In His Grasp: A Mafia Romance novel Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Emanuele Kidnapped Three Times

Really? Isabella didn't think so. She didn't see any threat from him, yet he seemed to take pleasure in tormenting her, even to the point of wanting to kill her. Still, she was curious about what Grazia had mentioned regarding his kidnappings.

"Has he been kidnapped so many times before?" Isabella inquired.

Grazia replied, "In the past, Emanuele was quite lively and adorable. As his sister, my mother and I took care of him. He had the innocence of a child. But things changed later on. The first time it happened, our mother was kidnapped by those despicable thugs. They gang-raped and killed her, but our father claimed it was an accident."

As Grazia recounted this, Isabella found it extremely disturbing. My God, was this what women associated with mafia bosses had to go through? She had just gotten entangled in all of this and was already dealing with assassination attempts and kidnappings. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she had been successfully abducted. What kind of horrors would those thugs have subjected her to?

"At the time, Emanuele was only six years old and vaguely aware of some things. But as he grew older, he learned how his mother had really died," Grazia continued, sighing. "The second time, when Emanuele was eight years old, he was almost taken from his own bedroom. Our father arrived in time and killed those two scoundrels. He also gave Emanuele a good beating."

Isabella found it hard to believe. "Why would they beat Emanuele? He was the victim, wasn't he?"

"Because he was too weak. As the heir to the Chicago mafia boss, his weakness would only lead to his demise. Our father couldn't allow his son to be like that," Grazia sighed again. "From then on, our father took Emanuele to the shooting range every day to train his marksmanship. He even took him to the dungeons to see the prisoners, teaching him how to maximize their suffering to extract useful information from them."

Isabella couldn't imagine an eight-year-old going through all of that. "And then, Emanuele changed. He didn't smile as much, and his eyes were always stormy. His lips turned cold, replacing the warmth. But most of all, it was the last kidnapping that changed him the most."

"At the age of twelve, Emanuele was kidnapped again, but this time, he managed to kill those abductors himself. It was his first time killing someone, and three kidnappers lost their lives to his gun. They had let their guard down, never expecting a twelve-year-old to kill, let alone carry a weapon with him. After that, our father was proud of him, considering him his pride," Grazia explained, sighing. "From then on, killing became a habit for Emanuele. If he came home one day without the smell of blood, I'd find it strange."

Isabella looked at Emanuele talking to someone in the corner, never imagining the extent of his past experiences. Still, what did this have to do with her? Even if he had gone through all this in the past, it didn't justify him tormenting her.

"Isabella, as women, our responsibilities are not as heavy as those of the men," Grazia said with a cheerful smile. "We can buy the things we like and enjoy life to the fullest. Of course, we may face some risks now and then, but most of the time, we don't need to worry too much. It's just that sometimes, we may be required to marry a mafia boss or one of our father's subordinates. We don't have the right to refuse."

Isabella's complexion turned pale at those words, and thoughts of Emanuele's demand for marriage within a month flooded her mind.

Isabella couldn't help but clasp Grazia's hand tightly. "Grazia, do I have to marry someone too?"

Seeing Isabella's nervousness, Grazia gently stroked her hair. "Isabella, don't worry. You've only just entered our family, and you haven't even finished college. How can anyone expect you to get married?"

"But what if Emanuele wants me to marry?" Isabella cautiously asked.