[Seventy-Two]

|Chapter 72|

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𝗞𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝗮

𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝖾𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗂𝖿𝗎𝗅 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝖺𝗋𝖾

She walks up to me with the slyest smirk on her stupid face.

"Surprised to see me?" My jaw drops.

Then another woman walks in however, I'm not surprised to see her. "I'm not shocked about you Felicia because you're crazy as hell. But Zara? I should have known. Excellent acting."

"Thank you very much. I tried."

"Although, I will say this wasn't a very smart idea," I tell her.

"And why is that?" she raises an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know, maybe because my boyfriend and his family are crazy and you're probably going to die."

"Then you'll die with me," she smiles. "Simple solution."

"Hell no," Carson butts in. "I'm not letting you touch her."

"Are you serious, dude? She doesn't even want you!"

He looks down at me and says to her, "That's fine but I won't let you hurt her."

"You are ruining my whole plan," she is getting angry.

"What is your plan? If that's ok to ask," I question Zara.

"To lead the Italian mafia which is why he must die," she points to Liam. "And Emilian will help because he hates him and thinks he's the one who shot you.

Then, I'm going to kill Emilian and his brother and I'll be the most powerful mafia boss in the world basically."

"Yeah... good luck with that," I say trying not to

laugh. "If you think he is going to work with you, then you must be mistaken."

"We'll see," she turns to walk out. "Grab her and let's go." She looks to Liam and says, "We don't need him right now." She exits the room.

Carson extends his hand, "Come on."

"No."

"Elara, please. She'll kill you."

"I'd rather die than follow through with whatever you guys have planned."

He sighs and leans over. Grabbing my waist, he lifts me over his shoulder and we're a few feet behind her as we go down the dark hallway. This building is definitely not a home, it seems like an abandoned building with only that one room renovated.

"Carson, what the hell? Put me down!" I whisper scream at him. I don't like when unwanted hands are on me and I feel violated.

"I can't."

"I can walk on my own, dammit."

"Fine, but don't run." He places me down and I immediately fall flat on my butt. He immediately bursts out laughing and I scoff.

"Shut up and help me," I roll my eyes.

"I'm sorry but this is hilarious," he continues to laugh.

"She's going to realize we're not behind her," I fold my arms.

"Yeah, your right." He helps me up and wraps his arm around me, "Can I?"

"Fine, but only because I don't want to get killed. Emilian might kill you though."

"I know but he won't if he knows your safe."

"But I'm not."

He turns to face me, "I know he is here for you and I'm going to help you leave."

"What about you?

"You know him. He'll kill me as soon as he lays his eyes on me. This was dumb and I wasn't thinking but now I have a chance to redeem myself."

"So, what are you going to say when she asks where I am."

"I don't know but you have to go now," he says with pleading eyes.

"Ok, where do I go?"

"Through the front door."

"What? There are no cameras?" I ask confusingly.

"Nope, now run," he tells me and just leaves me.

"Great," I say to myself.

I feel disgusting and I can barely walk. Maybe I should've just gone with him.

I hold onto the wall as I limp back to the room. I didn't know lying down for that long would cause this much pain.

"Elara! Elara!" I hear Liam shout.

Should I take the risk and go back or get the hell out of here? Ugh, I can't leave him.

I push open the door and see him lying in the same spot, still chained up.

"Thank you so much."

"Shut up, I'm only doing this because I would regret not coming back."

He chuckles, "I understand."

"How am I supposed to unlock these damn chains?" I say searching around the room.

"Break it off of the wall and we can figure that out later."

I grab an empty metal tray from the nightstand and slam it down onto where the chains are connected to the wall.

He hissed from the impact and I apologize. I try to help him up and he tightens his hands around my arm.

"Can you stand up? You seem very unstable," he questions worriedly.

"No, I'm fine. Let's go because I've wasted enough time."

"Ok. I know where we can exit." He wraps his arm around me and says, "If I help you, this would be much faster," he speaks. I roll my eyes and permit him.

He takes us down a long hallway and at the end, there's a large door with light shining through the cracks of it.

"Well, go on then. Open it."

"It's locked," he whispers.

"But this is our only way out!" I respond and we hear footsteps quickly approaching.

Liam covers my mouth and rushes us into a corner until the footsteps quiet down.

After about ten minutes, we hear voices from the other side of the door.

"I think your boyfriend is here," he whispers.

My heart skips a beat. He found me. I want to burst through this stupid door and run into his arms, but unfortunately, that's not possible.

The male voices get louder, and those same footsteps approach again. Oh no.

"What do we do?"

"Nothing."

Unexpectedly, the door blows open, and pieces of debris fly everywhere. We both shield our eyes from the light to prevent things from getting into our eyes.

In this moment I feel much better and almost immediately, the tears begin to flow. I'm free. I didn't realize how lonely I was and how terrifying this was until I realize what freedom is again.

"Elara?" I hear a familiar voice.

"Lucian? Lucian?" my eyesight clears up and I can see him jogging towards me. "Oh my gosh!" He helps me up and pulls me into a hug. Behind him, there are tons of men with guns and masks. Woah.

"I'm so sorry it took so long to find you," he tells me.

"It's fine," I whisper. "I'm happy you found me before it was too late," I respond as I wipe my cheeks. "Where's Emilian?"

"Emmy, I have her and she needs you," he speaks into an earpiece.

"He's never going to leave you alone again. I hope you know that," he informs me.

"I wouldn't mind," I laugh while crying. Seconds later Seb is running towards me and he pulls me into his arms, hugging me tightly.

