“Oh, Caroline.” The man laughed, great peals of laughter that set the little hairs on the back of her neck on end. “You are absolutely right. Kids do say the darndest things, don't they?…” He trailed off when Marlena stumbled down the last step into the living room. The high heels he made her wear clicking against the floor as she moved forward.

“Dr. Evans, I see you warmed up the rest of the Kung pao chicken. Wonderful, little Brady here, was so hungry, he finished it all up!” Fernando watched her through the fake reading glasses he pulled from his backpack. John’s suit fit him perfectly.

 

That prick. How dare he wear her husband's clothes? Her legs wouldn’t let her move; she wouldn't be a part of this charade, she won't!

 

“Are you all right, Marlena?” The older woman followed her with her gaze when Fernando gently took the hot bowl from her hand, and led her by his look towards the dinner table. Getting herself together, she sat on the stool , where John’s jacket hanged before looking at the children. She needed to get them out of there.

 

Now.

 

Pulling her eyes from his strong forearms as they flex while he placed the big bowl on the table, she turned to face Caroline. “Of course I am, Caroline. How was your day with the kids? Did you have fun?” Her words were caring, but their delivery seemed worried. He took an instant dislike to her tone.

“Oh, yes, It was a lovely day. We went out to the park, fed the duckies and came back to the pub right on time for their nap. I’m sorry for interrupting your meeting with Dr. Giovanni. I didn’t know you were working today.”

 

“Now, Caroline, please don’t apologize," he said "I was taking too much of Dr. Evan’s time anyway, she’s just, so easy to talk to” he interjected and started piling food.

 

Spinning on her stool to look at him, she tensed. Placing a delicate china plate filled with Kung pao chicken in front of her, he smiled arrogantly. “Marlena has been telling me all about the kids. You’re fortunate to have them. Especially her, beautiful and smart, just like her mother” He offered a brilliant, white smile on Caroline and she visibly pleased under his attention.

“Thank you, Dr. Giovanni, both of them are our pride and joy” she smiled.

“Fernando. Please, call me Fernando.”

“Ok, Fernando. Are you working with Marlena?”

“Yes and no. I run my own firm, but Marlena’s helping me with a case” taking the tall wine glass into his hand, he glanced at her, she moved nervously in her seat.

“Oh, cases. I hear that word all the time at home” Caroline chuckled, rolling her eyes to the other woman in the room.

“Yes, Marlena has told me all about your son. He’s a cop, right?

“A detective, yes, and a very good one, if I may add” the twinkle in her eyes, reminded Marlena of oh much Caroline adored Roman and her heart clenched.

“I’m sure he was. Is” he corrected quickly.

 

The small child looked at him with her big blue smiling eyes, “Sir, do you want to see my toys?” the breath Marlena exhaled made Caroline's head turning. He didn't miss it too, choosing to ignore it he smiled, “Oh bambina, I would love to see your toys, but I’m sure your mamma has told you all about not being alone with strangers.” lifting his eyes, they fell onto Marlena’s eerie ones. “Belle, sweetie, it is getting late, there’s no time for that. Finish up; come on.”

“Oh Momma, pleassssee, I want to show him the new doll daddy bought me.”

“Belle, I-” she started, watching her excited little face. There was no way she was going to let him up there with her daughter. “I’m sorry, but after supper, I need to clear all the dishes, and there's simply no-”

“Don’t worry Marlena,” Caroline placed her hand on hers when she spoke, “I will take them after supper, it will be quick, and then we’ll go to take a shower. All right, kids?” they watched as the kids nodded, high fiving each other with joy.

 

Unwillingly sipping the wine he poured her, she wished Belle wouldn’t get close to that man.

Unsure how to react, she took a bite of the chicken. Glimpsing the monster behind the beautiful mask, and now she couldn’t unsee it. Two long scars that started from his neck and continued way down under his shirt. She was totally fucked, and she didn’t know how to get herself out of that mess. Her heart started to race, and she quickly had to shut down her panic.

Freaking out will only make things worse.

