A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Chapter Matteo

33

A few black SUVs were parked outside because I told them we needed to get it done today. I had drove quickly until I had arrived at the warehouse and now, I was waiting for Mikhail and Alexei to arrive-they told me to keep them informed whenever I decided to do something with Sofia. Mikhail I was mad of what happened to his daughter but instead of letting the anger out on me, he knew it was right to direct

it all at Sofia.

he wanted to be involved in my territory. I had no problem in bringing the Russians into my territory because he was also Alena's father but as long as they knew their boundaries.

So, he

A white McLaren came into view, stopping near my car and it didn't take me long to realize it was Mikhail and Alexei.

I stepped out of my car, walking towards them.

Alexei

i was

being cold as usual, looking at me as if he was superior but it didn't matter to me. All I wanted to do right now was settle this and get back to my wife. She needed me around her the most and I also wanted to be around her, tending to her. "She's inside?" Mikhail asked, lighting up his cigarette. "Yeah, let's go inside."

I walked ahead as the two of them followed behind me.

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This was one of my empty warehouses. No drugs or weapons were being stored here for the safety of my business. My men knew better than to let an enemy into our important spots. Tortures or killings were mostly done in empty warehouses, so it was easier to clean the blood and bodies. My men were looking at us as we walked inside.

They dn't say a word, only looking. They were probably wondering about the two Russians behind me, but they knew about Alena, so they knew not to cause trouble either.

I pushed a door at the end open, revealing Sofia sitting in the middle with her arms and legs tied to the wooden chair. She was bleeding out as she struggled to keep her eyes open, yet she was still alive. Angelo was standing in the e corner, watching everything.

As for Luca, he was standing near Sofia with a bl**dy baseball bat in his hand.

It was obvious he had beaten her up using that exact same baseball bat.

Instead of being upset when I saw Sofia's condition, I was feeling nothing. There wasn't any sympathy or love towards her any longer-she tried to kill Alena and she deserved nothing less than death itself.

If she had returned to me years ago, before Alena came into my life, it was probably going to be a different story, but I knew, she had already betrayed me the moment I found out about her death.

All the mourning, the crying and the anger were for nothing.

Nhad wasted my tears and I had fixed my broken heart.

"Matteo ..." She called out, her voice low as she cried. "Help me."

10:08 Sun,

Luca walked towards me, "She didn't say anything. Not even in this condition."

"How bad did you hurt her?"

3

"Pulled her nails out. Beat her up." He replied, trying to recall back of what he did to her. "She might even have a broken rib by now. Her face is quite swollen, too."

Quite swollen was an understatement because as soon as she looked up, I could barely recognize her. Her eyes were purple and puffy, her cheeks were bleeding, and her lips were busted. She wasn't the same beautiful Sofia I knew; she was someone else. If I had found her like this, being beaten up by the enemy, I was probably going to get my revenge but after knowing what she did to Alena, she deserved it. She asked for it.

Mikhail and Alexei stood still behind me, watching everything without saying a single word.

I made my way towards Sofia, crouching down to get a better look at her face. She used to be the love my life, the sun to my sorrow days and the future mother to my children but the moment she died, everything else died with her. The woman I fell in love with was no longer here. This was not her.

She passed away in a car crash and I had mourned her death.

The woman in front of me right now was no one else but an enemy. "Matteo ... why did you let let them hurt me?" She asked, tears were streaming down her cheeks, yet they didn't affect me. "Your need: to tell me who you're working for."

"Nobody! I'm still your wife, Matteo."

"No, my Sofia passed away. You're not her. The Sofia I knew couldn't hurt a fly. You tried to

She cried out, "How could it be so easy for you to replace me? Don't you love me anymore?"

"Answer the ***g question. Who do you work for?"

kill

my wife."

"Nobody. I came back to you."

"Don't test me, Sofia. Who the f***k do you

work for?"

I stood up, pulling onto her hair which caused her to look up. She was groaning in pain as she cried, begging for mercy. She looked horrible and I was sure she was experiencing a lot of pain in her body.

I imagined Alena struggling as she tried to save herself and I was directing all that anger to Sofia-she was asking for this. She tried to kill Alena even though she knew not to mess with me.

