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Chapter 26
Carla
I don’t want to be one of those dainty bitches that takes so damn long on her perfect appearance and her sweat and nerves that she is late to her own wedding, but that’s what this is shaping up to be as I roll my eyes at my reflection, my hair in curlers. They have only been in for five minutes, and it feels like forever. My mother and Aria both have been in here worrying over me and helping me get ready, but I keep sending them away in favor of Nicola even though they hate her guts. They don’t think she and Phoebe should be out or that they conduct themselves like proper Italian women. Who gives a fuck? What I need is calm and collected on my wedding day, and Nicola can give me that.
A knock comes at the door, and I glare at it as if lasers might come out of my eyes. Maybe they will. I don’t fuckin know. I have never felt so irritated before with a simple event. This is a show pretty much after all. I thought I would like the attention, but none of it is as positive as I thought it would be. But it might be different once I walk out there to Philippe. I haven’t told him that four-letter word yet, but I think it’s coming. It’s at the top of my throat like bile.
Nicola goes to the door, looking ready to knock a bitch out if it’s someone uninvited, but it turns out to be Sal. Not someone I was expecting, but that’s alright. If it were up to me it would be him giving me away today and not my father anyway. he is the only real blood family I have as far as I am concerned and the only one I am going to keep up with once I am Philippe’s wife.
He runs his hand through his thick black hair, and I know he is stressed about something. "Rovesciarlo!" I tell him, wanting him to spit it out. I stand up, my heart beating fast. This is my wedding day, and damn anyone to hell if they are trying to ruin it.
"Carla, you should know that Philippe has never shown up. He’s not here."
"What the fuck do you mean he is not here?" I screech, my nails digging into the vanity in front of me so that they will leave a permanent mark. "Get me Florin. Whether he is here or not, I want to speak with him in here immediately!" I order. Sal doesn’t even flinch, just nods and turns on his heel to find Philippe’s right-hand man. This whole thing wreaks of a conspiracy, and I am not having it. I know the Clans have made many enemies, and those enemies cannot be happy about this union that makes the Clans even more fucking powerful. Philippe could be in any situation, but the one thing I know, looking down at my ring, is he didn’t stand me up. This marriage was something he wanted. He begged and worked hard for this to be real and not some sham, so no way in hell would he be the one to get cold feet.
It doesn’t take long for Sal to come in with the best man named Florin in tow. He is head of the security detail for the Sala Clan as well as a longtime friend of Philippe, if Philippe has ever had such a thing as a friend.
I don’t even wait until the door closes behind him before I am on him like white on rice, my face probably bright red from my boiling over temper. “Where the fuck is my fiancé, Florin?”
His face is stoic and his voice quiet as he answers me, and he doesn’t seem surprised at all which makes me even more fucking pissed. What game is he playing at?
“I had hoped that Philippe would make it here, but it seems he hasn’t. Look, my guess is that Luna is doing something to keep him from being here. She’s been blackmailing me to keep her secrets, but once I found out how serious they were, I couldn’t anymore. I recorded a conversation we had earlier where things sounded suspicious, and I have done some of my own digging on her. I was going to tell Philippe after the wedding because I didn’t want to ruin his big day. I know he cares about this and about you.”
I am seething. I am not going to accept this man buttering me up when he has information. I take my stiletto and dig it into his designer shoes, making sure to hit his toes as I come down with force. He curses in Romanian but then recovers. “I am not going to have you bullshitting me. Tell me everything you fuckin’ know.”
"Firstly, there is a good chance the baby is not Philippe's. The two of us have had relations before any of this happened, and there is also security footage from the night they had sex showing that Luna drugged him." I tap my foot, trying to keep myself from going bridezilla on her ass and choking her to death baby or not. What the fuck is wrong with this woman? She belongs in a mental hospital. But I knew there was something not right about her. "When I did some digging I found out Luna is not her name at all. Her name is Ivana Badescu, and her sister is Galina Badescu, but she has been going as Greta on the streets," he continues.
"Where do I know that fucking name?"
"Greta is the bitch that has been bringing drugs from the Czech Republic," Sal speaks up. Yeah, I remember now because Philippe has been in contact with my brother about finding out what the hell she is up to and where she came from all of a sudden. So, Luna and Greta are related. Go figure.
"Yeah, well, I think it’s all just a front. The Badescu Clan existed before Ion and Mariana took over as king and queen of the Clans, when Mariana was still missing. They were wanting to have Mariana declared dead so they could take over the Clans instead. The families didn’t take too well to that, and they were disgraced and sent packing, exiled to the Czech Republic. These are their daughters, and if I remember right, one of them was supposed to be promised to Philippe. These people were evil, ruthless, nothing like the respectable Clan families now."
My head is killing me, and I rip out my curlers angrily. I don’t even care right now. " Is Luna here?" I ask, afraid of the answer. I grew up with assassins in the family. I know how this shit works.
"No."
"Fuck! Florin, Sal, Nicola, get everyone the fuck out of this church now. It's a death trap. I can feel it. Everyone needs to get out."
I head for the exit myself, knowing Sal will take care of things for our family. Nicola will get Phoebe, and Florin will handle the rest. I can only imagine what today was all about, but if I can help it, it won’t happen on my watch. Once everyone is out, then we can use my brother's resources to find Philippe and get him away from that crazy bitch. I can’t believe I have let this go on for so long, listening to him when he said I needed to give her the benefit of the doubt. That she has worked with him for years and wouldn’t be like this. She has infiltrated a Clan and has been at it for years. How fucked up is this?
I make it outside, and little by little people begin to come out, some getting in their cars while whispering. The rumor mill is going to be rough for a while, but that’s better than them all being dead.
I spot Aria and her daughter and then Enzo coming out followed by Sal and my father. I breathe a sigh of relief until I see that my mother is not with them. My father has a cigar in his hand, and I go up to him, hitting his shoulder hard. I don’t give a fuck what he thinks right now. "Where is Mama?" I scold him, and he shrugs. I was smoking a cigar when I saw the others come out, so I followed. I assumed she would already be here."
My eyes meet Sal's, and before I can say a word, he is kissing Aria’s forehead and running into the church. I hope he has enough fucking time to get Mama and get out because my instincts are telling me that something bad is going to happen here today.
I lead Aria and the kids further away from the church just in case and turn just in time to see a familiar man jogging up to us, looking like shit. It's Philippe.
"Where the hell have you been?"
He answers with his own question, out of breath and holding his head. "Why the hell is no one in -" His words are drowned out by an explosion as the church that holds so much history that Philippe wanted so badly to be married in goes up in a pile of rubble, and Sal and my mother are nowhere to be seen.
