•••••Do read the previous chapter if you have lost connectivity with the story🤪•••••

~~~~~~~

It hurt.

The instance the truth revealed; Ella felt empty. Losing her strength; mentally and physically all at once. The discovery seems too shocking to be true.

Her heart felt heavy, sinking. Like a rock, in the deepest end of the ocean. As if she had been pushed into the darkest tunnel searching for answers, only to find the answers darker.

Everything seems new yet so familiar.

Demetrio Agosti.

Someone she knew, someone whom she only had formal conversations with, he had been around her all the while yet accepting the fact that she is his daughter seems hard.

Ella find it extremely difficult to handle her new identity, she only cried louder and louder.

There is nothing else to do anymore. The photo attached in the diary was enough to convince who she is apart from the last line she read. The longer she had her gaze on the diary and photo the louder she cried.

Carlo rushed to her as soon as he heard her cries, gathering her in his arms. "What happened Ella?" he asked.

She merely shook her head and cried vehemently. Her devastating condition did not allow Carlo to pester her more. He continued to comfort her as he caressed her hair.

He wondered what happened in a couple of hours that made her almost hysterical.

"I... I have been living in... lies. I'm a lie... Ella is a lie..." she said in between her cries.

"Shh... don't cry" without paying attention to her words.

A little while later the diary laid open on the bed caught his attention. He immediately picked it up and read the content of the particular page. It was the last page Ella had read and soon he came to realisation that the Ara Agosti whom they all were looking for, now in his arms, crying.

He felt bad for Ella. For she had to discover her real identity while searching for someone who is eventually her.

The continuous loud pounding on the door pulled him out of his thoughts and got himself fully alert. This can't be Diego or Thiyagu, he thought.

Figuring out who could it be, the only thought that came to his mind was someone here to harm Ella. Carlo pushed Ella away from him and held her head in his palms.

This isn't time to sit and cry. The current situation doesn't seem to be good for any of them. She is a brave and strong girl; Carlo had seen it. However, she needs to gather herself as she isn't mentally stable at the moment.

"Ella, I need you to pull yourself together right now! Stop crying!"

She looked up at him with eyes full of tears overflowing, confused. He looked out at the door again, 'whoever it is, if they are here to attack her than it won't take them long to get in. I need Ella to fix herself,' he thought.

"Listen, someone is there outside the house. There might be more. I want you to get prepared for the worst. Alright," he said wiping of her wet cheeks. Ella only nodded but did not stop crying.

"Who are they?" she managed to ask.

"I don't know. Just stay in and lock the door" Carlo held his gun closed to him. He stood behind the couch, ready to duck down in case of shooting.

Ten seconds later, bullets flew through the door hitting every little furniture and walls before the door was pushed open. Carlo found himself surrounded by ten or more armed men in the house.

"What do you want?" he asked pointing his gun, shifting to every one of the men, wishing for a miracle help.

-----

The sound of the bullets firing snapped Ella out of her world of misery. She looked around puzzled for a moment before realising what was happening.

However, before she could go out of the room, the door swung open. There stood Bernardo in the wickedest smile ever. Followed by a couple of mans with guns behind him.

"Hello, Ella! Ops, Ara Agosti" Bernardo smirked.

"Finally, the girl we were all looking for is...

You. All this while it was you. Tch, tch, tch... how did I miss to notice it even after you came in with the letter?" he tapped his chin with his finger as if thinking.

Ella tried to figure out why is he behaving strange. A very unusual Bernardo Moretti. Nevertheless, she remained quiet and waited for him speak more for her to come to a perception about him.

"Whatever, time to get you out of here. You have been alive way to long, Agosti!"

Alive, the word struck a chord in her. Something that she had read a while ago. 'Was he the one? The one responsible for the death of Ruffina Agosti?' her eyes began to well up.

"What do you mean?" she asked pretending she knew nothing about him or her parents.

"I meant what I mean and I don't need to explain it to you" he hissed.

Her breath turned heavy instantly, her mind began calculating possibilities of escaping out. The noise outside gave her hints that Carlo is out alone fighting with the many armed man.

"Get her!" he ordered.

Ella stayed calm as possible taking her time to make her move. There were two armed men and Bernardo standing right at the door way. She knew she has to go through them before she could get out of the room.

But will she able to do it, she doubted.

Nevertheless, she isn't going to let herself get caught that easily. Well her father did not send her to the military school to be caught without a fight. Her hand immediately grabbed the light stand next to her. The long steel rode was good enough for her to fight the three men.

