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He cuts the call, leaving me torn. On the one hand, I have suffered a huge loss—my family. Every single one of them are now dust. My home is gone, and I have no businesses. This is how it works. The government will step in and seize everything, and the only thing I will be left with is my father’s personal wealth.
As I make the coffee on autopilot, my thoughts wrap around my soul like barbed wire and then a soft voice whispers in my ear as an angel catches me and slides her arms around my waist from behind.
“I missed you.”
Knowing Charlotte is here makes everything immediately better and spinning around, I kiss her deeply and with a desperation that tells me I’m losing my grip.
She pulls away and looks up, gently trailing her fingers across my face, and whispers, “You look terrible. What happened?”
I’m not sure where to begin and, leaning back against the counter, I pull her close and say in a hoarse whisper, “It appears this is now our home.”
“What do you mean?”
“My family are dead. Murdered in cold blood and our homes and businesses burned to the ground in a brutal attack.”
Her eyes widen with horror, and she makes to speak and, shaking my head, I place my finger to her lips and say with a slight smile.
“Whoever’s responsible did us a huge favor. I had no love for my father, and I have prayed for his death countless times. This has just saved me from doing the job myself.”
She appears shocked and I shrug. “If that surprises you, it’s because you never met him. I won’t be mourning the bastard, but I will be mourning the soldiers who died with him.”
“Where does that leave you — us?”
She looks worried and I laugh, causing her eyes to widen and I pull her in tightly against me and say, “It means we are free to buy your house, raise a family and live our dream. My father was a wealthy man and that will come to me. I may never need to work again and yet we both already know that will never happen. Now I will devote my life to making you happy and become an active participant in Club Mafia. I will assist my brothers any way I can with all the freedom of not having any ties back to Russia.”
“You’re really happy about this?”
She looks unconvinced and for the first time in my life, a huge weight falls from my shoulders and I grin.
“I’m more than happy, princess because now we get to travel, see the world and live our life by our own terms and conditions. The only thing standing in the way of that is your father and once this is over, we will both enjoy the same level of freedom without looking over our shoulders the entire time.”
Charlotte beams with a happiness I won’t completely share until her father joins mine and as we grab our coffees and head back to bed to enjoy them, I intend on making the most of every second we have together as if it’s our last.
CHAPTER37
WINTER
I’m so cold. My prison isn’t its usual even temperature and I wonder if this is just another one of Massimo’s mind games.
I have been locked in here for several days, which is unlike him. Usually, he likes to bring me out to play at least every other day, and I’m beginning to wonder if something’s wrong. Is he even here? Did he go away somewhere? Is he dead?
Part of me hopes he is because it appears that’s the only way of this mad marriage that I never asked for.
The only thing keeping me going is my son and picturing him upstairs in a nursery fit for a king is comforting because he is happy, content and well looked after and whoever’s job that is, is doing a very good one.
I am never allowed to meet anyone unless Massimo allows it, but whenever I’m granted time with Frankie, he is always alone. Massimo permits me a few stolen nights when he is pleased with me and now I’m anxious because I haven’t been given the chance to earn that precious time all the time I’m locked in here.
I have stopped counting the days, weeks, months, even. I’m guessing we have been part of this world for close on two years now and every day is a life sentence. Sometimes I wonder about home. I try not to but at my lowest point, my brother creeps into my thoughts and gives me the power to survive. For Frankie, for Angelo and for Alessandro. The man who stole my heart along with my virginity and gave me the greatest gift of all — our son.
Not that he knows, of course. He must be carrying on with his life and I hope he is happy. Does he even remember me? I’m guessing he was angry when I married Massimo because, to the outside world, it’s what I want. It’s far from that and I am struggling to survive. There is only one thing keeping me sane, and that is saving my son.
Massimo is a monster. An evil bastard who will turn on Frankie one day. I have no doubt about that which is why I am constantly looking for my opportunity to save us both.
I never get one.
The only people in my daily life are the silent servants who bring me food and empty my waste bucket. There are no luxuries in Massimo’s dungeons. The only time I live any kind of normal life is when he brings me out to play but now he has a much more interesting person to play with. For him, anyway.
On the odd occasion I’m allowed to stay in an actual room with all the luxuries he can afford. There is no communication with the outside world though—ever. Then he locks me in my dungeon when he has no time to spare me, or if I’ve displeased him in some way. I never know what’s going on in his mind and just accept whatever he makes me do. I used to be strong, but that strength has been drained away carefully and over time, however I keep one hidden reserve deep inside for the opportune moment. The moment when I get my revenge.