"Tell me." I said through gritted teeth before slapping her, causing her to scream.

"No!"

"Tell me!"

Tell

My body was raging with fire as my hands trembled. I wanted nothing more than to throw her against the wall, but I knew I couldn't do that. A small piece of me wanted to believe her and let her go because memories of our love story came flashing back but I knew not to trust those silly memories.

10:0

"Why did you try to kill-Alena? Why did you break into my house?"

"You're hurting me, Matteo!"

"Why did you have a gun? Why did you come back after all these years?!"

"Because you tried to replace me with her!"

I went quiet, keeping my anger to myself.

3

"You said you loved me but the moment I died, you moved on. Now, you married someone else just because you don't love me anymore. I thought I could trust you." She added, as she started to laugh hysterically. She was losing her mind and she wasn't hiding it anymore. Whoever did this to her had affected her badly.

"I mourned you for five years, Sofia. I waited for you even though I knew you were dead. I never stopped loving you until I met Alena. She came into my life, and I knew I didn't have to keep on torturing myself for someone who was no longer here. I loved you with all my heart, but you decided to betray me!"

"Liar. You're a liar." She muttered.

"No, you've lost your mind."

Sofia laughed, spitting out blood on the floor before throwing her head back to laugh again.

"Now, tell me, who sent you?" I asked, gripping onto her hair.

"They'll come to you, and you'll burn to the ground, Matteo. When they strike, you will lose everything you held dear. You won't just lose your dear wife but also your dear mother, Maria. Oh, how is she, by the way? I hope she still misses me."

"You're insane

"Why does it matter to you, Matteo? You don't love me anymore."

"I don't because you're a f******ng I***ic. And I hope you rot in hell."

I walked to Luca, before whispering in his ear.

Then, I walked

"Do whatever you want with her. But make sure she ends up dead this time,"

Luca smirked, nodding his head as he gripped harder onto the baseball bat.

Alexei was frowning as he watched the whole scene while Mikhail stood still, looking at me. I was already heading towards the door, "Do you want to stay and watch?"

"We'll come with you," Alexei replied.

Mikhail and Alexei followed behind me as we walked out of the room, leaving a hysterical Sofia. She was screaming my name and calling me but once I closed the door, I couldn't hear anything from her.

It was best for Luca to settle things with her because that way, I didn't have to get my hands dirty.

Besides, I couldn't hurt her more than I did.

A Sma

A small

part

of me wanted to help her. It was best to let my part of me be buried with her.

Mikhail sighed deeply, "Who do you think wants to end you?"

"I have a lot of enemies. I can't easily think of one,"

"We'll help you and it's only because of Alena. I want my daughter to stay safe."

Alexei, on the other hand, kept quiet as he listened to our conversation.

Are you sure?" I asked.

I

"I saw the way you look at her, Matteo. I know you really love my daughter, and my daughter is deeply in love with you. There's no need to take away her happiness because trust me, I'm not a cruel father. I only want what's best for her and all this time, I thought I knew what was best for her. I was wrong." "I love Alena more than anything else."

"I can see that. And I want you to prove it to me."

"What do you want me to

do?"

"Everything. Give her all the

You have my word." I gaveings I couldn't give her. Cherish her. Protect her. If you ever hurt her, I'll be hunting you down and send you to hell."

It v

my hand and within seconds, he shook it.

was a small step forward but at least; I had gotten Mikhail's blessing.

Alena was my priority as long as I was alive.

"What's your next plan?" Alexei asked, changing the subject.

I could see the fire in his eyes, he wanted nothing more than to get this over with. He wanted to protect his family-Alena was precious, he wanted no harm to get to her.

"I'm going to find out the main culprit. Then, I'm going to go to war."

"We'll join you."

"I don't want you to gain more enemies."

"We're a family now... it's what we do."

The words made me smile and I knew this was a slow progress.

If Alena was here to hear everything, she was going to be happy. Well, as soon as I got back to her and tell her, she was going to be thrilled. At least, she could start talking to her father and brother again.

Once they apologized to her, of course.

I wanted nothing more than to see her smile.

"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's find that f***r."