Reaper of the Wicked | A Mafia Romance

XXIV|| Bella

TW: VIOLENCE!! and implied SA (I know I said I wouldn't do warnings for violence but oop here we are.)

Rafael places a bowl in front of me. The food smells delicious. He sits opposite of me smiling nervously. I already knew it would be delicious. Just the small taste of broth had me wanting more. I stabbed my fork in a piece of meat and brought it to my lips. The warm flavors were divine. "This is good. Rafael." I said. He beamed like a child. The expression on him was a bit startling and entirely adorable. I couldn't help the small smile that graced my lips. "It's Ajiaco, a dish from my home." He brought his spoon to his lips and I brushed off the intimacy of him sharing that information.

Rafael was so warm. Everything about him was warm. But I'm so used to the cold, and the heat made me want to squirm uncomfortably in my seat. 

"The plan?" I ask my tone unfeeling and stoic.

He smiles to himself. "You tell me, Mi Reina." 

Annoyance squeezes my chest. I hate riddles. 

"Stop playing games Rafael, this is important to me." I set the spoon down suddenly losing my appetite. 

His face softens. 

"I understand, I only wanted us to come up with a plan together. I've been very clear about having you by my side not beneath me." He pauses thinking for a moment.

"Actually I don't think I'd mind having you beneath me." He finishes. I blow out an annoyed breath. But a smile fights to break through the annoyance.

"How does Leopoldo control his people?" Rafael asks.

The answer is obvious.

"Fear, and his children." I reply.

"and you." Rafael adds.

And I'm reminded that he doesn't know the real me. He doesn't know that I'm Leopoldo's daughter.

"And me." I repeat back.

"So if you turn his children against him?" Rafael says.

I guffaw. "I can't do that." Leopoldo just made the biggest display of his power yet. All of us are still reeling from what he did to Teresa. 

"Vittoria, you can." Rafael says simply. I tilt my head at him, searching his face. He truly believes it. 

Then, as if Rafael casted a spell on me with his words, it dawns on me. Teresa's punishment was so severe. Too severe. Considering her only crime was love. I could use that. I could water that until it grew into a tree of betrayal. 

I sit back folding my arms over my chest. "Maybe I can."

... 

I pull up outside Bella's house. My phone rings. 

"Tori." Bella states.

"I'm outside. I'm here to talk." I say simply.

She pauses for a moment. "My husband's not in the best mood right now." 

Her words fill the small space of my car. 

"I can take you and the kids out. Maybe he wants some time alone?" I suggest.

"I don't know, Tori." She replies

"You can convince him Bella, come on. Remember when you convinced Leopoldo that a spring break trip would strengthen the Bianchi Dynasty. And we spent the whole time getting drunk on cheap margaritas."

I hear the wistful breath that she blows from her mouth. "Yeah." She says quietly.

"Okay, Yeah. I'll call you in about 30 minutes." She says with her usual Bella bluntness. 

I turn on the radio and wait for Bella to call back. 

45 minutes pass and still I wait and there's no reply. It's unusual for Bella to be late. A small feeling begins to grow in the pit of my stomach. It tells me there is something very bad happening. 

I ignore it giving the situation time. I tell myself it's just anxiety. But when an hour passes and I still haven't gotten a call I pick up my phone and call Bella. The phone rings twice. The call gets sent to voicemail. Shit.

I can't ignore the sinking feeling in my gut that whispers a wrong. I pull up to the gate. The guard recognizes my car and immediately lets me in. I speed up the long driveway and barely park before I jump from my vehicle. I wiggle the knob but the front doors are locked.  I pound on the wooden doors. 

No answer.

With a force that could terrify any passerby I pound on those fucking doors again. The door unlocks and opens. When I'm greeted by one of my very small nephews and not the butler I immediately know that the feeling in my gut was right.

"Hi, Zia!" The kid says. 

"Hey Kid, Where's your mama?" 

"She said to stay in the playroom." He replies. Not helpful.

A crash sounds from upstairs. 

"You should probably listen to her and stay in the playroom." I smile and step around the kid. And as soon as I'm out of his sight I run as fast as I can up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. 

I hear the low gruff yelling of a man. Then the soft begging of a woman. 

And for a moment I stop in my tracks. I'd never heard Bella sound like that before. Even when Leopoldo would hurt us. No matter how painful she knew it would be, I'd never heard Bella beg. 

Fire engulfs me. I am consumed with rage. My body has a mind of it's own as it kicks open the locked door. I barely see Bella's husband. I know he turns toward me and then I blink. And he's on the floor blood seeping from the wound on his neck. His hands try to stop the bleeding .He gurgles, choking on his own blood. 

Bella looks at the body then looks at me. She slides from the bed quietly pulling her lifted skirt down. She walks over to me silently and grabs the knife from my hands placing it on the night stand table. She collapses in my arms. Her body shakes in mine. I wrap my arms around her. But the movement is mechanic. I can't stop staring at the red that gushes from that abusive piece of shit. 

Bella mumbles something into my shoulder. I finally pull myself together enough to hear the quiet.

"..thank you." 

***Author's Note

Oh ma fucking gahd he fuckin dead-

oop-

good riddance 

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