Chapter 23: Calling The Hostage
The choice given to Dante made the situation between the members of Moretti and the Lombardi Familia tense. Cerano and his men loaded their guns, ready to put up a fight if Dante hurt Scarlett.
Meanwhile, the members of the Moretti Familia also raised their weapons and waited for Dante's orders.
"You can't kill Scarlett. If you dare to do that, then the entire members of the Lombardi Familia will chase you to death." Silvano pulled Scarlett away from Dante. His eyes narrowed sharply, and his facial expression was vicious as he faced Dante.
Scarlett pushed Silvano's hand away and whispered, "Stay out of the way, Daniele."
Scarlett deliberately emphasized Silvano's fake name to make him realize that he wasn't supposed to attract the limelight.
"All of you, back down and let your weapon down," Scarlett gave an absolute order.
Cerano, "Donna! We do not-"
"I said, back down." Scarlett lowered her tone of voice and sharpened her gaze so that none of her subordinates dared to disobey her orders.
"Scarlett, are you sure Dante will choose you to live?" Russo asked while tilting his head.
Scarlett smiled. "Nope. I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate if he had to kill me now. However, what guarantee do you have that you will release his daughter and everyone else in this hall if Dante kills me?"
"Scarlett now is not the time for you to negotiate." Russo shows Scarlett the bomb remote control. "Remember, your lives are in my hands."
"How do I know if what you're wearing on your body is truly bombs that can destroy a building? Maybe it was just a firecracker, considering how poor you are now," Scarlett replied fearlessly.
Bang!
Russo fired a bullet into the side of Scarlett's head. If Russo had missed even the slightest bit, Scarlett might have had a hole in her head and was bleeding. Everyone who saw what happened was shocked; even Silvano, standing behind Scarlett, gasped and froze.
However, Scarlett, the victim, didn't react and still stood where she was. The expression on her face was relaxed, as if the bullet Russo shot was just a toy bullet.
"Shut up, you bitch! Do you want me to detonate the bomb right now so you can see if it can blow the building and your body to smithereens?!"
Scarlett tilted her head. "But where's the fun in it, Russo? Didn't you want to make Dante suffer? If you kill him right away, then he won't suffer."
"Also, for your information, my death means nothing to Dante. He doesn't even love me even though he has already become my husband. If I died, he'd be able to find another woman as soon as possible."
"Russo, do you want me to teach you how to torture someone properly?" Scarlett smiled broadly and leaned her face toward Russo.
Russo clenched his fist tightly and gritted his teeth. His face was red because he felt so angry with the provocative insults that Scarlett threw at him.
"Enough!" Dante screamed before Russo could take his anger out on Scarlett. "Russo, I want to talk to Illaria before making a decision."
Russo grunted. He wanted to oppose Dante's request, but he abandoned that intention when he saw the sharp gazes of the two people in front of him. Even though he was the one who was in control of the bomb and their lives, Scarlett and Dante could make Russo feel cornered.
"Let him call his daughter!" Russo told Dante, "You only have one minute, Dante."
Dante nodded. "It's more than enough."
As Dante took the cell phone from Russo's men, he silently signaled his subordinates outside the hall to track Illaria over the phone call.
"Daddy!" Illaria's voice came immediately when their calls connected. Her voice was still shaking, and Illaria would sob a little now and then.
"Illaria, can you hear Daddy?" Dante asked in a soft voice to reassure his daughter.
"Daddy …." Illaria burst into tears when she finally heard Dante's voice. "Illaria wants to go home, Daddy."
"Yes, sweetheart, Daddy will pick you up soon." Dante clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white when he heard Illaria's sobs. "Did anyone hurt Illaria in there?"
"A scary-looking uncle bound Illaria's hands and feet." Illaria tried to hold back her tears.
Dante narrowed his eyes at Russo. "Does it hurt?"
Illaria, "I'm fine, but Daddy, Marry ... Marry must be in pain."
"Marry? What's wrong with Mary?"
"I saw Mary's bloody body in front of my bedroom when the scary-looking uncle took me away. There's so much blood. Is … Is Marry going to be okay?"
Dante was silent for a few moments, not knowing how to respond to her. Mary had taken care of Illaria since she was a baby, so Illaria would have been shaken up badly if Mary hadn't survived.
"Daddy will try to save Mary," said Dante.
"Your time is up! Quickly hand over the phone before I take it by force!" Russo exclaimed.
Scarlett realized that Dante was trying to locate Illaria using a satellite phone, so she bought time by distracting Russo.
"Oh, let the child talk to her daddy a little longer. If someone kidnapped Richard, I'm sure you also want to talk to him for more than a minute."
Russo, "Don't bring up my late son's name!"
Scarlett covered her mouth. "Oops! I forgot that your son was dead."
"Scarlett Lombardi! You really make my patience run out!" Russo ordered his underlings, "Quickly tie her up and gag her mouth!"
Two of Russo's underlings immediately walked towards Scarlett, but all Lombardi Familia directly pointed their guns at them as a warning not to touch their Donna.
Russo then shook the bomb remote in his hand to remind Scarlett that he was still in control.
Scarlett only smiled in response and raised her two fingers as a gesture for her subordinates to lower their weapons.
Scarlett passed both of her hands to Russo's subordinate casually.
However, Silvano couldn't relax when his sister was treated disrespectfully. He grabbed the hand of one of the men who wanted to gag Scarlett with a cloth.
"How dare you want to gag our Donna with a filthy rag like that." Silvano gripped the man's hand tightly.
"Daniel, calm down. They just gagged me instead of killing me."
After getting a second warning from Scarlett, Silvano let go of his grip and allowed Russo's men to tie and gag Scarlett's mouth.
On the other hand, Dante finally ended his call with Illaria after Russo threatened to shoot Illaria if Dante didn't finish their call.
The Moretti Familia members outside the hall signaled that they needed a long time to track Illaria's location.
However, Russo couldn't let Dante think too long.
The situation eventually got worse and led to a stalemate. Silvano grunted several times, frustrated whenever he remembered Scarlett was on the verge of death.
Silvano believed Dante would kill Scarlett as a ransom for his daughter's life if he didn't do something as soon as possible.
Silvano gritted his teeth as he silently walked beside Dante. That man might be the biggest threat to Scarlett, but he could also be the ace that could save them.
"I think the bomb Russo used was some kind of system linked to the remote control." Silvano whispered beside Dante, "As long as you can help me out of the hall, I can turn off the bomb system, and you don't have to kill Scarlett."
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Zena's Note:
Hello readers,
I'm really sorry for only being able to update today because I've been sick for the last two days. Because today my health has improved, I will update this novel every day again ^^
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