All Chapters of FORCED MARRIAGE: The Italian Mafia's Obsession : Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

Now, I sat in silence at a small cafe in the city center. My face felt stiff from tears that had dried and then fallen again, alternating all night long.My career was ruined. The name I'd worked so hard to build over eight years of medical school, all of it vanished in a single ethics hearing that lasted less than two hours.And I'd never done any of what they accused me of.My phone buzzed on the table. My father's name appeared on the screen.I almost didn't answer it. My hand trembled as I picked up the phone, my finger hesitating over the green button. But I knew my father wouldn't stop calling until I picked up. He was a persistent man, one of the reasons he'd succeeded as a businessman."Father," I said, my voice hoarse."Camila, your father has heard everything.""How did you...""The hospital called me. They said your license was revoked. They said you were recommended for rehab. I didn't know you'd become like this. Drugs? You're taking drugs?""That's not true. They framed

The airport in Mexico City felt hot even though the air conditioning inside the terminal was on full blast. I dragged my suitcase through the arrival gates.My father had already sent a driver. An old man with a thick mustache greeted me with a cold nod.The drive to my parents' house took forty minutes.My parents' house was still the same. Not a single coat of paint had changed. White walls with red tiles, a small garden out front overgrown with purple bougainvillea, a wooden swing on the porch that had rusted from years of disuse.I walked past my stepmother without saying a word. I dragged my suitcase myself through the narrow hallway to the room at the end, then went in and closed the door.I left the suitcase lying near the closet. My body fell onto the bed, my face staring up at the cracked ceiling. There were voices outside, my father and stepmother whispering, unclear, but their tone wasn't friendly. I didn't care. I didn't want to talk to anyone.My hand reached for my phone