You're dead to me

Chapter one: Threat

I'm sitting on a large table, surrounded by only males. I chew on my bottom lip, as if there wasn't a threat in the room. Though with the years I got used to it.

Nothing in this world will give you respect, you have to earn it, fight for it and own it.

With crossed legs, I lean back. My black cocktail dress reveals enough to have attention glued on my legs and cleavage.

Men are so pathetic. So fucking transparent and not in control of their desires.

"Miss Matisse". I look up, bored.

I've been in this situation a lot of times before, but since I've been born in wealth and a name, I have to fight my way through it.

"It won't be happening again". I say lazily and look down at my hands.

"You have said that the last three times too". My father sits at the head of the table and stares back at me. I roll my eyes at him and smack my red painted lips together.

"Father, you said I need to kill my way to get respect and that's what I'm doing!". I see that I have reached his last nerve.

His hand lands flat on the wood and even I flinch at the sound. No one dares to speak up.

"I'm done with your games Caroline, I'm done with repeating myself over and over again. Don't you see that you are making me look like a fool?". I gulp my tongue down. It's not a good moment to try to ease the situation with light words.

"If this will continue on, than I won't ever have any respect anymore. They look at the Matisse and only see my daughter, who's ruling over me. I'm your damn father and if I order you to stop killing other people for our family's sake, than you have to follow my order, do you understand me?".

I press my lips into a thin line. I know that I've crossed a line, but I haven't thought that father would have such an outburst on me.

Not forgetting to mention, in front of the whole mafia.

Those are people who work for our family and are under my fathers spell, if he wanted to, they wouldn't even blink and kill me on the spot.

"Do you understand?". My father says again and I sigh.

"I understand". His brown eyes flicker and I know that this isn't over yet.

"It's been the third—how you call it—accident. You never think ahead, it only matters to you if it involves your ass". He's mad, like deadly mad.

My mother bursts into the room and fixes her gaze at me. She narrows her eyes together and looks at her husband. Her slender shoulders slump down. The reputation she has on her name is strong, yet so vulnerable.

"What did she do again?". She asks and I hate it, that I'm getting humiliated among thirty eye pares even more.

My father fists his hand and lowers his glare to my mother.

"She killed the victims cousin, stroked with his dead body into the room and forced him to cooperate. I have ordered her to do only one job and she messed up again!". He yells at me.

My mother widens her eyes.

"But why?". I open my mouth to answer her, but father interrupts me.

"Because she is so reckless, she wants to be her own boss and it looks like I'm not in the position to get her under my will anymore".

"Father, I never wanted to dismiss your order but—".

"Yet that's exactly what you have done, Coraline! It's hard enough that your mother couldn't bear me a son, but now I have to deal with a fool that is my heir".

My mother flinches by his insult.

"What do you mean?". I say and lean forward. I have to take it serious, otherwise, I won't be having any freedom.

"I agreed to an arranged marriage, to finally get you under control".

"What???". I shout furious.

"Enzo what?". My mother tries to get my fathers attention, with no success.

"Mr. De' Bardi has asked me several times now, if we would be available to put our allies together, by an arranged marriage between his oldest son and my youngest daughter. I turned the deal down for months now, even though you made me have a hard time believing in your obedience, I still didn't gave in, until now".

I push myself up and stare at my father blankly.

"De' Bardi?". Horror flows over me, pure horror.

"Why would you ever accept a deal from the De' Bardi's?". I spit their name out, trying to get that bitter taste off of my tongue.

My father inches forward and pins me on the wall with his eyes.

"Because you wouldn't obey me. I had to make up so much for your mistakes. I'm certainly tired of hiding it all behind our name. The only intentions that you have is murdering our kinds".

"That's untrue. I did everything you asked me to do and even more than that! Besides none of them were our kinds. I killed them not only, because the main subject would cooperate, but also, because they all had a black heart".

"Don't you get it? You try to defend your disobedience with some stupid self made story, to trick us into thinking it is justified".

He shoots me and my mother a dirty look and escapes the situation with a silly not to his men.

I shake my head and storm after my father.

"You cannot throw me out of this family and order me to marry our enemy".

We reach the staircase, that leads into the entrance hall. My voice halls through the room, loud enough, to break out chills on my skin.

"They are not our enemies, at least not anymore, when you are married Giovanni". My temper just gets heated on, with the name of the oldest son of the De' Bardi's.

"I won't ever marry Giovanni De'Bardi!". I shout and lift up my chin. "I certainly do have standards".

"You will marry him. And it will happen sooner than you think. Start packing your bags, you will completely move out of here by next week". I catch my breath.

He's making his threat real. There is no coming back anymore. He doesn't want me to wear his name, he is straight up telling me I'm unworthy of his title.

I bite back the tears and clutch the banister tight. My nails scrape the wood underneath them and splinter. After all what I've sacrificed to prove myself to him, he throws me out like I'm some kind of meat.

I don't care about the pain, actually it is pleasure. I love to feel it, it reminds me of what my victims are feeling right before I kill them.

"Get out of my eyes, I can't look at you right now".

I race up the stairs again, into my room on the third floor. The bitter taste hasn't even vanished completely, when I slide down to the floor.

...This is my story and the only explanation you need...