The city of Montoverra was not just a dangerous one. Even at night, it stayed awake to the music, blinding streetlights, and, not to forget, the sirens that came and went like background noise.
Violence wasn't only unusual here- it was the norm.
Alessia Romano knew that better than anyone.
By the time she stepped out of her black sedan and through the gates of the Romano mansion, her body felt heavy with exhaustion. Her shoulders ached and her hands still felt like they were in gloves.
She'd been in surgery all day. Gunshots, stabbings and so many other gory sights had been presented in the hospital wards, and while she managed to save some lives, she lost others.
That was the job but the part Alessia hated admitting, even to herself, was that Montoverra bled like this because of men like her father.
Don Salvatore Romano didn't just live in this city- he owned it. He was the kingpin of the underworld, and though Alessia didn't take after him, she had to accept the sort of life she'd been born into.
"Welcome, Miss Alessia." Alessia heard one of her father's men approach her, dressed in a black tuxedo, and attempt to carry her belongings away, but she stopped him.
"It's fine, Luke." Her hands immediately moved to the other side, not wanting to bother him. "I can carry them all by myself." She didn't mind.
Reaching the mighty door of the mansion, she paused slightly before turning to Luke, who had now returned to his position, "Is my father in?" She saw him nod.
Alessia pushed the door open to be greeted by the overwhelmingly large house she knew as her home. Being the only daughter of a mafia king, her life has not only been complicated but also filled with ups and downs.
There was barely enough privacy for her as her every move was watched and tracked and even now, she could scarcely notice the pair of eyes that followed her within the mansion.
Nodding absently at the guards in sight, Alessia climbed the marble stairs, heading straight for her room before shutting the door behind her.
She let out a long breath she hadn't realised she was holding and started peeling off her clothes- her coat first, then her blouse.
Her hair was pinned too tightly, making her head throb faintly from stress. Reaching up to loosen it, she jolted when she heard the sharp sound of a gunshot hit the mansion, the noise hitting her skull like a metal.
Alessia paused, her heart skipping when another pop sound came, then another and another.
She didn't immediately panic since gunfires weren't a rare thing at the Romano's estate. She was aware that her father had enemies who always tried to infiltrate his empire, but each time, they failed.
This time around, however, Alessia couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty that this was a different case.
Her stomach dropped when she began to hear screaming and crashing of things downstairs, glass shattering in different directions.
Her body moved before she could think, yanking her door open and stepping outside the room into the corridor.
"What is going on-?!" She yelled as a gunshot cracked louder this time, close enough that she flinched.
Footsteps pounded as guards barked orders while servants ran helter-skelter, erupting the once-controlled mansion of Romano into chaos.
Alessia wasn't satisfied with not knowing what was truly going on. She ran toward the balcony, overlooking the front halls, to see a pile of black cars that didn't belong to the Romano mansion, filling the garages.
Her face slightly paled, realising they were under attack and just as she was about to run, she felt someone grab her arm so hard it hurt.
She whipped her head, caught off guard.
"Miss Alessia," It was Meshach, her father's most loyal man and someone who had been around since she was a child. She took in his appearance quickly, noticing an unusual amount of blood all over his hands. His face was pale and his eyes were frantic.
Was he injured?
Alessia's eyes widened in confusion and fear. Wasn't this man supposed to be with her father and not leave his side, no matter what?
"We need to get out of here, Miss!" He dragged Alessia the next instant, not even giving her a moment to breathe or think.
"Wait-!" She attempted to speak, but Meshach had already pulled her straight into a secret passage, his grip too tight and his movements too frantic.
"Get in, now!" He kicked the passage door open swiftly, paving the way for Alessia while darting his eyes in every direction as he held a gun in his right hand.
Alessia looked at the secret passage before returning her gaze to him, her eyes already welling with tears as she wrenched herself free from his hold.
Her body shivered, already putting together pieces of what had happened, but even her heart didn't want to believe it.
"What. Happened."
She didn't need to speak twice, her expression was so stoic that Meshach knew she wouldn't go in until he answered.
He sighed in surrender, looking behind him now and then with his gun handy in case of any intruder, before leaning closer to her, his voice low but cracked like he was trying to put himself together.
"We've been betrayed, Miss Alessia." He managed to say, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he stared back at her.
Those words hit Alessia like ice as she staggered backwards, feeling her chest tighten.
There was a brief moment of silence between the two of them, like they were trying to digest the reality of their situations.
"My father..."
"I'm sorry—" Meshach whispered, his voice barely audible.
Alessia felt a tear drop from her eyes, but she didn't get the chance to mourn when she suddenly heard gunshots coming from the other corridor, startling her.
"NOW!" Meshach straightened up and pushed the door open again for her, stretching his hands out for her to take, but before Alessia could climb in, she heard another gunshot, this time, so close to her that she briefly stilled, thinking she had been shot.
The gunshot exploded behind them and she noticed Meshach jerk, his eyes widening.
Alessia barely understood what happened until she saw the blood spreading across his chest.
"Meshach…?" He dropped to his knees, choking as his hand reached toward her like he was still trying to shield her.
Alessia screamed and crouched beside him instinctively, holding his hand.
"Run." Were the last words he said before his body collapsed and Alessia looked to the corridor to see a group of men heading her way. She quickly stood up and turned to run but something slammed into the back of her head so fast she didn't see it coming.
Pain burst through her skull and her vision went white. She could only hear distorted and distant voices in the background before everything went dark and she hit the ground.