The cage was an actual cage.

At least that's how Giana described it. She wasn't really descriptive but once she told me that it was used for fighting, I lost interest.

Exercise is not my biggest forte.

Amelia and I shared a room but Giana was practically a roommate. She came over all the time and spent most nights next to me on my bed.

I didn't mind because sleeping next to somebody was enough for me to not have nightmares.

"Giovanni is here!" Giana burst into our room.

Amelia and I were watching another kdrama since it was too hot outside. We were laying on my bed on our bellies and looked up to Giana.

"Is he shirtless?" Amelia demanded.

It only took one nod from Giana to make Amelia close our laptop and drag me off the bed. I nearly stumbled over my own feet but balanced myself.

I don't mind shirtless guys but we were watching 'it's okay not to be okay' and the main leads were about to spend the night together.

I was more invested in that than a shirtless guy that I didn't know.

Giana had often mentioned Giovanni the past week. It usually happened when we were laying in bed at night, away from the ears from our family. Apparently, she has slept with him multiple times but it never grew into something serious.

"It's fun to fuck him but I'd never want to call him my boyfriend." She'd said.

They were friends with benefits. I don't know how that works because I felt like someone always caught feeling. I couldn't imagine something as sex to be emotionless. You always got invested somehow, right?

We hurried down the stairs towards the gigantic foyer. Nonno was there and he was walking towards the front door. He spotted us and rolled his eyes.

I swear he annoys me more than Silas and that says a lot.

We've bickered some more this past week but he wasn't awfully mean to me. Especially not after Nonna scolded him. She was the only one in our family that had any kind of control over him.

Giana pulled Amelia and I towards the front door but we ran into Nonno's walking stick. He'd used it to block the way. He gave us a stern look, more directed towards Giana.

"Giovanni is a good worker of mine. Don't make me have to fire him." He warned us.

"We'll just introduce him to Elena and perhaps go look around the vineyard." Giana wove him off.

"My problem exactly. Her fratelli don't want Giovanni all over her." He pointed at me.

(Brothers.)

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. He caught that of course. He now directly pointed his walking stick at me.

"You're too pretty for your own good, marmocchia."

Amelia and Giana couldn't wait anymore and just ran off towards Giovanni. I grinned at my nonno.

"Did you just call me pretty?"

He sighed deeply and dropped his walking stick. I stepped to his side and linked our arms. Staircases were difficult for him. He hated it when people help him, so that's why I did it.

"You're my nipotina. Of course you're pretty." He grunted.

(Granddaughter.)

I laughed and helped him down the stairs. We walked towards a white truck filled with large boxes. A guy was leaning against the truck talking to Giana and Amelia.

He had an average length and was tan. The first thing in noticed were his abs. He had a nice six pack and well formed biceps. He wore a pair of dusted jeans and old sneakers. His brown hair was pushed out of his face by a bandana.

If I'm being honest, he was not that good looking.

Giana and Amelia had been hyping him up for nothing.

Fucking liars.

He could be considered handsome but just not my type.

My type was Alexander Ferrari.

I couldn't get his perfect face out of my head.

"He's not that handsome." I muttered quietly.

"That's what I've been saying." Nonno agreed.

We finally seemed to agree on something.

"Signor Cassano." Giovanni greeted nonno.

His hazel eyes settled on me and I started to like him less. I hated it when guys look at me like I was a piece of meat.

Fucking disgusting.

I was wearing a white summer dress that was quite short. I felt like I could wear whatever the fuck I wanted but his stare made me uncomfortable.

"Mi mostrerai il vino o continuerai a fissare mia nipota?" Nonno snapped annoyed.

(Will you show me the wine or will you continue to stare at my granddaughter?)

"È difficile distogliere lo sguardo dalla cose belle." He smirked like a fucking idiot.

(It's hard to look away from beautiful things.)

"Allora ti tiro fuori gli occhio."

(Then I'll just pull your eyes out.)

I laughed. It was very sadistic to do but nonno said it with such a serious expression that it made me laugh.

Giovanni seemed like he was used to threats by my nonno. He moved to the back of the truck and showed nonno the wine.

"Ya'll hyped him up for nothing." I snapped at Amelia and Giana.

"He's the best you can get in this house." Giana shrugged.

"Don't settle for less." I warned her.

She laughed and looked at Giovanni, who was watching us intently while nonno analysed the wines.

"I'm not settling for him. We're just fucking." She assured me.

"But it seems like he would rather fuck you than me." She added.

I scrunched my nose in disgust. My opinion on sex hadn't changed.

Your girl was not ready for it, so it wasn't happening.

Simple as that.

"Let Oliver take them to the warehouse." Nonno spoke as they walked back to us.

"I'll take the girls with me." Giovanni replied.

I didn't want to go with him. But Amelia and Giana were already eagerly nodding their heads.

For fuck sake.

But then my saviour came.

"Elle!" Victor ran down the stairs towards us.

He was dressed in his swimming trunks. He was usually pale but he was starting to tan slightly like the rest of us. His curls bounced as he ran down the stairs.

"We're hanging out by the pool. Let's go." He grabbed my hand.

Then his eyes fell on Giovanni. Victor was usually the least overprotective out of all my brothers but he still was overprotective. He pulled me behind him and then reached out for Amelia.

"Hector doesn't want you to hang out with him." He scolded us.

"I'll take good care of your sisters." Giovanni winked.

Ew.

