vincenzo Romano, the first son of the Romano family. From this moment forward, I am the head of this family, and the new Mafia Lord.”

Nico steps beside him. “Anyone who challenges that… won’t live long enough to regret it.”

Tension crackles.

One guard steps forward nervously.

“And if anyone objects….” he stutters.

“They can leave,” Vincenzo says coldly. “Or they can die.”

No one speaks. One by one, they lower their heads.

Obedience.

“Good,” Riccardo says. “You should pay respects to your New Don.”

Vincenzo turns to the guards still standing frozen with their heads bowed.

“Leave us,” he orders. “All of you.”

Some hesitate.

Riccardo looks up sharply. “Now.”

They don’t question it this time. They file out quickly, shutting the doors behind them. The room falls into a heavy, private silence.

After everything settles, Vincenzo turns to me, his expression softening just a little.

“You have to leave Florence tonight,” he tells me.

“Florence isn’t safe for you anymore,” he says, still looking at me. “Luciano will move fast once he hears Lorenzo is dead.”

“No,” I say instantly. “I’m not leaving. We stay together.”

“Elena….”

“No” I insist.

“I’ve already lost too much. I don't want to lose you,” Vincenzo says.

Riccardo steps closer.

“You leaving is how we protect you. You're the target now. You always were,” he tells me.

“And how we protect what’s left of us,” Nico adds.

I shake my head, tears stinging my eyes.

“I want to stay,” I say softly.

Vincenzo cups my face gently, his voice firm but tender. “You staying puts a target on your back.”

“Luciano won’t wait,” Riccardo says. “And he won’t play fair.”

“We’ll clean this mess,” Nico promises. “Then we’ll come for you. We’ll fix things here and deal with Luciano.”

“We’ll come for you,” Vincenzo promises. “I swear it.”

I hesitate. My throat tightens.

I don’t want to leave, but I see it in their eyes.

They’re right.

Then finally… I nod.

“Belliago,” I whisper. “I’ll go.”

Vincenzo presses his forehead to mine. “We’ll be there soon. I swear.”

And I believe him. Too much.

They assign guards that will lead me back to Belliago.

The best ones.

I hug them, one by one, clinging harder than I should when it's time for me to leave.

Something in my chest aches. Like a warning.

But before I'll change my mind, I follow the guards outside the compound and enter the car prepared for me.



The road stretches ahead, dark and quiet. Too quiet.

The car moves fast, headlights slicing through the night.

I try to breathe. Try to calm the unease crawling beneath my skin.

Then….Gunshots.

Glass shatters and the car swerves violently.

Men appear from nowhere…..black vehicles boxing us in.

I instantly know who they are. The same men that attacked the mansion earlier.

Luciano’s men.

Because we're taken unawares, almost all the guards with me are shot dead.

Luciano's men must be professional. Or the guards are just too weak to fight against them, considering the fact that Vincenzo, Riccardo and Nico dealt with them earlier.

The last of my guards drops dead.

I barely have time to scream before the door is yanked open and strong hands drag me out.

I fight. Kick. Scream.

It doesn’t matter.

A cloth presses to my face, and the world blurs.

The last thing I hear before darkness claims me is a voice I don't recognize.

“Take her alive.”

And then….nothing.

~VINCENZO~

The room is still thick with blood and power when my phone vibrates in my pocket.

I barely notice it at first.

I’m standing where my father once stood, where Lorenzo died, where everything changed.

My brothers are close. Alive.

Elena is gone….safe, I keep telling myself. Safe.

The vibration comes again. I pull the phone out.

A message from an Unknown Number.

My chest tightens before I even open it.

I have Elena. If you want her alive, come alone with your brothers. No guards.
I’ll send the location.
—Luciano

The world tilts.

My heart slams so hard it hurts.

Another message drops immediately after…..coordinates.

I look up slowly.

Riccardo is watching me. He knows. He always knows.

“What is it?” Nico asks sharply.

I swallow. My throat burns.

“He has her. Luciano kidnapped Elena.”

Silence explodes.

Riccardo’s jaw clenches so hard I hear his teeth grind. Nico curses under his breath, fists shaking.

“Fucking useless guards,” Nico yells. “They couldn't even protect her from Luciano.”

Luciano.

That bastard moved faster than I expected.

“Get the cars,” I say, my voice deadly calm. “Now. We need to save her before he kills her.”

No more plans. No more caution. We are already moving.



The drive feels endless and too short at the same time.

The location is an abandoned warehouse by the river. Rusted steel. Broken windows. The kind of place men disappear in.

We don’t slow down. We don’t think. We storm in.

Gunfire erupts instantly.

Luciano’s guards are everywhere…more than expected. Way more.

We fight like demons.

Riccardo takes down two men with brutal precision. Nico snaps a neck, fires, reloads, moves again. I put bullets in anything that breathes.

But there are too many. Too many guns. Too many bodies.

A blow slams into my ribs. Another to my back. Someone hits my head—I stumble, taste blood.

We’re surrounded. Outnumbered.

Weak from everything we’ve already survived tonight.

They beat us. Fists. Boots. Gun butts.

I hear Nico grunt in pain. I see Riccardo go down on one knee, blood streaking his temple.

And then…..

“Elena!”

Her scream rips through the warehouse.

She’s tied to a chair at the far end, hair wild, face bruised, eyes red with terror.

“Stop!” she screams hysterically. “Please….stop!”

Luciano stands beside her, smiling like the devil.

“Don’t hurt them!” she sobs. “Please! Just kill me instead! Kill me! Leave them alone!”

My heart shatters.

“ELENA!” I roar, trying to get up.

A boot slams into my chest, knocking the air out of me.

She’s crying so hard she can barely breathe.

“They’re all I have left in this world!” she screams. “Please, please…don’t hurt them!”

Something inside me snaps. I hate to see the woman I love cry and beg another man.

I hear Nico snarl…..feral, broken.

Riccardo pushes himself up slowly, eyes burning, blood dripping down his face.

They made her beg. That was their mistake.

I don’t feel the pain anymore.

I rise. So do my brothers.

Rage floods us…..pure, violent, unstoppable.

I grab a gun from the ground and fire.

Riccardo moves like death itself, tearing through guards with brutal efficiency. Nico roars as he snaps bones and pulls triggers.

We don’t stop. We don’t hesitate. We kill them all.

Bodies hit the ground. Blood pools. Screams fade.

Luciano backs away, panic flashing in his eyes for the first time.

“You should’ve stayed down,” he spits.

He raises his gun.

Time slows. I see it, and Riccardo sees it too.

“Elena!” I shout.

The gun fires.

Riccardo moves. Too fast. Too brave. Too selfless.

He throws himself in front of her, and the bullets hit him.

One. Two. Three.

His body jerks violently.

“RICCARDO!” Elena screams.

He coughs, blood pouring from his mouth, and collapses to the ground.

I reach him in seconds, dropping beside him, hands shaking as I press against the wounds.

“No… no… no…” I choke as the tears roll down my cheeks.

His breathing is ragged. Weak.

He looks at me, then at Elena. A faint smile touches his lips, stained red.

“Protect… her,” he whispers.

His chest rises once. Twice.

Then, nothing.

No breath. No heartbeat.

Riccardo Romano is gone.