CHAPTER XLIII
~~~
“Cosa vuol dire che non si trova da nessuna parte? Trovalo. Saro al magazzino tra pochi minuti,”
{“What do you mean he’s nowhere to be found? Find him. I’ll be at the warehouse in a few minutes.”}
Sophia’s eyelids fluttered open at the familiar sound of Chase’s voice, and she looked around her surroundings. They were all in a car with the driver driving and she was in Chase’s arms.
For how long had she slept after the doctor took her blood sample? She couldn’t even remember how she even fell asleep.
Chase looked towards the guard at the front passenger’s seat. “Chiama la villa. Ho bisogno di un’altra macchina che mi porti subito al magazzino,”
{“Place a call to the mansion. I need another car to take me to the warehouse right away.”}
The man nodded. “su di esso, Don,” He then pulled out his phone and dialed a number. When the person on the other end picked, he spoke. “Ti mandero la nostra posizione. Manda un’auto e i nostri uomini per scortare Don al magazzino,”
{“On it, Don”}{“I’ll send you our location. Send a car and our men to escort Don to the warehouse.”}
“Is everything okay?” Sophia whispered out to Chase, placing her hand on his shoulder. “You seem tense,”
Visibly relaxing, Chase nodded and pulled her to his chest, and he pecked the crown of her head. “As much as I want to go with you to the church, I can’t. An important work came up, and I have to go,”
“You’re letting me go to the church?” Sophia whispered.
Chase nodded. “Hmmmm,”
Sophia’s hands fell from his shoulder, and she barely circled his arms with her small palms in an attempt to hug him. “Thanks a lot. You-you don’t know how much this means to me,”
~~~
Sophia stared at the statue of Mother Mary standing proudly in front and towering over her in the church.
She clasped her palms together and closed her eyes softly. “Blessed Mother Mary, I-what have I ever done to deserve a life like this?” She sniffled a sob. “M-my mama and papa were taken away from me at such a young age, and I was left with nightmares. I got kidnapped for witnessing a sin, and I’ve been made to sin. Someone other than my husband touched me without my permission. That makes me a sinner, right? I-I always wanted a life where I’d live peacefully with my Nana and be a successful nurse but it was all taken away from me because mama and papa were born into this dangerous and sinful world,” A tear slid down her cheek and her voice quivered. “I-I don’t want this life,” Tears were already streaming down her face, and she shook her head vigorously. “I don’t want to stay with him. I want my Nana. I want my freedom. I want to be a nurse. I want Maya, Alecia, and Roman to be at peace wherever they are. I don’t want those haunting nightmares. They don’t let me sleep. I-I’m no longer who I used to be. I want to go back to who I used to be. I miss everyone. I miss my best-friends. I miss my Nana. Oh Lord, please grant my best-friends peace wherever they are. Grant me back my peace. Most importantly, grant me my freedom. I want my freedom back,” Sophia opened her eyes and wiped her tears with the back of her hands, then adjusted her veil overhead and let out a pained smile. It suddenly felt as if a great burden was lifted over her shoulders. “Thanks, lord. Thanks for everything you’ve done for me,” She then gently tapped her forehead. “In the name of the Lord -“Another tap below her right shoulder. “The Father” Another tap below her left shoulder. “And the Holy Spirit,”
Once she was done, she turned and walked out of the church.
“Ma’am,” the guard she had gone to the hospital with called on to her and passed her a phone. “The Don wants to speak to you,”
Sophia nodded and collected the phone with shaky hands, then took it to her ear. “Chase,”
“Gattina,” His deep voice came from the other end. “Did I disturb your prayers?”
{“Kitten”}
Sophia shook her head and spoke when she realized he wouldn’t see her. “N-no. I-I just finished,”
“Did you like the church you were taken to? If you don’t, tell me, and I’ll skin both the driver and guard alive,”
She shook her head again. “I-It’s okay. I loved it,”
“Great,” Chase replied. “Go home and make sure you have your meals and drugs. I’ll be home late. I don’t want to get home and find you hungry or hear that you barely touched your food. otherwise, I’ll force the food down your throat. Am I clear?”
“Y-yes,” She said. “Chase,”
“Yes, Gattina,”
{“Kitten”}
“Th- thanks for letting me go to church,” She said.
“It’s okay. Now go home. It’s not completely safe out there,”
~~~
Sophia curled herself into a ball under her duvet as she heard the sound of footsteps directly outside her room before the door opened and closed with a click behind her.
She shut her eyes tighter when the scent of sandalwood wafted through her nostrils and the bed dipped beside her.
Chase pulled off his shoes and pulled up the sleeves of his button-down shirt to his elbow before lying down on the bed. He then stretched his hand and pulled Sophia into his warm arms, earning a gasp from her.
“Why are you still awake?” He asked.
“I-,” She kept her eyes on the rings on his fingers. “I wasn’t sleepy,” and I don’t know why, but I also couldn’t sleep because you weren’t yet back. She almost added but kept quiet. “Why-why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in your room?” She knew very well he was likely to get angry at her question and even force himself on her, but her lips had worked on their own accord.
Chase understood she was already anticipating his anger, and he caressed her hair. “Am I not allowed to see you? Do you have a problem with that?”
Even if she said yes, it wouldn’t have mattered to him because he would only do what he wanted to do. So, Sophia shook her head. “N-no,”
“Aren’t you going to ask me how work was today?” He asked.
“H-how was work?” She looked up at him.
“It was stressful. Nothing a small sleep wouldn’t get rid of,” He replied. “Did you eat?”
Sophia whispered out. “Yes,”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
“Your drugs? Did you take them?”
Sophia nodded. “Yes,”
“Good girl,” He smiled. “Tell me about the church. What did you pray for?”
Sophia’s hands involuntary worked on their own, and she clasped one of her palms together with his free one, interlacing their fingers while he silently watched her, waiting for her reply. “I-I prayed for my freedom,”