 

An hour earlier…

 

“I want you to do something for me before heading downstairs,” he murmured in a seductive voice, stopping her by her new clean blouse he made her wear. His touch made her want to throw herself down the staircase. She swallowed hard and looked into his eyes.

“I want you to bring me your panties.” Her breath hitched, and she blinked, peering into his dark, hooded eyes. He was smiling a sinister smile.

“Fernando”

“Our guests would be arriving soon, are you going to stand here and argue with me right now?”

“Listen to me...I real-” grabbing her chin, he forcefully brought it up, “No, little girl, you listen to me. I don’t think you know what you’re messing with. I have no patience. Zero. Nada.”

 

Taking a new weapon she has yet to see from his back pocket, he smiled. Pulling it open with a swift movement, he trailed it against her cheek, making her whimper with fear.

“Stop disobeying me and do as you told. I’m sure your children would want to see their sexy mother in one piece. Do they, Marlena?” his lips were against her ear when he spoke her name. She hated hearing it from his lips.

“If you so much as touch them” she breathed heavily, grunting her teeth.

“You’ll do what? That’s so cute you think you can overpower me. .”

The fire in her stomach only increased as he lowered himself to the floor in front of her. Kneeling, she watched how he closed his eyes to take in her scent. She hated every second of it. When his fingers connected with the silky flesh of her leg, she closed her eyes, trying to keep it together. She knew what was coming. His fingers stroked her cuff, going up to her thigh.

“Why are you doing this?” she murmured

”I love to watch you squirm.”

When he found the thin waistband of her panties, he raised his swiss army knife and ripped it, letting the white material drop to the floor.

“What is that you want from John?” her eyes opened to watch him standing up in front of her.

“My life” his voice was dead cold when he stared at her, taking in her beauty.

“Much better.” He cupped her ass, squeezing hard. “Don’t you agree, Doctor?” All she could do was nod in response, rendered mute.

“Good.” He released his hold on her, and they descended the stairs. She’d only managed a few steps before she felt a hand grabbing her elbow, her eyes widening as she was tugged against his body again. “One more thing, Marlena.”

“What?” she swallowed hard, her heart in her throat as fear heated on her cheeks. He leaned toward her, peppering kisses down her shoulder.

“You better behave tonight. If I feel you are trying to give something away, you’ll be sorry that you ever did.” Her chest heaved as she closed her eyes. He clenched his jaw, then released her from his hold. “Now, go. And behave, let’s hope your children would behave too”

 

“Marlena?” Tilting her head, she moved her eyes to where the sound came from. A small moan escaped her as his fingers crept over her knee. No, he couldn’t do that. “What a great chicken dish, huh, Marlena?”  he asked, running a finger down her thigh as he gazed into her eyes. A haze of nausea overcame her at his touch. Caroline’s melodic voice broke through her mindless response, and she managed herself to pull away from Fernando. Swallowing, she nodded.

“Yes, it’s good.” Peering up at him when he didn't answer her, she noticed the silent looks he gave her. He looked amused, a smirk colored his demeanor as he appeared to sneer her for resisting him.

 

She chanced a look at Caroline, hoping she couldn’t see at what was clouding her mind. Fear was written all over Marlena’s face—Fear for her, for the children.

 

“Caroline.” Marlena cleared her throat, demanding her attention. Swiveling her head back to Fernando, she was thrown further when she took in his blank countenance.

“Would you put some more rice to Belle? I will go get the water pitcher from the kitchen.”

“No, Momma” the little one was ready with her reply, “I’m not hungry anymore. May we please go with Nana Caroline and the nice doctor upstairs?”

 

Shit.

 

“No, Belle.” Not a sign of his anger could be seen; he was expressionless. Her misgivings from earlier in her bedroom returned with a vengeance.

“Marlena” the old lady stood up, “how about I will go upstairs with the kids and bring down the toys they wanted?”

 

Thank God for that woman. Heaven sent.

 

“Marlena.” He clicked his fingers in front of her face, pulling her from her dark worries. “Fernando,” she answered him after a long second, noticing the question on Caroline's face.

