The mafia's captive

Adrianna's eyes fluttered open and she flinched, gasping for air as a blast of cold water met her face.

"Wake up, princess!" A gruff voice announced, hurling the plastic bucket across the room.

Her teeth chattered, the cold air sending a shiver down her trembling body. She wrapped her arms around herself, her brown eyes bulging like saucers as she stared at the unfamiliar ceiling.

"Get up!" The harsh voice thundered and she jerked upright.

Her breath came in short gasps as she pushed back the bedcovers and swung her legs over the left side of the bed. Her bare feet met the cold floor and another chill traveled up her spine.

"Where am I? How did I even get here?" her mind reeled with questions.

The last thing she remembered was... she couldn't remember anything at all. Panic rose in her throat and she realised she had no memory of leaving her home.

And then like a slap to the face, reality hit her : she recalled her uncle's parting works. In that instant, she knew she had been kidnapped.

A few hours earlier,

The morning sun blazed from the bright blue sky in Logan square. The entire neighborhood is awake and at this hour, it can get really busy. The neighbourhood residents are up and about to their businesses to probably beat the rush hour. All including Adrianna whose eyes were bleary red from lack of sleep.

A loud bang on the door startled her and she recognized the voice that followed. "Wake your lazy ass up!"

Adrianna stifled a yawn and threw the bedcovers. "I'm awake."

She turned to the other side of the bed and slipped her feet into her slippers.

She reached for the apron handing off a nail on the wall and draped on it around her neck.

Something caught her eye and she stared, realising it was her wrinkled image in the broken mirror. A frown crept to her pale face when she saw how worn-out and tired she was.

Images of last night's nightmare flashed in her mind and in an instant, she thought she saw a fire.

"Adrianna!" Uncle Luca's bark came again.

"Coming!" Adrianna rushed down the stairs, careful not to trip on her toes.

She arrived at the last floor of the stairs and found her uncle's crumpled form on the couch.

A putrid smell hit her nostrils and she pinched her nose.

"Make breakfast, you wench!" Uncle Luca slurred, clutching a beer bottle close to his chest.

Adrianna heaved a frustrated sigh and walked to where he laid on the couch that looked like a crime scene and not like a furniture.

She crouched to the floor, clamping her hand over her mouth as she stared in horror at the splattered mess on the mess.

"Breakfast!" Uncle Luca said with a snort and she recoiled in disgust at his stinking breath.

Adrianna leapt to her feet and went to grab a clean bucket of water and some disinfectant.

After wiping out the vomit, she set about to draw the curtains to let light into the dim living room, dusted the couches including the one Uncle Luca sat on and turned on the ceiling fan.

"That's just about it." She said with a satisfied smile on her face.

A loud thud on the floor got her attention and she trailed her eyes forward. Uncle Luca had slumped to the floor.

Before she could move to help him up, he dragged himself to his feet.

He rubbed his eyelids, yawning without covering his mouth. "Adrianna! Where's my breakfast!"

"I'll get it done. Hold on." Adrianna frantically ran to the fridge. When she held the door open, her jaws dropped. It was empty.

"No. No. No." She ran to the kitchen cabinets, throwing one open after the other. It was empty.

"Where's my food!" Uncle Luca slammed his fist on the kitchen door and she flinched.

"S - sir," Adrianna reeled back a step when he began to approach her. "T - there's nothing in the house."

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Adrianna's lips quivered as she thought of how to break the news to him.

She finally thought of what to say and braced for impact in the process. "There's no food in the house."

"You stupid bitch!" Uncle Luca ran his fist across her face, sending her stumbling backwards. "There's nothing in the house? How I'll there be anything in the house when you eat everything, you greedy little pig!"

The cut on Adrianna's lips drew blood and she winced in pain. "I'm sorry, sir."

He crouched to her level and fisted the collar of her gown. "You either start sleeping with men for money or go hungry. I am tired of going broke because I have an extra mouth to feed!"

Adrianna's mouth hung open and her eyes widened in shock. What had she just heard? Her own uncle wanted her to sell her body for money?

With a low grunt, he shoved her backwards and stalked out of the kitchen.

Adrianna slowly rose to her feet and returned to her room.

Her leg hurt from the fall and so did her arm. She reached under her bed for the first aid kit she had gotten herself last summer.

Throwing the lid open, she heard a low chime. It was from her phone. She completely ignored it, tending to her wounds quietly. The phone chimed again and she hissed.

"Fine!" she dropped the blood-stained cotton wool on the floor and reached for the phone on the bed.

The message she saw nearly knocked the air out of her lungs and she stared with her eyes circled in surprise.

"Congratulations, Adrianna Martins. You are eligible for the role of Administrative Assistant at Heritage Corp..." she read out in laughter.

"I've got a job," she laughed, rushing out of the room. "Uncle Luca! Uncle Luca!"

"What!" He threw his head back on the couch.

"Here," she passed him the phone, grinning from ear to ear.

A puzzled frown creased his brow. "What am I looking at?"

Adrianna took back her phone. "I've got a job."

"A job..." Uncle Luca repeated.

"Yes," Adrianna smiled. "I've got a job in New York. Now, we won't have to go hungry anymore."

Uncle Luca's lips curved into a smile and he stretched his arm over her arm chair. "Oh really?"

"Yes, sir." Adrianna smiled.

"Congratulations, kid." He smiled at her.

"Thank you, Uncle Luca," Adrianna turned on her heels and ran upstairs. "I'll get packing. They want me to start as soon as possible!"

"Have fun!" He called back.

As soon as he heard her slam the door to her room, he whipped out his phone from his pocket and dialled a number. After a few heartbeats, the dial tone clicked.

"Ah. Yes, Roberto," he looked in at the stairs. "She's ready for you. You can come tomorrow morning."

The following morning, Adrianna awoke with a smile on her face. Her usual nightmares didn't come to haunt her sleep and she saw it as a good omen.

She pushed her bedcovers and threw her leg in the other side of the bed. Her packed luggages stared back at her and she smiled.

Stiflng a yawn, she made way for the door. Her fingers close around the knob and she twisted it but it didn't open.

Her brows furrowed and she tried opening the door again but it wouldn't budge. "That's odd. Uncle Luca?"

She called out but no one answered.

She knocked on the door. "Uncle Luca? Uncle Luca, I think I locked myself in again."

No one answered.

"Did he go out to drink again?" She palmed her forehead. "I'll give him a call."

She raced to her bed only to find her phone gone. "What's going on?"

The door creaked open and she whipped around.

"Uncle Lu..." her voice got trapped in he throat as the man standing before her was not her uncle.

"There she is," Uncle Luca said in a drawl, stepping out from behind the stranger. "That's the one."

The stranger inched forward, cracking his neck from side to side.

"U ... Uncle Luca, what's going on?" Adrianna looked at her uncle.

He wet his fingers with his saliva as he counted the dollar bills in his hand. "Don't worry you'll find out soon enough."

Before Adrianna would say another word, a fist came down on her and everything went black.