CHAPTER EIGHTEEN #2
“I watched you grow up, Cassie. Raised you when your father was stricken with grief after your mother died. I won’t stand by and watch you fall into a monster’s trap.”
“I’m old enough to make my own choice.”
He exhales sharply. “You want to know the kind of man you’re defending? The one you’ve tied yourself to? The one you’re slowly giving your heart to? Don’t even think about trying to deny it. it’s clear as day. He’s whispering advice in your ear and trying to turn you against your family.”
My jaw tightens, “Nothing of the sort is happening uncle. And I know who Damien is. He would never hurt me so you can stop worrying.”
“He killed his own mother, Cassie. The woman who gave him life. What makes you think he wouldn’t do the same to you?”
My heart stops. The words hit me like a slap.
“What?” I breathe.
He nods slowly. “You heard me. Damien murdered his mother. Shot her in cold blood. without any repercussions because that’s the kind of man he is.
He has power. Power to do whatever he wants.
And when he finally grows tired of you, what makes you think he won’t do the same thing again.
Kill you and find the next pretty innocent woman to make his. ”
“Enough,” I say, my heart thudding loudly in my ears.
“No. I can assure you, my little niece, there’s still so much you don’t know about him. So much you don’t know overall,” he says, lips pressed in a thin line.
He looks to be genuinely hesitating to say his next words, which has my heart thundering with fear. Oh God, what else?
“Uncle,” I say, swallowing lightly, “You might as well say whatever’s on your mind.”
“I didn’t want you to find out this way,” he states, expression pained. “It’s about your father. His death.”
For a minute it feels like I’m underwater, like there’s no air to breathe.
“Dad died of a heart attack,” I state, the words leaving me confidently because I refuse to believe anything else.
I don’t want to.
Uncle Miguel offers me a pitying look, “Do you really, honestly believe that, Cassandra? Think about it. Your father was completely healthy. He had no underlying health conditions. A heart attack out of nowhere. Don’t be na?ve.”
My breathing grows heavy as panic floods through me.
His words touch a nerve I thought I’d buried.
Because he’s right. Dad’s death was weird.
But I was going through so many conflicting emotions at the time.
I was so angry at him, I didn’t want to think about it.
He was just suddenly here and then gone and I had no idea how to handle it.
So I decided not to.
“What are you getting at, uncle?” I ask, my voice tight.
“Your father was murdered, Cassie. He was shot actually.”
“No, he-”
I stop thinking back to the days following me receiving the news of his death. I never actually looked into anything. I couldn’t even bring myself to see his dead body. Oh God, I’ve been so oblivious. I think I’m going to be sick.
“He was murdered. I’ve been investigating his death ever since.
He’s always been involved with the wrong crowd, his deal with Luciano a prime example of that.
Anyone could be responsible. But I want you to think for a second who stood to benefit the most from his death.
Your father was fighting tooth and nail to prevent your marriage to Luciano when he was alive.
As soon as he died, he swooped in, took you for himself. ”
My throat feels dry, so dry, and yet I manage to push the words out.
“You think Damien killed dad,” I state, the words sounding foreign to my ears.
“He’s the prime suspect. And you know very well, he’s all too capable.”
I think if I hadn’t been sitting down, I might have collapsed from the weight of those words. The world suddenly feels too cold, I shiver gently.
“You can still leave him,” my uncle continues. “Name me CEO. You can take your inheritance and disappear. Live a safe, quiet life away from him, away from all of this. I’ll help you. Make sure he never finds you again. I swear it.”
“I-I have to leave,” I tell him, rising slowly to my feet. “We’ll talk more later, uncle.”
My steps are shaky as I turn to leave the office, his words echoing in my head. When I step out of the house, I immediately feel Rafael’s presence beside me.
“Are you ready to head home, ma’am?” he questions.
I turn to look at his face. His hair is packed in a ponytail today.
He’s wearing a crisp black suit, formal, steady.
He frowns when he takes in the expression on my face.
I wonder how I must look right now. I feel like there’s a turmoil of emotions within me that could very easily spiral out of control and bury me.
“No,” I shake my head. “I’m not going back there.”
“Are you okay, Mrs. Luciano? Did something happen?”
