AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 18
Edoardo
Ihaven’theardanythingfrom anybody, nor have I had any more visitors since I last saw Aria. I’m not sure how long I should wait before I start getting concerned. She didn’t want to tell me what the plan was, so I have no idea how dangerous it might be.
There was something so fearful in her eyes when she spoke to me. I trust her to make the right decisions, but what seems right to her might be different than what seems right to me. I know the danger of a woman scorned, and I’ve seen the bruises on her wrists. She will do anything to get back at her father, but none of it will be worth it if she doesn’t make it out alive. I hate the thought of any more harm being done to her. She’s already been through too much.
It shouldn’t be that way.
No father should treat his daughter the way that Gabriele has treated Aria. The more I think about the bruises, the angrier I feel. I need to lie down on the cold concrete to calm myself down. If I get carried away with my own thoughts, I might find myself punching the walls again.
The cold ground stings my skin. Everything in this room smells like concrete and dust and I hate it. So, I close my eyes and try to think of something else. But all I can think about is Aria. And when I think of her, I think of those bruises.
Thankfully, the sound of multiple footsteps approaching catches my attention. I hope this is news about their plan. I have no idea what it was, but I trust them to have pulled it off. I get up from the ground and walk to the bars to meet the group that approaches.
At first, I’m disappointed to see the faces of all the guards that work at the jail. They’ve not made things easy on me, and I think for a moment that they’ve come to torment me some more. But they look upset today, as if something has happened that they are unhappy about.
Then, from behind the crowd steps the familiar face of Dalton. He is immaculately dressed as he always is. And there is a spark in his eyes that tells me that whatever he had planned, it worked. He looks proud.
“Hi, Dalton,” I say eagerly.
“Would somebody please unlock this gate and get him out of here?” he demands, tapping at his watch face.
“I like the sound of that,” I say with a smile.
“You’re being released,” Dalton says. “That should always feel like good news.”
“I’ve always known you were a brilliant man,” I compliment him.
And it certainly fluffs his feathers the right way. He flashes me a smile. The key slides into the lock and then after a click, the cell gate slides open. Dalton motions for me to step into the hallway.
“There’s just some paperwork to wrap up, and we’ll get you out of here,” he says.
“Why is this happening?” I ask.
“Seems that with some pushing, I was able to bail you out after all. Even those who write the law aren’t above the law,” Dalton smirks.
“So it’s not permanent,” I say as my shoulders drop.
“We’ll get to that in a moment,” Dalton says quietly. “For now, I just need you to sign your name in a few places. I have a car waiting for you.”
The paperwork takes longer than I would like and I am certain the guards are taking their time with it, one last way in which they can torment me. But soon, I am walking out of the jail and into the comfort of my own car where Mattia is waiting for me.
“Here’s a change of clothes for you,” he says. “We’ll get you home and you can shower. And then, we have a lot to discuss.”
“That sounds great,” he says. “And I wouldn’t mind a pizza.”
“On it,” Mattia laughs.
I am freshly showered and have a belly full of pizza when we finally sit down at the table to discuss what has happened. I can’t help but notice the absence of Aria and it makes me increasingly nervous. When they play the recordings of her conversation with her father, I fully understand the risk that she has taken for me.
“We have him confessing to everything,” Dalton says with a smile.
“I can’t believe she did this for me,” I say. “This was a risky plan. I do wish you would have told me about it.”
As the recording continues, I find I have a bitter taste in my mouth. Gabriele talks to his daughter with so much hatred. I can’t imagine any parent being that way, and yet he is.
“Where is Aria now?” I ask. “Can I speak with her?”