“Oh yes, sure. Go ahead, but hurry back”  With loud yells of excitement, the children ran up the stairs, followed by Caroline. Standing up, she took the dirty plates to her hands, making her way to the kitchen, intentionally ignoring the devil at her living room.

 

That night was horrible.

But she recovered from it just as she tended to recover from all the mistreatments she'd endured throughout her life.

She was a fighter.

She bounced back quickly and came out on the other side a stronger person. She’d always been that way; she had to. But she could tell that he wanted her weak, scared, and broken, losing her mind in a furious fear.

That was just not who she was, and she didn’t have the acting skills to pretend she was that kind of person. After he followed her up to the kitchen, the gentleman act abruptly came to an end. He pushed her forward, making her lean her stomach to the counter, pressing his groin to her ass.

"You’re playing with fire, Doctor Evans," he breathed into her ear, she tilted her head to the side, her cheek grazing his nose. "You leave my children alone, do you hear me?" she ordered, and he chuckled.

 

He paused for a few moments, observing as she moved her head back to the sink. Then, he dropped down on his knees behind her, coming almost to eye-level with her ass. She ignored his silent gaze, almost proud of her endurance. His quiet was intense.

 

"So… you’re a doctor. What kind of doctor the hell are you?" he asked, catching her off guard with that unexpected question. "What do you mean?" she asked.

He groaned, knitting his eyebrows once again.

"Well, I studied-"

"I don't need your fucking diploma," he interrupted.

"You're a doctor. That's all I need. I just want to know what’s your nine to five. Do you understand?" she nodded, boiling with anger inside.

"Yes, I understand," she responded. "I’m a psychiatrist."

"A shrink," he said. "A fucking shrink?" his fingernails grazed her outer thighs, making her shiver.

Reluctantly, she nodded again. "Yes."

His next question baffled her even more. "Do you like this, Doctor? Do you like me touching you like that?" She gasped. Why the hell would he ask that? He knew that she didn’t; she despised his touch, his presence. There were no instructions about any of this. She had no idea what to do, except to stick to the truth. "No, I don’t," she shook her head, emphasizing every syllable and adding weight to her words as if they were new information for him.

"I think you do. I think you really, really do...I think you want me to touch you, but way higher," he said quietly, trailing his fingers. "You look like the perfect fuck doll."

"Fuck you."

He chuckled.

"Where I’m coming from; that's a compliment." standing up, he pressed his pelvis to her ass again, placing his hands on the counter at her sides.

"That would explain a lot."

"Are you not afraid of me?" he wanted to know. "I sedated you. I took you hostage, I tied you up and left you alone in the dark - and you just silently standing there and endure it all?" He paused, continuing to observe her as if she was some kind of weird research project.
She swallowed hard.

"What are you going to do to my children? What are you going to do to me?" A dark smile appeared on his face.
"I’m going to punish John by breaking you. If I’m not gonna get what I want, I will break you" he said. "I'm going to tear you to pieces, break any defiance, tear down any walls, and rob you of any free will. I'll do unspeakable things to you until you're completely and utterly broken." Her pulse was racing and she felt as if a clamp was closing around her throat, choking her with an overwhelming sense of fear.

 

He was actually scaring her with his words, she was panting, and it only got worse when he moved his hand toward her throat. "That's right," he hissed, his black eyes flickering as triumph set him on fire.

"When I'm done with you, my toy, you won't be able to do anything on your own, you'll depend on me for every step you take, but most of all..." He paused, relishing the moan that escaped her lips when he reached between her legs, not really touching.

 

"Most of all," he continued, drawing circles on her inner thigh. "Each and every single one of your orgasms will be mine." she gasped "You are not in control." She whimpered, closing her eyes as a blend of agony and fear traveled through her body, taking over every single part of her, her core, her limbs, her mind. His hand was still wrapped around her neck, "You like this, don't you?" he hissed, moving closer, his face now so close to hers that she could feel his hot breath on her skin. She wanted to reach up, she wanted to punch him. But she kept her hands in place.

 

"You have no fucking idea." His deep voice cut into her dazed thoughts with a haunting echo. "I don't know what you like, but whatever fucked-up things you've done so far, you can rest assured, it won't live up to this." she groaned in response, too scared to make sense of his words.

