Chapter 1 The Announcement

AMARA

You’d think a family dinner was meant for bonding and enjoying each other’s presence. Tell me why we were talking about how many bodies by brother had thrown over the Manhattan bridge?

“The fucking snake,” Raphael scoffed. “He wouldn’t give even till death. No point in even sparing him. He’d have bitten his own tongue off if it meant escaping.”

The second, Nikolai, hummed out a reply. “Ditto. Really wish you let me at him though.”

I shoved a spoonful of mashed potatoes into my mouth, quietly watching their exchange. Family dinners weren’t frequent, but they were always lavish and opulent. My father liked them that way.

He’d been quiet this whole time, simply listening in on what my brothers had to say. I turned to my mother who had also been eating in silence. She never spoke much during family dinners. Doubt she had the guts too. My father preferred her that way. Quiet and obedient.

“In summary, you pushed him off before we could get any info?” Kaz, the first son, finally broke his long bout of silence.

“Hey, give me some credit.” Raphael argued with a snarl. “The bastard bit into his own tongue before I could get anything. Dedication like that won’t be broken for anything.”

Kaz wasn’t convinced. “Right, right. And you just omit that part when you were going on with your story.”

Nikolai looked between both of them. “He’s got a point.”

Raphael looked pissed now. “You fucking b—”

“That’s enough.”

Everybody went quiet. My father sipped some from his wine before raising his head to look around. His word was law. So if he said it was enough, then best believe they better zip it.

“We’ll talk about Gonzalez later at the meeting.” He said, eyes lingering on me for a second too long.

My brothers all nodded, immediately understanding what he meant. They didn’t want me hearing more than I’d already heard.

I was the last and only girl out of four. In the mafia world, family was power and my father had gone out of his way to drill into our heads from a young age. Most of the dirty work that involved blood, he’d made sure my brothers were familiar with it. He wanted to do whatever it took to put the Vitale family at the top where we belonged. Viktor Vitale ruled his family with a fist stronger than iron. And this, was what made us one of the top brasses. Elites in the mafia world

On the other hand, he always went out of his way to ensure I wasn’t involved in it. I was a woman. I didn’t need to take part in any of that. Or at least that was what he thought. I knew my fair share of how to fight and best believe I was no stranger to using a pistol.

I bit my lip, fighting back the urge to lash out and say something. That wouldn’t do me any good. Slowly, my father’s gaze turned back to me and I felt my breath hitch.

“More importantly,” he continued. “I have news.”

My brothers all listened keenly now, their initial banter long forgotten. My father’s eyes trailed over us some more before they landed on me once again.

“I’ve arranged a marriage between Sevro Rinaldi and Amara. You’ll get married to him in the next two weeks.”

“What?” I didn’t realize when I pushed my chair and flew out of my seat.

My father simply stared, unmoving and with an unreadable look in his eyes. “You have a question?”

“Father. I—What do you mean I’m getting married to him?”

He cocked his head sideways. “You want me to repeat myself. I believe my words had been pretty clear and understandable.”

I shook my head, fighting back the tears that were already pricking my eyes. “Father, please. I can’t marry that—that tyrant.”

Sevro Rinaldi was a household name. He was as ruthless as they came, always synonymous with one killing or the other. And I haven’t even considered his drug dealings as well.

“I don’t want to marry him, father.” I tried to reason. “Please.”

My father’s eyes had narrowed to a glare. I felt a cold chill run over my body. No. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want any of this. I wanted to run away, hide and pretend none of this was actually happening. My brothers all stared in silence, knowing they dare not chip in.

“Sit.”

I swallowed back a reply, slowly sinking back to my chair. It was hard not to shrink into where I sat with how hard my father was glaring.

“You will marry Sevro, and that’s final. It’s not up for debate. I value alliances more than whatever stupid notion it is you have in your head that you deem a ‘desire’.

The tears were falling now. I turned to my mother, hoping that for once, she’d actually speak up for me.

Please. Just say something. Anything at all.

Please.

I should have known better. My father continued to pick at his meat. “If you ruin this for me, keeping your head will be the last of your worries.”

My head dropped, tears flowing down my cheeks uncontrollably. If my father’s mind was made up, then nothing could change it. Not my words, or anyone else’s.

After the dinner, I’d immediately ran straight for my room and cried my eyes out. How long had it been? Hours maybe. I didn’t care. The hurt in my chest only seemed to increase with each passing second.

Without thinking, I called the one person I knew I could talk to.

“Hey, Philip?” I sniffled.

“What’s wrong?” I could hear the frown in his voice.

Without hesitation, I began to tell him all that had happened, fighting the urge to start sobbing again.

Philip had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. We’d gone to the same school, shared so many things with each other. That, and the fact that I also had feelings for him. With him, everything felt lighter. I could breathe. I could always share about my longing for freedom. I didn’t want to be confined to New York, to the walls of the Vitale mansion.

I wanted freedom to do what I wanted. To breathe without feeling the weight of my father’s shadow closing him. To be with who I wanted. With Philip. And now, every hope I ever had of something more between us had been shattered.

“Hey, hey. I need you to breathe for me, okay?”

I rubbed at my cheeks aggressively. “Okay.”

“You trust me, don’t you?”

I answered without hesitation. “Yes.”

“Okay,” he let out a breath. I wondered what was going through his head then. There was a small pause before he finally spoke again.

“Amara?”

“Yes?” I answered hesitantly.

“Let’s run away together.”