THE MAFIA’S CAPTIVE ANGEL

It was noon when I finally came out of my slumber, and just like the morning, I lay in bed, my face towards the window, just staring blankly at it since I had nothing to do and I was scared of leaving the room as I didn’t want to cross paths with Sin. Not that anything was going to stop him if he decided to walk into the room.

I let out a sigh and held onto my tummy when it grumbled, alerting me that I hadn’t had anything since last night.

My eyes shifted from the window to the door, contemplating whether or not if it was a good idea to leave the room. The more I swirled about the possible danger, the more my tummy growled with hunger.

Deciding it was best to get something to eat, I gently rose to my feet, making my way to the door, before coming to a halt and realising that I was still wearing a bathrobe with nothing underneath.

I couldn’t go out there like this. I had no idea of the number of people in this house. Letting out yet another defeating sigh, I began making my way back to the bed when I caught sight of a familiar old duffle bag at the far end of the room, beside the couch.

Without wasting any time, I walked over to it, searching through it, and pulling out a blue Jeans and a plain white top. I got out of the bathrobe, changing into them before walking back towards the door and peeping out.

When I was certain that there was no one outside, I stepped out of the room and wandered the halls of the mansion, trying to find my way to the kitchen while taking in the beauty of the mansion, which I hadn’t seen the last time I was here.

It had many pieces of art, and the décor was amazing. Whoever decorated the mansion was a pro. I made my way down the grand staircase and walked in the direction I assumed would be the kitchen, and instantly I was hit with the amazing aroma that filled the air, causing my mouth to water.

I slowly made my way to the entrance of the kitchen, peeping to see who was inside, and a sigh of relief left my lips when I spotted Zoey.

She had her back to me while tiding up the kitchen counter, but stopped when she felt my presence. Her head turned slightly to the back, and her face lit up when her eyes landed on me.

“Hi Mani!” Zoey said eagerly.

“Hi!”  I smiled.  Despite the situation, I was really glad to see her.

“You are finally awake,” she beams. “I was about to bring your food up to the room, but since you are here, why don’t you come have a seat while I get it ready for you?”

“Thanks,” I replied with a smile, walking fully into the kitchen and towards the stool, taking my seat.

“It’s nothing; this is what I’m paid to do.” A smile graced her lips. “Sin said you needed rest, so I wasn’t allowed to see you.” She said, placing a plate of spaghetti meatballs in front of me.

I gave her a small smile before scoffing down the food in front of me. Zoey and I may be nearly the same age, but she is very skilled in the kitchen. She told me that she learned from her mom right before she died. She didn’t know who her father was, but after her mother’s death, Sin took her in and cared for her. Her way of repaying him was to help with cooking and cleaning up his mansion.

I continued eating silently, not wanting to disturb her while she carried on with her work.

Once she was done with her task, Zoey made her way back to where I sat. She didn’t say anything, but I could feel her eyes on me. This made me stop eating to stare at her.

The look of pity was visible on her face as she glanced at the bruise on my face, making me feel self-conscious, and I found myself using my hair to cover the marks.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” I said, giving my best fake smile.

“I find that hard to believe.” She counters, her voice dipping with sadness. “You keep looking at the door, scared that he might walk in.”

” I… I.. ”

“It’s okay, Mani.” She says, taking a hold of my hand. “It is natural to be scared; you were snatched away from the life that you once knew and put into one that you definitely aren’t prepared for.” She paused, giving me a smile. “I know this situation seems overwhelming to you, and you probably hate Sin, but trust me when I say this is the first time he has ever acted out of character. He was probably smitten by you and didn’t know what to do.”

“And you think his kidnapping me is the right thing to do?” I snapped, withdrawing my hand from her hold.

“No.  I didn’t mean for you to take it the wrong way.” Zoey mutters with a frown. “I’m just saying he’s not as bad as you think he is.”

I rolled my eyes, scoffing. “Look at my face, Zoey.” I pointed to the bruise. “You can’t tell me he isn’t a monster just because he supposedly helped you in your time of need. Your situation and mine are totally different. You chose to work here for him. You were given a choice, Zoey. While mine was snatched away from me, don’t go telling me that he has a heart because he is nothing and would only be a monster to me.”

