Chapter 23 #2
Carlo takes a step forward, his voice a quiet, dangerous warning. “Send the kid away. I don’t think you want her here for this conversation, Lucia. It’s not in her best interest.”
I clutch Antonia tighter and instinctively step back.
Carlo gives Brando a single look. Brando moves toward me without hesitation. I know he’s going to take Antonia by force, but I’m ready to fight to my last breath.
He’s almost on me when another child’s voice distracts him.
A woman steps into the room, the last person I ever expected to see again. Emily.
The girl we sacrificed years ago for our escape.
In all these years, Tony and I never spoke about Italy. I never knew what happened to her.
But she’s here now.
With a child, barely a year old, his fist shoved in his mouth, babbling loudly.
Emily hasn’t changed much in five years. Her face is more mature, more beautiful, but it’s still her.
Carlo’s head snaps around at the sound of the child, his fists clenching. His voice is sharp, edged with warning as he looks at Emily.
“What are you doing here?”
But Emily’s dark eyes are locked on me and Antonia.
Carlo steps closer, his presence looming as he orders, “Leave, Emily. Now.”
The small child stretches both arms toward him, babbling excitedly.
“Dada! Dada!”
Oh my God.
Carlo is a father.
Even in a million years, I wouldn’t have seen this coming.
For a brief moment, his expression softens as he runs a gentle hand over the baby’s soft hair. But he doesn’t take him from Emily. Instead, he repeats himself.
“Emily. You need to leave this room.”
This time, Emily seems to snap out of her daze. She turns and calls to the man standing by the door.
“Giorgio, take Gabriel for a few minutes.”
Carlo exhales, irritation rippling through him. Emily hands the baby over, then turns back, brushing her fingers lightly over Carlo’s arm as she murmurs,
“I have just as much right to be here as you do, Carlo.”
“We’ve already talked about this.”
“Yes, we have. But that child has nothing to do with any of this. Let me handle this part my way.”
With quiet confidence, she steps toward me.
Carlo moves behind her, a shadow at her back, his presence a silent threat. I don’t need words to understand his warning—one wrong move, and it won’t matter if I have Antonia or not. He’ll tear me apart.
Brando steps aside as Emily takes his place. Her voice is warm and gentle as she looks at Antonia.
“Hi, Antonia. My name is Emily. That little boy you just saw, his name is Gabriel. Would you like to play with him?”
Antonia sneaks a glance at them, biting her lip. Now that she’s seeing the baby up close, hesitation creeps in.
Emily presses on. “We have a little playground. And a really cute puppy who loves children.”
This time, she hits the right spot.
Antonia’s eyes widen with excitement, and she squirms in my arms.
“I love little puppies! Mommy, can I go?”
I’m dying inside. Fear grips me so tightly I can’t even speak. I just shake my head, silent and desperate.
Antonia pouts, disappointment written all over her face.
Emily moves closer, Carlo right behind her like a guard. She touches my arm gently. “Trust me, Lucia. I’m a mother too.”
This time, I can’t hold back the tears.
Antonia’s lip trembles. “Mommy, are you sad?”
I quickly wipe my eyes and force a smile. “No, sweetheart. Just something in my eye.”
Locking eyes with Emily, I steady my voice. “Swear on your son’s life that you’ll keep my daughter safe.”
Without hesitation, Emily swears softly. “On my son’s life, Lucia. Your daughter is safe with me.”
I press a lingering kiss to Antonia’s cheek, another tear slipping free. “Go with Emily and play, sweetheart. I’ll come find you soon, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.”
I set her down gently. Emily takes her small hand and gives me one last reassuring look before they leave the room.
The door clicks shut behind them. Now the real fight begins.
I wipe the last of my tears away, straighten my spine, and look Carlo dead in the eye. “What do you want from me, Carlo?”
His scarred brow lifts, a mocking smirk curling his lips. “You’re not here to give me anything. You’re in no position to bargain. You’re here to pay your debt.”
“I cheated on you, fine. But if cheating had to be repaid with blood, half the men and women in this country would be dead by now.”
A shadow falls over me as he steps closer, his voice a low growl.
“You didn’t cheat on just any man or woman. You crossed a mafia capo. You dragged the name and reputation of the most powerful criminal in this country through the mud. Play with fire, and you should expect to burn.”
Lifting my chin as high as possible, I meet his gaze head-on. “You’re just a man. A regular man. And legally, maybe we were bound to each other, but you and I both know, in the eyes of God, we were never truly husband and wife.”
He understands exactly what I mean. His jaw clenches so tightly I can hear his teeth grind.
“I am God, Lucia,” he seethes through gritted teeth.
