32. Sofia
32
SOFIA
I wake up slowly, my head pounding and my vision blurry as I try to make sense of my surroundings. The room is unfamiliar, the bed beneath me too hard and the air too stale. Panic rises in my throat as I realize that I have no idea where I am or how I got here.
And then it all comes rushing back. The fight with Dom, the awful things we said to each other. Storming out of the house, stumbling down the driveway. And then… Luca. His cold, calculating smile, the predatory gleam in his eyes as he grabbed me.
I gasp, my heart pounding as the reality of my situation sinks in. I’ve been kidnapped, taken against my will and dragged to God knows where by a man who hates my husband with a passion that borders on obsession.
I sit up, ignoring the wave of dizziness that washes over me as I scan the room frantically. There has to be a way out, a means of escape. A window, a door, something I can use to get away from here.
But before I can even swing my legs over the side of the bed, a voice cuts through the silence. “I wouldn’t bother if I were you.”
I whirl around, my breath catching in my throat as I see Luca lounging in a wooden chair by the door. He looks completely at ease, his long legs stretched out in front of him and a lazy smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Luca,” I whisper, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and anger. “What the fuck are you doing? Why did you bring me here?”
He shrugs, his eyes glinting with amusement. “I told you, Sofia. I warned you about the Sicuras, about the danger you were in. But you wouldn’t listen, would you? So I had to take matters into my own hands.”
I shake my head, trying to make sense of his twisted logic. “By kidnapping me? Luca, this is messed up. You have to let me go.”
He laughs, the sound cold and harsh in the stillness of the room. “And why would I do that? I have you right where I want you, Sofia. Right where I need you to be.”
To my horror, I can feel tears welling up in my eyes. “Please, Luca. I haven’t done anything to you. I’m not a part of this, whatever this is between you and Dom. You don’t want to hurt me.”
His smile widens. “You’re correct in that I don’t want to hurt you, my dear. I want to hurt Dom. And you? You’re the perfect weapon to use against him.”
I stare at him, my mind reeling with the implications of his words. “What are you talking about? Dom doesn’t love me, Luca. He doesn’t care about me the way you think he does. If you wanted to hurt him, you took the wrong person.”
Luca laughs, leaning forward in his chair, tipping my chin up with one finger. “Oh, I think we both know that’s not true, Sofia. I’ve been watching Dom for a long time, waiting for the right moment to strike. And you? You’re his weakness, his Achilles’ heel. The one thing he can’t bear to lose.”
This can’t be happening to me. “You'd better let me go,” I order. “Once my father finds out that I’ve been kidnapped, he’ll bring the full force of the Marino army to you.”
Luca shrugs. “Word on the street is that your father is sick. Maybe even dying?” He looks at me, trying to gauge my reaction, but I refuse to show even a hint of the horror I feel that he knows about my father’s illness. “He’s not going to come for you, Sofia. No, it’s Dom that I’m expecting to show up.”
Bile rises in my throat, and I swallow it down, the acid burning. “Why are you doing this, Luca? What did Dom ever do to you to make you hate him so much?”
At my words, Luca abruptly stands up, the chair screeching from the force of his movement. He paces the room, his eyes glinting with a manic energy. A sense of dread settles in the pit of my stomach.
Bad blood between Mob Families is nothing new to me. I can’t even count how many Families would happily piss on my father’s grave if given the opportunity.
But Luca’s resentment toward Dom? This runs deep and bitter. This goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen.
“You want to know why I hate your husband so much?” he asks, coming up close to me. “Why I’ve spent years plotting and scheming, waiting for the perfect moment to strike?”
I recoil away from him but nod, my throat too dry and tight to speak. Luca’s gaze locks with mine, a twisted smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Dom and I, we used to be something of friendly rivals. Always trying to one-up each other, always pushing each other to be better, stronger, faster. But then—then his Family cost me everything. Everything I held dear was ripped away.”
I frown, trying to make sense of his cryptic words. What could the Sicuras have done to cause Luca so much pain, so much rage?
And how was Dom responsible, if at all?
But before I can call him out, Luca is speaking again, his voice taking on a sly, conspiratorial tone, “But you hate him too, don’t you, Sofia? I’ve seen the way you look at him, the anger and the hurt that flashes in your eyes every time he’s near. You want to make him pay, just like I do. And together… together, we can give him the punishment he deserves.”
