Isabella: Our Adopted Baby

Chapter 7

Giovanni got into the driver's seat and started the car. Jazz music played throughout the car.

I scrunched my nose at the music. I tried to push myself so I was sitting up more but I could barely move with the buckles so tight on my chest and stomach. "Why is this so tight? I can barely move."

"The tighter it is, the safer you are."

My exhaled breath came out in a huff and I gave up trying to get more comfortable. My legs dangled below me as I was too high up to reach the floor. My purse had fallen to the floor when I was getting into the car seat so I couldn't reach it. I knew it was going to be taken from me sooner or later but I hoped I'd have a chance to get my phone before that happened. I at least wanted my lifeline to the rest of the world if I was going to be kept in captivity for a month.

We pulled out of the parking garage and headed away from ASI. We drove in a different direction than where my apartment was. The further we drove, the less familiar things became to me.

I knew Bayview fairly well. I didn't grow up anywhere close but the area was my home. Once I turned eighteen, I moved to Bayview and started a new life for myself. I spent most of my time on the outskirts of town rather than in the city but I ventured in from time to time.

I wasn't familiar with the area we were heading to. Everything looked so nice and well-kept. The neighborhood looked like it belonged to an HOA. All the yards were mowed to show lines and hedges separated the driveways to allow for some privacy.

Maybe Giovanni lived somewhere with a nice-sized yard.

"What do you do for work?"

"I own a construction company. We mainly work on high rises and routine maintenance in the city."

"It pays that well that you can offer me $100,000?"

He nodded. "Yes, it does."

"Is your house the most expensive one in the neighborhood?"

He smiled. "I'll let you tell me."

The car turned down a street and we drove up to a cul de sac. Giovanni pulled up to a large house at the end of the road. The house was black-painted brick with a white front door. Two plants sat outside the front door. Compared to the other houses around, it was the nicest and biggest.

Giovanni pressed a button on a remote clipped to the visor and the garage door opened. He pulled into the garage and closed the door using the remote once more.

"We have a fenced-in backyard for you to play outside. You need to ask permission to go outside but you can play by yourself."

"I don't play outside."

He looked at me in the rearview mirror. "I don't know why you insist on being difficult, Isabella. I'm trying to make your time with me enjoyable for you."

I rolled my eyes. "The only thing enjoyable about all of this is knowing I'm getting $100,000."

"You have to make it the 30 days first." He got out of the car and circled around to my side.

I unbuckled myself from the car seat. It was so demeaning that he wanted me to act like a child. I was twenty-two years old. I wanted to do something with my life, not be a child for a family who couldn't have any,

I pulled on the door handle and tried opening the door. The door didn't open, no matter how hard I tried.

Giovanni opened the door from the outside and gave me a knowing look. "No, Isabella."

I glared at him. "Stop talking to me like that."

"You need to learn that when you're bad, you'll be punished for it. You need to learn what's right and what's wrong."

"Maybe you should."

He took a step back but was still leaning against the door. "Let's go. Quinn and I have some things to discuss with you."

I got out of the car and crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn't excited to meet his wife. If she were anything like him, she'd be cold and mean and stuck up. It was already bad enough that he was mean.

Giovanni walked towards a white door that led into the house. He opened the door and stepped up into what looked like a small mud room. "Babe, we're home."

I wasn't sure what I was expecting the house to look like. It was bigger than most of the houses on the block. The front yard was mowed into neat lines and pretty flowers and bushes surrounded the front porch. I was sure they paid for people to mow the grass and do the gardening. Who knew what the inside would look like then?

The mud room was just a small room with hooks on one wall for jackets and coats. We stepped through and entered a kitchen. It was a standard kitchen but all the handles and appliances were gold or had gold accents. The counters were white and gold marble. The floors were laminate but it didn't take away from how nice the room was.

There was a closed door to the right of the stove and an opened one to the left. A woman walked out from the left doorway. She had light brown hair that was pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. She wore an old-looking t-shirt and shorts that barely went together. Maybe it was clothes she wore to get dirty.

She smiled when she saw me behind Giovanni. "Hi, sweetheart. It's nice to meet you."

When I didn't say anything, Giovanni spoke up. "Isabella, this is my wife, Quinn. Quinn, this is Isabella."

"Your dress is so pretty. I think you'll like the clothes we have for you."

Giovanni put a hand on the small of my back. "Why don't I give you a tour of the house and then we can talk?"

I stepped to the side so his hand wasn't touching me anymore. "Fine."

"Follow me then."