Page 52 of Bound in Vengeance
"Mr. Gallo," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm so sorry to interrupt. But... I just got a call from the school. My daughter has a severe fever and is crying for me. She’s been sick for a while now. May I please be excused for the rest of the day?"
She braces herself, closing her eyes slightly as if she expects him to scream at her or fire her on the spot.
Alessandro stares at her, his face a completely unreadable mask. "Pack your things and go," he says coldly, his tone flat and unbothered. "Take tomorrow off too. Your files can wait until Monday."
The woman's eyes snap open, a wave of profound relief and utter shock washing over her features. "Thank you, sir. Thank you so much," she breathes, bowing her head quickly before turning on her heel and practically rushing down the hallway.
Alessandro watches her leave for a beat, his expression settling back into its harsh lines. He turns to me, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. "Excuse me for a moment."
He walks across the expansive office and disappears into an attached room, which I assume is his private executive bathroom. Within seconds, the low, muffled rumble of his voice echoes through the door. He's on a phone call.
Curiosity instantly flares inside me, overriding my better judgment. I tiptoe quietly across the plush rug, and press my back against the adjacent wall, holding my breath to listen.
"Valerio," Alessandro grumbles into the phone, his voice quiet. "One of the administrative assistants on my floor just left. The girl with the curly hair. Her kid is sick with a severe fever."
There's a brief pause as Valerio responds on the other end.
"I don't care about her missing hours," Alessandro snaps quietly, cutting him off. "Find out which hospital she’s taking the child to. Call ahead and ensure Dr. Bianchi or one of our private specialists handles the admission. Make sure they get the best care available, and put the entire medical bill on the company’s account. Do it quietly. She doesn't need to know it came from me."
Another short pause. "Just get it done."
I quickly spin around and rush back to the center of the office, my heart hammering against my ribs as I pretend to examine a painting on the wall just as the bathroom door swings open.
Alessandro walks back out, completely unaware that I just eavesdropped on his private conversation. He looks as cold, menacing, and unyielding as he did five minutes ago, totally detached from the man who just ordered a private doctor for an employee's daughter.
Despite myself, a strange, unexpected warmth blossoms deep in my chest. It’s a tiny crack in his terrifying armor, revealing a fiercely protective, hidden side of him that I never, ever expected to see.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asks, his brow furrowing into a deep frown as he catches me watching him.
I instantly snap myself out of my thoughts, rolling my eyes to mask the sudden flutter in my chest. "Can we just go?"
He gives a short nod, still holding the laptop.
We walk back out into the quiet hallway and step into the private executive elevator. The heavy steel doors slide shut with a smooth, muted click, cutting off the glares of his employees, and the cabin begins its rapid descent toward the parking garage.
Suddenly, a violent jolt rocks the entire shaft.
A loud, metallic screech echoes above us, and the elevator grinds to a brutal, mid-air halt. An instant later, the overhead lights flicker violently and snap completely off, plunging us into pitch-black darkness.
I freeze, my hands immediately clenching into fists at my sides.Staycomposed, I tell myself, my heart beginning to rabbit against my ribs. It's just a power glitch. It’s fine.
But it isn't fine. The air in the tiny steel box instantly feels ten times thicker, suffocating and incredibly tight. The walls feel like they are actively moving inward, pressing against my shoulders, suffocating me. My breathing hitches, growing shallow and rapid as a cold, paralyzing panic claws its way up my throat.
Alessandro notices the shift immediately. In the absolute dark, I hear the rustle of his jacket.
"Sienna?" his voice cuts through the dark, rough and alert. "Hey. Look at me."
I can't look at him. I can't see anything. I try to draw a deep breath, but my lungs refuse to expand, trapping a ragged, broken gasp in my chest. I'm starting to hyperventilate, my knees trembling so violently I have to lean my back against the mirrored wall to keep from collapsing.
"Sienna, breathe," Alessandro commands. Suddenly, his large, warm hands find my face in the dark, his palms cupping my cheeks, his thumbs sweeping across my skin. His touch is a solid, grounding anchor in the void. He leans down, his chest pressing against mine. "Talk to me,dolcezza. What is this? Are you afraid of small spaces?"
"I... I can't," I choke out, tears of sheer terror pricking my eyes as my mind threatens to drag me backward into the dark. "The... the doors. I can't breathe, Alessandro..."
"You can breathe. Focus on my voice," he says, his tone remarkably calm, though I can feel the sudden, terrifyingtension locking up his broad shoulders. "Why are you afraid of the dark, Sienna? Tell me."
"My father," I sob, the confession ripping out of me before I can stop it, driven by pure panic. "When we... when we were little. If we misbehaved, or if we didn't sit perfectly still during his dinners... he would lock us in the small wine closet beneath the stairs. It was completely dark. No windows. He’d leave us there for hours... sometimes a whole day."
The absolute silence that follows my words is terrifying.
