Prisioner In Your Arms

Leandro received the location, and the convoy of vans sped towards the outskirts of the city. However, further ahead, the tire of the van carrying Bruno began to malfunction, and Leandro, who was in the front, didn’t notice.

When he arrived at the location, he realized that the other two vans weren’t behind him. He immediately called Bruno and instructed them to have some men from the third van get into their van. Then, he sent them the updated location. They were relatively close.

Leandro was impatient; time was crucial to save her.

Inside the house, Sergio had tied Nicole and the child to chairs. The child was frightened but tried his best not to cry. He didn’t want Sergio to punish him as he had done so many times before.

Sergio blindfolded them, turned on the camera, and started recording.

“Leone, I truly hope you can see this. Your wife will have to sign some documents if she wants me to release her son. Let me make it clear, she will leave this place feet-first, so these will be the last images you see of her. I don’t consider you worthy of receiving her body. I warned everyone not to mess with me, but they ignored my warning, and these are the consequences.”

“As for you, Rina, I loved you more than my own life. We could have been very happy, but my parents forced me to leave you. I’ve never told you this, but if I had returned to your side, they would have killed you. Later, under the same threat, I had to take our son away. It pained my soul to do it because I knew I was condemning you to a life of suffering. When I took you with me, you never wanted to listen to me. You didn’t give me a chance to explain, and it no longer mattered anyway because you had already fallen in love with someone else. That’s why today, I’m taking away what you cherish the most. Nicole is what connects you to Gío, and that love that binds you is the reason why she will die today. I know that knowing this will prevent you from being happy, and I feel more than satisfied with that.”

“I had thought about finding you all and killing each one of you, but I know that what will happen here today will torment you for the rest of your lives, while I will be enjoying all the fortune far away where no one can find me.”

Sergio spoke to the camera with a chilling coldness, and Nicole listened in terror. She knew her end had come; she would never get to meet her baby. She could only hope that Bruno would be able to forgive her.

Sergio continued recording without pausing. He approached her, grabbing her hair and forcefully pulling her head back. She screamed in pain.

“Now, my little dove, you will sign the documents I will give you. Then you will transfer all the cash you have in the bank to an account. The properties will be transferred to someone else’s name. I want to make it very clear to your family that if they try anything against me, I will come back and finish them all.”

“Release my son first, and I will do as you ask. I don’t trust you.”

“Well, you’ll have to trust me, or both of you will die right here.”

“I told you to release him first.”

Sergio let go of her hair and delivered a strong blow to her face.

Outside the house, Bruno and the others arrived. They quickly overpowered Sergio’s guards as they outnumbered them. They had left the vans at a certain distance to avoid arousing suspicion, so they took them by surprise.

They surrounded the house with great caution. It was logical to assume that there were more men inside accompanying Sergio. They could hear him talking, although they couldn’t understand what he was saying.

They entered the house. The doors were old, and the locks didn’t work. Sergio was alone with Nicole and the child. The men outside were the only ones there.

Bruno signaled to Leandro to flank the place through a hallway. He would confront Sergio while Leandro and Noah released Nicole.

“Sergio Leone, release my wife and my son,” Bruno spoke loudly, trying to intimidate him. Sergio had to realize that he was now alone.

“Well, well, look who we have here, none other than the Leone entourage and the stupid Rossano,” Sergio’s face showed signs of madness.

“Release my daughter, De Santis!” Gío shouted.

“Since you’re here inside, I imagine that means you’ve eliminated my men. That forces me to change my plans, much to my annoyance,” Sergio walked to the center of the room, several guns aimed at him.

He turned the gun in his hand and pointed it towards Nicole.

“Due to this change of plans, it’s likely that my life will end here. So, I’ll take her with me.”

He immediately pulled the trigger and fired two shots towards Nicole.

She didn’t know what was happening. When she heard what Sergio said, she closed her eyes, expecting to feel the impact of the bullets. But instead, she felt a body fall right at her feet, followed by several gunshots.

