Third Person's POV:
Evan went to Ariana's room and saw that Ariana was sitting on the bed motionless. He glanced at Hollan and saw that she was looking at her worriedly.
"Hollan, Ariana." He called out.
Hollan looked up at him. Ariana was looking like she was in a daze.
Evan went inside the room and sat with Ariana. He caressed her head and she finally looked at him.
"Dad." She called out softly.
"Baby girl, we are thinking that it would be best if we go to Romano mansion for a while." He said gently.
"I think that is for the best dad. Mom, pack some necessities and we will move to the mansion immediately." Ariana said.
Hollan nodded and went to pack. She was a little bit happy to see that she was starting to talk.
Evan just sat there with Ariana, not saying anything for the moment. He knew that what she needed at this moment was just peace. He would just stay there with her like this and when she is ready to talk, he would talk with her. He knew that she would emerge from this. She just needed some time.
After some time Gabriel arrived there.
"Princess, Evan, everything is ready. Let's go." He said.
Ariana and Evan went with him. They all went to the Romano mansion in the car.
Leonardo stayed behind to help with the aftermath while Antonio went to the mafia headquarters. He had to tighten the security. He had already tightened the security but still there was a breach in the security.
He had to investigate this matter properly and thoroughly. He had placed enough bodyguards around the Parker home and they were to always protect them, no after what. But when the danger came and it was time for them to protect, all of their men were killed beforehand and no one knew about it.
After thinking about that, he was sure that there was a mole in their mafia, otherwise how would they know when to attack and where to attack. He knew that this attack, although looked like it was on the Parkers, was on his princess.
The bodyguards that his dad, brother and sister had all were killed by the enemies before they could even move. He had investigated all of this. It would not be possible to execute that if they were not well informed about them. This proved that there definitely was a mole and they should be someone with a higher rank in the mafia.
He was sure of it. This was his gut feelings and in their line of business the gut feeling was very important. His gut feeling had never been wrong in this life and had saved him many times.
He urgently summoned Asher.
"Asher, I think that there is a mole in our mafia. What do you think?" Antonio said.
Asher went into deep thought. He also thought that the possibility was very high. Otherwise with his boss' meticulous planning how can there be such a big breach in the security. He nodded.
"I will get to it right away, boss."
Antonio nodded. He trusted him completely. Asher went and got to work.
Antonio called his other trusted men and instructed them also. He must find who is the one behind all of this. They had tried and failed today but they mustn't succeed next time and for that to happen they had to filter out their men and tighten security.
*****
Meanwhile as Ariana and others were sitting in the car Ariana felt like it was a very long journey. Although it was just a few minutes away. She slowly felt exhaustion setting in and went to sleep.
As she was sleeping she was frowning very hard and was mumbling something. She was also sweating profusely. It seemed like she was having a nightmare. Others immediately noted her conditions and understood what she could be having the nightmare about.
Gabriel caressed her head softly and called out her name.
"Princess, Ariana. Wake up. It's alright. We are with you." He said gently.
He felt his heart breaking. Although he was a mafia boss, she was his precious daughter. He can't bear to see her like this. He was determined to pull her out of this nightmare-like experience because they lived in a world that doesn't allow vulnerability like this.
She would have to kill again, sometimes for herself and other times for someone else. Although they would try their best to guard her, still they can't guarantee that nothing would go wrong. She would have to become stronger.
Ariana felt like she was stuck in a loop. She was watching herself shooting the man over and over again. She couldn't get out of this loop no matter what she did. She would kill him and repeat it. She felt like there was no more hope.
When she was suddenly feeling helpless she suddenly felt a warm presence and a soothing voice.
'Princess, wake up.' Ariana heard this voice.
She slowly felt like the nightmare that she was stuck in was fading. She opened her eyes and met her father's eyes. His eyes were gentle and he was stroking her hair.
"It's okay. It was just a nightmare." He said.
Ariana slowly realised that she was safe now and it was only a nightmare. She knew that her killing the man would leave some impact on her.
"Have we reached?" She asked.
"Yes. Let's go." Gabriel said.
They went home and saw that all of the brothers were present there except Antonio and Leonardo. Matteo was already with them.
They immediately rushed from work when they got the message. Antonio and Leonardo had forbidden them from going there. So they stayed put here but they were getting restless. Then they got the news that everything was under control, only then they sighed in relief.
"Ari."
"Ana."
"Aria."
They all called her and rushed to give her a hug.
"Are you okay Ari?" Rafael asked and checked her.
When he didn't see the visible injury he relaxed that she was not injured.
"Yes I am fine, fratello." She said and gave him a small smile.
