Caterina


    My body trembles. My teeth chatter together, the only sound filling the small <b>space</b>. Is this what shock feels like? I can barely think of anything except what happened.


    Is Tatiana okay? What did they do to her? I couldn’t see what happened, but I will never forget the weight of her limp body across my legs. It’s where she fell after she slid down my body. And that terrible sound. The sound of bones crunching together. Shattering into tiny pieces.


    The shivers worsen when I start to dive deeper into my thoughts.Focus. I can’t continue to think like this, not if I’m going to get through this. I’m still alive, and that means something.


    I have to do this, for the baby. If for nothing else, I have to survive for my baby’s sake. And for my father, who’s already lost enough, and Gianni.Oh, my God, where is he? Does he know what happened?I’m sure by now he knows what’s happened and that I’m missing.


    I’m not sure how much time has passed, but it’s dark outside. The small window cut into the cinder block wall tells me that. Hours must have passed since they took us from the garage.


    Time doesn’t matter. I know him. He’lle looking for me.


    A sharp pain radiates through my stomach and I curl into a tighter ball on the cot somebody left me on when we arrived. It’s filthy and smells like mildew, but it’s the only piece of furniture in the small, dark room. Something is dripping somewhere, a leaky pipe maybe, but I can’t see it. The rhythmicplink plink plinkis almost soothing.


    After a few deep breaths, I settle enough to focus on the pain. It’s not cramping, thank God. I don’t know much about pregnancy yet, but I doubt cramping would be a good sign. It’s more like nausea; not surprisingly, fear and dread will do that to you. My stomach is knotted, and I barely contain the scream of rage threatening to tear its way out of my throat when my thoughts drift back to Gianni again. I can only imagine how frantic he is right now. The thoughts he’s having. I have no idea what they did with Tatiana. What if they killed her and left her body there for him to find?


    We only need this one. That was one of thest things Amalia ever said. My God. I’m reminded again that she’s dead. Just like that. I would never have called her my favorite person–she went out of her way to drive a wedge between Gianni and me by getting inside my head. She called me filthy, ugly names. She dragged out the divorce for ages, all so she could make Gianni miserable, and she was a terrible mother. So much of Tatiana’s toughness is a defense mechanism. She built a wall around her that got thicker with every ignored call, every missed meet–up, every skipped holiday. Regardless of those things, it doesn’t mean I’m d she’s dead. No matter‘ ‘ many times I rey those ugly, terrifying moments, there’s no convincing myself of any other oue. She. figure in front of me, then there was a gunshot, and her silhouette disappeared.


    J


    a shadowy


    I have no idea who shot her or if she was working with someone. The voice that spoke wasn’t familiar. The only thing I could tell was that it was a man whose name was never spoken. He shot somebody else after Amalia–I don’t know who, but I heard something heavy hit the floor before somebody else picked me up and carried me out. The pillowcase stayed firmly in ce until we reached this small, filthy room, and even then, I didn’t get a good look at the man who carried me in. The room was too dark, and all I could do was try and protect myself for fear they’d kill me too.


    I blink slowly and stare at the rust–stained metal door across from the cot. The very thin strip of empty space between the bottom of the door and the floor is enough to reveal light on the other side. There has to be somebody out there, right? Guarding me, at least. They wouldn’t leave me alone if I’m supposedly valuable.


    My chest aches, my heart thundering loudly in my ears. They’re going to use me to get to Gianni. That much, I can put together, even while lying here on the tail end of shock


    100


    The puzzle pieces fall into ce. Whatever was supposed to happen, Tatiana was never supposed to be involved. Did they bring her here, too? Maybe they figure they’ll get more from him that way<b>. I </b><b>can </b>only assume this has <b>to </b>do with money. Amalia probably found somebody desperate for cash and convinced them to go through with this. <b>I </b>already saw what she did to Luciano. There’s nothing she <b>isn’t </b>capable of.


    Was.Past tense. Oh god. This has to be a nightmare. It can’t be real.


    However, the stink of mildew is very real. The nausea twisting my stomach. The uncontroble shivering. I couldn’t have imagined the sound of something hitting Tatiana’s head. It was too sickening. Is she still alive? Did they kill her to send a message, the way they killed her mother? If she’s dead, how am I supposed to live without her? What will I do without my best friend?