Crave For You

Sofia

"I don't know how it happened."

The slap lands with a thundering crack against my skin as soon as the answer leaves me. My balance on the heels breaks, the floor moving closer until I am down lying flat on it with panting breaths. The sound of a ring vibrates my eardrums as my vision recollects from the dark edges that linger on the sides.

Something drips to the floor. I glance at the red drop that has trickled from somewhere on my face. A stickiness coats the spot between my upper lip and nose. I touch it with trembling fingers, bringing them in front of my eyes to see the tips covered with maroon liquid—my blood.

A tall shadow falls over me. I cringe as I turn to find Samuel with his rage-filled expression bending low, his hands pressed to his knees, clasping them with white-knuckled grips. He has blood on his coat from his son's last moments. His eyes are dead as they grill their dark stare into me.

I can't say exactly how I came to be in this situation. As soon as Angelo was declared dead, the guests were cleared from the area except for a few men who I assume are Samuel's capos who stayed behind. They encircled me like hyenas once Angelo's body was taken from there, their accusatory looks speaking everything I needed to fear.

"Liar!" Samuel spits out, his voice bordering on a thin edge of violence.

His hand comes to fist my hair on the top of my head, biting pinpricks of hurt traveling down my skull. I hiss aloud, tears blooming from my eyes.

"No, per favore...per favore..." I whisper, joining my hands in a plea before him. "I swear I have no idea."

His fist tightens, the force so tight I feel like he could rip my hair out in one pull.

I spot one of the capos stepping forward, his lips pulled up in a sneer. "Then why didn't you take the glass?"

I cut my eyes to his, the question hitting me like a boulder has rolled over me.

"What?" I feign innocence, knowing well what I am risking. I thought no one had watched my little interaction with the stranger waiter, but I was wrong.

I'm so fucked up.

The man faces his boss instead of me. "I saw her hand move from one glass to another. She knew," he says, his revelation making Samuel let out a low growl.

He pulls my head back, making me face the ceiling. He tilts my neck so far back that it stretches to its limit. I grab his wrist with a hand, struggling to breathe freely.

"No...wait..." I stutter out, forcing with painful breaths. "It wasn't me. I...that man...the waiter. He moved the tray."

Samuel leans in, his nostrils flaring, His face vibrates in my vision as he shakes me by my hair, causing my brain to knock inside my head.

"And you doubted something and yet chose to remain silent?" he seethes.

For a second, I end up speechless, wondering if what I said put me in more of a mess. I just confirmed what the capo saw. Crap!

"I–forgive me...per favore..." I whimper, my words leaving me with strangled cries.

"My son is dead!" Samuel yells over my face, the musty scent of his cologne tinged with something metallic as he drops his grip from my hair. "Your excuses won't bring him back. He was poisoned right under my nose and you, his fiancée, are responsible for it."

I land on my elbows, looking at the man with no hope for mercy. "Pardon me, please..."

Samuel grits his teeth, his eyes twitching. "Gabriel De Luca needs to be taught that his offenses won't go unpunished." He looks at the soldiers around him, then orders, "Take her to the room!"