The Mafia’s Forbidden Desire

ANTONIO.

“I fucking asked you to treat her with care!” I yelled at the men-Enzo and Stefano-who I asked to bring Ruby to me as they entered with her.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Uncontrollable tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her mouth was tightly taped, her hands were securely tied, and she had bruises around her wrists from trying to set herself loose.

“She’s a stubborn one, boss.” Stefano said, and I let out a sigh as I observed her.

She was indeed a stubborn one. Despite her mouth being taped and her hands tied, she continued to shout and struggle to run. I understood that my men had to do what they had to do to avoid getting caught by the cops.

“Make her sit.” I ordered my men as I gestured at a sofa, and they promptly followed my instruction.

I inched closer to her and crouched in front of her. The horror in her eyes intensified, and I let out a sigh.

“I am not going to hurt you.” I assured her, but she wouldn’t stop crying and attempting to scream through the duct tape.

I let out another sigh as I turned to look at my men, who were still trying to make her remain still on the couch. “Leave her. I’ll handle her. You can go.”

They released their grips from her shoulders but remained standing, with their gazes fixed on the floor.

“You can go.” I reiterated, but they didn’t move an inch.

Something was wrong. What did they do? I wondered as I squinted my eyes, looking at them.

“What happened?” I asked in a low growl.

They both scratched the napes of their necks as they continued to avoid eye contact with me.

Ruby’s cries intensified, and I quickly flicked my gaze at her, peeling the duct tape off her mouth.

“Rosa.” She screamed as soon as the duct tape went off, her cries becoming more audible.

“What happened to Rosa?” I was confused. What was she trying to say?

“Rosa. Bridge. She bridged Rosa.” Her words were incoherent, but I knew something was wrong. I flicked my gaze at my men as rage started rising within me.

“Start talking now!” I demanded furiously.

They continued scratching the backs of their necks, hesitating, and their actions infuriated me further.

“Talk!” I roared again.

“We didn’t intend for it to happen. It just happened.” Enzo finally said, and I squinted my eyes.

“What happened?”

“When we took her inside the car, we realised that another car was following us, so we tried to stop the car but ended up firing at it. The situation escalated, and we began exchanging gunfire before the driver of the other car lost control and crashed on the bridge.”

“I swear we had no idea that it was your sister-in-law who was inside that car,” Stefano added.

My head took a quick spin after hearing what they said. Fuck, no. Nothing must happen to Rosalinda.

“What bridge?” I asked with a low growl.

“The one near Tasty Haven, where we picked her from,” Enzo said.

With the combination of fear and anger surfing through me, I darted my gaze between the both of them. “If anything happens to her, consider yourselves gone.”

At that moment, Marco walked into the room, confusion masking his features at the sight before him. He was oblivious to what was happening, as I didn’t inform him about my plans to question Ruby.

“What’s happening here?” He asked, raising his brow.

“Take care of her till I return.” I ordered Marco as I grabbed my car keys from the centre table.

I didn’t wait for his response before making my way outside the house and to my car.

As I drove out of the mansion, I started making calls to the hospitals around the bridge, searching for the hospital where she was taken. I finally located her after making the fourth call, and I started driving towards her with full speed.

I didn’t care about breaking traffic rules; I just wanted to get to her as soon as possible. I had never been so afraid of losing someone as I was of losing her. We couldn’t be together, yet I was so scared of losing her. I needed her to be alive. I needed to see her again. I would fucking hate myself if she died. The men I sent couldn’t do one simple task well; they just had to put her life at risk. I would fucking end them.

By the time I got to the hospital, Roberto and his family were already there, their faces full of worries.

“How is she?” I asked with urgency as I approached them.

“How did you know?” Roberto asked, confused.

“I have ears.” I simply replied.

“Giovanni has woken up. But Rosalinda-” He shook his head dishearteningly. “She’s still unconscious.”

My worry heightened upon hearing that she was unconscious.

“Where is she?” I quickly asked.

“There. That’s her ward.” He replied, pointing at a particular door. “The doctors are trying to revive her.”

“What of Giovanni? Did he say what happened?” I asked, and he shook his head.

“He can’t remember anything.”

“Nothing at all?” I asked, raising my brow.

“Nothing.” Roberto shook his head, and a sense of relief washed over me.

I might have ordered my men to bring her to me as part of the plan to locate Carlo’s father, but I couldn’t let them know that I was responsible for the accident. If anything happened to Rosalinda, I would be blamed, potentially sparking a feud between the two families, and I had to avoid that.

After a few seconds, a doctor stepped out of the ward Rosalinda was in, and everyone became alert as they approached the doctor, seeking an update.

“Her vitals are stable.” The doctor announced, and sighs of relief filled the air. “She should wake up soon and-”

Before he could complete his statement, a nurse hurried out of Rosalinda’s ward and informed the doctor. “She’s awake.”

A wave of relief washed over me as I turned around and started walking away. That was all I needed to know. She was okay, and I wouldn’t lose her.

I really wanted to see her, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t be able to hide how much I cared about her when I saw her, and I didn’t want that. I needed to keep my feelings hidden at all costs.

She’s alive, and that’s a relief. Now, back to the motherfuckers who put her in that situation.