Chapter Fifty Five

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Luca

I gripped the phone in my hand as if my life depended on it, and it kind of did. If I could keep him on the phone long enough, Marco could have a trace. Listening to her screams and not being able to help was bone chilling, but if it brought me closer to finding her, I would do just about anything.

"I know it must be tough, Luca." I could almost hear the sick grin on Silvano's face as he spoke. "Imagining Charlotte's last moments, thinking about how much she must be suffering. Not knowing if you'll ever find her body. I can't imagine what you're going through."

I sucked in a sharp breath. Focus on the anger,Luca.

"Silvano, I swear to God I am going to find you and rip you to fucking shreds for what you're doing to her." I hissed, trying to drowned out the screams I was hearing in the background. My hands were trembling as I clenched my jaw. This was breaking me, like my heart was physically being ripped out of my chest.

She must be so terrified, crying out for me and wondering why the hell I wasn't there yet.

"How does it feel to be on the losing end for once?" He chuckled, amused with himself. My threats had no effect on him now; he was beyond any kind of rational thinking.

Marco gave me the thumbs up that he'd been able to get a trace, and that was all I needed.

"I'm coming for you, Silvano, and you better pray to God that she's alive when I get there." I growled, slamming the phone down on the table.

Just a little longer, Charlotte. I'm on my way, baby.

Charlotte

When I opened my eyes again, I couldn't see anything out of my right eye. It was nearly swollen shut, matted with blood and absolutely throbbing. I was still tied to the chair, and a piece of duct tape slapped across my mouth.

Silvano was sitting in a chair in front of me, my blood splattering his shirt and a disgusting grin on his face. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a knife and flipping it open. I flinched when he made a move toward me, but he held a hand up as if he was trying to calm me down.

"I'm going to take the tape off, but if you scream, I will slit your throat." He warned. "Do you understand?"

I nodded weakly. I wasn't even sure I had the strength to scream at this point.

He took the tape off and then reached for a water bottle, unscrewing the lid. He held the bottle to my lips. "Open." I hesitated, wondering if it might be poisoned. Silvano narrowed his eyes at me, grabbing my cheeks and squeezing until my mouth opened.

"Drink." He poured the liquid into my mouth slowly.

Cool water felt like heaven on my dry and cracked throat. At this point, I didn't care if it was poisoned. I was just so thirsty.

"Thank you." I whispered. Silvano nodded and sat back down across from me.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, staring back at him. Until this moment, all he had been was harsh.

Silvano chuckled, eyeing me carefully. "Why am I giving you water, or why did I kidnap you?"

"Both." He flashed a toothy grin at me, exposing his crooked teeth.

"I gave you water because I need you alive for a bit longer." He spat. "The answer to your other question is a little more complicated." He leaned back in his chair and got comfortable, as if he was about to tell a bedtime story.

He looked lost in his thoughts, trying to figure out where to start. "Several years ago, your father framed made for your death. I was practically exiled from the entire community. No one would work with me. All my clients dropped off the face of the earth. His story was so airtight that not even my wife believed me. She didn't believe in divorce though, so she killed herself to get away from me."

He paused for a moment.

"And then, he didn't even have the decency to face me like a man. Crucified me in the public and then sent his underboss to ease things over, swearing up-and-down he had no other choice than to protect you and your mother. Your father emerged completely unscathed and went back to business as usual while I was completely crippled, losing absolutely everything. And then I find out not only are you alive and well, but you're in New York and you're dating Luca Catalano. Married now, aren't you?"

I nodded, my heart sinking.

"So I dropped by your gallery one afternoon, and sure enough, there you were. I made you think I was an art collector and was there for your work so I could get close to you while I figured out what to do. Although, you are vastly talented Charlotte. I love every piece I got from your collection. Still own them to this day."

I pressed my lips together, a pit forming in my stomach. God, I was so stupid. He'd been around for months as Todd Emerson and I had no clue who he truly was.