******

There was a certain calmness in him which had been missing for months. He felt free and composed after a long time, something beyond happy when he learnt who Ara Agosti is. Probably the fact that Ella is Ara Agosti made him elated. Though the search of the last Agosti has finally come to an end, there is still one more search. The search of Demetrio Agosti's murderer.

He took a heavy breath as he concentrated on the road.

Heading to Arabella Teresa Agosti's apartment, to share the big news, the revelation of who she is. His phone rang, sucking him out of his thoughts.

"Where are you?" Thiyagu barked from the other end of the call.

"On my way to Ella's. What happened? Why are you yelling?"

"Because Ella isn't at home!! I'm in her place now. Carlo was on the floor, unconscious when I got here. He was knocked on the head. He just regained conscious but still not stable enough to tell what happened" Thiyagu reported.

Diego decelerated the car speed and stopped at the side of the road. Heaving a heavy breath, he felt him being pulled back to where he began. Now that he had found the person he had been looking for, she is now missing. He rubbed his face with his palms in attempt to wipe off the anxiety that is forming in him at the moment.

"What am I going to do now?" he asked almost losing strength but quickly gathered himself thinking a way to find her.

"Guess who I saw in the CCTV footage?

Dad," Thiyagu said flatly with anger.

"What?!" Diego yelled in shock and slammed the steering wheel hard.

"I'm coming there right now" Diego threw the phone on the passenger seat and stepped on the accelerate.

His brain went on to the same thought process as he had during the entire situation. Ella missing and his father's involvement had only turned his doubt on Bernardo, true. It has been his father behind all the attacks and murders happened in that particular period of time.

With all the earlier attacks and incidents flashing before him, Diego could only pray for her safety until he finds where she is.

-----

Diego reached Ella's apartment in no time and the sight of her house only reminded him of the day her house was broke-in. As much as he wished her to scream for the mess in the house, he knew it won't happen.

Carlo was seated on the couch as Thiyagu dressed his wound. Diego scanned around the house. There were blood splashes on the walls, a few dead bodies scattered on the floor. He could not imagine how Carlo had managed to save himself from the men.

He quietly took a seat on one of the couches that had bullets punctured the soft furniture. Calming his perturbing mind, Diego tried to think of a way to get to Ella and his father.

"Diego? What are you thinking?" Thiyagu asked as soon as he was done bandaging Carlo's head.

"Thinking of a way to reach Ella"

"Okay. What are we going to do after we get her location?"

"I don't know. Fight? Argue? I'm totally confused, I just need to get to Ella as soon as I can"

"I don't think the latter is going to happened but the former is very much possible. The problem now is, we are only three of us and it will be like going into a death trap willingly.

Carlo is not fit to fight and we two are not enough. I'm not used to guns nor fight. Can you imagine the situation we will be?" Thiyagu tried to put their situation into perspective in order none of them would take a hasty decision.

"You are right, but we need to find her. Where and how?" Diego stared out the window in search of an answer.

"Oh, I know! I'll call Thomas and ask him to track dad's location" Thiyagu walked away tapping his mobile screen while leaving Diego to think.

Anxiety creeping in him as he tried to find a way to get Ella safe from his father's captivity. The more time he took to think the more tense he got.

"I need more people and they need to know how to fight. To use the gun" he chanted, walking back and forth in the living room.

As though something struck him, Diego remembered Lazaro and his father Gasparo D'Luca. This might turn against them but he decided to take the risk.

"Guys, quick. We are going to get some help" he instructed the men in the house while helping Carlo on his feet.

"Do you think you can do this, Carlo?" Diego asked a bit of a concern.

"Absolutely"

Diego took the seat behind the wheels while Thiyagu sat next to him and Carlo behind. As much as he hated the idea, there wasn't much option left for him nor time. Ella's trust on Lazaro had been the only surety for Diego to take this action. Seeking their help.

However, a certain confidence found his way, with Lazaro's multiple attempts in saving Arabella. Diego was confident, Lazaro will not decline their need for help nor will he put Ella in danger.

******

Sorry!!!!! For the delayed update.

I suddenly felt disconnected with the story. Though all the points were written and set in front of me, I couldn't continue. Nothing was forming properly.

However, I hope this was readable. The coming chapters too will be as hideous as this. Might cause you cringing as well (I think)🤪🤪🤪

Thank you for your patience!!!