The lost mafia daughter

Chapter ②

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AVERY'S POV

"Josephine? Is that you?" A smooth female voice asks

"Are you Cora?"

"Who are you and how did you get my number?" She asks, lots of mefiance in her voice.

"I'm Avery Martin. I'm 16 and my mom is Josephine. She didn't come home last night and didn't tell me. She was supposed to get ice cream around the corner and never came back. Help me please."

"Oh my. Where are you? Send me your address, I'll be there as soon as I can"

I give her our current address.

"Please hurry." I begged her.

"Don't worry honey. I'll be there before the end of the day. I'm leaving right now."

"Thank you"

We hung up. This is totally not what I was imagining my end of summer to look like. Damn. Maybe I should take a nap before she arrives, I feel like I'll need all the energy I can get for the next few days.

CORA'S POV

"No, we should-" I was cut off by my phone. Not my usual phone. The one only Josephine knows the number of.

I start to look through my bag. Damn, where is it? It must really be important.   Josephine last called me 16 years ago, almost 17, when she explained why she couldn't come home.

I finally take a hold to it and excuse myself from that boring meeting.

"Josephine? Is that you?" I ask. I need to be absolutly sure of the caller's identity. It could be a stupid kid who's prank calling.

"Are you Cora?" A young voice ask. A teenager's voice. Definitely not Jo's.

"Who are you and how did you get my number?" I ask, with mefiance. At this point, I'm pretty sure it's a prank call.

"My name is Avery Martin. I'm 16 and Josephine's my mom. She didn't come home last night and didn't tell me. She was supposed to get ice cream around the corner and never came back. Help me please." Jo had another kid? And she's missing?

"Oh my. Where are you? Send me your address, I'll be there as soon as I can"

I note her address

"Please hurry." Her voice was full of fear and concern

"Don't worry honey. I'll be there before the end of the day. I'm leaving right now."

"Thank you"

I hung up.

I guess it's time for a little trip. I call the airport to prepare the jet.

As I'm about to go into the car to go to the airport, my husband, Richard, intercepts me.

"Are you going on a trip honey?"

"Only a short one for business. Don't worry about it. I'll be back soon. Probably by tomorrow" And I'm off to the airport. Is Avery my niece or my goddaughter?

AVERY'S POV

I hear a knock on the door. I go to open and I see a nice looking woman.

"Are you Cora?"

"Yes I am. Don't worry. Tell me everything from the beginning."

"Well, it all started when..."

*time skip*

"And I called you."

"Poor child. I think the safest thing to do would be to come back to Italy with me. We need to explain everything to your father. He'll probably be shocked and won't believe you, but you look so much like him and your mother."

"You mean, I'll meet my father and brothers?"

"Exactly. Do you feel ready?"

"I don't know if I'll ever be ready" I sigh "Yesterday, I was a normal teenager with her single mother as a best friend. Now, I'm a teenager hidden Italian family, a missing mother and probably a couple bad guys after me. How can someone be ready for this? I just hope they'll help me find my mom" I confessed.

"Go pack, we have a flight to take. Well, private jet, but it's almost the same thing."

"Thank you Cora, can you keep my mother's letter safe for me? I'm so distracted that I could unknowingly use it as a tissue."

She laughed.

"No problem, Avery. Now, go pack!"

*time skip*

"Damn. And you confuse that with a regular plane?"

"I guess I do. Anyway, we need to discuss how we're gonna tell your father about your existence."

"I know Cora. How is he like?"

"You can call me auntie if you feel comfortable enough. And before your mom went into hiding, he was happy almost all the time. Now, he works a lot and is always angry. He still looks for your mom, just not as much as before. I think he lost hope a bit"

"Did he love my mom?"

"More than anything, maybe even your brothers"

"How old are they?"

"Your brothers?" I nod "The youngest, Leonardo, is 17. The middle one, Stephan, is 18. And the oldest, Elijah, is 21."

"Do you think they'll like me?"

"Of course. Who couldn't? You're nice, smart, beautiful and probably so many other qualities. You're amazing sweetie. They'll love you. I already do and I met you a few hours ago, plus, they always wanted a little sister."

I laughed.

"Thank you auntie"

"You're welcome. Now go to sleep."

"Night auntie"

"Goodnight Avery. Sweet dreams."