Mafia Heir

Chapter 21

Luca

When I walked into the kitchen, I was rubbing my chin, still trying to figure out why I agreed to go to Jamestown with Charlotte. I hadn't even come to terms with everything I learned yesterday, and now I was going to dive head first into another nightmare.

Elena.

She was my mother's best friend--like a second mom to me herself-- and I still had such vivid memories of her. Elena liked to sing, and her voice often filled the halls of Antonio's estate whether she was playing with then kids or cooking in the kitchen. She was strikingly beautiful-- hair as dark as a raven and a pair of piercing green eyes that could be both endearing and sharp depending on her mood. She was as generous and she was warm, but it was her strength that really made her so lovable. Elena was an integral pillar of our family, and when she was gone, the loss was felt more deeply than you could ever imagine. She was what kept Antonio steady, and with her gone, he was a madman with nothing to lose at the helm of one of the world's strongest criminal syndicates.

I was torn between wanting to see her, and being terrified to see her. It had been so long, but what would she have to say about all of this? I could only imagine she wouldn't be thrilled. For years, she protected Charlotte from her father's life, and here she was right back in the middle of it, all thanks to me. Would she be angry with me? Would she echo Antonio's request and ask me to stop seeing her daughter? Would she insist on telling Charlotte?

The second I walked in that house, Elena would know who I was, and it wouldn't be up to me on how to proceed anymore.

"So what do we even call her now?" Angelo took a gulp of his coffee. Carlo, Marco and Angelo sat at the table as Renee, my housekeeper, slid heaping plates of food in front of them.

"I guess Charlotte. Antonio made it very clear that he doesn't want her to know anything about who she really is." Carlo shrugged.

"Well, fuck Antonio. I think that is complete bullshit." Angelo was having none of that, and honestly I couldn't blame him. I was in an impossible place, and I had a feeling when it all came to a head, I would be the scapegoat.

"Enough." I ordered. All three of them snapped their necks towards me having not realized I came in. "No matter how pissed off we are about this, Antonio is still in charge and we have to respect his wishes." I sat down next to Angelo at the island. Renee handed me a plate, but I didn't have much of an appetite thinking about what was coming with afternoon.

"He's in charge in Italy, Luca. This is your group, you make the decisions for us." Carlo reminded me. As if I could ever forget.

He was right in some sense. I was in charge of our men here in America, and eventually all over the world when Antonio was gone. But until that happened, I still felt obligated to honor his wishes, especially ones he had been so explicit about.

"And I'm making the decision that we are going to do what he wants. At least for the time being. Nothing has changed. She's still under our protection, and there are still a lot of dangerous people after her. She is not to know any of this, am I clear?" I asked. It was more of a rhetorical question. I knew they would follow my orders no matter how strongly they opposed. We trusted each other without limit, it was the only way to survive in this life.

"Crystal." Angelo's tone was annoyed and he wouldn't meet my eyes. It was strange to see him so upset. He was usually the calm to my chaos, but he wasn't taking it well. It was emotional for all of us, which meant it was even more important for us to keep barreling through, to keep our eyes on the end goal here, and that was keeping Charlotte safe.

"How is the plan for the drop coming?" I asked, reminding him that there were other things we needed to be focused on right now. We were close to nabbing a contract with a new gang out of LA.