Dad could've finally found me... Yet I'm not there for him to find. I'm all the way across the world on another bloody continent!

I feel the fire within me begin to burn bright, the heat increasing to the point where I think I may just burn this whole place down. Why is nothing going my way? What have I done wrong to have ended up here?

I whimper as I begin backing away from the door, not wanting to listen to anything more they have to say. I've heard enough, so I begin heading back towards my room.

I want to scream out in frustration. I want to just cry and let all my emotions go. They've been bottling up for too long--So that's exactly what I do.

I yell and I cry. I don't even care if i sound insane, because i am fucking insane. I've been pushed past my limits, and I'm finally breaking.

Through my pathetic crying I can hear Matteo's office door open and heavy footsteps following after me, but I swiftly make my way into my room, closing the door behind me and locking it.

The handle jiggles as he tries to open it, unsuccessfully.

I stumble towards my bed and crawl beneath the duvet, hiding like a scared child. His fist pounds on the door loudly, and it sounds like thunder as it echoes within the large space. Can't he leave me alone? Can't I cry in peace?

"Open this door right now, Mia!" Matteo yells as he continues to bang on the door. I flinch at his harsh tone and bury myself further beneath the covers.

And it stays like that for a few minutes. Just the sound of my tears falling and silent whispers, accompanied by Matteo's harsh yelling and banging. And then, it all stops.

And instead of the sound of the banging, I hear the jangling of keys, and the door being unlocked.

Fuck.

Matteo barges into the room and I shrink even further. I'm overheating beneath the duvet, but it's better than having to face that monster. The man who took my whole life away from me, as if I am quite literally some object he believes he can claim.

His footsteps become louder and louder until finally he is stood in front of the bed. So close to me. And I'm scared. I'm scared of what he can do to me, when I am in such a weak and vulnerable state.

I feel the weight in the bed shift as he takes a seat beside me. I try to edge farther away, while still beneath the covers, but he pulls the duvet down, exposing me to the cool air and him.

My eyes slowly make their way to his face. I can only imagine how horrible I look right now, how pathetic I must seem. I hate being so weak. I absolutely hate it.

I sit up in an attempt to shuffle further away from him, but it doesn't work as his large arms wrap themselves around my body.

At first touch, I flinch, wanting to pull far away from him, but then I realise just how much I need this. I quickly melt into his embrace and find myself hugging back.

I allow my tears to fall freely and I cry into his chest, burying myself away from the world. He strokes my hair and whispers comforting phrases into my ear. It makes me feel alright.

And we sit like that for a while. Until I find that I can no longer keep my eyes open, and I have no more tears left to cry.

I tuck Mia into her bed and watch as she sleeps so peacefully.

Dante said that she had been doing fine this week. After I had made the decision to give her some space, I'd tasked Dante to check in on her often and keep her company. He told me she was coping well, that she was alright.

But what I just witnessed does not seem like she is alright. And I'm the one who did that to her.

As soon as I saw her balled up beneath her covers, I just wanted to hold her, so I did, and she let me. She let me comfort me, until she fell asleep in my arms.

She's becoming more comfortable around me, she's adjusting, but at a price.

From now on, I need to be extra careful with her. Careful with what I say, what I do, how I act. And I need to get her out of this apartment. She needs to socialise.

But taking her outside runs the risk of her being killed. And especially after the second threat i had received today--

Breaking into your house was easy, don't think that I cannot break into your apartment in Osaka.

As soon as I had received the text, I had thrown my phone across my office. Mia isn't safe anywhere, and this person is just demonstrating that. They broke into my house and took that stupid boy Scott, to what? Prove a point?

Whatever is happening has been planned. This isn't some random occurrence. Something is happening behind the scenes, that I am unaware of, and I hate that.

There's a correlation between whoever intercepted my cocaine shipment and the person who is threatening Mia. And I just need to make the necessary connections, and once I do, many people are going to die.

I leave Mia's room, closing the door softly behind me. Heading towards the lounge room, I notice Dante sitting on the edge of the couch, worried about staining his face."Is she alright?" He asks.

"Why? Have you grown attached?" I question.

Dante stands promptly. "No, of course not." He mumbles.

"You're a terrible liar." I state. "Are you falling in love with her?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that... She's more like a... Little sister." Dante says, struggling to find the appropriate words.

I nod my head. He just saved his ass.

I head towards the fridge, where I pull out a bottle of red wine. Grabbing two glasses, I pour Dante and I a glass, then quickly downing my portion within seconds.

I can feel Dante's eyes on mine, worry still etched within them, however directed to me rather than Mia now. "Don't look at me like that." I growl.

Dante looks away as he takes his glass, taking a sip. "Everything is going to be alright." He assures.

But I know it won't.

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