*Caterina*
My mind went absolutely blank as if I had never had a thought race across my mind ever in my life. I couldn’t think of anything, just simple, mind-numbing panic. My heart raced like a jackhamr in my chest, pounding with the force of a stampede.
Three flashes went by before my senses finally ca back to and I looked around for sothing in a panic, anything to help... and one thought crashed upon my numb brain.
“Elio!” I scread as loud as I could, sure that even in this well-insulated penthouse that the neighbors, including my mother downstairs, had heard .
I heard a loud thump from the other room, and curses in a familiar voice that reassured I wasn’t alone. I answered the call, my entire body trembling as I put it on the speaker right as Elio ca stumbling into the room with a wide-eyed look.
Fight or flight had him in its grasp, and he looked ready to kill as his wild eyes searched the room and glanced over at for any kind of threat. I put my finger over my lips in a hurry, trying to tell him to be quiet.
He luckily got the hint, eyes landing on the phone like it was so kind of monster he needed to execute to protect .
“You know,” the familiar voice, lazy and nonchalant, said, “it’s only polite to say hello when you answer the phone. How rude of you, Kitty-Cat.”
I stiffened, and my whole body tensed up. I was afraid I was going to choke on my words, but I managed to get out a quiet, “Sorry to disappoint you,” before falling silent once more.
“Oh, don’t worry. You have, Sweetheart. You have disappointed greatly.”
There was a snarl in his voice, bitter and angry still. But like the con artist that he was, it changed to a relaxed tone in the next heartbeat, hiding his true face behind his words.
“But that’s all in the past,” he said. “Now you have a chance to make up for all the terrible things you’ve done to . All you have to do is one little thing, Cat. Tell where my father is.”
The sheer audacity he had to gaslight right on the phone, to pretend to be a victim when he was nothing more than a monster who’d taken advantage of , abused , and tried to kill and my family... it knocked right out of my panic.
I grit my teeth and I could see Elio’s hands clenching, just as angry as I was.
“I don’t owe you a damn thing. You shot my mother,” I snapped fiercely.
“It never would’ve happened if you had just obeyed like a good little girl!” he scread, then said calmly after a heartbeat, “It was regrettable truly, but it had to be done. Now, it was smart of you to use my father to get to , but the ga ends now. Where is he, Cat? My patience won’t last forever, so if you don’t want another accident to happen, tell what I want to know.”
I smirked, calming down as I glanced at Elio’s expression. He wasn’t the least bit intimidated, and I could hear the cracking in Junior’s voice—he was desperate. We had the upper hand here and we all knew it.
I took a deep breath, pushing away my emotions as I cald down.
“Threats won’t work on anymore, Junior.” I emphasized his na, forgoing the alias he had used with .
I wasn’t going to buy into his lies any longer. He had no control over anymore. I was a different person than when I was when I was with him.
That seed like a million years ago.
There was a beat of silence and I glanced at Elio, both of us waiting for his next move. I half-expected him to hang up or explode in anger but when he spoke next, none of that happened.
“If you want to make an exchange, na the terms.”
His rough voice was strained, anger underlining his tone, but he was still calm, with no sign of the fury or explosion I expected. In a way, he sounded almost... defeated.
I grinned in victory and Elio smirked, crossing his arms. But then ca the next part. I wasn’t the greatest liar, but there was also no way to make an exchange with a dead person. Junior seed to have no idea that his father was dead.
I put the call on mute for a mont, biting my bottom lip as I debated with myself.
“Do I tell him the truth or lie?” I asked Elio.
He shrugged. “Whatever you want to do. This is your battle right now. I trust your judgnt.”
It ward my heart to hear those words and I bead, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek as thanks. I took a deep breath, deciding my next move as I took the call off hold. There was an unsettling silence on the other side, and I was surprised he had waited so patiently instead of cursing out.
But finally, I made my decision.
“Unfortunately, Junior, there isn’t going to be an exchange,” I said rather coldly.
“What the fuck do you an—”
“Did you know your father killed mine over a decade ago?” I asked detachedly, staring at the wall with blank eyes.
