Chapter 10 Charlie
Charlie
I’m shocked by the brutal truth that Luciano throws at me. I was not expecting this. Yes, I did have an inkling that my mother was into something dangerous, but I wasn’t expecting the Cosa Nostra. But it’s all starting to make sense now.
“I want to go home,” I snap back at Luciano, my voice shaking once more with fear. “This world, it’s not for me.”
His cold, piercing blue eyes don’t waver for a second. “You don’t have a choice anymore. This will be your life. You are now Charlotte Carlisi, not O’Reilly.”
Panic starts to claw at my chest, sharp and relentless.
I can’t do this. I can’t be part of this world, not after what has just happened.
I try bolting for the door, desperate to escape the suffocating walls of this mansion that’s starting to feel more like a cage than a home.
But Luciano is faster—why are they always faster?
In a heartbeat, he closes the distance between us and throws me over his shoulder.
I thrash, punch and kick him, but instead of loosening, his grip tightens.
“Let go of me, you arrogant son of a bitch!” I hurl at him.
“NO! You will learn your place.”
“I hate you, Luciano. I hate this place. Let me go NOW!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
But he doesn’t listen. He continues marching me to my room, not caring if anyone sees or hears me. He sets me down in the center of my room, and fear and frustration fuel me. I swing a punch at his jaw, but he just lets out a deep, rumbling laugh that echoes off the walls, mocking me.
My frustration turns to anger exploding inside me, and I unleash a barrage of punches at him, but he doesn’t flinch. He catches my wrists and pins them behind my back, backing me up until my legs hit the bed’s edge, and I collapse backward. My breath catches in my throat.
His eyes turn dark, chilling me to the bone. “Are you done?” I look down and see my shirt is still ripped, exposing my tits. I am vulnerable once again, covered in blood, unsure if it’s mine or the dead guy’s—a stark reminder of everything that just happened. The tears spill freely down my cheeks.
“You will stay here until you realize you have no choice,” Luciano says before releasing me and walking out without another word. The door slams shut and locks behind him. The cold click of the lock echoes in the silence, and I cry harder, the weight of my new reality crashing down.
Finally, I realize what and who my father was trying to shield me from, and I wonder what my life will become now as Charlotte Carlisi.