Page 15 of Sins of the Father
Marriage to a mafia king.
The thought made Mia want to laugh and scream at the same time. She closed her bedroom door softly, then leaned back against it, heart still pounding so hard she felt it in her fingertips.
“A marriage with no say of my own,” she whispered in the quiet of her chamber. “Papa, how could you do this? And to him, of all people?”
Luciano Valachi.
She turned his name over in her mind again and again. To run from a man like him would demand daring and ingenuity Mia feared she did not possess. The easy choice would be to fall into his arms and cling to the hope that he could give her some semblance of the life she longed for. Luciano Valachi was unquestionably handsome, and he was clearly a man used to getting his way, to people shrinking when he entered a room.
And when he looked at her—God help her—something inside twisted: equal parts fear and something she refused to name, mostly because she did not understand what it was.
Mia silently screamed,my life, freedom, and future, signed away in some contract I had never seen, arranged by a father who’d been silent for over a decade and was perhaps truly dead. Do I go with Valachi?Should I go to the police?
“Ridiculous,” Mia snapped, shaking herself to rid the panicked thoughts. “I cannot allow this nonsense to happen.” She’d have a say in her life and future. One way or another.
Mia turned to the small, wooden desk beside her bed. She walked over and sat down, taking out the small key to the safety deposit box from her pocket.
So you planned this all from the grave, Papa, she silently whispered.
She took a deep breath. No more wavering. Pulling out the phone, she dialed her best friend’s number.
“Hullo?” A usually bright voice sounded cautious now—no doubt because the number was unfamiliar.
“It’s me,” Mia said, her throat tightening.
There were several rustles, then her best friend gasped, “Mia?What number are you calling me from?”
Taking a deep breath, Mia told her everything. A shocked silence lingered for several seconds.
“Are you joking?” her friend burst out. “Please tell me this is some elaborate prank because I got you so good for April Fool’s Day.”
“I wish I were,” Mia said, her eyes burning. “But it is not. I am scared.”
“Oh God, this cannot be real,” Bianca whispered. “Did you call the police?”
“He… men like Valachi own the police,” Mia said, savvy enough to know that much. “I am afraid to call them, and then word gets back to him.”
A choking sound came down the line. “If he has that kind of power, Mia, then you cannot keep the phone you’re using. “Hecould be listening right now. Don’t tell me anything more about your plans!”
Mia winced, feeling foolish. She hadn’t considered that. “I’ll leave it behind.”
“Destroy it,” Bianca urged. “I read somewhere that they can track you through the SIM card.”
“I will.”
Before Bianca could say more, Mia ended the call and hurried from her room to the small office, her pulse racing. She grabbed the landline, staring at it for a long moment before dialing again.
There was a chance he could be listening on this line too. The thought made her laugh—a thin, nervous sound that did little to chase away the unease crawling under her skin. If Luc truly had that kind of reach that he could tap her calls, trace her movements, know every breath she took, she was inside his web and had to untangle herself.
The phone rang once before Bianca answered, her voice breathless. “Do you plan to run?”
“I have to… only I do not know where to go.”
“You cannot stay in the same country if he is that powerful,” Bianca said, her breath uneven. “I wish you could come to me, but it would not be safe.”
“I know.” Mia squeezed her eyes shut, a tear slipping free. She did not even own a passport. The enormity of what she was about to do pressed down like a stone on her chest. Every thought of leaving tore at Mia—her students, the only family she had left, the fragile safety she had built. Each piece of her life would be abandoned, scattered behind her like ashes in the wind.
They spoke for a few more minutes before Mia finally hung up, her pulse racing as if she’d been waiting for permission. She hurried back to her room, grabbed the cellphone, and yankedout the SIM. She crushed it between her fingers and tossed the fragments onto the bed. Bianca was her only ally, but hiding with her was out. If Mia ran blindly, he’d catch her in a day. Stay, and he’d drag her to the altar. She needed to disappear properly. First step: the safety deposit box. Taking a deep breath, she lay on her bed, closed her eyes and started plotting.
