PROLOGUE #3
I couldn’t help but smile too. She’d called me ‘Raffy’ since she learned to say the word.
I’d never been ‘Rafe’ to my sister. She never saw the bitter, angry, hate filled monster, which my father and his business was turning me into.
To Cara I was just Raffy, her big brother who fussed over her to the point of annoyance, but read the best bed times stories – according to her.
She and Gia were everything to me, and to lose one of them… .
“Raffy? What’s wrong?” Cara stood up and rushed over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and jolting me from my thoughts.
I pulled her arms free and bent down to a crouch so we were eye to eye.
Cara was small for her age, but her doctor had assured me she was big enough for now, and would likely catch up to the height of others in her class at some time soon.
“We need to go, sweetheart. I’m sorry,” I told her as I grabbed her hands in mine and held on to them tightly.
“It’s okay. Is Gia alright?” she asked, her smile gone now and replaced with worry.
“Gia’s fine. Louise has gone to get her. Can you grab your things for me? We need to hurry,” I told her as I forced a smile, wanting to take the worry from her face.
“Okay,” she agreed easily. Another difference between the two of my sisters.
Cara was easy. She never got into trouble or even really argued with me, Terza, or Louise when we told her to do something.
Gia was her opposite. The child was a little hellion.
She ran riot when she wanted to, got into trouble frequently, and flat out refused to do as she was told.
She definitely kept us all on our toes, that was for sure.
I worried that I should have taken Gia too, but my father was in no doubt that Gia was his child.
She was like a smaller version of him. Her eyes were exactly the same as his, as was the shape of her lips.
Everyone had commented from the day she was born that she was a blonde, female version of him, so I knew he’d leave her alone.
Selfishly, I wanted to keep her close to me too.
Sending Cara away was going to kill me. I wasn’t sure I could survive being parted from the both of them.
Cara ran over to me with her backpack thrown over her shoulder.
It was bright pink and covered with stars – her two favourite things.
She was currently obsessed with everything pink and feminine, and also fascinated with stars, constellations, and the night sky.
I’d just bought her a new, high end telescope and now she was going to have to leave it behind.
She was going to have to leave everything behind - her entire life as she knew it.
“I like it when you pick me up like this,” she told me brightly as I took her hand and started to lead her out of the classroom, then out of the school.
I was checking all around us as we walked down the street to where I had parked my car.
It was very unlikely anyone would work out where Cara was at that time, but I needed to be ready if they did.
I’d do whatever it took to get Cara away safely, even use the gun I had hidden under the front seat of my car if I had to.
I had never fired the thing except when Enzo took me to practice in the woods miles from the city a few times, but protecting Cara would be the incentive I would need to kill for the first time.
“I like it too. I’m sorry I can’t do this more often.”
“It’s okay. I know you’re super busy, Raffy. You’re still the best brother me and Gia can ever have.”
“I don’t know about that,” I laughed.
“You are. I said so, and Louise told us it’s true and you can’t argue with Louise!” she told me with a cheeky smile.
“I wouldn’t dare,” I agreed. I opened the passenger side door and Cara jumped into the seat, laughing at the dramatic face I pulled when I made out I feared our nanny.
As soon as I closed her door I paused and took another deep breath in. I had no idea how I was going to do this. How was I going to tell her I had to send her away?
“Do we have to go home?” Cara asked before I was even fully seated in the driver’s side. “Don’t we have a little time to get ice cream, or go to the park?”
“Not today, Tesorino. I need to talk to you, and I need you to listen to me. It’s important. Do you understand?” I asked, starting the car and pulling into traffic.
“What’s happening?” she asked as she turned in her seat a little so she almost faced me.
“Dad. He’s really angry right now. Mum did something to make him mad and he…
he wants to hurt her.” I knew that was a lot to land on an eight year old, but Cara was no normal eight year old.
I had sheltered her from our father and the life we were trapped in as much as I could, but she’d still seen so much more than she should have.
“What did she do?”
“That’s not important now. What is important is getting Mum away from Dad before he hurts her. Dario is picking her up and bringing her to meet me so I can help her hide somewhere safe.”
“Will you get into trouble with Dad?” she asked with concern.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. It’s you I’m most worried about,” I admitted.