Nicole started screaming as she felt someone grabbing her foot, but gradually, that hand released its grip. Terrified, Santi cried.

Bruno rushed to her side, untying her, while Gío immediately called an ambulance.

Noah rushed towards his grandson, lifting him up and placing his face against his chest to shield his eyes from the scene unfolding before them.

“Get him out of here! Don’t let him see all of this!” Bruno shouted desperately.

When Nicole’s blindfold was removed, the first thing she did was look towards the floor, wanting to know who had fallen.

She started sobbing uncontrollably as all the memories she had forgotten suddenly came rushing back-the doctor had warned that it could happen with a strong shock.

There was Leandro lying in the midst of a large pool of red. She knelt by his side, taking his hand and talking to him.

“No, no, Leandro, please, you can’t leave us,” she kissed his hand repeatedly, hoping he would open his eyes. But he lay there, pale and motionless.

Bruno approached to check if he was still breathing. He was weakly gasping for air. Bruno took off his shirt and used it to apply pressure to the wound on Leandro’s chest.

Nicole noticed blood seeping from Bruno’s side. She looked back and forth, unsure of what to do.

René approached to examine Bruno’s wound.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Son, we need to go to the hospital. You’re injured.”

“I won’t leave him here. I’m trying to stop the bleeding. The ambulance should arrive soon.”

René leaned in and felt a sense of relief when he realized that his son’s wound was just a graze.

“Gío is injured in the arm. I hope the ambulance arrives soon.”

At that moment, Nicole felt pain in her abdomen, but fortunately, it passed quickly. It wasn’t the time or place for her baby to be born.

“No, what have I done? My child, my child, I’ve harmed my own child. Leandro, forgive me.”

Sergio was injured. They had thought he was dead, but he crawled towards his son, attempting to hold his hand. However, Nicole didn’t allow it.

“Don’t touch him! How could you do this to your own son? If Leandro dies, you will be responsible,” Nicole exclaimed. Sergio calmed down, realizing that Leandro was not dead and there was still hope for his son’s survival.

It wasn’t intentional on Sergio’s part to harm his own son. Leandro, having seen his father’s intentions, had intervened when Sergio aimed the gun towards Nicole, taking the bullets directly to his chest.

The ambulance arrived at that moment, and the paramedics took Leandro and Sergio. They examined Bruno and Gío, confirming that their injuries were not severe. Since there was no more space in the ambulance, they considered thatBruno and Gío could make their own way to the hospital. However, the condition of the other injured individuals was more serious, so they were immediately taken away. Bruno asked which hospital they would be taken to.

Later, Emma, Mara, Sara, and Rina arrived at the hospital.

Rina saw that Gío was out of danger and ran to embrace Nicole and her grandson. They were finally together. At that moment, she searched for Leandro, not yet aware of what had happened.

“Daughter, where is your brother?” Rina sensed that something was wrong as Nicole burst into tears.

“Mom, Leandro is in the operating room. He was hit by two bullets in his chest.”

Rina would have felt joyous to be called “mom” by Nicole again, but what she said next caused her immense pain. Gío, who was beside her, held her to keep her from falling. When she finally regained her composure, she spoke.

“How is he? What are the doctors saying?”

“His condition is critical. There are slim chances of survival.”

Gío felt a deep sorrow having to deliver that news, but it was what the doctor had informed them, and he didn’t want to deceive Rina.

“My son cannot die, this cannot happen. We’ve had so little time together.”

Rina couldn’t stop crying, just like Nicole. Sara approached her.

“My dear, you need to rest. It’s best if we go and keep ourselves informed.”

“I will not move from his side. I have managed to remember, and I know perfectly well who Leandro has been in my life.”

Sara fell silent, and the others simply watched.

In Pavía, Nicole was watching the news with her mother. They were reporting a shootout on the outskirts of Milan, with four people injured, two in critical condition. Their names were Sergio and Leandro De Santis.

At that moment, Shelsy fainted. When she woke up, she asked her mother to take her. The father of her child was fighting for his life, and she had to be by his side.