Dante’s POV.
No one knows what happened to Caterina Caruso.
But that’s not important. What matters is that I have
hernow. Lucy. As she liked to call herself. I tried not to scoff out loud. As if I’ll call her that name when she has that face. Whatever. The truth will soon come to the surface and the traitors will pay. Caterina will come back to me and everything will fall into their rightful places. However long it takes.Only patience isn’t a virtue that most men in my line of work possess. The empire that my father and I built with blood since I was 10 is being threatened. Especially with the entrance of the Russian mob in the city. As if we don’t have enough on our plate trying to keep the peace with the other families and hunting the damn rats crawling among us.
Caterina definitely knew something about it. Why else would she disappear that night?
After I got a call from Caleb, one of my trusted guards, that Caterina had gone insane, I rushed to the house only to find out she’s smashing the brand-new kitchenware on the wall. In my family, that’s just every Sunday night.
The entire scene was comical if not for the fact that she’s barefooted and was still blonde. She looked the same as I remembered Caterina, beautiful and broken but still just as lovely as camellias in winter. But the hair. For some reason that blonde color on her got on my nerves more than anything.
I didn’t want to leave her locked inside my room. But in the state that she was in? She’s nowhere near ready to fulfill her role. I could push her into it, she has no choice in the matter anyways, but even I know she’d break in the process.
Fuck. I need a cigarette.
I swiped one from the tin splayed on the mahogany desk and lit it, listening quietly as my father negotiated with Al De Rocco, one of the bosses of the Old Families. I already knew it wasn’t going to end well. The two hated each other. There wasn’t even history there. They met and just instantly knew they wouldn’t be golfing together in the long run. More than that, Old Bosses like Al hated doing business with the “new” guys like my father.When I left them earlier to check on Caterina, they were talking about the Russians. Now that I came back, the conversation still revolved around them. Nothing gets done with these two fucking sizing each other up every meeting.
After another unsuccessful discussion over the elections, Al pushed a large brown envelope to him. “I received an intel.”
Rio Romano grunted as he perused the contents. He passed the envelope to me and I just gave it a quick glance before blowing a smoke in the heavily tensed air, bored out of my mind.
Another hit put on an unsuspecting candidate.
“Did he have something to do with the massacre?” My father asked even though the answer was obvious, the four walls of his office were practically screaming it.
“No. But the Russians want him out before they send out the shipments.”
“Who the hell do they think they are giving orders to us to do their dirty laundry? Are they too much of a cunt to handle a fucking gun?”
“They want Dante. That’s the only reason I’m here.”
Al’s eyes flickered to me. I didn’t say anything because I already suspected that they’d want me to do the job. I’ve been putting out hits for my father since I was a kid. Although, it’s a little concerning that Sokolov knew that.
“Is Argento done hiding in Wall street? Where does he stand with this Russian business?”
“I haven’t met the man in months. He might as well be dead.”
My father scoffed. “As if those corporate assholes will let that happen.” He shook his head. “Fucking Russians. Demanding, the lot of them. They don’t even have a chip in our business yet.”
“They’re careful. They don’t want to make deals with a snake in the midst. Even they know that much.”
“If they know that fucking much why don’t they find the fucker themselves? Information is their specialty, yeah?”
“They don’t want to get in between what is clearly Italian business.”
“They wouldn’t be if I put a bullet in Anton Sokolov’s head.”
Al pursed his lips. Being the oldest in this business and the fact that he was still alive past the age of 70 gained respect from everyone but my father was the most powerful don in the city presently. He could hate us all he wants but we all know he needs our resources.
“Careful, Romano, or I’d start to think that you’d lead us to a war that will cost us everything we worked hard for.”
Before this could escalate, I stood up, stumped out the cigarette on the ashtray, and grabbed the envelope.
“Are we done here?”
My father merely grunted and I immediately took my exit before he could question me what kind of business I had run off to earlier that interrupted this shit meeting.
Simple. I hadn’t told him nor the Old Bosses about the woman I picked off from the street. Keeping things from the don is one thing but lying to all the bosses could easily put me to their hit list. That is, if they are brave enough to make an enemy of me. Especially when it comes to the sole witness of the massacre of two of the powerful old families.
If the information reached them that I was keeping the witness from them, they’d think I was suspecting them and the real traitors could escape again and worse, they will try to kill her. For a bunch of murderers, they can be sensitive at times. And they say women are too emotional.
I did plan to tell them. Eventually. When she’s finally ready.
I waited by the curb to watch Al and his guards get inside the car. Ever since the notorious wipe off of the Caruso and Vero family not too long ago, the remaining three Old Bosses had been on guard ever since. It was safe to say that none of them was the traitor. Their shitty organization put so much honor on their pact that is older than my father. The rat couldn’t be Al.
But a slaughter of that scale could also mean an inside job. Words don’t hold much weight these days.
My phone rang, breaking off my musings. Leo’s name flashed through the screen.
“Romano,” he greeted with the last name as usual.
“What the fuck is it this time?”
“Have you seen it?”
“Obviously not so, why don’t you quit the suspense and tell me?” I leaned comfortably against the wall.