"You think this is a game, don't you?" he piled on. "You think I'm joking. You think I'm going to let you go once I've gotten what I came here for." she panted, trying to hold back the first waves of tears. He added more pressure scratching her inner thigh so slow it was almost painful, while he continued to get closer to her bare center.

 

Normally, she was not easily scared. Not really. But she’d never heard anything more terrifying than his sinister and triumphant laughter when she whimpered in his hands.

 

“Momma!” the familiar little voice echoed from the living room, making her jump with surprise, turning to walk away from him, he grabbed her arm with his free hand, stopping her movement, “Wait up for me, I don’t want to keep your Bambina waiting” his evil smile felt as though she was punched in her gut. Hard.

“I’m warning you.”

“That’s so cute” he closed his fingers around her chin, “You think you’re scary. Principessa, I’ve been scary- and you ain’t got his smile” He smirked, placing a finger below her chin and tilting her face up to his. Their eyes locked onto each other, and again, there were moments of silence, moments that turn into seconds, seconds that felt like minutes.

 

She tried to pull her hand away from Fernando's and his fingers tighten around her thigh, squeezing painfully. She endured the compression for as long as she could before a yelp slipped past her lips. His eyes flashed and then he grinned as if she’d somehow pleased him. His grip relaxed and he let his hand drop down, watching her trying to get it together. She watched him warily until he had his hand safely in his pocket.

 

“Dr. Giovanni!” Belle’s little voice broke the silence as she ran into the kitchen. Marlena broke the contact almost immediately. “Come on!” snatching his fingers; the little girl dragged him back to the living room.

 

Fernando was controlling, and aggressive, especially when he got angry. He hurt her the last time she refused him. He shoved trailer his gun on along her cleavage and pulled on her hair. She was trapped.

The best she could do right now was trying to make him happy so he wouldn’t hurt the children or her…

 

Leaning back, he flicked his fingers at his whiskey glass. “Marlena…” he purred huskily. Rubbing her lower back so no one will notice, she made her expression as neutral as possible.

“Yes?”

“Finish your drink.”

Inside, she was fuming. Reaching out, she grabbed her drink and it took every ounce of self-control she had to keep from tossing it in his smirking face. He lifts his own glass and sipped from it while watching her. She brought her glass to her mouth and her stomach twisted as she sipped. Already, the wine was sour on her tongue and the warm buzz had become an annoying after-effect. Their eyes met over the rims of their glasses. His bored into hers like icy daggers until she finished the wine off completely. The glass empty, she was afraid to set it back down on the table, afraid he’ll refill it. She leaned back, keeping the empty glass in her grip.

 

“Momma, look,” Belle said, tugging on her hand to get her attention, her head was a million miles away. “Yes, sweetie?” she asked, tearing her eyes away from that bastard in the room as he talked quietly to Brady. Belle beamed up at her. “Dr. Giovanni showed me his toy. I showed him my doll, and he showed me his.”

“What?” she blinked down at her. Fernando grumbled and stopped talking to Brady to turn an eye on her daughter.

“He has a small plastic toy, look!” the young girl opened her hand to revel and mini green toy soldier. The toy was a little chewed at the base.

“You weren’t supposed to tell anyone.” he chuckled, and she hated that he made her keep a secret.

She frowned at him and started to step in front of her, not liking the way he was looking at her or talking to her. Belle popped her head out from behind her though and then said cheerfully, “He keeps it in his pocket, he told me it was keeping him safe.” She bounced on her toes beside her and then her eyes widen as she got a new idea.

 

“Nana, could you please take Dr. Giovanni and us upstairs! I want to show him my dollhouse” She tried to pull away from her mother, but she grabbed her by the hand and tugged her close. She hadn’t forgotten for a second what kind of a man he was.

“I would love to see your toys, Bambina. I love toys, they’re always doing as they told” her gaze locked into his satisfied one. His green eyes had more darkness than any brown eyes she had ever seen before.

Belle kept tugging on her though and eventually she gave in. The girl used Fernando’s hand to drag him upstairs with the rest of them.

