A smile disappeared from alessandra's mouth as the front door is kicked in and time suddenly stopped. She started to panic and looked from left to right thinking about what to do. No weapon to be seen anywhere, unarmed. She dropped the photo frame she was holding and it shattered to pieces. The picture of her brother dropped out of the photo frame, and just like that - her world was destroyed. Her once calm mood turned anxious because her hands started to shake and she felt her insides drop. A man walked in looking like a million dollars and he held a pistol in his hand. He wore a black suit, leather shoes and a hat that covered almost half his face. The man looked down at the glass shattered on the floor and then raised his head to look up at alessandra. She couldn't keep herself calm and tried bolting away but the man was too quick for her and gripped her by the arms. He was closer to her now, and she could smell his strong cologne that smelt like gingers and orange blossom. It was a only a matter of life and death now. The man didn't utter a word. Her heart pounded in her chest and felt the severe pain in her stomach that started to grow. She tried closing her eyes tight, to convince herself that it was all just a dream. It couldn't make anything better anyway, as she felt a tear run down from her cheek that she tried so hard to keep inside but all too well she knew that bottled up pain was just going to end up being resurfaced. The tears blind her vision and couldn't focus on what was happening. Then the man let go of alessandra in disgust and shoved her into the wall before he digged his foot into the pit of her stomach. One after the other, his kicks were getting more harder. She brought her arms to her stomach and let out a moan of pain. "Lets make time go faster, shall we?" The mans deep, masculine voice echoed throughout her house. He seemed to be in extreme rage, as he lifted his foot and made a sharp kick to her teeth. 

"Cazzo!" She growled in defeat and the side of her face made contact with the floor as he finished with a careless spit to her face. alessandra saw his fingers ran over the gun that was still in one hand, and she flinched. The man started to laugh hysterically, before pointing it at her direction. But as he brought the gun closer to her, he stopped for a moment and took one long look at her almost lifeless body on the ground. She couldn't feel anything, just the numbness of her teeth. The blood pouring out of the sides of her mouth spilled onto the floor and the mans shoes was anything but polished and shiny as it was when he first busted through her door. He dropped to his knees, and rested his arm on one knee. Then he scraped the gun along her mouth. "Bella cosa tosta è rapita." The man hissed. 
The last thing she felt was the pressure of the gun bashed against her face. 

And everything went black.

Thing is, she didn't think it was supposed to happen to her. Before that happened to her she thought her life was going back on track. She had held the photo of her brother in her hand, thanking him silently in her head for the sacrifices he had made for her to live an independent life. He was gone, but she yearned for his touch at that moment and his soothing words that would comfort her. But seems thats all changed now. The future looked so great. Moments ago she had imagined herself working at a high end bar, earning a living, starting a family... It was all in the palm of her hands and the man who just took that away from her was seated across from her in the car. He was emotionless, sick and evil. The brutality of this man was outrageous, and when she thought about the situation more - alessandra couldn't think of any reason why he would do this to an innocent. She realized now that she would just have to expect the unexpected already knowing that this man was trying to wake her up from her lucid dream and control her for himself. The degradation... the mark he left on her... the sorrow and pain of her brother was just a few of the many things that made alessandra pinch herself in the arm so maybe, just maybe, she could get herself out of this nightmare. alessandra was kept captive in the mans car as she watches the back of his head. She leaned forward to see where they were heading, but she groaned as her stomach pains were still hurting from the impact. "Ugggrh." She was sure that her gums were bleeding. alessandra wiped her arm across her sweaty forehead, and slowly let out a breath. She looked out of the window, wishing that she could turn this car right back around and rewind everything. 

Her eyelids weigh heavy with fatigue and sleep. She keeps her arms hugged around her waist as she drifts into a new world. Hoping that maybe she could fly away somewhere.

"Do you want this you ungrateful little whore?" He shouted, and the whole room seemed to shake. His force was too strong and alessandra felt the gun being pushed further down her throat. The man was a crazy sicko. His eyes were a deep shade of red, and the veins on his neck were pulsing. She cried out in shame. "AAAARGHHHHHhhh......." She broke down in tears. Her mouth was wide open, and she knelt down begging for a second chance. It only made the man angrier. "Don't you like what I'm doing for you? I'm ending all the pain. I'll make it go away! Why are you bitching right now." His words made alessandra's heart fall into a million pieces. His finger squeezes the trigger as she takes her final breath. The man strikes her in her solar plexus until her breath lives her body. She falls forward and the man finds her pressure point in her neck. 

