Chapter 3
Sofia
We exit the police station feeling defeated.
They filed a report, but that’s about all they could do.
I wasn’t expecting them to help too much, but we had to wait so long to talk to someone.
And it turns out Bianca left her phone charging in the hotel before we left, so it was a long process of asking for help to get here.
We’re going to grab a cab to take us back to the hotel though; I don’t know why I didn’t think about that before getting to the police.
I was probably still flustered from dealing with that asshole and his ‘ruined’ car.
I mean, seriously? Of all the cars on the street, I had to jump on his.
When I first laid eyes on him, I thought I’d lucked out—a hot guy was coming to my rescue.
But clearly I was giving him pretty privilege because his personality is rotten.
They could have seriously hurt me if I hadn’t jumped on the hood of the car.
And all he cared about was a tiny scuff that could get buffed out in a second?
It’s obvious he can afford it too.
Bianca gestures towards a gelato stand we happen to be standing nearby. “Do you mind if I get some before we go? I’m craving sugar so bad.”
“Sure.”
We get her some gelato quickly since there wasn’t much of a line. I steal a couple of bites from her strawberry dish, and I’m surprised to see how much the sugar calms me down.
As I consider going back and getting my own, a black SUV comes screeching to a halt right next to us, blocking traffic in the narrow street. I instinctively grab Bianca’s wrist, not knowing who this is.
Until my brother emerges from the other side of the car, looking livid.
Max stalks up to the two of us and has the audacity to take her gelato and throw it on the ground.
“Asshole!” “What the fuck, Max!?”
Bianca and I swear at him in unison.
Cars honk at him as traffic piles up on the street as Max grips both of our arms and drags us into the back of his car. I hear people around us asking each other if they should call the police as he slams the door on us.
I’m shocked he’s acting like this. Max is usually so mellow… until he snaps. So, I suppose the two of us sneaking away really set him off.
Hailey, Max’s fiancé, sits in the passenger seat, wearing a pale blue dress, her blonde hair freshly curled. She looks back at the two of us and gives us a nervous smile. “Hey, guys. Glad you’re okay.”
Max puts the car in drive and squeals the tires, unclogging traffic as we burst forward. I can feel his tension radiating from him.
“Look, I know we screwed up sneaking out, but there’s no need to act so pissed off right now. Everything’s fine!” I shout.
“Yeah, and we’re lucky that everything is fine! I’ve been driving up and down these streets that don’t make any sense because I can’t read the signs for hours, looking for the two of you. Assuming the worst, only to find you eating fucking ice cream!”
I know Max has good reason to be angry, and I should shut up and not escalate things. But that’s not how siblings work.
“We were going insane being trapped in that hotel with nothing to do! So we went for a little walk. Then my purse got stolen—”
Max lays on the horn and cuts off a bunch of the pedestrians trying to cross the street.
“Calm down!” I scream. “You’re going to get us killed trying to save us when we didn’t need to be saved in the first place.”
“Seriously, Max,” Bianca says. “I know we screwed up, but chill.”
He grips the steering wheel tighter, and a thick silence fills the car for a couple of blocks, then he sighs. “Don’t… tell anyone that I told you both this, but we got some intel this afternoon, after you both wandered off. Marco may be plotting to kill Grandpa.”
“What?” Bianca snaps.
“Then why are we even going to meet these people?” I ask.
Max makes eye-contact with me in the mirror.
“These things are complicated. If we blow them off, or show up late.” He points at the clock in the car.
“We could risk pissing him off even more. And besides, we don’t know if we can fully trust our source or not.
He’s not one of our guys, one of Ferrara’s looking for quick cash and is likely fleeing to another country as we speak. ”
Max was supposed to marry Elena, Marco Ferrara’s daughter, but was already in love with Hailey while these plans were in motion.
Hailey is the daughter of a cult leader, who kidnapped and imprisoned her after she escaped.
Max had an impossible choice to make—betray our family and save her or leave her to rot and marry Elena.
And while I love Hailey and agree with what he did whole-heartily. We are in a fucking mess because of it.
I glance at the clock. “So, we’re going straight to Marco’s and hoping we don’t die?”
“Yup.”
“What time are we supposed to be there?”
“An hour ago.”
“And why didn’t he tell us the plans sooner?”
Max shrugs. “He’s a lunatic.”
Marco’s a lunatic. I swear this information was concealed from me when this marriage was initially proposed, but ever since we arrived in Italy, all I ever hear is—Marco’s nuts, a sadistic bastard, certifiably insane.
At least they aren’t talking poorly about Alessandro, but still, this guy is going to be my father-in-law.
Hailey nervously picks at her cuticles in the front seat until Max puts his hand on her leg, calming her.
I turn to Bianca. “Do my hair and makeup look okay?”
Before Bianca can answer, Hailey looks back and hands me her purse. “Take anything you need.”
“Thank you,” I sigh.
I comb through her purse and help myself to a hairbrush, mascara, lip gloss, and perfume. I don’t think Hailey is the type to carry around all of this normally, so she must have been thinking ahead for my sake.
The rest of the ride is quiet until we’re on the outskirts of the city.
Max pulls onto a tight dirt road. There’s a sign posted I really don’t like, and I’m the only one in the car that speaks Italian, so everyone else is blissfully unaware.
“Hey, Max?”
“Yeah?”
“That, uh, sign says: Keep out. Any intruder will be shot and killed on sight.”