I stare at him. First off, how the fuck has he seen us to know how I look at Dom? Has he camped out outside the Sicura home and watched us? Where the fuck are the guards? How have they allowed him to have free reign of the grounds?
Second, God, can he be any more of a cartoonish villain? That was a speech worthy of a movie or romance novel.
But then his words sink in. Revenge? Punishment? The very thought makes my stomach churn, a sickening wave of nausea washing over me.
Because I don’t hate Dom. I never really did, no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise. The anger, the resentment, the nasty words and cold silences—they were all just a mask to protect myself from my own feelings.
But now, faced with the reality of Luca’s hatred and his fucked up plans, I can’t deny the truth any longer, can’t pretend that the reason I get so angry with Dom, the reason I push him away and lash out at him with such viciousness…
It’s because I love him. I’ve never stopped loving him. He’s always been it for me, the one person who forever has my heart.
And it’s that love that gives him the power to hurt me, to break me in ways that no one ever could. Because Dom doesn’t love me. Not the same way I love him.
I take a deep breath, my heart pounding in my chest as I meet Luca’s gaze head-on. “No,” I say firmly. “No, I don’t want to hurt Dom. I don’t want any part of your sick plan, whatever it is.”
Luca’s eyes narrow, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face. “Don’t be stupid, Sofia. You know as well as I do that Dominico Sicura deserves to suffer, deserves to pay for all the pain and betrayal he’s caused.”
But I shake my head, a sudden, fierce determination rising up within me. “No. No, he doesn’t. Dom is a good man, and I won’t let you use me as a weapon against him. Whatever he’s done to you, you need to let it go , Luca. It isn’t healthy to hold on to this much resentment.”
I’m saying this as much for me as I am for Luca. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long—taken me to be kidnapped —to realize how stupid I’ve been, how bitter and nasty I am.
I stand up, my legs shaking but my voice steady and strong. I am Sofia Sicura, and I will not be afraid.
“I may have been angry with him, may have pushed him away and said things I didn’t mean. But I never stopped loving him, Luca. And I never will.”
Luca stares at me, his face a mask of cold, calculating fury. “You’re making a mistake, Sofia. A mistake you’ll regret for the rest of your life. The Sicuras will end you.”
But I just lift my chin stubbornly, looking at him with cool eyes. “The only mistake I ever made was letting my fear and pride get in the way of the truth. And that’s a mistake I won’t make again.”
Luca’s face twists in a bitter, mocking smile. “We’ll see about that, Sofia. We’ll see.”
And with that, he turns and walks out of the room.
As the door slams behind Luca, I sink back onto the bed, my mind reeling with the implications of his words. What is his issue with Dom? What did Dom do that was so bad to make Luca want revenge?
Taking a deep breath, I square my shoulders as I stand up and begin to pace the room. I may be the daughter of a Mob Boss, but I’m not some delicate flower. I’ve been raised in this world, trained to survive and thrive in the face of adversity.
And if Luca thinks he can use me as a pawn, thinks he can break me with a few bullshit threats and laughable warnings… he’s got another thing coming.
“Okay, Sofia,” I mutter to myself, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “You once again have gotten yourself into quite the situation. Kidnapped by a fucking psychopath, trapped God knows where, with no way to contact anyone. Great job, Sof. Brilliant work, really.”
But even as I mock my own predicament, my mind is racing with possibilities. There has to be a way out of here, a means of escape that Luca hasn’t thought of. A weakness in his defenses, a chink in his armor that I can exploit.
I start to search the room methodically, checking every nook and cranny for something I can use. A weapon, a tool, anything that might give me an edge over this idiot.
As I work, I can’t help but let my thoughts drift to Dom, to the man I’ve spent so long trying to hate, trying to convince myself he was nothing more than a monster in a tailored suit.
But he’s not a monster. He’s just a man, a flawed and complex man struggling under the weight of his own pressures and demons. A man who’s made mistakes, who’s hurt me in ways that I’m not sure I’ll ever fully recover from.
But he’s also a man who values family over anything. And even if he doesn’t love me the way I love him, I’m his family. He will come for me. He will fight like hell to bring me home.
Which means I have to fight too. I have to find a way to get the fuck out of here, to stop whatever plot he’s hatched and keep the man I love safe from harm.
Even if that man doesn’t love me back.
So I keep searching, keep fighting for some way to escape this nightmare so I can get back to Dom and tell him how much I love him.
Because I am Sofia Sicura, and I will not be broken or beaten.
I will rise. I will triumph.
And I will destroy anyone who gets in my way.