"I'm so, so, so sorry baby. I don't care what you say, I'm never leaving you again."

"I know," I cry into his sweater. "I love you and thank you for finding me."

"Of course baby. How could I not?" he kisses my forehead. We both take a second to look at each other and I watch as tears begin to form in his eyes. "I missed you so much. You have no idea, love."

"I missed you even more," I try to smile through the tears. "I feel safe now."

"Ok, Emmy we have to go. He and the others are still in there," Lucian calls out.

"Wait. You guys know who is in there?" I ask Seb.

"Yes and we're going to blow the place up."

"No! Carson is still inside."

"I know, Elara, and he's going to die also."

"Baby, he helped me escape. Without him, it would have been much harder for Liam and me to get out."

"Liam? What the hell is he doing here?" he asks angrily.

"They had him chained up. I don't know why but I would like to find out. I think he's innocent to some extent."

"Okay, Elvira will carry the both of you back home and Lucian and I will deal with them. I refuse to put you in harm's way."

"Will I be safe?"

"Yes, baby. I made sure of it," he reassures me.

"Emilian! Save the catch-up for later. We're going in now!" Luci shouts

"Alright baby, I hate to leave you but I will see you soon," he leans down to kiss my forehead and his lips linger there for a few seconds.

"I love you, Seb. Come back to me safely."

"I will, love. Wear this earpiece so that you know when Elvira arrives. I love you," he smiles and lets go of me. I watch as he jogs over to the others, giving orders and the group of them rush into the abandoned building.

I put in the earpiece and go over to Liam to help him up. His legs have multiple new cuts from the blast.

"I thought you were going to leave me here for a second there."

"I could still do that."

"Ok, my lips are sealed."

"Elara, can you hear me?" Elvira's voice startles me through the earpiece.

"Oh my gosh." I gasp. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can. Come towards the beginning of the forest."

"Ok but this might take a while."

"Who are you with?" she questions.

"A douchebag that you would probably want to dump on the side of the road."

"Ouch," he says from beside me. As we walk closer, she moves the SUV forward.

"Wait... is that?" I watch as she hops out of the car and runs towards us.

Elvira pushes past me and pulls Liam into the tightest hug. She begins to cry saying, "Lorenzo," she sniffles. "I've missed you so much."

"Me too, baby. Me too."

Well, this is an interesting turn of events. I awkwardly stand there and look around. I so badly want to rest my legs, take a hot bath, and snuggle into my warm and comfy bed but they're over here acting like I wasn't just kidnapped. Oh, and the fact that we haven't fully escaped!

"Um, I hate to break this moment apart and although this is fascinating, I want to go home."

"I'm so sorry, Elara," Elvira hugs me. "I'm so glad you're okay," she says genuinely smiling. "Ok, let's go." She leads us to the car.

"I'll drive," Liam or Lorenzo says.

"Hell no you're not," Elvira says with attitude. "Get in the back with Elara."

He groans, "Before you get mad, at least let me explain, baby."

"Don't call me that," she speaks as she climbs into the front seat and we enter the back.

"We have a medic nearby for you guys."

"I'm fine, I just need a hot bath," I tell her.

"I can clean this up myself," he tells her.

"Shut up Enzo, you don't have a choice," she rolls her eyes then she turns to me. "Emilian said I must carry you to get checked out no matter what if that's ok with you?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

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We stopped by the medic van and I got examined while Lorenzo's leg was getting cleaned up. Now, we're on the way home and I decide to ask questions. I think it's better to ask than to be asked. I'm avoiding speaking about the situation at all costs.

"Can you tell me who you really are and if you're actually a creep," I cross my arms.

"I would like to know also," Elvira speaks.

He sighs, "My name is Lorenzo and I'm sure you know what my occupation is by now. And I'm Elvira's fiancé if she allows me to marry her," he turns to her.

"Fiancé?! Elvira, what is he on about?"

"This is about him, not me. Continue," she avoids the question.

"Anyways, I am not a creep, I promise. As you saw, Zara is a controlling psycho and I was forced to say those things and behave that way. I am genuinely sorry and I feel even worse because you're Elvira's family."

"I understand I guess. Apology accepted. Now can you explain why I didn't know you had a fiancé and when are you guys are going to tell Emilian?"

"Because she refuses to wear her ring."

"You know why, Enzo," she says softly.

"Baby, you know I'm willing to put aside me and your brother's differences to make you happy."

"Yeah, but Emilian would never do that because he's too stubborn," she says irritatingly.

"That's definitely not why because I offered to speak with him," I tell her.

She sighs, "Ok, maybe I'm scared of what he'll have to say."

"I promise I'll get him to understand and not be judgmental."

"Fine, but make sure I'm not within a mile radius of you guys."

"No problem. I just want you guys to be happy without hiding."

"Thank you, Elara," Lorenzo tells me. "Now she can plan the wedding without worrying "

"When is it?"

"As soon as possible."

"Wouldn't it be complicated?"

"What do you mean?" Elvira asks.

"Y'all are supposed to be rivals and now y'all are just going to join the mafias? That sounds like enemies in the making."

"Oh my gosh, I haven't thought about that," she stresses.

"Elvira do you want us to be together?" he questions sarcastically and tries to comfort her. "Baby, stop the car and let me drive."

"I'm fine."

"Elvira, I said stop." The car slows down and she climbs out slamming the door shut.

He enters the front seat and says, "I love you too."

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