“And you were my fucking wife. The fact that I hadn’t opened you yet didn’t give you the right to spread your legs for my worst enemy.
Stop wasting your breath. Your death sentence was signed the day you ran.
And I’m the one who’s going to carry it out. ”
Satisfaction gleams in his eyes as he watches my reaction.
“But we’re not there just yet. Tell me, do you recognize this room?” he adds and takes a step back.
I shake my head.
“This was Emily’s room when she first came into this house. You’ll stay here until your piece-of-shit husband shows up.”
He gives Maxim a nod before turning and walking out. As Maxim steps toward me, I back away. He might be a womanizing bastard, but he’s also Carlo’s most dangerous soldier. There’s a reason he’s been Carlo’s consigliere for years.
Ignoring the terror on my face, he grips my arm and drags me across the hall. Carlo is seated in a chair, one leg crossed over the other, a laptop open beside him.
He gestures around the room. “This used to be Tony’s room, too.”
With a flick of his fingers, one of his men presses a button, initiating a video call. The screen barely has time to ring before Tony’s face appears.
He’s in an airplane seat, eyes bloodshot, exhaustion and raw rage etched across his face.
The moment I see him, something inside me cracks.
His gaze snaps to me instantly, his voice tight with worry. “Baby, are you okay? Is Antonia okay?”
Before I can answer, Carlo rises from his chair and steps between me and the screen.
Tony’s lips press into a thin line of fury as he growls, “I’m coming, Carlo. If you touch them—”
Carlo cuts him off, voice thick with dark amusement. “You’ll do what, exactly?”
Silence.
Then Tony speaks again, his voice colder. “You want me. I’m coming to you on my own. Leave Lucia and Antonia out of this.”
Carlo lets out a low, cruel laugh. “As far as I know, it takes two people to fuck. It’s not like my whore of a wife just slipped and landed on your cock. So no, Tony, I want both of you.”
His voice drops dangerously. “As for your daughter…maybe she shouldn’t pay for your sins. But if you’re not standing in front of me by sunrise, she won’t be spared either.”
“You don’t hurt children, Carlo. We both know that,” Tony says.
“I don’t have to. Once her mother is gone, I’ll simply hand her over to her legal guardian—her loving grandfather, Pietro.”
The words make my head spin. My stomach drops as I scream, “Don’t drag my daughter into this, Carlo!”
Carlo only smirks, but Tony’s voice cuts in immediately, desperate but firm. “I’m coming, baby. I’m coming.”
Carlo steps aside, allowing Tony and me to see each other again. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he speaks with cruel amusement.
“We’ll settle what you two did to me tomorrow. Tonight is about what you did to Emily.”
Before I can even process it, Maxim grabs the collar of my blouse and rips it open with one brutal yank.
I let out a sharp gasp, scrambling to cover myself, but before I can, he grabs my bra and rips that apart too, leaving me exposed.
Tony roars, his voice shaking with rage. “Maxim, you bastard, don’t touch her!”
Shame burns hot across my skin. I cross my arms over my chest as Maxim grabs me by the throat, yanks me forward, and shoves me hard to the floor at Carlo’s feet.
Pain explodes through my ribs, knocking the air from my lungs. Tony’s voice is the only thing I hear, calling my name in panic. I force myself to sit up, my arms still shielding my body.
Carlo turns back to the screen, watching Tony seethe with helpless rage. Then starts speaking, voice eerily calm.
“The first time I met Emily, she had just caught you two fucking. She tried to run. I thought she was a spy, so I let my dog bring her down.”
He glances at me, his eyes cold.
“Her clothes were ripped apart. Just like yours now.”
Without warning, he lunges and wraps his hand around my throat.
The grip is so tight I gasp, my lungs burning for air. My vision blurs, and I swear my eyes are about to pop out of their sockets.
He yanks me off the floor like I weigh nothing. “I dragged her up by the throat. I wanted her terrified enough to talk.”
His eyes bore into mine, filled with nothing but loathing, before he suddenly releases me.
I hit the floor hard, choking and gasping, my lungs fighting to pull in air.
Tony’s voice is desperate now. “Carlo, don’t do this!”
But Carlo doesn’t acknowledge him. He keeps going, spinning his twisted tale.
“Maxim gave her his shirt to cover herself.”
Like a well-trained dog, Maxim peels off his shirt and tosses it at me.
I catch it midair, clutching it against my bare skin, and put it on with lightning speed.
Before I can steady myself, Maxim’s hand is on my throat, yanking me off the floor.
Carlo continues. “Then that cocksucker Rafael drags her inside and throws her onto the floor, right in front of you.”
The moment the words leave his mouth Maxim hurls me at Carlo’s feet again.