“Me? Is Dad angry with me too?”
“Yeah, Cara, he is. I’m so sorry.”
“Why? What did I do, Rafe? Do I have to go away too? Will he hurt me?” she asked as panic seemed to consume her and her breaths started to speed up way too fast. She was terrified of our father, with good reason.
“I will never let him hurt you. That’s why we have to get you away with Mum, okay?”
“I don’t understand. What did I do? I d-don’t want to leave you and Gia, Raffy. Please don’t make me leave you,” she cried as she grabbed my arm and clung tightly to it.
“You didn’t do anything, Cara. This isn’t your fault.
It’s all because of Mum and Dad, but you’re not safe here right now.
The last thing I want to do is send you away, but this is the only way I know right now.
It won’t be for long, I promise. I’ll find a way to fix everything and then I’ll come and get you again.
It’ll just be for a little while, okay?” I explained emotionally.
It was taking everything I had not to fall apart at the sound of her sniffles and the way she gripped me so hard.
“How long? Will I h-have to stay with Mum the whole time?” she whimpered.
“Yes. Mum is the only one who can look after you right now. And it won’t be for long. You don’t even need to unpack, okay? You just keep anything you have to buy in your backpack, and then when I come for you you’ll already be all packed and ready to come home, won’t you?”
“Yeah, okay. But Raffy? I don’t think Mum likes me very much,” she sniffled as she bravely tried to calm her tears swiping her eyes and cheeks with the back of her hand.
“She’ll look after you. Just try to stay out of her way as much as you can. Be a good girl and wait for me to come and get you. Can you do that for me?”
“I’ll try,” she agreed, but she hadn’t let her grip on my arm go, her left arm wrapped tightly around my forearm, and I never wanted her to.
Dario’s car was already parked up in the small car park at the private airfield just outside of the city centre when I pulled up.
I hadn’t even turned off the engine yet, when the passenger door was thrown open and my mother leapt out.
She was dressed in a cream trouser suit, her hair pinned perfectly into some fancy twist, as always.
She was always the best dressed and most immaculately turned out alcoholic and drug addict I had ever come across.
I’d give her that. But the way she was stumbling in her heels and shouting, even though I couldn’t hear her yet, were obvious signs she wasn’t sober.
“Mum looks mad,” Cara whispered, like she dare not speak any louder. It was what she was used to, of course. My mother couldn’t lash out at her daughters if she couldn’t see or hear them, so they had both learned to be quiet and to stay out of sight when necessary.
“It’ll be alright. Come on, sweetheart. Grab your bag,” I told her as I opened my door and stepped out. Dario was out of his car now too, and heading towards me.
“Oh, here he is, boy wonder!” my mother slurred loudly. I ignored her and turned to Dario instead as he approached me.
“Did anyone try to stop you?” I asked him.
“No, but we passed your Dad’s Jag just before we turned out of your street.”
“Fuck. We don’t have much time,” I uttered. I knew it wouldn’t be long before my father worked out where we were and came searching. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had a tracker on my car. He liked to keep a tight rein on his heir. And that’s all I was to him – his heir. Never his son.
“Your Mum’s wrecked. I tried to make her drink some water on the way here, but she just batted it away and swore at me.”
“Just stay with Cara and try not to let her hear whatever bullshit my Mum’s about to spout. She knows she has to go, and she’s terrified. Just…just try to reassure her for me, please. This is killing me,” I admitted. He was the only person I would ever allow to see such weakness from me.
“I’ll take care of her. Good luck with that,” he said as he nodded to where my mother was leaning heavily on the front of my car and swaying like she was about to collapse. Was I really going to trust this woman with my eight year old sister?
“You!” Mum shouted as she turned and glared at me, waving a pointed finger in my direction, sort of.
“Dio!” Cara cried. I glanced behind me just in time to see her running into Dario’s arms. Just another person she loved, that she was going to have to leave behind. I had never hated myself, or the life I was trapped in more than I did in that moment.
“Mum, you need to pull yourself together!” I snapped as I grabbed her arm and pulled her further away from where Dario had taken Cara to the entrance of the building.
“What did you do? Why am I here right now, Rafe?” she demanded.