Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 227

ARIELLA

When I woke up, if that’s what you want to call it....but when I came back to myself, it felt like surfacing from a stormy sea. I was gasping for air, but something kept pressing on me. I felt myself gripping onto something I couldn't touch. My head pounded. Every nerve inside my body screamed. The darkness from before clung to the edges of my vision. My mouth tasted like metal.

I opened my eyes, my chest rising and falling as I struggled to take in a breath while my heart hammered hard.

“Shhh… calm down,” a voice murmured nearby.

I opened my eyes fully and realized Alan was hovering over me.

“Alan,” I said, but my throat was dry.

“Here,” he said, producing water from behind the table and giving it to me.

I took a sip, looking around the room, trying to ground myself. For a moment, I thought I had imagined everything that had happened. But when I looked at Alan, I knew it wasn’t an imagination. It had happened.

“What’s going on, Alan? What is happening?” I asked, panic creeping in.

“I’m sorry, Ariella,” Alan said, urgency in his voice. “But we are in danger. We have to get out of here. Come on, quick.” He tried to pull me from the sofa, but I was still disoriented, still confused.

Then I remembered the body that had fallen on me. Christian....the man who had been tasked with protecting me, protecting us.

“Where’s Leon?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“It’s okay, he’s fine. He’s still upstairs, sleeping. All you have to do is pack your bags so we can leave,” Alan said, urgency cutting through his tone.

“You called me… Ariella,” I said, my mind spinning.

“Yes, it’s your name, isn’t it? Hurry up,” he said, helping me up and towards the stairs.

I turned to him, my confusion boiling over. “How did you know my name is Ariella? You’re supposed to know me as Ariana.”

That was the last straw. Alan raised his hand in frustration. “I know who you are, okay? I know your name is Ariella, so stop this. Just do what I tell you.”

I turned toward the door and froze. Christian’s body was no longer there.

“Who killed Christian? Who is even after me? What the hell is going on, Alan?”

I didn't understand why anyone would be after me or even try to kill me.

But Maria’s voice… it freezes me, twists the air in the house, and I don’t know which way to turn. Before I can make a decision, before I can act, Alan pulls out a gun out of nowhere and starts shooting at Maria.

I freeze. Time stretches in a terrifying loop. The first gunshot echoes in my chest, rattling my bones, and then it hits me, the screaming, the chaos, the terror and my own scream tears out of me, raw and unstoppable.

I’m starting to realize it now. One of them… one of them is the danger I’ve been warned about. But right now, my focus narrows, sharp and urgent: Maria. Her safety. I’ve gotten close to her, even though I shouldn’t have, and I care. And this man, Alan, he’s shooting at her.

Instinct takes over. Before I can think, before I can scream again, I shove him. Hard. Hoping, praying, that it will make him miss.

But as I push him, he turns to look at me. His gaze… It’s nothing I’ve ever seen before. Cold. Empty. Hollow. And before I can even process it, his hand swings back and hits me square in the face.

Pain explodes across my cheek. Stars burst behind my eyes. My knees threaten to buckle. The world tilts. My scream catches in my throat, strangled by shock and terror, and everything feels like it’s spiraling out of control.

I tried to be strong, but I still found myself on the floor. Tears kept flowing, tears that fall even when you’re trying to stop them, falling uncontrollably, empty of any emotion, yet impossible to restrain.

My vision is hazy as I look toward Alan, but his attention isn’t on me. He’s looking up the stairs, and I can’t bring myself to follow his gaze. I’m terrified of what I might see... Maria dead.

I’ve never seen a dead body before. Not like this. Not someone I knew. And it’s too much.