“You’re a monster” she hissed with no words.

 

He smiled and turned away walking over to the staircase. Standing up, she felt his dark eyes glaring at her as he climbed up with the kids. Keeping her eyes focused forward, it was everything she could do to keep from running after him. How will she get them out of this mess? How will she get them to safety?

 

The shrill sound of her cell phone ringing from his suit pocket stopped her from swinging at his back. Her feet were inches away from the first step. She pulled the phone out of the suit jacket he left hanging on the back of the chair.

“John!” she shrieked after she saw his name appeared on the screen, “Tell me, tell me you have the codes, oh please tell me you found Stefano.”

“Doc, are you okay, baby?” he asked softly, something was not right; she could hear it in his voice.

“John, what’s going on?”

“Answer me first, are you okay?” no one could have missed the panic in his tone.

“You okay, Doc?” His repeated, his voice was muffled.

“I’m fine,” she called out. Then she laughed so hard and loud. He heard her giggle and he knew that she’d been drinking.

“I’m fine,” she said to his concerned voice, trying to stifle her laughter. She caught the laughter behind her hand as tears began to leak from her eyes. She was laughing and crying so hard she had to hold herself up by the chair.

“I’m fine,” she gasped. “Isn’t that the craziest thing you’ve ever heard? Like I can be fine. Are you fine?” She felt the muscles in her cheek flicker. His voice was metallic, like a tin can. He spoke softly and she’d stopped laughing.

 

“Marlena…baby, I’m so sorry...” he said, taking another deep breath. Just the thought of him being scared was enough to send her into a panic.

“Stefano got away…” he muttered and then his voice trailed off. The tension built and her lungs pulled in much-needed air. Before she could think too much about what he just said, or did for that matter, he continued, “I got to the address he gave me, but I guess someone already tipped Stefano. He was on his way to his chopper when I found him; he didn’t tell me anything, he said he has no idea what I'm talking about”. Stumbling, she tried to get her courage back. The cool air hit her, and she shivered, straightening.

“Marlena”

“I’m here. What do we do? Did he tell you anything else? Anything at all?”

“Yes”

“Oh, baby, please, tell me what is going on…” she tightened her fingers around her phone, her heels digging into the carpet and she was grateful for the armchair next to her.

“He was Stefano’s mercenary as you already

know.”

“John, just tell me...” panic attack was about to kick in.

“One wrong word can trigger him back to being the killing machine that he was. A cold blood murderer”

Her heart lurched, and her breathing quickened.

 

Fear.

 

Fear.

 

Fear.

 

The kids.

 

“The children” She had to swallow again as bile crept up her throat. “Oh god,” she groaned, wavering on her feet then she tipped her head back and closed her eyes. “No… oh my god...Doc listen to me- ” he kept on talking, she could hear his muffled words but could make anything out of it.

 

Trigger? Killing? What?

 

Silent.

 

Please don’t leave us here alone.

 

Please don’t leave me.

 

Please don’t let me have this panic attack right now.

 

“Marlena?”

The voice calling her startled her. Jumping, she hung up the phone call.

It sounded like Caroline was coming down the stairs. By the lack of sound of running feet, she realized she was alone.

“Caroline, what’s wrong?!” she called out.

“It’s Roman” the woman responded. She saw the fight in her, but she could tell she genuinely feared for her son’s life. “Abe just called me; Roman was found unconscious at the side of 22 road, badly injured.”

 

Caroline didn’t want to know for how long she was worrying about him herself.

 

“Oh my god” her concern was real, she had to fake her reaction, and it was tearing her up inside.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go to the hospital....will you be joining me later?” quickly grabbing her purse, “I’ll try getting over there as soon as I can, kiss him for me?”

The two hugged, “Give my best to Dr, Giovanni; he’s still upstairs with the children.”

 

“...Okay,” she said holding her breath, listening closely to her walking out of the door. A moment later there was quiet outside.

 

Collapsing on the floor, Marlena stuck her head between her knees. The happy chattering upstairs faded.
She could feel herself gasping for air, hearing nothing but Fernando’s footsteps getting closer on
the wooden stairs.