When he saw her smile Rafael immediately knew that she was not completely fine, at least not physiologically. She got a trauma when she killed them for the first time.
"Come on. Let's go inside." He said.
"Uncle, aunty, Dad, Matteo, are you guys alright? Or are you hurt anywhere?" Rafael asked them.
"No, we are all alright." Gabriel said.
"That's good then." He nodded and smiled.
"When will Tony and Leo fratello come?" Ariana asked as she saw that only they were absent.
"They will be back in a few hours as they have work to do." Gabriel said.
Ariana nodded. It was almost night so that means that they will be back by midnight.
"Princess, what would you like to eat tonight for dinner?" Gabriel asked.
He thought that they had to keep her mind occupied so that she wouldn't overthink.
"I would eat anything papa."
Although she was not in the mood to eat she knew that she had to eat in order to keep her body going.
"How about pizza or white sauce pasta? They are your favourite." Matteo asked.
"Ok. Then white sauce pasta it is." Ariana said and brightened up a little at the mention of her favourite dish.
Matteo also felt a little relieved now that she brightened up a little. He went and told the cook to prepare the white sauce pasta and some other dishes.
They chatted for some time and Ariana would also say a few words here and there. She knew that they were worried for her and she didn't want her family to worry for her so she tried to make herself appear alright.
When the dinner was ready they had the dinner together. They knew that Antonio and Leonardo would not return before midnight so they told the helpers to keep the dinner and heat it when they came back.
"Twinnie, do you want me to sleep with you in the room?" Matteo asked as he thought of the nightmare that she had in the car.
"No twinnie I will be alright." She said with a smile.
"Ok but I will leave my door open so if you want to you can come in my room." He said.
"Ok twinnie." She was very touched with her twin's thoughtfulness.
They all went to sleep but they all were very worried about Ariana.
*****
Ariana's POV:
Numbness.
That was what I was feeling since I killed the enemies.
Silence.
That was all what I felt like was in my world.
Although the outside world was bustling through and my family was also trying to cheer me on, I just couldn't get out of this feeling.
I know that I have to. For my family, friends and me. After all, I was in a world where I would have to kill again. Unless I leave this world behind me.
But I know that I couldn't do it, after all I have everything in this world. What would I do in the normal world, where would I go.
Moreover I knew that even if I tried to, I couldn't leave this world behind. The world would catch up to me and then I would be even more of a mess than I am now.
So all I have left is to battle this out and emerge stronger. If nothing else, for my family, I have to.
I went to sleep, dreading the nightmare. What if it came again and I wouldn't be able to come out of it. Still I closed my eyes and eventually drifted to sleep.
*****
I was here again. I was shooting them again. This time the scene changed after some time and I was shooting my friends and family. I saw that they were terrified to see me like that. They were looking very scared that I was shooting at my own family and I could feel that I was very happy. I was elated.
This...scared me.
What am I doing and why am I doing this? I realised that I had no control over my body no matter what I did. I couldn't stop myself from killing them. I saw that I shot all of my family members.
Dead.
All of them were dead.
I was very terrified. Why is this happening?
I tried to control my breath and take charge of my body. I knew that this was a nightmare and I had to get out of this. I tried for some time and slowly got hold of my body and my eyes flew open. I was back in my room.
Finally, I got out of the nightmare.
Still it had shaken me very much so I thought of twinnie and what he said. I went to the washroom first and then went to his room. His room was just beside me. Sure enough his door was a little azar.
I went into his room. I tiptoed to his bed and lied down. Just as I had laid down, twinnie spoke, scaring the shit out of me. I thought that he was sleeping.
"Can't sleep?" He murmured his voice hoarse from sleeping.
"I thought that you were sleeping. You scared me." I said through gritted teeth.
"When you pushed open the gate I woke up. Now tell me, did you have another nightmare?" He replied.
"Sigh. Yes." I didn't say anything else.
He also stayed silent and just pulled me in his embrace. I also drifted to sleep after some time.
*****
I woke up feeling very hot. It was like a heater beside me. I moved a little and opened my eyes to see that I was sleeping beside twinnie. That's why I was feeling so hot. He had his legs on mine and my arm was on his. I felt refreshed after waking up. I didn't have any nightmares after I came to sleep here.
Then I realised something else. Why were my brothers and papa also here? I looked at them confused. They were all sleeping in the room.
Papa was on my other side and my brothers were also there. Tony, Leo and Raf fratello were sleeping on the ground on air mattresses and Ben fratello was sleeping on the couch. I looked around for Alf fratello and saw that he was sleeping on the other side of twinnie.
I was thoroughly confused and speechless. Why were they here?
****
Hello dear readers.
Here's another chapter.
Happy reading.
Love, Stella.