LUCAThe night started like any other, just me, Dominic, and the kind of comfort you find when you don’t ask too many questions. Dominic and I weren’t the kind of pair that shared dinner or discussed our pasts. We had an arrangement—nothing more, nothing less. I met him two weeks ago, a chance encounter at a bar. One look, one drink, and the next thing I knew, we were tangled in sheets. It wasn’t love, but it didn’t need to be. Dominic was a puzzle I didn’t feel the need to solve. But tonight, everything changed. I was on a routine hospital run, dropping off supplies to a friend who worked the night shift, when I saw them—Dominic and a few other men, being wheeled in on stretchers. Blood. So much blood. “Dominic?” The name escaped my lips before I could stop it. He didn’t see me, his head lolling to the side as nurses rushed him toward the emergency room. His shirt was soaked in crimson, almost looking like he had lost his entire blood.“What happened to him?” I grabbed a
CLARA“I… I don’t know, it could be. Who knows?” I stammered, still trying to make sense out of this.If this so-called Dominic is truly the father, then does that mean there’s a little hope for me? Would he be willing to accept our child? Would he be a good father and not the kind that brought trouble for his home? As much as I wanted to believe there was hope, I felt a bit disturbed.My mind was clouded with thoughts that I found it difficult to concentrate. This was actually the first time in years I felt this confused to make the right decision for something so dear to me. Somehow, I felt meeting Dominic was meeting the end of my child. No!I was brought back to the present when Lucaa snapped her fingers at me. I looked at her, then sighed. If only she knows what I was mentally going through, she would have given me more time to figure things out.“You’ve been out for minutes now. Do you realize how long I’ve been calling your name?” I could see the frown on her face and the hint
CLARA I couldn’t get myself to sleep, so I stayed awake throughout the night. Mateo was troubled, and the frustration in the way he breathed was suffocating. Not quite long after the call, he stormed out of the room like I wasn’t even there. I wanted to call Lucaa, to tell her what I think about Dominic, but when I checked the time, it was too late to make calls. “I’ll definitely tell her tomorrow.” I thought to myself. Morning came just as I expected. Mateo had left the house sooner, the case on ground wasn’t something he could let go. However, his concern could mean two things, either he didn’t want to lose Dominic, or just the fact that it’s something about the mafia world: “Never to watch your family die without a cause.” Then I met Lily sitting in the dining. Could there ever be a time I wouldn’t have to meet her like this? Especially not in the morning? For the first time, she didn’t seem interested in me. She only looked at me for the briefest second, shook her head, a
CLARA I knew it! I almost screamed, feeling my pulse rising. Mateo is the owner of the necklace just as I thought. But then how? How was I supposed to approach him and let him know I have his necklace? How was I supposed to tell him the child I was carrying belongs to him? “Urgh!” I grunted, slapping my forehead. “Come on, Clara, you've got to think.” I couldn't think of the right words, or the right way to approach him. What would he say when I tell him? He'd look at me and call me crazy. Or think I'm only taking this contract too far to probably gain much from him. Worse, I wasn't even someone up to his level, let alone, his taste. Maybe, just maybe, I'll keep it to myself. I sat back on the couch, staring at my tea. I had lost the appetite to drink it anymore, the reason I had stayed up this late was ruined. I quickly phoned Lucaa since she was the only one I who understood better. Thankfully, she was awake to answer. “Clara, any news?” she asked. “Were you able to find out?”
