Arianna
Chapter One
“Wrong coffee,” I gasp as my eyes flutter. I fight to stay in control, clawing at reality, pleading with it not to leave me.
Matteo rushes to my side. He crashes to his knees. His hands come up to grab me, stopping me from toppling out of the chair.
“Arianna.” Concern is etched in his tone. My head lolls, and my eyes roll. He cups my cheeks. His gaze flicks from eye to eye. “Arianna, it’ll be okay. I’ve got you.”
“M-Matteo,” I slur. “Get Vitto—” I can’t finish the sentence. No matter how hard I try, I can’t move my lips to form the words. My eyes glaze over as they roll uncontrollably. My jaw slackens.
Matteo stares into my face. Just before my eyes close and the darkness ascends, I’m sure I see a devious smile cross his face as he whispers out, “You should have chosen me!”
Confusion nudges at my every cell. A loud buzzing, like electricity, floods through my body. Everything aches. There’s a faint scream in the back of my mind, and pain in my head like someone clawing to escape. Nails scratching at the back of my eyeballs. There’s rocking; my stomach rolls. Nausea washes over me. There are muffled sounds and sharp pains. I can’t figure out where I am. I don’t remember anything. Everything feels fluffy, out of focus, but I can’t see. Everything is black.
There’s that scream again, the thumping in my brain. Rustling and grunting. Motion sickness spreads through me, and I try not to puke. I try to move, try to open my eyes, but nothing. I feel weighed down. Almost restrained, a heavyweight pinning me. Unable to move.
It’s hard to breathe, and everything just fades away out of focus and into darkness.
I’m jostled, pulled, and pinched. Tightness in my chest, in my groin. I groan. I try to move, but I’m so stiff. I’m lying down, my legs dangling weirdly off something. My eyes flutter open, but something is covering them. I rub my head on whatever I’m leaning against, and the blindfold moves. The light makes me wince. I try to focus.
My breathing kicks up, and memories come flooding back to me. I can make out a man, his dick in his hand as he climbs off me and tucks it back into his black combats. I strain to see the rest of him. I grit my teeth as my eyes meet his.
Those hazel eyes I trusted so fucking much stare back at me, glaring accusingly. The man who claimed to want me. Taking what wasn’t his to take because he was told no, he freezes. His eyes widen before they crinkle at the sides. Looking down, I see the smirk. He rolls his tongue over his lip before biting down, pulling his lip between his teeth. He continues to stare at me while he tucks himself away.
But in that second, it all comes crashing back to me. Matteo drugged me. The sensation between my legs—I’m pretty sure he’s just raped me, too. I scream out, kicking out my leg. It jerks, but I try again, and it flies up, kicking him in his side. He huffs out and jolts back as I pull both legs back and slam them forward, connecting with his nuts. He screams and drops to the floor.
I kick out again with my heel, connecting with his face. I try to push myself up, but my arms are tied behind my back. I move my head, dislodging the blindfold fully, just as Matteo lurches forward trying to grab me. I flail, screaming like a banshee as he tries to pin me down, to hold me still.Crack—his hand slaps across my cheek, but I thrust my head up, making contact with the brow of his nose.
The sickening crunch makes me laugh out as I try to kick, but his weight comes down on top of me as blood splashes acrossmy cheek. The heat makes me flinch as he yells, trying to pin me down. He rears back, and my eyes widen, seeing his fist coming straight for me—then nothing. It’s black.
Vittorio
Chapter Two
I make my way down to the basement. Arianna has been down there for a few hours, and while I wanted to give her space with the Mancinis. It’s getting late. As I push in through the door, my heart drops. The chairs are empty; restraints slumped on the floor. The room is dark and lifeless. A lump forms in my throat, and I stand there frozen, unable to move. My heart pounds, and fuck, I will kill them all when I get my hands on them.
How the fuck did the three of them get away? They wouldn’t get the drop on her. It wouldn’t be possible. She’s too aware. Too observant. I storm back through the house.
“Marianne, Luca, Matteo!” I bellow as I run up the stairs. I fling the doors open into the kitchen. Luca and Marianne startle as I burst into the room. “Arianna, the Mancinis… they’re all gone.”
Luca stands abruptly, snatching his phone from his pocket and dialling Matteo. The call drops off. He tries again. “The phone’s disconnected.” Luca frowns at it.
“We need security footage, now!” I bark.
Luca takes off, and I follow after him. We push into Arianna’s office, and it smells like her. A pang of something hits me in the chest. I can’t breathe. I squeeze my eyes closed, and he fires up the computer on her desk against the wall. Scrolling back, it’s gone; there’s nothing from when the Mancinis walked into the house. I punch the screen, shattering it as it ricochets, exploding off the wall. I try to breathe, screwing my eyes together. I feel his hand on my shoulders.
“Mr Bianchi, we will find her. I promise.” His voice is stoic, unwavering. But his eyes tell me differently. His eyes tell me he’s as worried as I am. I close my eyes and crack my neck. The red haze washes over me. This has my father and brother written all over it. I swear to everything unholy if they’ve hurt her, I will end this cunt, and I will destroy my father and his precious fucking Syndicate. I will take everything from him and burn his world to the ground, leaving nothing but ash.
Arianna
Chapter Three
I can hear a loud, angry conversation. I wince. The pain in my face and head is excruciating, like a splitting headache, migraine even. Piercing through my temple into my eye, I try to open them, and then the realisation hits me—the memory of what happened. The drugs, Matteo, the rape, then he knocked me out.Fuck. I try to clear the splitting sensation that screams through my brain. I try to recognise the voice, but I’m coming up blank. I can feel someone near me, moving around. The angry voice is coming from him—a man. Thick gravel vibrates through me; his deep voice echoes around the space. I can’t quite place it. I try to focus, to listen to the lilt, the twang of it, it’s familiar. But then it hits me.
Bellino Ricci. My ex-fiancé. My brother-in-law.Fuck. This is not good. I need to figure a way out of this. I calm my breathing and try to focus on not having a headache, notallowing my brain to split in two. It feels like it’s going to, regardless. I try to move. I’m tied to a chair, my hands are behind my back, and I try to feel around. My wrists are bound with what feels like tie wraps, maybe. My ankles are fastened to the legs of the chair. I hear Bellino pacing as he growls out.
“I told you I wanted her unharmed.” The aggression in his voice makes the hair stand on the back of my neck.