The mory of that day ca back like a vivid hallucination. I rember staring out the window, waiting for my father to co back as I finished up my howork.
His car had driven up, and I was so excited I bounced out of my seat, running down the driveway to et him. My feet had been bare, the asphalt burning, but I didn’t care.
But instead of my father, it was a stranger I hadn’t t before. At the ti I didn’t know, but it was Tallon who had co to visit us.
I hadn’t understood right away, looking into the open car door and searching for my dad, but my smile slowly died as I realized he wasn’t there. The sky had been gray and stormy when Mom ca out after .
She had known as soon as she saw him. I rember her falling to her knees, sobbing loudly on the ground, and all I could do was stand there, uncomprehending as rain began to fall upon us. I rember calling for my dad to co out and give a big hug like he always would, but he didn’t.
I still rembered the words Tallon had said to that day.
“I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you, but you won’t be seeing your father again.” I repeated those words to Junior now with darkness in my eyes. “I had to hear those words almost a decade ago. And now I have the pleasure of telling them to you, Junior. Your father is dead.”
And now, I finally had vengeance for mine.
There was pure silence, a cold and endless quiet that bit down to the bone like frostbite across my skin, numbing stillness in the chaos of the rest of the world. At that mont, it was like the clock stopped ticking and the world stopped turning.
Everything around froze, turning seconds into hours.
My father had died as revenge from one man. And now, Antonio had died as revenge for my father.
It was a bitter cycle with no end. Soone would always have to die in the na of revenge.
I thought I would feel differently at this mont, finally avenging the pain and anger I’d felt ever since that rainy day. But just like when Antonio died, I felt empty inside.
No joy, no sadness... nothing.
And I realized in this mont where ti had stopped around that there was nothing more terrifying than apathy.
Then it was all over.
Ti had caught up with , and I could hear the heavy, disjointed breathing on the other end like he was trying to catch his breath and failing. I knew what he was going through.
His father had put through the exact sa thing.
The disbelief turned to anger, sadness, and tears then numbness as I was forced to accept the one single truth that we all must grasp—that life could be very cruel.
It will rip the people you love from you, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
I held onto Elio’s hand tightly, perhaps too tightly by the wince I saw from the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go.
“You—” Junior said, his voice shaking.
Then all at once, it went very quiet. If soone had told he had stopped breathing on the other end and died, I would’ve believed it, but no, he was still there.
“This is war. I hope you’re all ready.”
And before I could say another word, the line went dead.
“I think he took that well.” I gave Elio an attempt at a smile, wobbly and not at all sincere, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances.
“You did good.”
Elio opened his arms, tugging forward, and I went bonelessly into his embrace. He kissed the top of my head, murmuring sweet words as he rubbed my back with his hands.
“I’m proud of you.”
I wondered for a mont what there was to be proud of. I’d just told soone their father was dead, that we had caused his death. Was that sothing to be proud of?
Did I deserve to be the one comforted right now?
Maybe I was a bit twisted.
My hands clung to his shirt, unsure of how to feel or react, but Elio just murmured reassurances to , keeping close so I could hear his heartbeat thumping in my ears. It was a soothing force, and I focused entirely on it as I threw away all the rest of my thoughts.
After a few minutes, I pulled out of his hug, giving him a smile to show I was okay. Elio imdiately got to work once he saw I was okay. In an instant, he was on the phone.
“Hey, reach out to Franky. We need to et ASAP. I’ll be there in twenty,” Elio instructed firmly, with no room for debate.
“Can I finish my snack first?” I heard Leo’s faint joking voice on the other end.
“No,” Elio said coldly, and then he hung up.
I chuckled, leaning my head on his arm. “That was an.”
“He’s used to it.”
Elio shrugged, getting to his feet. He pocketed his phone, running around to grab his jacket, keys, shoes, and wallet. I watched him stuff everything into his pockets, wondering how on earth they were big enough to store all his shit.
Elio patted himself down one last ti then headed for the door, opening it up. He paused, one foot through the doorway, and then spun on his heel, giving an expectant look.
“You coming?” He tilted his head with a smile.
I grinned, my spirits lifting at the unprompted invitation.
“Of course!”
And I took his hand.
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