Beats of the Heart

Behind the mask

Alessandro Matteo Marchetti; a fine, handsome young man who led the perfect life with his wife, Alessia Marchetti, working under a big company and living in their dream house. What more could a woman ask for? The ideal man indeed if you asked me, if it weren't for a rather shocking revelation that left Alessia in a dangerous position.

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The young couple hopped into their posh vehicle after their usual morning routine, Alessandro dropping off Alessia at her art studio after giving her a gentle kiss goodbye before he drove off, headed in the direction of the big company he worked for, oblivious to the panic that surfaced within his wife as soon as he was gone. Alessia frantically searched in her bag for the keys to her office in the studio and the flash drive that contained the blueprints for the new sculpture she was meant to make for her new client.

"Damn it," she cursed under her breathe, "I have to show the blueprints to the client in a meeting today and this happens."

Realising that she had forgotten both of them in the car, she pulled out her phone, dialling Alessandro's number, worried when she got no response after three tries.

"Come on, pick up," she said as she waited anxiously for a response.

This simply wouldn't do. He had just left mere minutes ago with his phone on the car dashboard and could not possibly have arrived at work that quickly.

Seeing that her efforts were in vain, she decided to hail a cab and follow her husband, relieved when she saw the familiar number plate of their vehicle just three cars ahead.

"Follow that black car with the customized number plate please."

The taxi driver expressed that he understood, doing as he was told. Alessia sat in peaceful silence, nervously playing with her fingers as the taxi followed her husband. However, confusion struck her when she noticed something odd. This wasn't the direction to any of the big companies she knew. This was the way to the opposite end of town. Now that she thought about it, she didn't really know which company her husband worked for. Where on earth could he be going?

Approaching the poorer side of town, Alessia took not that her husband had stopped, instructing the driver to drop her off close by before following her husband, who was holding a black brief case with something attached to his belt which she couldn't see clearly. Her husband entered an old building, closing the door behind him. The young lady waited for a few seconds before following, surprised to meet two large men guarding a door when she entered.

"ID please," said one of them, his expression unchanging as he held out his hand.

Alessia gulped, rummaging in her bag for her ID before handing it to him. The man examined the little piece of document, raising his eyebrow before giving it back and allowing her through. With a sigh of relief, she opened the second door where she was instantly met with loud music assaulting her ears and a large crowd of people dancing wildly. This was definitely some kind of club. But what type of disco happens during the day? She wandered around, looking for her husband, pushing through the energetic crowd and slapping away more than ten miscellaneous hands that groped her body inappropriately. The young lady felt nauseous, turning away her eyes quickly as if they had been burned when she noticed quite a number of couples, rubbing against each other and making lewd noises as they danced along to the loud music. Finally, after a few minutes, she noticed the familiar figure of her husband, climbing up a set of stairs that seemed hidden if one didn't look properly.

What could he possibly be doing here though? Cheating? The idea made Alessia feel sick. Why else would he be here, and when he's supposed to be at work! Running up the stairs, Alessia was just in time to catch a glimpse of her husband entering a room down the corridor from the stairs. She made her way to the door, crouching down to the keyhole to take a peek only to be met with black, making her realise that there was probably a key in the door on the other side. She decided to press her ears onto the door, listening in on whatever was going on inside.

"What brings you here Alessandro?" said a seductive female voice at the other side of the door, "or should I say Lorenzo?"

Alessia felt her heart sink. He was with another woman. But why did she call him Lorenzo? Unable to understand this, she typed in the name on her phone, irritated when the web page took long to finish loading the results, deciding to continue listening whilst she waited.

"I'm not here to play games, here's the money, now hand over the goods," came her husband's voice, which only served to confuse her. What are they talking about?

"Aaaw come on Lorenzo, you're ruining the fun."

"Hand them over."

"Alright, alright, relax darling, lighten up. That's a lot of guns you ordered, care to tell me what they are for?"

It was then that Alessia's notification rang, telling her that the search was complete. She crossed her fingers, hoping that they hadn't heard it before looking at her phone for the result.

Lorenzo

Leader and heir of the Obsidian Order mafia.....

The young woman's heart pounded in her chest, her breathing now fast and irregular as she read the information on her screen. She was too preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice that the room was now deathly silent, neither did she hear the footsteps walking towards the door. The click of the doorknob turning snapped her back to reality, but it was too late as the door she was leaning on was now opened, causing her to fall backwards into the room, coming face to face with her husband who looked down at her without so much as the slightest fluctuation in his facial expression.

"My my, what have we here?" came the woman's voice from above her.

Alessandro's cold gaze unnerved her, and the severity of her situation began to sink in. How had it come to this? She only wanted her keys and her flash drive, not discover that everything she knew about the man she loved was probably a lie. A cruel web of deception she fell for; one that only the devil's spawn could come up with. Then again, she was looking right into the eyes of the said spawn. The company, his job, how he made money, everything was lie.

A gun pointed at her head stopped her wandering thoughts when she noticed the woman now crouched above her, holding the gun to her forehead. Her eyes widened with horror, looking at her husband with a silent yet obvious plea clearly visible in her eyes. Everything may have been a lie, but she at least hoped that the love she had seen in his eyes when he had proposed to her was genuine. Even a sliver of genuine affection would do, otherwise, she knew she was a goner!