LILYI was so thirsty and needed something to drink. It was my routine to always have a glass of water or soft drinks with me in my room before I went to bed, but for some reasons I couldn’t tell why I forgot this time.I left my room to the kitchen, then, I began to hear faint voices., and they were two of them. I recognized one to be the butler’s voice, while the other was… Clara? What was she still doing out here by this time of the night? And what’s with the whispering voices I hear?I hid in a corner, stressing my ears to hear what they were discussing. I couldn’t get what it was they were talking about, but I sure did hear her mention a ‘cross’. What cross could they be talking about, that of the De Luca family?If that’s so, what’s her business with the cross and its significance? Well, I’ll get to know what it was with the whispering voice as soon as she’s out of here.I heard footsteps retreating from the kitchen and heading toward the staircase. I needed to hide myself or sh
MATEO The office was quiet except for the soft ticking of the clock on the wall, and the low hum of the ceiling fan mixed with the faint crackle of my cigar as I leaned back in my chair, my eyes fixed on the city lights glowing outside the window. It’s been a rough week, and I had barely had a good night’s sleep. Even with Clara lying next to me, I couldn’t get myself to close my eyes. Maybe that’s because I feel defeated. I softly tapped my fingers on my desk, letting my mind swirl through countless thoughts I couldn’t get myself to think of. They were just too much that I could barely focus. It wasn't just about Dominic and my men getting attacked, it was the fact that even till now, I couldn't find the bastard with my cross! It would be a shame to me if anyone should find out I've been wearing a fake cross. It would be a shame to my family's name. A knock broke the silence, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Come in,” I said, without asking who it was. The door opened, and thr
CLARAI’ve always thought with everyday that passes by, I was a step closer to finding the truth. However, I was wrong, I was never anyway closer. To make matters worse, life with Lily haven’t been pretty so far. It keeps getting bitter by day, and for a thousand reason, I just wanted to escape her life.But as long as she’s here, that was one impossible thing I can ever get.The morning sun streamed through the windows of the villa as I stepped into the dinning room. Lily was already there, sitting at the head of the table as though she owned the place. Her perfectly styled hair and her tailored dress gave her an air of superiority that she never failed to wield against me.“Good morning,” I greeted softly, constantly reminding myself who she was to Mateo. A childhood savior as he said.Lily barely glanced at me. “You’re late,” she said curtly, sipping her tea. “Breakfast is almost over.”I bit back a sigh and moved to pour myself a cup of coffee. “I didn’t know there was a set time,
The waiting room was buzzing softly with voices, but I felt like the odd one out. My hands rested on my growing belly as I sat on the corner chair, trying not to meet anyone’s eyes. Around me, pregnant women sat with their husbands or boyfriends—laughing, holding hands, whispering to each other. I could feel their strange glances, the whispers that came with the way they looked at me. “Is she here alone?” I heard a lady asked. “Poor thing. Do you think the mother abandoned her?” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, pretending I didn’t hear anything. I’d learned to ignore it, but today, it hurt more than usual. Maybe because Lucaa wasn’t here like she usually was. The door to the clinic opened, and I glanced up briefly, not expecting much. But then I heard his voice. “Clara.” I froze, my heart skipping a beat. I looked up fully this time, and there he was—Mateo. Striding in like he owned the entire clinic, dressed in an expensive suit that made every other man in the room loo
CLARAI was days past my due date and at a point, I thought I was going to opt for an induction because of how stubborn this baby was.To make matters worse, I was so uncomfortable that I had to be put on bed rest which meant that the baby shower had to be postponed.I just wanted this baby out. I was so over being pregnant and honestly, I wanted to hold my baby.When my water finally broke in the middle of the kitchen, it was just me and Christopher in the house. Thankfully, he didn’t panic.I told him where my hospital bag was upstairs and he ran to get it, before getting in the car and driving me to the hospital.I tried to reach out to Lucaa on my way to the hospital but I couldn’t get through to her so I left a text, hopefully it went through. But the contractions came all of a sudden during the short ride to the hospital and judging by my calculations, they were less than two minutes apart which was weird because I shouldn’t be feeling this much pain when my water just broke.I
MATEOI was woken by the sound of my ringing phone and I grabbed it from the nightstand as quickly as I could so I wouldn’t wake, Clara.I answered the call and put it to my ear. “What the hell, Dominic? It’s fucking three am in the morning,” I whispered.“Something’s come up and we need to meet,” he said.I looked at the number he had called me at. “You’re using your burner phone, can’t you just tell me what it is now? Or better still couldn’t this wait until dawn?”“I wouldn’t be calling you if it wasn’t important and no, I can’t take the chance and tell you over the phone so we need to meet now,” he replied.Fuck!Dominic wouldn’t be acting like this if everything was okay and all fingers were pointing at the bait I had him set.“Fine, let’s meet at the warehouse on the edge of town,” I said.“Got it,” he replied and ended the call.I sighed and checked to see whether Clara was still sleeping. Thankfully, she still was.She hadn’t been getting enough sleep because of her discomfo