She woke up in a jolt. Her palms were sweaty, and her head throbbed. She was confused, paranoid and angry at the same time. She regained consciousness as she noticed the soreness throughout her entire body. Thank fuck it was just a dream, she thought. It was a sign. A sign that she could not control her life anymore because somebody else was doing it for her. She quietly stifled a tear. It was clear that this man showed no sympathy for her, which was no surprise. Not too long ago he blatantly pushed her around like a ragged toy doll. alessandra grew cold. She gritted her teeth, telling herself that everything would be okay. If she was put in this situation for a reason, then she'll get through it. Her hands were kept around her waist. A bruise was starting to form around the side of her mouth. When she touched it, it was like she was pushing a knife that was slowly poking at her. alessandra harshly bit on the bottom of her lip, as she tried to adjust her seating position. She leaned on her right arm, where not much damage was done. Her head was back, and she watched the street lights pass her. It was well past midnight, and the drive was longer than it should have been. 

Still feeling a little bit hazy. The pain was still there. These open wounds seemed to never heal. She thought she heard the man say something, and she got up too quick. She almost smacked herself in the face when she brought her hands to her forehead. The sudden wake up call made her feel dizzy, and she widened her eyes to wake herself up. "We're here." Once again she heard that voice of his. It was so weird to hear it because it was like he never talked in his life. Out of stupidity, she nodded and realized that he couldn't see her doing that so she just mumbled "yes." When she unbuckled herself and looked out of the window, she saw the open driveway. There were two oak trees nestled at the front. Just between those oak trees were simple rust colored arched gates. They were no more than 6 feet tall flanked by sand-colored stone pilasters. A dense thicket of 50 foot tall trees shrouds the long driveway. The whole setting was a far cry from the lavishly decorated, overtly showy spectacles of the past, these barriers looked like it was designed to be unobtrusive and easily overlooked. It was darker now that it was night time. They couldn't really see a thing. She couldn't see his face and that was probably a good thing because he only ever attracted and gave off negative vibes, which was really uncomfortable and unattractive. His face was the epitome of evil. Just pure shadows painted over it. He was like the alleyway that no one ever would imagine even going to. Maybe he didn't like talking, she thought. But he definitely had a lot on his mind. Well, she didn't know for sure. It was too soon. The gates opened. He started driving in, and when alessandra saw the estate at its full extent she was speechless.

Her hands gripped onto the arm rest of her car door. Ivy and ferns grew through the gates. Her head hurt as it was like driving through a maze even though they were on one stone path. Then she saw it for her very own eyes. The path led directly to the colossal structure. The mansion loomed ever so proudly behind those creaky iron gates. The villa was flanked by rows of skeletal trees crowned in crimson, swaying gently to the chilly wind. At its threshold stood the delicate marble fountain. The man parked the car in front of the main entrance. Its doors looked inviting, but she didn't wanna know what happened behind them. She walked out of the car following behind him. Then she stopped. 

alessandra looked back once again to those gates. She feared this was the last time she could ever breathe fresh air again. She closed her eyes, listening to the soft gurgling of the clear water from the mountain. It was melodic as it resonated in the surrounding silence. alessandra pursed her lips and closed her eyes. Then she turned around again, to see the man. She tried to see through him, but she couldn't. It was so weird... unreal.. confusing... This situation. What was even going on right now?

alessandra suddenly took on a pale look, as if her life just flashed before her eyes. As if she'd been painted with white wash - even her lips were barely there. The man tensed, and he walked towards her in a rush. Then with one step backwards, she crumpled like a puppet suddenly released of their strings. 

There was one thing that the man saw just before she fell, and it was something he couldn't process in his mind. She was smiling. Sort of like a sarcastic smile. It was a cold one. Like she had mastered a fake smile, right down to the edges around her eyes. Just before he was able to see the windows of her soul, but now the facade just crumbled into a real grimace. But at the same time, she was smiling. Like she had no worries anymore. It was inhuman, and she looked triggered. Something changed in her, and the man could sense it.

The man was at alessandra's side and he knew that she fainted. "Siete male." He rolled up his sleeves. alessandra was already positioned on her back so he knelt closer to her and put his ears to her chest. She still had a pulse. He brought one arm under her neck for support and the other arm under her knees. He lifted her up and made sure she wouldn't slide off him as he carried her. Once she was secure in his arms, he turned around and kicked the front door open. The inside of the mansion was to be always kept clean but right now he didn't care as he made wet marks on the marble floors. He walked up the staircase and sped his pace up as he went through a flight of hallways. Finally, he reached the guest bedroom next to his own room and he laid alessandra down on the bed. He brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose and pinched. She needed to be kept alive. Or else. 

He walked out of the room, his leather shoes making a squeaking sound. His heavy overcoat even made a sound. The man walked downstairs and he went over the past events. There was no time for thought. What needed to be done was done. He still couldn't erase the smile alessandra wore just seconds before she fainted. There was something about it that made him doubt himself and the things he did to her.

Was it regret maybe?