Page 3 of Broken Mafia Prince
“You always wear those ugly, stinky shoes.” I stick my tongue out at her, and she makes a face.
“You suck,” she snaps.
Val pulls out her princess pony blanket—the one she can’t go anywhere without—and wraps it around herself like a magician vanishing under a cape. It’s her way of disappearing when she doesn’t want to talk to me.
“He drove past.” Mama sounds relieved. “I don’t know why I’m being so paranoid. I’m sorry for getting you worried, Enrico.”
He chuckles. “You wouldn’t be the woman I love if you didn’t keep me on my toes.”
“I love you, too,” Mama laughs.
“I love you three,” my twin pipes up, causing my parents to burst into laughter.
“That joke isn’t even funny,” I snap, crossing my arms. “You suck.” I clamp my hands over my ears, bracing for Val’s comeback.
But before she can answer, everythingshatters.
A truck crashes into our lane, its headlights blinding—twin demons that sear my eyes. Dad swerves, the tires screeching as the car fights for control.
The honk is deafening, followed by the sickening sound of metal twisting and glass shattering. The world tilts violently—upside down, then back again, like some twisted ride I never wanted to get on.
I hear a scream, sharp and panicked, but I don’t know if it’s me or Val.
Everything blurs, my mind failing to catch up with what’s happening. In that split second, the cozy, familiar world of our family trip seems to twist into a secret dance of danger, reminding me of the quiet mysteries Papa never fully explains.
The world spins, a dizzying mess of noise and motion.
The SUV rolls. Once. Twice. Three times. I lose count. My heart hammers in my chest, louder than anything else. The calm from before vanishes in an instant, replaced by fear that claws at my insides.
I’m weightless for a moment, thrown into the air, before slamming into the roof of the car. The impact knocks the breath from me, pain crashing through my bones as the world flips again.
Everything goes dark and blurry. Sounds are muffled, like I’m underwater, everything distorted.
I barely notice the gray jaguar from earlier speeding past, its taillights already fading into nothing.
My body is yanked through the shattered window, tossed like a doll. I scream, heart pounding in my chest, but there’s nothing to grab onto, nothing to slow my fall.
My back slams into the earth with a sickening thud. My body goes rigid, trembles uncontrollably. I open my mouth, but no sound comes out.
For a moment, everything is black. I blink, trying to focus, but my vision is still swimming. My head feels like it’s been filled with lead. I touch my face, and when I pull my hand back, it’s sticky, my fingers red.
A sob breaks from my chest as the truth hits.It’s my blood.
Tears blur my vision, but I push them back, forcing myself to stay focused.
“Mama!” I scream, scrambling to my feet, legs unsteady beneath me.
The wreck is all I can focus on. The blue truck, its windshield cracked, parked just beside our SUV. The car teeters on the edge of a cliff, one tire hanging dangerously, threatening to drop into the abyss below.
The truck driver stumbles out of his vehicle, clutching his side.
My heart freezes in my chest, panic clawing at my throat.
Papa stumbles out of the car, unsteady, his movements sluggish. He rises to his feet, his gaze darting between the SUV and the truck driver. Then the man fires his gun at us, but misses, shattering the window. My ears ring from the gunshot.
He raises the gun again, firing a warning shot into the air before turning and limping toward the woods.
“Giulia!” Papa’s voice cuts through the haze. He’s kneeling beside me, his face a mask of fear.