Spiders crawl up my skin at the sound of that name. Oh God. I really am Mrs. Luciano. Legally, biblically married to Damien.
“I’m not letting you take me back there,” I say resolutely, looking into his eyes and making sure he understands.
His brows furrow in confusion, meanwhile, I can feel every beat of my heart as I recollect my conversation with my uncle. A part of me doesn’t want to believe what my uncle said. A part of me doesn’t want to believe anything that just happened.
And my uncle. He just seemed so.. spiteful. So different from the man I grew up knowing.
Rafael hesitates before asking, “Where would you like to go then, ma’am?”
And a part of me is so grateful he asked that. That he wants to help me. Because I was already steeling myself to be dragged back to the mansion. To get locked up in my bedroom.
“To my friends’ house. Maxine,” I murmur in reply.
He nods, expression thoughtful, “I have to talk to the boss first. Would you like to speak to him? I’m sure he could-”
“No,” I snap, “I have no interest in speaking to him.”
Rafael looks so confused right now.
“Okay. I still need to call boss, ma’am.”
I nod, turning away when he reaches for his phone. I place my arms over my stomach, hugging myself, seeking some measure of comfort. Rafael walks away to talk to Damien. I hear some of the conversation. But only on Rafael’s part.
“She seems really upset, boss,” he says over the phone, scratching the back of his neck.
“Yes, sir,” he says in reply to some question. “She seemed pretty insistent on going to her friend’s house. And she’s refusing to speak to you.”
There’s a long pause and a part of me is scared he’ll insist on Rafael bringing me back.
Understood, sir,” Rafael says before hanging up.
I turn back to look at him as he walks back to me.
“What did he say?” I question.
“He told me to do whatever you wanted, ma’am. I’ll take you to Ms. Maxine’s house now.”
I exhale a breath of relief, “Thank you.”
He calls for the driver to bring the car closer. As soon as I step in, I take some solace in the quiet and the fact that I’m heading over the see my best friends.
As expected, Chloe’s with Maxine when I arrive. The three of us used to spend an inordinate amount of time in Maxine’s house before my life flipped over. The two of them are my sisters, and I’ve missed them like crazy.
Maxine opens the door with a wide grin, which fades as soon as she sees the expression on my face.
“What did he do?” she immediately questions.
I offer her a small watery smile, “Can you let Rafael in to do a sweep of the house first before I enter?”
She frowns, “Do I have to?”
“No, but let’s not be difficult today, okay? I’m exhausted.”
“Fine,” she says, opening the door wider so the man behind me can walk in.
Maxine and I stand by the door while he goes to do his thing. Chloe eventually joins us, giving me a big hug which I really needed.
“You look rough, Cass,” she whispers softly in my ear.
“I feel rough.”
When Rafael finishes his sweep, he offers me a short nod before stepping out of the house. The girls and I walk into the living room and I don’t hesitate to collapse into the couch. Chloe sits beside me, while Maxine takes the chair opposite us, her gaze critical, assessing.
I turn to Chloe who has a sad smile on her face as she rubs my back. She’s wearing an apron with hearts on it.
“What were you cooking?” I ask her.
“Baking actually. I made cookies. They’ll be ready soon,” she informs me.
As soon as she says that, the scent of delicious baked goods fills the air. I hadn’t noticed it earlier.
“Yeah, I definitely deserve a cookie,” I state.
“And a margarita,” Chloe adds, making me laugh.
“Yeah.”
“Enough with the small talk,” Maxine cuts in. “What happened? We haven’t seen you since your wedding to the supreme overlord of crime, but I thought things were going well. Against my better judgement, I let you stay with him because he seemed to be treating you right. Or is he not?”
She looks like she’ll be grabbing a pitchfork and storming over to Damien’s house based on my answer. It makes my heart warm. That she’s so protective. That I have them both.
“He hasn’t done anything bad to me,” I assure her.
“Then what is it? Why do you look like you’re close to tears?”
For some reason I don’t want to admit the truth to them, my uncle’s suspicions that Damien killed my father. If he really did, that’s unforgivable. I would die before going back to him.
My shoulders hunch, “I just… I feel overwhelmed. So much has happened in the past couple of weeks.”
