|6|

Matteo's POV:

Today is the day.

My adrenaline has been pumping all week in anticipation. 

Texting Luca to meet me downstairs, I called

Jonathan, telling him to meet me at the Underground.  

"Fratello!" Luca greeted.

(Brother!)

"It's time to deal with Alina and Artem," I responded. 

With a wicked smirk, he replied. "Then let's deal with them."

~***~

Talia's POV:

Looking out the window from my room, I saw Luca and Matteo converse, before they finally entered the car. 

Is this my chance to escape?

Hell yeah. 

Slipping out of my bedroom, I wandered down the hallway, stopping when I heard two voices talking to each other in -  you guessed it - Italian. After waiting for about ten minutes, I finally heard their footsteps, alerting me that they had left. Walking to the end of the hallway, I stopped at a corner and took a peek at the staircase. 

The house was pretty much empty, there were just maids and no offense, but they seemed pretty harmless. 

Okay, well... they don't look like they're about to tackle me to the floor, so... Should I just go?

What if the front door is locked? 

Okay but even if you manage to get outside,  you're gonna need a car or have to be in one. Looking at the staircase, I saw the blondie from yesterday, I think his name was Angelo, tell a maid to retrieve car keys for him. 

God thank you for being on my side. 

He retrieved the keys and opened the front door. I think he unlocked the car because I saw him press something.

He was about to step outside when he turned back inside and walked into the direction of, what I think, is the kitchen.

Okay, this is my time. 

Sprinting down the stairs, I ran up to the car, popping the trunk open I slid inside and pressed the button on the inside that closed it.

I attempted to get myself into a comfortable position but halted all movements when I heard Angelo humming and sliding into the car. Slowing my breathing, I tried to stay as quiet as possible when the car started moving. 

Okay genius, what happens now?

Maybe I didn't think this through.

Okay, it's fine, when he steps out of the car I wait a few minutes and then open the trunk and sprint for my life.

"We are so dead," my conscience chimed in.

Finally, after about an hour, the car came to a stop, and Angelo walked out and into a building. Pressing the button to open the trunk,

I could've nearly screamed in relief when the truck actually opened, but that relief was short-lived when I saw who was currently standing in front of me.

I swear I could feel the anger rolling off him in waves. 

"M-Matteo, I can explain..." I started.

Tilting his head he responded, "Oh really? Explain then, because it looks like you're trying to escape."

Pffft. Me? I would never. 

"Look, what the hell were you expecting me to do, you kidnapped me!" I exclaimed.

Crossing his tatted arms over one another, I observed him. He looked pretty chill considering I've only ever seen him wearing a suit and tie. The joggers and plain black tee were a nice change.

So is he just going to keep on staring, or? 

Glancing behind his head, I saw two men walking behind him. 
We were parked behind the building that I had seen Angelo walking in to.

Averting my attention to the people behind him, I contemplated whether I should shout out for them or not. I guess Matteo noticed because instead of resulting to his normal thing, which is threatening me, he just smirked.  

"Go ahead, call them over, in fact, I'll even do it for you if you want?..." he continued, "...but I don't think they'll do a lot considering they work for me and that this is my lot of land." 

Well, I didn't think that through. 

"You didn't think at all, bitch," my conscience chimed in. 

"So what, are you going to kill me now?" I muttered at him.

"Get out." He responded.

Stepping out of the car ever so slowly, I stood up and straightened my shirt out. Grabbing my arm, he led me inside of the building, and woah- she has nice boobs. 

There was literally just a bunch of girls in bras and shorts making cocaine. 

I think it was cocaine? 

Walking downstairs, I was hit with a nasty ass smell that invaded my senses. It causes my eyes to water and my nose to turn in disgust. Walking up to what seemed to be an office door, he unlocked it with a key and literally shoved me in there, before walking out and locking the door again. 

Glaring at the door, I looked around to see just a bunch of files. I decided to investigate.

To my disappointment, it was just a bunch of orders and transactions, and I honestly just don't like maths; I decided to sit down in one of the chairs and wait for him to decide if he was going to kill me or not.

Splendid.

~***~

Matteo's POV:

Did she honestly think she was just going to escape?

