Taken By The Mafia Lord

"Eric would not approve of this," Jason followed after Natalie, who wanted to climb into the car but she couldn't because he was standing in her way.

Naomi said to him, "I've never required Eric's approval to go whenever I want to,"

"I know, but both of us know how risky this is and the fact Eric wouldn't approve of it either if he knew..."

Jason stopped and looked around his environment, checking to see if there was anyone close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation. However, there was no one but the driver and he leaned closer to Natalie, albeit with a little space between them so they don't look intimate.

He whispered, "You promised me that you wouldn't do anything reckless. You said you only needed to know about Edward, that's all."

"Yes, I know that," Natalie admitted, "However, that was until I realized that I've been living in a safety bubble all this while. Edward is dead. My daughter…" She choked, the emotion clogging her throat, "I don't even know where the heck my daughter is."

"Your daughter is safe," Jason lied, but it was for good reason. His boss Eric was going to bring Arianna to her, but until then, he didn't want Natalie to know her daughter is in the hands of Marcel, Daniel's son, or else that would really break her. Yeah, it was really messed up.

He went on, "She's been taken care of by Edward's brother. However, she doesn't know about you and is living a comfortable life. Do you want to ruin that?"

Natalie sighed, rubbing her temple where she could feel a headache brewing.

"I just want to see Penelope,"

"The Luciano family owns the plot Penelope is buried on and the walls have ears. What if you draw attention to yourself and Daniel comes after you?" Jason reasoned.

No, he was tired of reasoning with her. But then, he'd be in hot soup if Eric finds out he has been helping Natalie with stuff behind his back.

Natalie lifted her head, "Well, that's the problem, I'm not scared of Daniel anymore. I have spent half of my life fearing him, perhaps, it's time he begins to fear me," She said coldly, her lips pressed together.

She had come back here to spend the rest of her days in peace, but after hearing about Penelope and Edward, she was furious. Daniel deserved to pay for all he has done to her.

"So can you move out of the way?" Natalie ordered him. No one was going to stop her from seeing Penelope today.

Jason tapped his feet against the ground, thinking hard.

"At least, cover your face properly," He said, pulling the veil over her face. If she was going to take such a risk, he didn't want her to be seen.

Natalie was dressed thoroughly in black like someone in mourning. And Yes, she was mourning. Although she was mourning too late, Natalie would give the dead that respect. The two people she loved so much lost to the cold hands of death and she never even knew.

After Eric's family rescued her, Natalie erased her past thinking it was much better. Let everyone assume that she was dead and move on. It was much safer that way. Moreover, she had nowhere to go, not after her father had betrayed her.

Jason stepped out of the way for Natalie to get into the car. The veil covering her face would make it difficult for one to see her face, a precaution since they were walking into untested territory.

"What are you doing?" Natalie was surprised when Jason climbed in after her.

"As if I would let you go alone, boss would skin me alive if anything happens to you," Jason said, trying to fix his tie, but the exasperation on his face was obvious. No wonder he was having a hard time with his tie.

Natalie simply turned and helped him fix his tie and he had no choice but to let her. Done, she patted his tie and let out a small smile, "Thank you,"

Jason didn't say anything, but he turned the other way, clearing his throat. Women, he sighed inwardly.

She didn't have a hard time identifying Penelope's grave because, unlike the others, it was embellished with gold. Natalie couldn't tell how Penelope's life with Daniel had been, but it was obvious from the gesture that her son, Marcel, loved her. She hoped so. Just like she held on for Arianna, she prayed Marcel gave her enough happiness.

Natalie placed a bouquet on the grave, staring at it for a while. She lifted the veil covering her face and said, "Hello Penelope,"

No response came other than the breeze.

"You must be cold in there, aren't you? And I am a very horrible friend," Natalie sniffed, brushing away the tears from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," She apologized, bursting into tears as she was unable to control her emotions.

"We made a lot of promises, but I failed every one of them. However, do you know what pains the most? The fact that you took my place. You shouldn't have married Daniel in the first place. I was the one you wanted, but then, you took up the punishment for me. I thought leaving my daughter was the worst punishment I had been given, but knowing that you went through without me, with no one by your side, it breaks my heart the most. I can't breathe… I feel like I want to die… I'm the most horrible person.

"No, I'm probably the most selfish person. I forced myself into believing that never searching for you and the others was the best thing, but then, I must have known inwardly. I just didn't know how to face it. I'm so sorry… Can you ever forgive me….?" She poured out her heart on the grave.

Natalie cried so hard that she didn't even realize her phone was ringing until Jason appeared in her peripheral.

"W-what is it?" She hurriedly cleared her eyes with the back of her hands, embarrassed he saw her crying.

"We have to leave now!" Jason said firmly, taking her hand and pulling her along before she could ask what was going on.