“Sounds pretty on-brand for these people. I mean, we’re technically invited, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re shot and killed on sight.”
A nervous silence fills the car.
“We’re fine,” Max adds. “For now. This car is bulletproof, so if they want to try something, I’ll simply turn around and drive directly to the airport.”
“What if they wait for us to get out of the car?” Hailey asks.
“We’re armed.” Max’s brow is knit with worry, and I wish we’d just turn around now. But he’s right; not showing up could make things even worse, especially considering that the rest of our family is already here.
The car continues up a steep incline. The landscape is so different from what I’m used to.
There are some bushes and things to add a hint of green; otherwise, it’s all stone and sand.
For a moment, we have a beautiful view of the city, then it’s concealed by the massive hill we’re driving on…
or maybe mountain? I’m so used to being in a flat area that I have no idea what is actually considered a mountain.
I sense Hailey tensing in her seat before I see it. Men… no, an entire army lines up along the road. All of them holding assault rifles.
Max swears under his breath, then glances at Hailey. “You texted my dad that we got them, right? Did he respond?”
“Two minutes ago.”
He lets out a sigh of relief that he knows our dad is still alive.
“I chose a terrible time in my life to sober up,” Bianca says. “Jesus Christ.”
My head snaps forward, not wanting to make eye-contact with any of the soldiers, and then I see it.
A castle sitting on top of this hill. It’s tan, like most building’s in this area, but the architecture is astounding.
I can tell the side of the building curves around in the back.
It’s huge. I grew up in the nicest neighborhood in all of southeastern Michigan and with a couple of vacation homes scattered across the country, but this is insane.
“Does Marco live here?” I ask, dumbfounded.
“Yes, along with his three children.” The car slows down near the entrance. “This is your future home.”
“My future home?” I’m breathless and overwhelmed looking at the place.
Max parks the car and walks around to open Hailey’s door as me and Bianca sit in the back with our jaws on the floor. Eventually, I muster up the courage to step out of the vehicle.
I was so distracted by the beautiful sight in front of me I didn’t notice the people lining the front of the entryway. I feel the pebbles under my feet in my sneakers, wincing that I’m not wearing something nicer.
I look at the familiar faces first—my parents and my grandfather. The men look angry, likely at me and Bianca. I can only imagine how pissed they were when they got into our hotel room to find the window screen popped out.
My mother has the same shocked expression I’m sure I’m unsuccessfully masking.
As my eyes dart over the unfamiliar faces, I land on one I’m surprised that I recognize.
That asshole whose car I jumped on.
I stop dead in my tracks. Bianca notices and stops with me as Max and Hailey continue forward, his arm possessively around her.
Bianca raises her eyebrows, and I keep walking after looking at that bastard again, who’s not bothering to hide his smirk.
Is this a sick joke?
The man I assume to be Marco, the oldest one in the Ferrara group, steps forward, arms spread wide with a grin on his face. “Benvenuto!”
I force a smile. Nothing in his demeanor is genuine, but he’s at least trying to be friendly.
Marco waves the asshole over, then I realize—that’s Alessandro. Well, there goes any of the initial foolish optimism I had about this wedding. This can’t be happening. Not this guy.
He stalks forward with a look of malice in his green eyes.
His appearance is even more impeccable than it was when I had the misfortune of meeting him, making me self-conscious of my quick makeover in the back of Max’s car.
There’s not a single strand of his dark hair out of place.
The sleeves of his white dress shirt are rolled up with precision.
“Sofia,” Alessandro purrs, making my eyes snap up from his forearms. Was I really staring at his arms that much? “I’m happy you made it. Your father told us you were…” he pauses finding his words, “nervous and that’s why you’re late.”
I shoot a glare towards my family. That’s the lie they went with? Dad shrugs.
He grabs my hand and brings it to his lips. “But don’t be nervous, Sofia. You’re home now.”
He smiles at me as if we’re sharing an inside joke. Which, in a way, we kind of are. Except I’m the butt of that joke.
I feel my chest heave, and even though he spoke to me in Italian; I don't have the self-control to speak in anything but English. “I wasn’t nervous. My purse got stolen, and then some fucking asshole nearly hit me with my car and then prevented me from catching the thief.”
Every family member looks at me like I’m out of my mind. Did I really say that? I cursed in front of my new family. Twice. This afternoon has been so stressful that my filter completely dropped.
Alessandro laughs. “Che peccato. I hope you never see that… fucking asshole ever again.”
I quickly narrow my eyes at him so only he catches it. This only makes him smile more.
I meet the rest of his family, failing to remember the vast majority of their names. I retain only Marco, Vincenzo, and Elena.
I’m not paying attention to the beautiful entryway as we enter the castle because my mother is at my side already.
“Where are your manners, young lady?”
“I’m sorry, I am not myself right now.”
My dad hisses in my ear next. “Where the fuck did you and Bianca go?”
I swallow. “We went for a walk, and my purse—”
He cuts me off before I can explain that I was robbed and I’ve technically already met Alessandro.
“You better hope and pray everything works out and you end up living here. If you end up back in Detroit, I swear to God you’ll be living in a bunker. And that’s not a threat; that’s the reality of the situation of how fucked we all are.”
“Johnny, just calm down,” Mom says. “Let’s get through this evening.”
I turn around when I hear hysterical laughter. It’s Alessandro and Elena.
He winks at me, and I don’t have to do much guesswork at what they’re laughing at—me.
This dinner is going to suck.