Chapter 006

Luca's eyes devoured my face as he growled, “If it weren’t for my father’s dying wish to see you, you wouldn’t see me here today, you whore.”

Without thinking, I spat in his face as a single traitorous tear escaped my eye.

The moment I did this, my heart sank as his grip tightened on my hair. Would he cut my tongue?

He wiped his face with calmness that shocked me, then winked coldly and said, “Perfect. That’s exactly what whores do, spit.”

My blood boiled and I couldn’t hold myself back anymore. I raised my hand to slap him, but he caught my wrist tightly and barked, “I don’t have time for your shit, piccolo gatto. Pack your things, we’re flying to the United States in four hours.”

I hated the nickname—piccolo gatto—it reminded me of the past. 

I screamed at him, “Get out of my face! I’m not going anywhere with you!”

He let go of my hair and replied with chilling indifference, “And I don’t have the desire to take you anywhere. Believe me, you slut. My Mila, the little Mila I loved, sanctified, died three years, nine months, and two days ago.”

Then he looked me up and down and added, “You’re just a shadow, one that looks nothing like her.”

This man… he used to be my whole world. The warm chest I clung to since I was four years old. Even though he was ten years older—fourteen at the time—he was like my guardian angel.

I used to sneak into his bed in the middle of the night until I turned twelve. That was when Papa Gerald scolded me and said if I did it again, he’d send Luca away.

I loved the warmth from his body. I remember how he’d wrap me in his blanket like I was a little pet. That comforting heat from his skin…

Sometimes we’d wake up in the middle of the night and he’d cook just for me because I said I was hungry. He played every game I loved. He even watched cartoons like Cinderella with me.

I loved him so deeply that I once told Mama Marcilia I wanted to marry him. But she said Luca wasn’t right for me. I was furious. A few months later, Papa Gerald sent him away to manage his business overseas. He never came back since then.

But now… it seems things have changed. He was back to the Hayden mansion.

I swallowed and said firmly, “Yes… there’s nothing left of her.”

He stared into my eyes with his dark lashes and black pupils—no, deeper—into my soul. A look filled with sorrow. Maybe even pity.

“Mommy, Uncle Marco said we’re going to the United States! And we’re going to live in a huge mansion!”

Angelo’s voice rang with joy across the living room as he walked back in, breaking the suffocating silence.

I rolled my eyes with a sigh, then shot a hard glare toward Marco, who was leaning carelessly against Angelo’s bedroom door frame.

“No, baby. We’re not going. Angelo, we already made our plans here with Mr. Jones, remember? We’re going to celebrate your birthday with his kids tomorrow,” I said, trying to sound cheerful, reminding him of our plans and ignoring the deadly stares burning into my back.

Angelo thought for a second, then said, “I like playing with his kids… but I don’t like him. He always tries to kiss you when he visits, Mommy. And he tells everyone you’re his fiancée.”

That was not the response I wanted to hear.

“Don’t worry, kid. I promise he won’t do that again,” Marco said, still not taking his eyes off Luca.

“If you do anything to him, I swear you’ll pay for it!” I threatened, trying to sound confident and strong. As much as I hated Peter Jones’s behavior, he was a widower and a father of two. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him because of me.

“How interesting,” Luca mumbled.

I looked at them in disbelief. “Don’t even think about it! I won’t have gangster business in my home. Get out. Both of you.” Deliberately, trying to insult them.

Luca bit his lower lip and said, “He raised you. He saved you from a life in shelters and on the streets—you would’ve ended up there if he hadn’t taken you in and honored your father’s will. The least you can do is fulfill his final wish.”

I was aware that they could take me out of the country anytime, anywhere, effortlessly, if they wanted to. They weren't even surprised by Angelo's existence, as if they knew about him all the time, and that proves they were watching me all along.

The Haydens mafia’s reach,—La Cosa Nostra—and power had grown even here in Italy. Italy is their roots.

However, it seemed like they wanted me to go willingly. Maybe that’s what Papa Gerald wanted.

“Three days. That’s all. And I won’t stay a second longer.”

I'll just go to clear my conscience. After all, he was the man who raised me. Besides, I need to ask them the secrets they're hiding about my real parents—my biological mother.

Dark cloud passed through my eyes as I thought

that maybe it's the time to find out who was the bastard raped me.