"I don't want you around my sisters." Victor snapped harshly.

He was usually very shy but there was this side to him. The side where he looked a lot like Silas.

"Si calmi. Take your sisters to the pool." Nonno told Victor.

He didn't need to hear that a second time. He dragged us inside. Amelia was whining but I didn't mind.

"But he was going to take us for a ride!" She cried out when Victor took us to our rooms to change in our bikinis.

"He's disgusting, Amelia. The only thing he wants to do is seduce you. Just like he did with Gia."

Shit.

Victor was right about that. Giana was sixteen when she slept with him the first time, while Giovanni was twenty. Now he was twenty two and trying to flirt with fifteen year olds.

He was a fucking creep.

"Get changed in five minutes." He told us sternly and went to wait outside.

Stern and scolding Victor was a new experience.

I think I prefer cute cuddly Victor, though.

////////////////

The pool was so much fun. I jumped in the water and played with my siblings. I even drowned Nicolas twice!

Don't worry, he survived.

Sadly.

Don't tell him I said that.

Our parents were sitting in the sun chairs. We all got out of the pool when nonna brought out snacks. I drowned Nicolas a third time just so I could get a head start on the snacks.

The little bitch was going to eat everything again.

Dad laid a towel around me as I nearly devoured the snacks my nonna made. She was such a good cook and it made me feel emotional. Like food and I have such a special connection.

Soulmates for life

I sat down in my mom's sun chair. And then it started.

This happens every time.

Whenever I'm at the beach or the pool, I get so sleepy after playing in the water or solely staring at the water. It put me in this intense sleepy trance and just knocked me out.

I remember eating a bruschetta and then just falling asleep.

When I woke up, I was laying on my mom. She had me all cuddled up against her chest and I was wrapped in towels to keep me comfy.

It was the best feeling ever.

"Did you have a good nap, baby?" She noticed that I was awake.

I nodded and snuggled deeper in her embrace. She chuckled and kissed my head lovingly.

I turned around in her embrace so that I could look at the view. We had direct view on the vineyard from here and it was beautiful. This was what vacation felt like and it just couldn't get any better.

But it did get worse.

//////////////////

It was a rainy day. After almost two weeks of heat, I didn't mind the rainy weather. I walked downstairs to get something to eat when Matteo stopped me. He smiled as he neared me. He'd apologised for his ignorant comment and I decided to forgive him.

We haven't talked much because he was usually out or fighting in the cage with one of the twins.

"The twins have a surprise for you. They want me to bring you."

A surprise?

The twins often played pranks on me and at first I thought that was what was happening. I didn't think much of it when he covered my eyes with his hands and led me around the house.

We walked through a few hallways before he opened a door and we went down a staircase. It instantly got colder and there was a weird smell in their air.

It smelled like a basement but also a weird metallic scent.

Blood.

"Matteo?" My voice was shaking.

The smell was bringing back unpleasant memories. My heart beat was starting to go faster and I was breathing irregularly. I could feel a panic attack coming up.

"M-"

"We're here." He pulled his hands away.

Utter shock.

I couldn't describe what I was feeling because it took me by complete surprise.

Diana Maxwell was alive.

The woman that raised me to be a bride to a Russian psycho was still breathing air.

She sat behind bars. She was tied to the ground by chains and she looked absolutely terrible. She had bruises all over her body and was bleeding. Her hair was matted and greasy. I even recognised her clothes.

Those were the clothes from the last day that I saw her

The day my life changed forever.

"The bitch is still alive." Matteo laughed.

I couldn't even get angry at him. Diana's brown eyes snapped up and focussed on me. Like a wolf animal she got up and ran towards the bars of the cell. I screamed out before falling to the ground.

I couldn't breathe. My mind just exploded with memories of Ronan and of Diana. I could feel his hands on me again and I tried to push them off.

But they weren't really there.

"What the fuck is happening to you?" Matteo asked confused.

I was gasping for air and clutching my hair tightly.

I can't stop this. I can't stop this.

"Baby, it's mom. You have to help me. You have to free me." Her stupid voice spoke.

I groaned out loud while still gasping for air. I haven't had a panic attack in a long while so this one felt super extreme. I had learned tricks to help but suddenly I forgot about them all.

"Why the fuck is the basement door open?!" A loud voice screamed.

"Charlotte!"

That was not my name.

I am Elena.

I-

I still can't breathe.

"Topolina, look at papa." Someone cupped my face.

I couldn't calm down.

"Get him off me." I coughed.

"Top-"

He was on top of me now. His hands all over me. I was losing and he had won.

"GET HIM OFF ME!" I screamed.

Someone grabbed me and ran away with me. We went up a staircase and then outside, straight in the rain. It felt like a big shock and suddenly a big gulp of air filled my longs.

The sudden shock of cold rain helped me gain back a sense of reality.

I was getting wet but I could breathe again. My chest was moving up and down rapidly.

"You're safe. Papa is here." Dad pulled me in for a tight hug.

I crumbled apart in his embrace. I've made so much progress but now it fell like I was back at square one. Even though that was not the truth.

Seeing Diana alive with just a very big trigger.

Dad lifted me up and carefully brought me back inside. We walked up the stairs towards his bedroom. Mom immediately rushed towards me with towels and warm clothes.

What happened next was just a blur. They dried my hair with a blow drier. My mom changed me in warm and dry clothes. Then she laid me down in their bed and cuddled with me.

"I'll protect you in your sleep."