There was a silence that filled the small space between us. Alessandra was tapping her foot against the ground, her long dark hair falling in front of her face as she glanced down. I wasn’t sure what had been happening between her and Savio, but I had a bad feeling about it. She was always the first person to jump up at the opportunity to plan something. She was anxious in big crowds, but she loved planning parties. A wedding was the perfect opportunity for her to plan something extravagant. Yet she was unsure.
I turned to Lucia, whose expression mirrored my own. There was no doubt that she had an idea that something had happened to Alessandra. She’d changed.
“I’ll join, but only to get out of this room,” Alessandra said finally, brushing her hair back. “But I don’t think you should marry him. He won’t make you happy in the long run.”
Lucia reached out and took Alessandra’s hand and brought it to her chest. “Thank you, Alessandra. And don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
I remained silent. I could only hope that my sister knew what she was getting into. Between all of the Cavetti siblings, Romeo was the most upfront about his monstrous ways. If she’d been able to get through to him, then there would be hope for the rest of us.
* * *
Lucia’s roomwas vastly different from the cells that we were staying in, and then I knew why we hadn’t heard from her or seen her. She had a bedroom upstairs, sequestered at the end of the hallway. The bed was massive, with white bedposts, and it was decorated specifically for a young woman her age. I was envious, and I was trying to hide it. I had been held away in a small cell with a shower that always ran cold water, and here she was with her very own room because she was the eldest daughter. She even had a wedding to look forward to.
Alessandra and I shared a look as we entered and saw the long, white wedding gown laid out on top of the bed. I could feel the anger rising in my chest, and was trying to push it down. I didn’t want to take out my frustration on her, but I was growing angry. She hadn’t checked on us once in the time that we’d been trapped in the basement. I wasn’t sure if she’d ever asked Romeo how we were, but seeing her living in such better conditions was frustrating beyond words.
“You have a nice room,” I said, trying to hide my true emotions.
She peered about the room before lowering her eyes to me. “It’s nice, sure. But a lot of things have happened in the time that I’ve been staying here.”
“Why haven’t you visited us?” Alessandra asked, pursing her lips. “If you’ve had free range of the house, you could have easily checked in on us.”
Lucia sighed and shook her head. “You’re assuming that I have free range of the house, which I don’t. It’s like I said, I’ve only just been given the opportunity to have a little more freedom.”
“It’s okay, Lucia,” I said, nudging Alessandra. “This has been difficult for all of us. So, what do you need help with first?”
Lucia breathed out a sigh of relief upon hearing my words and smiled softly. “Well, I had some ideas for the wedding that I wanted to run by you both. The first is the event area.”
The door opened and a woman entered. She was holding a tray with sandwiches on a small plate. She placed it on a side table at the end of the room.
“Oh, Phillipa, this is Alessandra and Chiara, my sisters.”
I wanted to throw the sandwiches in Lucia’s face. I wanted to tear myself from the room and throw a tantrum in the middle of the floor. I wanted to jump out of the window.
Here I’d been having my meals delivered by Angelo Cavetti’s goons. Lucia had her own fucking maid, her own room, and was brought meals throughout the day that looked way better than anything I’d been given unless it was being delivered by Marcello. I felt sick to my stomach and I couldn’t help the grimace that crossed my face.
“Thank you, Phillipa.”
The older woman nodded slightly as she waved to us and left the room. Alessandra and I had plenty of reason to be angry with Lucia. She always had it better. Our entire lives revolved around watching her know everything that was happening with the family, and getting the better clothes, the better rooms. Being trapped in the Cavetti’s home was only causing that frustration to rise. It felt as though I was going to explode in a fit of rage.
I had to force back the tears as Lucia hummed on her way to the tray. I glanced at Alessandra, who obviously shared my sentiment.
Lucia was oblivious to what we’d gone through.
18
Marcello
It had been more than half a week since I’d last seen Chiara. It was driving me mad that I couldn’t just go and visit her. I didn’t want to make my intentions towards her obvious to everyone so I had to maintain my distance, which was causing me to pace throughout the entire house. My legs were stiff from pacing up and down the stairs. Even working out couldn’t get rid of the aggression I felt at Chiara being away from me. I simply wanted to see her and make her smile. To feel her skin against mine and to kiss her again.
The feeling was overwhelming.
I was glad that the three sisters were together. They spent most of their time in Lucia’s room on the top floor. She’d been given the go-ahead to plan the wedding, which she and Romeo seemed excited over. It was almost surprising to see the changes that had happened with my brother. I would never have suspected that he could come to care for someone. I had never even seen him look at someone with a loving expression. Somehow, Lucia had managed to tame him in ways that I hadn’t thought were possible.
Romeo had yet to admit to me that he was in love with his bride-to-be, but it was apparent to all who knew him well enough. He would never have allowed his bride to plan their wedding and given her so much freedom unless he cared about her on a deep and intimate level. I was also surprised that my father had agreed to it. He was always soft when it came to Romeo, though. He was, after all, his heir.
I thought he was trying to hide it from my father, but it was obvious to anyone that paid attention. He tried to brush her off in front of him, but once they were alone, it was like a different Romeo had stepped in. He’d managed to find someone that he could care about, and she was someone that we needed to solidify our name in the Chicago criminal underworld.
Without Lucia, our family wouldn’t be considered actual royalty. She came from a long line of mafioso straight from Sicily, and Romeo marrying her was never out of the question. Holding a massive ceremony, though? Part of it was for show. The other part, however, was the mysterious part of it all. Romeo actually seemed overjoyed at the idea of marrying her properly—something I thought I’d never see.
