AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We have a stack of hard drives here,” the tech guy brags. “It will be saving to each of these in real time. We have backups for the backups. Don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry?” I scoff. “You’re not the one that has to go inside.”
The tech guy looks away sheepishly as he pretends to work on something on one of the monitors. There are only a few more minutes before this plan needs to be put into action.
“You’ve got this,” Dalton says. “Remember what I told you. There are ways to get information that have always worked for me, and this is one of them. We’ve been through it time and time again. Don’t let me down.”
“But also, no pressure,” Mattia says.
Two conflicting instructions and neither of them matter. I meant it when I said that I would do whatever it takes to get Edoardo freed. I close my eyes and think of his face, worn out and tired behind the bars of his cell. Part of me wonders if our last conversation truly will be our last.
I don’t believe that my father cares for me anymore. And because of that, I don’t believe that he’d be willing to spare my life if it came down to it. When I told Edoardo that I love him, I meant it, but it still felt foolish. I’ve only known him a short time.
Then again, I knew I loved him the first night that I was at the villa without him. Every part of me missed him, and now I’m too afraid that I might never see him again. So, I had to be honest with him about my feelings for him.
I do not know how things will be if I make it through this. Perhaps they’ll be awkward; I can’t be certain that he feels the same way. But I definitely don’t regret telling him. I needed him to know, and it will help me find my courage to do what I am about to do now. The longer I think about him, the more determined I am to make this work.
“Alright, it’s time to go,” Dalton says. “Everything’s ready.”
I swallow hard and nod. “Thank you,” I say to everyone in the car before stepping out into the cold night air.
I walk down the street as calmly and as slowly as I can. I want to run, but I also don’t. Fear and courage tug at my logic and all I can hear is the sound of my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
When I near the driveway, I take a deep breath. I then steel myself and I march right onto the property. Just like before, I am apprehended almost instantly, only this time, they are a little rougher with me. They are holding me so tight that I cannot find my footing anymore. My feet drag along the ground as they pull me through the house to face my father.
“You’ve got some nerve coming back here,” one of the guards growls.
“If you weren’t his daughter, I’d have killed you by now,” another guard adds.
I roll my eyes to make them believe that I am not afraid. All I’m worried about at this point is that the listening device taped to my stomach might peek out of the bottom of my shirt as they drag me along. If that happens, then this is over before it even begins.
“You really know how to make a mockery of me,” my father snaps as I’m thrown down onto the chair in his office.
“How did you do it?!” he screams. “How did you escape?!”
“How did your guards not stop me is the real question,” I say with a cheeky grin.
“I know you had help,” he snarls. “There’s no way you orchestrated that on your own.”
“Perhaps it was one of your men that helped me,” I lie, making every one of his guards shuffle uncomfortably.
“We’ll have to get to that later,” he mumbles. “Why did you come back?”
I smile at my father, refusing to show any fear of him at all.
“I could have just run away and lived my life, I suppose,” I say. “But I suppose I have some of your genetics too. I couldn’t just let it go, in the same way you can’t let it go.”
“So what is it you hope to achieve from coming back here?” he asks. “Have you changed your mind about the statement? Have you realized that you actually miss the life I’ve given you?”
“Oh no, nothing like that,” I answer casually. “I want you to tell me the truth. Before I leave and never see you again, I want to hear you tell me what you did. And say it to my face.”
“Why?” he snaps.
“Let’s just pretend I’m trying to learn a skill. What if one day I too want to send someone off to die in prison? I need to learn from the best.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he laughs. “You don’t have it in you.”
The irony in his statement almost makes me burst out with laughter. Clearly, he has no idea what I am really doing back in his office.