DOMINIC“It seems our little play worked out perfectly. I haven’t seen my babysitter in a while. Whatever you did, it must have been enough to scare him away,” Mateo said.“I guess it’s a good thing he listened to my warning,” I replied but he narrowed his eyes at me.“Did you kill him, Dominic?” he asked.I laughed and shook my head. “I’m sure I’ll know if I did.”“That’s not an answer,” Mateo responded.“No, I did not kill him,” I replied. “I only injured him enough to pass my message across and left him in the woods.”“Good, the last thing I want is a war to break out before we have our affairs in order.”“I know that more than anyone else, Mateo,” I said. “How was the meeting with Bruno?”“It went okay,” he replied. “Actually, it kinda gave me an idea.”“Hmmm… I’m not switching clothes with you ever again if that’s what you’re thinking,” I joked.“Nah… I think once was more than enough,” he replied.“Then what is this grand plan of yours?” I asked.“I can’t go to war without co
DOMINICShit!Mateo’s plan actually worked and his babysitter was currently on my tail. But fuck, he was really shitty at his job.Renzetti really needed to invest in better men because this was like taking candy from a baby.I intentionally drove to the other side of town and headed towards the woods. This area was secluded and hardly got any foot traffic because of the rumors of wild animals lurking in the woods.I personally knew that the story was bullshit but we had found enough dead bodies here to make the story believable. So I figured this was the perfect spot to get myself acquainted with our friend.Maybe he might get an epiphany and decide to rethink his decision. There’s a slim chance of that happening but one can still hope, right?I glanced in my rear view. He was a few yards away from me but he was still there alright, which was perfect.I parked the car at the foot of the forest and walked into the woods. Welcome to my world motherfucker.I could hear his footsteps beh
RENZETTI“I’m calling this off,” I said.“No,” Carlos said. “I know he’s hiding something. I’m sure of it.”“You don’t know shit, Carlos. The only thing I know is that you’re wasting my time and resources on something that is not true because why else do you still have nothing to hang on Mateo after all this time?”“I think he’s just very good at covering his tracks but I have a feeling that he’s going to slip soon.”I scowled at him. “I don’t pay you to think or have feelings. You do what I tell you and nothing more. I’ve tolerated this bullshit for long enough and you’re going to put a stop to it,” I ordered.“You know I have never disrespected an order from you before but I really think it will be a mistake to let this go so easily,” Carlos argued.“I don’t make mistakes, Carlos,” I growled. “You don’t get to where I am without learning how to be perfect so I’m ordering you to stand down. I don’t want to have this conversation with you again.”“How about I just put one man on him?”
MATEO“I didn’t think you would come all the way here.”Yeah, neither did I. This was the last place on earth I wanted to be but I have fucking appearances to keep up and if Renzetti was going to suspect anything, it won’t be because of my actions.So I turned to Carlos with a false smile and said, “Well, you’re certainly not important enough for me to make the trip so common sense should tell you that I’m here for someone else. Unless of course you already know and you just revel in acting foolish.”That triggered his anger and he growled, “How dare you!?”“Careful, Carlos. You may be the boss’ second in command but know that I still outrank you. Know your place,” I replied with a smug smile on my face, pleased with myself that I was able to rile him up.If I had to be here, I might as well shake some tables while I was at it. I knew Carlos didn’t like me, and the feeling was definitely mutual.In fact, if anyone was more likely to poison Renzetti’s mind about me, then my money was o
CLARAI woke up the next morning, feeling groggy but well rested.The baby chose that moment to start kicking and I rubbed my hands over my belly, hoping to calm me down.It took me a few moments to remember that I wasn’t in the master bedroom but rather in the guest bedroom, Lily usually uses. Damn, yesterday must have taken a lot from me but I could only imagine that Mateo didn’t take too kindly to me not sleeping in the bedroom.Well, that was his business. I had no regrets and I was definitely not going to apologize to him.The door opened and Lily walked in holding a mug. Her eyes lit up when she saw me awake.“Oh, good. You’re awake. I was worried I was going to have to wake you up,” she said.I smiled at her. “Good morning, and thank you for letting me spend the night here. I didn’t want to be alone,” I said.She walked over to me and set the steaming mug of coffee by the nightstand.“You’re welcome. Besides, I liked the company. I think it was another bonding moment for us and
MATEOI heard stomping in front of my office and I knew who it was before the door was thrown open.My mother came into my office wearing a frown I recognized all too well.I had expected her earlier but a look at the security cameras at the house told me that they were still in the middle of their party and they seemed to be having a blast.For the life of me, I had no idea why I needed to be there, it was a ladies’ affair so if you asked me, my mother’s anger was clearly misguided.“It’s late, Mom. Aren’t you tired after the day you’ve had?” I asked.“What the hell has come over you, Mateo?!”My mother hardly cursed except she was very pissed and that was what she was.“I’m working, Mom, and I don’t appreciate the interruption,” I said.“I don’t care about what it is you’re doing. I didn’t raise you to act the way you did this morning. It was unacceptable and you will apologize to Clara for that.”I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. I’ve had a long day and I didn’t intend to a
CLARAWhen Mrs. Antonia put her mind to something, there was no stopping her.I had barely gotten home from my appointment yesterday when a courier came to collect the envelope from me as per her request.She also informed me that she had spoken to Mateo about using the family room for the gender reveal and he didn’t object so things were on track.The family room was unrecognizable by the time I walked in. The room had been decorated in a tasteful shade of pink and blue. I wondered how they were able to get all this work done without making any noise.I retreated and went into the kitchen to find, Mrs. Antonia sipping a cup of coffee.“Good morning,” I greeted.“Morning dear. You’re up earlier than I expected,” she replied.“I had an early night,” I explained.“Well, I the guests would be arriving in a few hours so have some breakfast and go get ready,” she said.I opened my mouth to respond but someone else beat me to it.“I didn’t expect you here this early,” Mateo said.“Good morn