The Ruthless Game

After her unpleasant encounter with her neighbor , Elena tried as much as possible to avoid Dante's side of the Villa.

As much as she wanted to know more about him , she was also skeptical about getting close to him. He had clearly warned her to run away from him. What a terrible thing to say to a woman like her, now she is hungry for more escapade. 

She lay in her bed staring blankly at the ceiling as usual , a habit that she had gotten accustomed to. It allowed her think freely .

Apparently the day after her clash with Dante she had gone back to the market to seek Eric.

The old man did not seem surprised to see her and that triggered her curiosity even more.

She could vividly remember how he had looked at her calmly and almost with pity when she asked him about Villa Rosa. She had thrown the question at him directly, if she wanted answers , then she had to ask questions directly. She would no longer care what the people will say about her, it's not going to be her first time being the topic of discussion. In fact she loves it. 

Eric gave her a reassuring stare that made her relax a little bit.

"I do not know much about the Villa" he shrugged. She knew that he just lied to her and for some reason she did not push further.

"I met him" she told him . "For the first time since I came to live in the villa"

"Dante?" Eric let out a soft sigh. His eyes held different emotions at the same time and it was hard to figure out what he was really feeling.

Elena nodded gently "yes , the one you said is a cold blooded bastard".

Eric almost laughed "I should not have said that miss."

"It's fine Eric" She forced a smile , she would have asked him to call her Elena but she had to keep her identity a secret.

He returned her smile shyly.

"who is he?" She asked finally.

Eric looked at her with disbelief in his eyes "you live in the Villa down the hill and you do not know who that man is? If you claim not to be family, then how did you end up there?"

He looked like he was going to ask her to leave but instead he gave her shoulder a soft pat.

She wanted to assure him that she was telling the truth.

"It's a long story Eric...." She said instead.

Sensing that she was not ready to talk about it, he gave her shoulder another gentle squeeze.

"Whatever the situation is miss, I think you had better stay away from him"

Their gaze met and it stayed that way for minutes.

"Why Eric?" Elena broke the silence that was beginning to make her feel awkward.

"Well there had been rumors that he killed his own brother" Eric shrugged trying to act as casual possible.

Elena's mouth opened in surprise. Had she been cursed to be around criminals all her life? First it was her family , now Dante?

"It is just a rumor miss, it could be the truth and it could be a lie" Eric added quickly.

She looked at him , not sure whether to believe him or not "who is he ? Who are his family?"

Eric sighed , he looked like her questions were throwing him into exhaustion but the only thing she cared about was getting useful information out of him. 

"How selfish of me" She whispered under her breath. 

"Dante is a Moretti, II Vipera..." he coughed gently.

"Moretti are known for their dark powers and crime. They are mafias, they bargain with the powerful and influential. I wonder why you are in that Villa miss but that's not really a place for a princess like you".

Her mind shifted drastically to her father who was also a mafia lord, an extremely brutal one. 

She knew deep down that there was more to the story Eric had told her.

She felt like she was being stared at by wild pair of eyes but she did not see anyone when she turned around. Even in town, these pair of eyes followed her around.

Eric not paying much attention to her uncomfortable body language sliced through vegetables like he always does.

Elena rubbed her palms anxiously "thank you for trusting me with such information Eric"

He smiled revealing his incomplete set of teeth again "everyone knows this miss, except you. The locals know the Moretti and how dangerous they can be."

"I guess I had better just pretend like I haven't even heard of them" she joked .

"The less you knew , the safer you seemed to be" Eric said as a matter of fact.

"The locals might take you to be a Moretti if they know you come from that villa."

Elena laughed "I do not want people misunderstanding me , because I am not and will never be a Moretti."

Since she got back from meeting with Eric, she avoided Dante so much that she hardly stepped out of her room . He had been unusually quiet as well since their first encounter , he no longer made sounds in the morning or spoke to himself every minute.

She suddenly felt pity for him , she felt sorry for invading his privacy.

If he truly killed his brother , she was going to find out why.

"I'm sorry Eric, I don't think I can stay away from this man for long .... Dante , I do not think I would be obeying your instructions" she muttered under her breathe.

She was finally getting answers to her questions and it occurred to her that she could not hide in this room forever if she wants to know more.

Her sudden interest in Dante surprised her because she was meant to be minding her business , at least that's what the police man told her. But that would be too boring , she was tired of being bored.

Talking of the police man that brought her to live in the villa. She wondered when he would visit her next, she has series of questions she needs urgent answers to.