“It was the Capo’s wife who had me tortured, wasn’t it? I’m going to kill them all.”
“You’re wrong, I had you tortured. I told them to make you suffer, not to let you die, to prolong your suffering.”
“It’s all right my love, I’m not upset, you didn’t know, they must have pressured you.” He looks in the direction of the soldiers, seeming to kill them with his eyes. “You didn’t let them kill me; we can get out of here together and be happy.”
I turn around, not knowing exactly what I’m feeling; anger and fear travel through my body. I want to kill him, not let him follow me and frighten me anymore. Paolo puts his hand on my shoulder. I look in his direction, and he looks worried.
“Get your hand off, my wife!”
“I want him to die so badly…”
“We can do it.”
“Luca and his father, it’s up to them to decide.” I hug my body with my arms, feeling shivers run through my body. Paolo stands in front of me, forcing me to face him.
“After what we’ve heard, we can all agree that it’s your decision; Luca will understand. If you want, I’ll kill him.”
I look in the direction of the man who has been chasing me for almost a year, the man who put the man I love in a hospital bed. He smiles at me, and I want to see him cry. “I’ll have blood on my hands; I don’t know if I can handle that.” My voice comes out low and brittle.
“I’ll be the one to make him take his last breath; I’ll kill him, not you.”
“But I’ll be the one who gave the order.”
“Love, we should leave, start our love story, let me go, and let’s leave. Then I’ll kill Luca, don’t worry, I’ll erase him from our lives.”
I close my eyes, trying to contain the nausea, look at him, and smile. “With which hand did you shoot Luca?”
“Our relationship is evolving; you’re trying to find out things about me.” The smile doesn’t leave his bloodied face, and I feel like ripping it off. “It was with the left, I’m a left-handed.”
I look at Paolo, who seems confused by the interaction. “Cut off his left hand.” Paolo gives me a sadistic smile and walks over to the table in the corner of the room, picking up a saw and heading toward Nikolai.
“What, no, love, what are you doing?” Before he can say anything else, Paolo cuts off his hand with a single blow, causing him to scream and blood to gush out in several directions. I look down to see the amputated hand at my feet.
“Now I want you to stab him where the bullet hit Luca.” Francesco looks at me with a big grin on his face, picks up a knife, and stabs Nikolai in the chest, making him cry, and even if involuntarily, a small smile appears on my lips, happy to see him suffer.
I move closer to Nikolai, watching his eyes travel all over my body. “You know Nikolai, I’m not a big fan of killing, of causing pain, I’ve never wanted my hands stained with blood. Luca once said that even if someone dies because of me, the blood will be on his hands, and I wouldn’t stain myself with the blood of the victims. But looking at you now, knowing what you did, why you did it, I don’t mind having your blood on my handsbecause, for the first time in my life, I want nothing more than to see someone dead; I want you dead.” I approach him, lower my bodyslightly, and bring my lips close to his ear. “I love Luca, and I’ll always love him; he’s the one, and even if he died, I would never be you!” The look on his face is one of rage, and I know he would hit me if he had the chance. I head for the exit of the room with Francesco by my side. “Kill him, make it long and painful.”
“Yes, ma’am.” the soldier’s voices come out in a sonorous unison.
“You miserable bitch, you should love me!” I take one last look in Nikolai’s direction, smile at him, and wave my hand goodbye.
“Goodbye Nikolai, see you in hell!”
I walk out of the room, breathing heavily, my body feeling heavy and light at the same time; a mixture of feelings go through him. I want him dead, but I feel guilty for wishing someone dead. I awake from my thoughts to Francesco clapping his hands; I look at him with raised eyebrows, confused by his reaction.
“A real Di Santis, I’m glad we’re filming the torture, Luca will be proud!”
“I’ve just ordered the death of a man; there’s nothing to be proud of.”
“In our world, it’s a reason to be proud, and if you had any doubts about whether you’d be suitable to marry Luca, you can erase them because I can confirm right now that you’re a real mafia queen.”
“Francesco…” the words don’t come out of my mouth, still in shock at what happened inside.
“You’ll get used to it, believe me.” I nod, reacting automatically, following Francesco toward the car and fearing that I really will get used to the deaths. We leave the house, and I look at the horizon to see the sun rising; most of the bodies are no longer scattered on the ground. I get into the car and sit in the passenger seat, making Francesco look at me strangely. Ilean my head against the glass and let out a sigh of reliefthat a new day is starting, and I hope I can leave yesterday in the past, maybe even forget it. “Luca woke up a few hours ago, while we were in the room, he asked to see you.”
“So let’s go.”
“I think we should go to your house first, take a shower, and change your clothes; you’ve got blood on you.”
