𝗟𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗲

26-𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽

Silence. It was deafening.

The only sound Natalia could hear was the click of her heels as she walked the hallways, which were abnormally vacant. Not even the hum of the maid's vacuum nor the sound of distant chatter could be heard.

Natalia's suspicion began to grow, not being helped by her nature of overthinking every minuscule detail of everything.

The past few weeks had been unlike any other Natalia had ever experienced. She was oddly happy, and she was drowning in the serotonin that was flooding through her.

Enzo had won his trial in court, although he had accumulated a black mark against his name. Like usual, Aurelia was paying nearly millions to get that mark from his name- anything for the brightest of the family.

Estela and Leonardo were unusually working well together as co-parents. They had decided to push all the negative energy they felt towards one another aside and focus on Arabella.

Of course, she was ecstatic, spending every moment she could with her father. Estela didn't want to admit it, but Arabella was definitely a daddy's girl.

Amara was slowly being further involved in the Mafia, working alongside Azaiah as his shadow until Xavier trusted her enough to allow her to work on her own. Neither of them argued, Azaiah decided it was better for him to keep her protected and Amara just happy to be involved whatsoever.

And, Elias Romero. Natalia is still yet to figure out his next move. One minute they're screaming at each other, almost killing each other, but the next Elias had planned a romantic dinner for two in the safety of his wine cellar.

Okay, that had only happened once- they hadn't had much time to spend with each other. The responsibilities that came with being the heir to the Italian Mafia grew even more demanding, though Natalia tried to help as much as she could.

However, that didn't stop him from sneaking up on her just after a Mafia meeting and having a quickie in the guest bedroom. Or the bathroom. Or the storage cupboard. Or anywhere that was free.

Natalia couldn't believe it but everything was going great and she was yet to find a fault about the life she was living. Of course, she hadn't fully earned her way back into the Mafia yet, but Xavier was slowly being convinced. She should be back doing missions by Elias' side in no time- and she couldn't wait.

Sadly, they'd have to keep it strictly professional on the field, their relationship being kept secret for the time being. Both of them thought it would be best to wait until this feud had subsided between them and the Russians/Americans.

Natalia was still walking through the corridors and couldn't hear a single thing, just the breeze that escaped through the windows. A chill ran through her as a gust of wind hit her, automatically making her clasp onto the ring that was hung around her neck.

It seemed to be her reflex whenever anything caught her off guard, and she couldn't figure out why she agreed with Elias- this ring gave her a sense of protection.

Footsteps were heard from behind her, the sound recognisable as they approached. With every step they took, a slight smile made its way onto Natalia's face. Like I said- unusually happy.

Before she knew it, Natalia was being blindfolded, the fabric cool as it was fixed over her eyes.

"Well, this is one way to say good morning-" Natalia started, chuckling until she dragged away. The feeling of multiple other hands grabbing her by the shoulder and forcing her to move made her realise this wasn't Elias.

She had let her guard down. She had let it down because she trusted a stupid necklace. A necklace.

Before she could attempt to make a snarky comment, a gag was put in her mouth, preventing her from speaking.