It was quiet for a second. Our gazes held each other’s before she sighed, backing down in defeat.

“You’re right; I’m sorry.” I gave a nod, staring down at the half-eaten pasta, my appetite long gone.

I push the plate away, taking deep breaths. If I was going to stay here till I found a way to escape, then there was still so much I didn’t know. I wanted to ask Zoey so many questions, yet I was a bit hesitant since I wasn’t sure if she would be able to give me the answers I needed.

She has been living with Sin for three years. There was no doubt that she knew a bit more about him and what he did. I knew for a fact that he was dangerous, but I still don’t know anything about him or about his family.

“Do you know anything about Sin and his family?”

Zoey’s head shot up with a look of surprise before she chuckled. “I guess it’s understandable to know who you are dealing with, and yes, I do know about the Violenta family.” She takes a seat beside me. “So ask whatever questions seem to be troubling you, and I will try to answer them as best as I can.”

I bit my lip, trying to gather the questions I had in my head. “Can you tell me what you know about them? Everything that you think I should be aware of, for instance, what are they like and what do they do?”

She sat straight in her seat. “I guess I would start off with Sin. The Violante are the richest and most influential family in Italy, if not the world. Sin, of course, is the first son out of three children.” She paused, tilting her head to the side, deep in thought. “I believe you also deserve to know about their underground business.”

“underground business.” I asked with a raised brow, confused, and she nodded.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“They are also the most powerful mafia family, Mani.” I literally choked on my own saliva as those words came out of her mouth, knowing he had to be involved in something shady but not mafia-related. That sent a chill down my body.

“The Violante family originated in Italy. The family was founded in 1974. They started in Italy and owned over 85% of it at that time. Then, in 1979, they went on to own the whole state of New York. The family made most of their money through drug trafficking, but they also have VIP clubs, restaurants, and many other businesses. They still sell drugs to this day, and their family symbol is a skull with a V-flame in the middle. Their current leader is Nikolai Violenta, also known as Sin, at age 26. He was born in Italy on September 8, 1994. His mother’s name is Serena De-Luca. She came from a prestigious family in Italy and was only twenty-one when she gave birth to Sin.”

“His father’s name was Marcellus Violenta. He was twenty-nine when Sin was born. Serena and Marcellus were in an arranged marriage. Though Serena wanted nothing to do with the mafia family, she still loved Marcellus. She gave birth to the twins, Athena and Alexander, five years after Sin. At the age of six, Sin was taught how to use a gun. He went to a private school for only the rich and famous while being taught about the mafia. Sin’s best friend and right-hand man is Luca Ramirez. His first language was Italian, but he learned to speak English fluently at the age of eleven. At the age of fifteen, Sin took over the family business after his dad was killed. No one knows the full story of his father’s death except for Sin. He was the only one there at that time. We don’t know what happened, but Sin changed after that accident. He had been in charge of his family from a young age. No one was allowed to call him by his name except for Sin, unless they were ready to face the repercussions. The family has only one enemy, which is the Romanov family. The two families have been rivals from the beginning. That is the story of the Violenta family,” Zoey said, picking up my plate and washing it out.

“Wow.., you’re like a human Wikipedia.” I stared at her in astonishment.

She laughed, “I did my research when I first started working here.”

After listening to Sin’s story, I felt sad for him. Having such a burden placed on him at such a young age must be very exhausting. I know what it’s like to lose a loved one. I was curious about what really happened for him to change, as Zoey said.

No!

I couldn’t let this cloud my mind. I was in no position to pity him since he was the cause of my predicament.

He might have been young when he was given such responsibility, yet that is no excuse for his actions now.

Deciding not to dwell more on the matter, I stayed with Zoey for an hour as we talked about various things before exploring the mansion and coming across an enormous library. I spent the rest of the day reading different novels. I had my dinner at the library as I was too engrossed with the novel I was reading.

This was the only way I could get my mind off things.