The Don's Daughter: Love & Betrayal

Prologue

             Anyone who lives in Italy knows that the name Lombardi is meant to make you do anything. Be it give your last piece of bread away, your store, car, shoes, anything. If someone mentions Lombardi, you let go and forget you had anything in the beginning. Likewise, no one would dare use that name just to get something they want. If the orders aren't from the big boss, then you are a dead man walking. That is how feared that man is.

So when he walked into an orphanage one afternoon and said he wanted to adopt Carina, no one objected. The sisters drew up the adoption papers, signed and sealed them. But since Lombardi didn't like leaving loose ends, he grabbed them and burnt them, waited until they were nothing but ash then walked out. With little Carina following meekly behind him. Having been left outside the orphanage with only a paper that read Carina, she had no family or relatives. Which made her the perfect candidate for the Don.

"Are you my new father now?" she asked after they'd settled in the car.

"No, but you can call me Padre. You are going to be my daughter's friend. She told me she was lonely and that she needed a friend"

"I also want a friend. Where is your daughter? Can I meet her?"

"Soon" not knowing who that man was, Carina had talked all the way to the house. She told him how excited she was to have a new family and especially a friend. Apparently at the orphanage, the other kids didn't like her. They used to pull her hair whenever the sisters weren't watching. So she was very happy to leave that awful place.

At the house, she'd been shown to her room which was bigger and pretty. Everything there was pink. The toys were lovely, she had a closet full of beautiful dresses and Carina couldn't be more happy. She thought she was finally going to live like a princess. But then the Don's daughter arrived. Marianna was her name and she was meaner than all of the kids at the orphanage combined. She didn't like how pretty Carina was so she shaved her hair. If she thought Carina's clothes were prettier than hers, she would take the scissors to them. Her food didn't taste the way she wanted so she dumped it on the other girl's head.

Soon enough Carina wished she could go back to the orphanage. The other kids were mean but they at least didn't cut her hair or throw food on her. Confidently, she had walked to the Don's office and told him to take her back. She hadn't thought he would refuse "Stop bothering me and go keep my daughter company little girl" that was the answer she'd received.

Determined to leave, Carina had tried to run away. Big mistake. When the Don found out, he locked her in the basement for three days without food or water. Her eight year old mind couldn't understand why they didn't want to let her go. Surely the sisters would take her back. Wouldn't they? Marianna was mean and she didn't want to be friends with her again. The basement was dark and really cold. Carina sat in a corner shivering for three days.

Finally when they came to get her, she pretended to be happy even though she was angry. While she was in that cold dark place, she had made up her mind to leave that place. This time she wasn't going to try and walk out the front door. She would sneak out at night. After being fed and given a stern warning to stay put, everyone had gone to bed. Carina waited till she was sure they were all asleep then escaped,  not knowing Marianna was following her. Both of them didn't get far. The Don's men caught them, threw them in the basement and left them there.

This time Carina couldn't just sit in a corner until they decided to get her. Marianna did all sorts of things, including taking away her clothes because she was cold. Little Carina who didn't know what hate was, began to despise Marianna with all her heart. At one point she tried fighting back but that only landed her a few lashes from the Don's men. She didn't known they had cameras in the basement or that she wasn't supposed to touch the Don's daughter.

Weeks full of torture passed until Carina got used to it. Whatever Marianna did stopped affecting her which only made the evil witch to act more irrationally. Seeking to get her to he ultimate punishment, Marianna had gone to her father's office, the one place they were forbidden to go, and trashed it. She ripped important papers, poured water everywhere then went back to her room to wait for her father. When the Don came back, he didn't want to know who did it. He threw them both in the basement only this time it wasn't just the two of them. There was a man lying there, in a pool of his own blood. His empty eyes staring at them would hunt this two children forever.

But Carina who had gotten stronger murmured "I'm going to make you pay for everything Marianna. You will pay for everything you and your father have done to me"

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I know it's short but it's the prologue. Come back tomorrow for chapter one.

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