With this guy, I could never tell if it is urgent like the FBI-is-on-your-ass kind of situation or urgent like you-didn’t-see-how-big-that-chick’s-ass-was.
“I’ll send it to you.”
Not a second later, I received a link from him. It opened to a Fictus Daily article.
I straightened up, all nonchalance gone.
Caruso heiress materializes: Is she still the same?
According to the bullshit article, Caterina was kept prisoner in my house and apparently lost her memories.
Motherfucker.
Lucy’s POV. Have you ever felt so over your head as if you were just living an empty shell of someone’s life?This went through my head as the ballerina from the photograph stared right at me. I stood frozen under her scrutiny. How was she able to get in here? Her face was devoid of expression which chilled me to the bones. My voice was stuck in my throat. I wanted to confess but I don’t know exactly what I’ve done to her.Right then, blood started trickling down her temple. She remained impassive. My hand reached out to her in haste only for it to come in contact with a cold glass.It was just my reflection.
My plan of getting along with Dante has not even started yet but it’s already falling apart. I ate all the food on the table and dressed up in a flattering blue dress. I even blow dried my hair and got to stitching even though I have no idea what I was doing so when he came back, it’d be like it’s the real Caterina waiting for him in his room. His meeting with Leo lasted for a while that I got so engrossed in the cross-stitch. It was easy enough if you followed the pattern diligently. I was halfway into finishing the flower when Dante came back without Leo. He didn't even say goodbye before leaving. I didn’t know why that bummed me out a bit.
I didn’t know I could dread something more other than this stupid wedding. I was slapped with reality when Dante told me we’re meeting his family for dinner. We’re riding in the same car again and the view out the windows was in total darkness that I had nothing to distract myself from my nervousness. Dante was oddly chill about the whole ordeal. He was typing away on his phone and just like the whole day, acted like I didn’t exist. I wasn’t complaining though. I didn’t like the feelings that stirred inside me whenever he’s touching me. I think it’s the loneliness that was making me feel that way around him.Today, he abandoned his usual suits and went with a plain black button down shirt and trousers, exuding coolheadedness. I didn’t know how to feel with him
“Where are they?” I asked, fretfully looking through the heavy curtains. After the delicious yet very suspenseful round of Ada’s mousse, the three Romano men went to talk “business”, leaving me alone with Ada in the living room.“In my father’s office,” she said with the air of being used to the exclusion. It looked like she didn’t mind at all as she poured herself a glass of scotch with complete ease. Her choice of drink surprised me. She seemed more like a cocktail kind of girl.She stared at me for a long time which only amped up my anxiousness. I didn’t know what to talk about with her. I have no crazy adventures to compare with hers nor rich friends to gossip about.“You’re an exac
“Do you, Dante Romano, take Caterina Caruso to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage, promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live?” “I do,” Dante said without missing a beat. I wondered how he did it so easily, lying without an ounce of conscience in his body. I used to believe in vows. I used to dream of the day it would come. How happy and peaceful I’d be with whoever man I’d be lucky to end up with. Julian was the only guy who came close to filling that mysterious man’s face. But even in my dreams, his face was only a blur. Just a by-product of my whimsical thoughts. This man in front of me managed to take all that away from me in just days.
Dante’s POVI watched as Argento pulled my bride to the dance floor. I gestured for Caleb to keep any eye on them.Despite the blunder on my part, all the Old Bosses went to witness the wedding. Even Argento, who had been evading us and been sending his right-hand man to the conferences as if he’s too good to be doing business with the rest of us, had finally shown his face. The man was too arrogant, even going straight to Caterina and danced with her while I was outside being kept accompany by fucking Al De Rocco.Speaking of the man, he cleared his throat and I finally pulled my gaze away from the window.“I know you’d rather spend the best day of your life with your lovely wife but can we focus on the matter at h
Dante’s POVI’ve been punched by gang members all at once until they knock the living daylights out of me and had the nail of my pointer finger ripped out of me with a plier but, nothing compared to the pure torture I had to endure last night. I had to force her to fall into unconsciousness, glad for her inflated skirt that shielded my hardness from coming in contact with her soft body. It was all I could do not to ravish her right there and then.My father called first thing in the morning. As much as I’d want to be the first thing she sees as she wakes up, duty called. I stared at her sleeping figure for a moment. Tear tracks decorated her cheeks. Guilt twisted my gut at the reminder of the way she cried in my arms. My hand moved to touch her face, wiping the tear stains with my thumb. Her lips slightly parted. I remembered how soft they were and my
“Mrs. Romano?” A young guy stepped away from the shadows as if from nowhere. “Do you want to go to the garden?”Mrs. Romano.It was weird enough being referred to politely as miss by someone a lot older than me, but being called a missus of a man was something I’d never get used to. When I nodded distractedly, he began leading the way.The fresh air aided in circulating my thoughts inside my head. All I had to do for now was remain passive until things settled down. Dante had no idea about Julian, or at least I hope he hadn’t found out about him yet. He was the only remaining option I had of ever getting out of here. There was Cristiano Argento but he was part of Dante’s world. That was unfamiliar territory. With Julian, I w