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“Yes, it’s me.”
“Oh, God. Are you okay? How are you?” Her voice is a mixture of happiness and worry.
“I’m going to run away. I have a ticket to Rome leaving tomorrow night. Can I come to you? Will Giuseppe?—”
“Yes, of course. Me and Giuseppe will protect you. But God, how are you going to manage it? Did something happen?”
“I’m supposed to marry Romeo Abate in a week. I can’t, Luce.”
“That monster? How can you manage it?”
I tell her my plan.
“Be careful, Elena.”
Once off the phone, I vacillate on whether to trash it or keep it just in case. If my father finds it, he’ll know who I called and that could cause problems for Lucia. Then again, my showing up in Italy will cause problems. I second-guess my decision to run to her. But her husband, while old, is more powerful, especially in Italy. I can’t see my father wanting to take him on.
I turn off the shower and step into my bedroom when my bedroom door flies open. My dad's right-hand man enters the room. "Your father demands your presence."
Fear skitters down my spine. The rules of the house have always been that employees are not allowed to enter my room without knocking. The only exception is if I'm in trouble and my father wants to see me. I have a sense of déjà vu from when it happened to my sister.
I work to make my face impassive and lift my chin, wanting to show an air of superiority even though I know that at my father's command, this man could punish me. I give a curt nod and head out of my room, downstairs to my father's office.
I take a breath and walk in, standing in the middle of my father's office. I wait and give a whole new meaning to shaking in my boots, or in my case, flats. I'm terrified.
My father stands behind his desk, his scowl deeper than I've ever seen before. He picks up a bag, my bag, and turns it on its end. Out falls my money. In that moment, I see my freedom evaporate. And quite possibly, my life.
Sheer terror paralyzes me, stopping me from running. Of course, there’s no reason to run. I have nowhere I could get to before my father or his men would catch me.
I’m not sure how I’m still standing as my legs are wobbly. My world is tilting off its axis.
"Where did you get this?" he bellows at me.
I try to think of a reasonable excuse. Maybe I can say Romeo gave it to me, but he probably won’t back me up. Or if he does, he'd expect something that I’m sure I’m unwilling to pay.
Perhaps I can say my mother gave it to me in preparation for the wedding, but I know she won’t back me up. My mom is a perfect Mafia wife. She had to be because she didn't give my father a son, so it won’t take much for him to decide she isn’t worth anything. My mother supports him, and everything she does is to make him look good in front of the other Families.
My father comes around the desk, and I flinch as he grabs my chin, jerking my head to look up at him. I keep my gaze on his because I know from experience that looking away is seen as a sign of guilt.
"The only way I can think of a woman being able to squirrel away this much money is that she's been opening her legs to men. Have you been whoring yourself, Elena?" He releases my chin with a sharp push. "No. Don't tell me. I don't know what the fuck you’re planning, but from now on, you’re confined to this house. You're going to marry Romeo Abate next week. For your sake, I hope to hell you’re still a virgin. And if you’re not, you'd better hope he can’t tell. If you fuck up this deal for me, Elena?—”
The door opens and my mother walks in. I feel like I'm going to be sick, and it takes all my effort to hold myself together.
"Is she still pure?” my mother asks.
"I don't want to know, and you don't either. We act like she is. We need plausible deniability in this." My father glares at me. "I can't believe you did this. I trusted you. I thought you were like your mother. A little fiery, but dutiful, obedient. If however you got this money comes back to bite me in the ass, you're going to have a real problem."
I’m shaking visibly. He dismisses me and has my mother escort me to my room with instructions to keep me there until the wedding.
"I thought you were smarter than this, Elena,” my mother says as she takes me to my room.
One of my father’s men is standing outside the door. My mother pushes me in and then slams the door behind me. My legs are like jelly, but they manage to get me to the bathroom where I heave and empty out my stomach.
After I brush my teeth, I take the phone I’ve hidden. I vacillate on whether to call someone or destroy it. Lucia can’t help me. I should call her and let her know I’m not coming, but who knows if someone is listening? Kate can’t help, either. If the phone is found, my situation will be even worse than it is already, so I break the phone into small bits and flush them.
I go back into my room, looking out my window. Outside, my father has stationed another man. There is no way to escape now. I sink onto my bed feeling defeated. Hope of freedom is lost.
Or is it? Could I make an escape during the wedding?