“Yeah. You just need to breathe,” Chloe agrees gently. “You made the right decision coming here.”
“Where were you before?” Maxine asks curiously.
“With my uncle,” I murmur. “We read dad’s will today. And then we had a conversation about the company?”
“You’re not interested in running it are you?”
I shake my head.
“So, are you going to hand over the reins to Miguel?” Chloe questions.
“I don’t know. Damien said something earlier when he was dropping me off. He got in my head and now I’m second-guessing everything. About the company, my uncle. And he could tell. He got angry at me and he said somethings. About Damien.”
“What? That he’s evil and a murderer? You already knew that,” Maxine points out.
“Yeah, I did,” I say my chest aching because it was already so hard for me to come to terms with that fact. I wanted to get past it and now… “He said he killed his mother. Damien shot her.”
Chloe sucks in a sharp breath beside me.
Maxine’s eyes widen, “That’s….”
The sympathy in their eyes makes my heart feel warmer and then I remember, they’re both practically my sisters.
“That’s not all,” I murmur, and this time I feel the tears in my eyes start to fall. “Miguel thinks Damien killed my dad. Dad, he was- he was shot. Murdered, and I had no idea until now. I don’t- I don’t know what to do.”
Chloe immediately hugs me, her arms acting like a cocoon, a place to feel safe, to get in touch with my emotions. None of us says anything as I cry into my friend’s arms. It takes a couple of minutes before the tears subside.
I sniff, pulling away from Chloe and wiping my eyes. Crying always makes me feel so empty, spent.
Maxine looks like she’s on the verge of tears herself. She likes to act tough, but the truth is she’s an empath. And she hates to see the people she loves hurt.
“Cassie,” she says softly, then pauses like she has no idea what to say.
“Does he have proof?” Chloe asks, “That Damien was responsible?”
“No, I don’t think so,” I breathe.
“Do you believe he did it?”
The question has my heart clenching. Because I want with every fiber of my being not to believe it.
“I don’t know,” I say, feeling my eyes grow heavy with tears.
“I hate that I’m so ready to accept the worst parts of him.
Even this. It should disgust me. If he can kill his own mother, then what could he possibly do to me?
If he’s responsible for my father’s death, then he’s truly a monster.
But the things he says to me,” my breath hitches.
“He makes me feel like the most important thing in the world and I have a hard time believing he would hurt me. And yet.”
“And yet,” Maxine echoes before exhaling a soft breath, “You already know what I think, Cass. I think you should get the hell away from him if you can.”
Chloe’s silent, so I turn to her arching an eyebrow.
“We can’t tell you what to do, Cass. And I don’t think you have a choice in the matter either. I have a feeling you’ve already given your heart to him.”
I let out a soft groan, “ Do you guys remember the man I met at Leo’s party a few years back?”
Maxine snorts. “How could we forget? You talked about how good that guy fucked you for a year straight.”
Chloe laughs. “And don’t even get me started on how you pretended not to be looking for him every time we went back to that club.”
They both crack up until they see my face.
I’m not laughing.
Their smiles fade. “Wait,” Maxine says slowly. “No . ”
“It was him,” I say quietly. “He’s the one.”
They both go silent.
“Hold up,” Chloe says, eyes wide. “Your new mafia husband is Mr. Italian?”
“The one who called you his and disappeared?” Maxine adds, stunned.
I nod. “Yes.”
“When did you find out?” Maxine asks.
“At the wedding,” I confess. “I didn’t tell you because I was still trying to wrap my head around it. And now… everything’s insane.”
They both just stare at me.
Finally, Chloe exhales. “Girl. What the fuck. ”
“I know. We had sex a few days ago. And it was… amazing. And now I’m so fucking confused because I don’t know what to feel.”
“Seems like things have progressed a lot,” Maxine drawls.
“So where do I go from here?” I ask.
Neither of them seem to have an answer to that.
They stay with me though, throughout the rest of the day.
Damien calls me later that evening, but I ignore all of his calls.
I’m sure he’s agitated, but I respect him for not coming here and barging in.
I just need some time away from him, to come to terms with everything that’s going on.
And now I really need to choose. Do I stay with a man with so much darkness? Or do I choose myself and protect my heart? Or is my heart too far gone already?