"The short answer to your question is that it's somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. I was blamed for your death a long time ago, and now it's just coming to fruition."

"This is about my father..." I said as more of a statement than a question.

"Of course it is." He chuckled. "Although tormenting Luca like this is an unexpected bonus. He's losing his mind without you. It's rather sad, actually. He was such a strong leader when he first started, then you came along and it turns out he's no better than the rest of us."

My heart broke for Luca. My poor husband. I couldn't imagine what he was going through, knowing he would blame himself for this. Espcially after our fight, and leaving me there alone. Of course, this wasn't on him, but he'd never see it that way. He'd never forgive himself and the guilt would eat him alive. I wondered what he told Layla when I didn't come home last night. Would he know how to comfort her? To rub her back until she fell asleep? Did he even know where all of her things were?

"You're wrong about that." I clenched my jaw.

"About what exactly?" Silvano was intrigued.

"Luca is ten times the man that any of you are. He's an incredible leader and an even better person." A tear trickled out of my eye, running all the way down my cheek.

Silvano studied me for a second before responding. "You may be right about him being a better person, Charlotte, but that will be his downfall as a mafia leader. He simply cares too much. And he's got too many weaknesses. You being one of them."

He stood up, pacing in front of me. "But Luca is of no interest to me. I'm after your father."

"I wouldn't hold your breath on that. I don't think he cares enough about me to even know I'm missing."

Silvano gave me a strange look. "Oh, he knows alright, and he definitely cares. Interesting, isn't it, that your husband is paying your father off to stay away from you?" He paused, gauging my reaction. He had to be making that up. There was no way Luca would do that. "I'm guessing you didn't know he was doing that. Maybe he isn't quite as good of a person as you think, huh?"

"You don't know what you're talking about." I knew he was just trying to get under my skin and I wasn't going to let him.

"Your naivety is such an adorable quality. But so impractical." Silvano rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I have no intentions of spoiling your God-like illusion of your husband. Your last memories of him should be good, and I'm not sinister enough to take those away."

"You're not going to get away with this, you know." I glared. "He's going to come save me, and I'd really hate to be you when he does."

"Oh, I'm counting on him coming. Looking forward to it, actually." He laughed sharply. "I just haven't decided yet if I'm going to kill you first and make him watch, or kill him and make you watch. I see pros and cons to both, really."

He bent down and picked up the duct tape from the dirty ground. "I think that's enough chitchat for one morning." He slammed it back over my mouth and I couldn't help but cry. "Oh, don't cry darling. Once Luca tracks my phone call, I give it two hours before he's here. And then the real fun can begin."

Luca

"Please tell me you were able to get something." My voice broke with emotion.

Marco nodded quickly. "His signal is bouncing off of five different towers." He laid out a giant map on the kitchen counter and circled five locations. "Based on his associates here, we can eliminate these two." He exed through the two farthest east. "My guess is he's holding her here. It's in an industrial area, lots of vacant warehouses and enough noise to drown out..." He met my eyes, trailing off.

"What about this one?" Angelo asked, pointing to a second location. "It looks like it's in the middle of the woods. Why would he take the chance of holding her in an industrial center where they could be spotted when they could be out there?"

"It's a possibility." Marco nodded. "But the woods aren't Silvano's normal MO. Gabe's guys can check it out, but I think we should go here. Silvano has an affinity for the machinery in warehouses..." I winced at the thought. "Look, he knows this is going to end in a showdown, so he's going to go where he's comfortable. Anything he can do to have the upper hand. I really feel like this is it."

"Luca, what do you think?" Angelo asked, looking torn. What Marco said made sense, but if we were wrong, it could cost Charlotte her life. None of them wanted that on their shoulders, and the choice had to be mine. And I needed to do it with the steadfast mind of a Don, not as an emotional husband.

I pointed my gun at the warehouse district. "Let's go get her, boys."



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