Dark Romance | Mafia

Chapter Twenty

Stella's POV:

The piercing sound of my alarm dragged me out of sleep like claws scratching my brain. I slammed my hand hard on the clock, it nearly fell from the nightstand.

But after five minutes, the alarm rang again, it felt like it would burst my eardrums, I grabbed another pillow from the bed and pressed it tightly against my ear, trying to stop the relentless noise. It was really annoying.

But the sound wouldn't stop.... the clock was screaming like a stubborn child. I groaned, threw the pillow onto the bed, kicked off the blanket, and finally turned the alarm off.

"Seriously? Can't I disappear just for a day?" I muttered, my voice hoarse.

Eyes darted to the clock.... 5 a.m. I grunted, staring blankly at the ceiling. It wasn't easy to leave the house this early, but I didn’t have the luxury to stay in bed.... not today, not ever.

I sighed and shot up from the bed. I pulled on the same black top and jeans from yesterday, tied my hair in a ponytail, grabbed my bag, and left the apartment.

............

As I unpacked the groceries, my phone started ringing. I paused, then slowly, walked over to the kitchen counter, grabbed my bag, and pulled it out. Casually, I glanced at the screen....
and froze.

My mouth fell open. My eyes widened in horror. breath caught in my throat like a sudden choke.

Mr. Giovanni.

His name glared back at me from the screen, and I started to shake. Cold sweat broke out across my skin. My hands trembled uncontrollably. I had almost forgotten the new task he had given me.

I took a deep breath and swiped to answer, slowly bringing the phone to my ear. My eyes squeezed shut.

"Started your work?" he asked rudely. His voice cut through the silence like ice.... sharp, cold, devoid of any humanity.

He was merciless, killing someone was his favorite game, something he could do in seconds. Always ready, without any hesitation.

"Umm.... I'll start from today," I whispered, barely audible.

"Good job. Keep it up."

And the line went dead.

Oddly enough, he didn’t say a word about me starting late.

One question keeps echoing in my mind....

'How could I do this to Mr. Romano?'

My mind wandered to his handsome face, and memories from yesterday replayed again and again.

Giving him poison.... the thought horrified me. It felt like someone was slicing me into pieces. My soul was shattering, breaking apart piece by piece.

But that was my job. That's why I was here.
I had to do this at any cost.

I opened my bag and rummaged through it.
The bottle of pills lay there like a vampire, ready to attack.

My hands shook violently as I picked it up.
I stared at it like it had teeth.... like it might bite me.

When I started this job, I never imagined it would be this hard.

But this wasn't just a mission.... it was a betrayal.

Not only betrayal,

I was about to stain my hands with blood, the blood of the innocent.

I never knew they'd ask me to kill him.
I've never done anything like this before.
My job was to locate people and investigate them. That's it.

It took me forever to open the bottle.
My fingers fumbled with the cap, heart pounding so fiercely I thought it might explode. My lips were dry, cracked, and pale, sweat beaded on my forehead.

But somehow, I managed it, with every ounce of courage I had.

I placed a pill on my palm, my hands trembled as I walked toward the glass of juice. I swallowed hard, breath caught in my throat.

With a shaky hand, I dropped the pill in.

I looked around. No one was watching.
I stirred the juice with a spoon, and the pill dissolved, leaving no trace behind.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed.

Panic flared hot and wild, stabbing at my chest.

Hurriedly, I placed the spoon down.

"Are you late, chef?" his voice echoed.

"No, no, sir. I'm done." I stammered, struggling to steady my trembling voice.

He just nodded and sat on the counter stool.

I placed the breakfast on the table.... eggs and toast, then shakily reached for the glass of juice.

Just one lift of the hand, one drag... but my hands didn't work. They refused to move.

Fingers frozen. Muscles locked. My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

The glass of juice sat there, innocent and deadly.... waiting. My breath came in shallow gasps, my chest tightening under the weight of what I was about to do.

My eyes darted to Mr. Romano. He was watching me, maybe silently observing everything.

I stared at him, at my shaking hands and in that moment, everything inside me went still.

I was paralyzed.

Until then....