The maids alerted Angelo as soon as she left her room, I don't know why he didn't just take her back inside, but he explained that he wanted some drama, which led him to a bruised arm, courtesy of me.

Now that Talia was locked in the office, I could go deal with Artem, I don't believe that he's as innocent as he says he is. Luca would deal with Alina, he had less of a temper than I did, and being in the same room as the person who killed my father, would only provoke it even more. 

Walking up to the door which led into the room that Artem was being kept in,  I instructed one of the guards to go back upstairs and get me two grams of coke, after he did just that, I entered the room.

Upon entering I could see Artem's feet chained to the table, his head hung low and he had suffered a tremendous amount of weight loss.

Sitting in the chair in front of him, I called out his name a few times.

He didn't respond. 

Was he sleeping?

Nodding to the guard that was standing at the back of the room, he walked up grabbing Artem's head by the hair and smashed it on the table. With a yelp, he sat up quickly. 

"Artem..." I started, "...so happy for you to join us." His eyes were plagued with tiredness and he looked extremely paranoid. 

Good. Be scared.

"M-Matteo I already told you that I don't know anything about what happened to your father," he croaked out.

Well, isn't this interesting.

"Huh... That's funny because I don't remember telling you about my father." I stated with a blunt edge.

A smile crept onto my face when his eyes expanded in worry.

He knew he had been caught. 

Pulling the two grams of white out of my pocket, I placed it on the table and leaned back in my chair. Instantly, his eyes shot open, no longer that weak and frail man.

He looked hungry; I would gladly feed. Feed his addiction and feed me with his fear.

If he co-operated. 

Before he could reach out and grab the coke, I placed 
my hands on them and moved them closer to me. 

"Ahh, you see, this comes at a price..." I said while dangling the snow in front of him. "...everything comes with a price..." I continued, "..the only question is, how much you're willing to pay?"

I observed him while he gulped and licked his chapped lips. 

"Tell me this, how do Alina and Alexai know each other?"I asked.

Pouring a gram of coke near him, I watched as he instantly inhaled the white substance before sighing in relief.

"It's good, sì?" Although I already knew the answer to that question.

Nodding his head in response, I continued, "You can have more, and I'll forget about the money you owe me, I won't kill you..." Leaning in closer to him I muttered, "...just answer my questions."

He pondered for a moment, clearly thinking about if it was worth it. 

I guess he decided it was. 

"Alexai and my mother are half-siblings..." He started "...she didn't know until two years ago before her mother died. We weren't exactly the richest family, but my grandmother had an affair with Alexai's father. She had recently found out Alina was his."

Dropping a little bit more white on the table, he snorted it, before I asked "So she did this for money? My family has enough money and they met two years ago? Why would she need Alexai?"

Sniffing, he replied. "Because Alexai offered to put her name in the family will, all she had to do was kill your father. She knew if he ever died, that you and Luca would get rid of her as soon as possible, she had already become accustomed to a certain way of life, and the thought of you guys throwing her away when Albert died; it drove her to insanity.

She was supposed to frame a maid, make it seem like they were having an affair and the maid shot him because she was jealous, but that didn't work. She didn't know that there were CCTV cameras in his office."

Clenching my jaw, I struggled to keep my anger in check, all of this because of a little money? She betrayed my father for a little bit of green. 

"How do you know about all of this, are you in contact with Alexai?" I inquired.

"No, he sent his cousin instead. If the plan had worked, he was supposed to be picking us up yesterday and taking us back to Russia with him," he responded.

"And what's his name?" 

Swallowing he replied, "Nathan Popov, I think..." continuing he said, "...look I swear that's all I know! I didn't even find about this until two weeks ago, she just explained it to me and said that we would be moving to Russia."

I believe you..." I mumbled standing up.

Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out a handgun. I really did believe him, but he was no use to me anymore. 

"Matteo! Wait Y-You said you would let me live!" He stuttered out as quickly as he could. 

Smirking sinfully, I fake pouted and spoke, "Hm, I guess I lied."

"Un occhio, per un occhio"

(An eye, for an eye)

"
Or in your case, a life for a life." 

I smiled sadistically, and just before I pulled the trigger, I spoke:

"Save a seat for me in Hell, sí?"