Forbidden Desire ✓ | #1 |

Epilogue

I stared at the door for what seemed like hours even if only less than ten minutes passed.

She left.

Just like I thought she would. Brielle left and took my entire heart and soul with her. I thought about chasing after her but decided against it as she wouldn't appreciate it.

I knew she would come back. After all, this would be the best way to come back to our right state of mind after the hell broke loose. I had many issues and questions to solve as did she. We needed the time apart to get ourselves back in shape before we could devote our attention to one another.

Now, I had the time to focus on bringing my father down and knew I had to speed things up if I wanted a solid future with Brielle.

I was about to leave her bedroom when I saw a small envelope on her bedside table. I took it in my hand and opened it, seeing the platinum credit card inside that I had given to her. I smiled as I had actually forgotten about it. But a shining piece of jewellery caught my eye.

I took out the necklace and smiled once I noticed a silver rose pendant. It was small and minimalistic but looked beautiful. I didn't know if she had bought it or had it for a long time but I was pleased to have it. A small piece of her.

Putting the card into the pocket of my suit jacket, I dropped the envelope on the bed and left the room, dropping the necklace into the small pouch of my jacket.

I headed down the stairs, seeing the driveway already empty. Walking through the stairs, I opened the door to the basement and headed inside, immediately feeling the cold and humid atmosphere. Once I was down the spiral stone stairs, I made my way towards the cell of the man my father has been keeping hostage for so many years.

Eduardo was clever and never spoke about him to anyone. The cell was locked and accessible only to him and while I had no interest in knowing the devious nonsense the man might have committed, I did need to find out what his true purpose was here.

I lit a single light in the hallway, making the man wake from his slumber. He was slouched on the stone floor with nothing but a small navy-blue blanket below him. I typed in the security code which was much easier to crack than I had initially imagined.

The man looked towards me, surprised to see anyone but Eduardo inside his torture chamber.

"Who are you?" I asked first in Italian. The man looked hesitantly away from me as he sat up, only a black t-shirt covering his chest. "Don't make me ask again," I said, stepping closer. Once the man kept quiet about his identity, I moved on to other matters. "What did you do that made you end up here?" He swallowed hard, looking back up at me. "I'm not my father, I won't hurt you if you don't deserve it," I explained.

"I am indebted to him," he said so quietly in Italian I almost couldn't make out what he had said. I did however catch on to the fact that he certainly wasn't Italian as his pronunciation was not that of a native. But he did know the language which was better than not knowing it at all.

"How are you indebted to him?" I asked further.

"He lent me money," he said again very quietly. "I failed o give it back," I almost laughed.

This couldn't be the only reason the man was in here. Eduardo, as cruel and wicked as he was, didn't waste his time torturing those indebted to him in terms of money. He hired people to help him out and take care of them but he certainly didn't callously hurt them himself.

This particular man was causing him joy from the torture. The question was, why though?

"What is your name?" I tried to ask again but didn't get an answer even the second time. "Do you know why Eduardo is hurting you?"

"More or less." I frowned, getting more questions than answers from the man's words. "Mr Salucci, I have been locked here for so many years, I believe I will die right here." I continued to listen to him attentively. "Even though it'll be my second time." The sound of the door upstairs opening caught my attention.

"I'll come back as soon as I can," I walked over to the door and looked back at the poor man. "Hold on," he sighed and smiled faintly at me before I left the cell, closed the door and turned the light in the hallway off before disappearing further into the long and open corridor.

I entered a small cell, waiting patiently for whoever had come down to disappear and let me leave. And while I knew it was my father who appeared and walked into the man's cell to check up on his prisoner, I wondered what the man did for real to deserve such a punishment. It wasn't just for money, I was sure.

Eduardo was hiding something.

Something that I was determined to find even if the circumstances would make me forget all about it as my life went crumbling down.

To be continued...