Charlotte

If a person wanted to get some rest, the hospital was the very last place to it. The constant beeping of machines, nurses and doctors coming in every few minutes to poke and prod at you. I was already feeling better, and I was positive a good nap would do wonders for me. Twenty minutes after my mom and Luca left, I was right about to fall asleep when my door opened again. 

I groaned, rolling over to see what they wanted now. Instead of finding a doctor or a nurse, or even my mom or Luca, there was a man I didn't recognize. I immediately panicked. It was dark, for a moment I thought it was Silvano. Was he back to finish he job? Was he finally going to kill me? 

"What do you want?" My voice broke. 

"Hello Charlotte." The man stepped into the light. "It's been a long time." 

His face was familiar, but it took me a few minutes to place him. It wasn't Silvano, but I knew him. Where did I know him from?

When the realization hit me, a wave of nausea washed over me. That was... No, it couldn't be. There was no way. 

Two men entered the room behind him, and there was no denying it anymore. 

My father. My brothers. 

Was I dying? Was this some kind of weird hallucination? They were dead. 

"You...I..." Words were completely failing me as I stared back at them. 

"It's good to see you again." My father said, walking to the side of my bed and sitting down in the empty chair. 

"Who...who are you?" I said in shock.  

"You know who we are, Char." One of my brothers said. It had been so long I couldn't even tell them apart anymore. Was it Seth? Was he holding back tears? "We had to make you think we were dead to keep you safe." 

My mind was spinning so fast that I felt dizzy. Tears pooled in my eyes. 

"We never wanted to." He continued. "But it was our only option, and if we didn't..."

"You were better off with your mother, Charlotte. We're only here now because things have gotten so volatile." My father said. "How are you feeling?" 

I blinked wildly at him. How was he just sitting here asking how I was doing after I hadn't seen him years? After abandoning my mother and I the way he did? After pretending he and my brothers were dead?

"I'm fine." 

"Good." He nodded. "We're going to get Silvano, Charlotte. I can promise you that."

"Silvano?" My eyes widened. "How do you even know..."

My dad let out a sharp laugh. "Luca hasn't told you shit, has he? Figures." He rolled his eyes. "Seth, why don't you give your sister and I a few minutes?"

Luca? How did he even know about him?

Seth looked at my father apprehensively, as if he was nervous to leave me alone, but eventually he left. 

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me." He started, folding his arms over his chest. 

"How do you know Luca?"

"Your boyfriend? He hasn't told you that either? Jesus, the kid has been keeping some serious secrets from you, my dear." His face twisted into a wicked grin. "Luca works for me, Charlotte. I'm his boss." 

My eyes widened. "You can't be serious. That means you're..."

"In the Mafia?" He asked. "Yes. And so are you. Well, you were until your mother decided we needed to get you out. That's what all this is about, you know. She wanted to take you away, and I let her. We decided the only way to make that happen was to fake your death. I framed Silvano for it, and that's why he is after you now." 

A heaviness settled into my chest and I could hardly breathe. All this time I thought Silvano's attacks were about something I did, but it was really my father. This was his fault, and he knew all along. And if Luca was his boss, that meant... I couldn't even finish that thought. 

"And Luca? The man you're so in love with?" He chuckled. "He's known for months. Since he came to see me. I told him everything, but apparently he didn't share that with you." 

Italy. I felt like I was going to throw up. Luca had known since his trip to Italy and he didn't tell me. He let me go on and on about my brothers and father dying in an accident, and said nothing. It was all starting to make sense. The way he acted that night he came back. How cold and distant he was to me. I still didn't want to believe it. How could he lie to me like that?

"You're lying." 

He looked at me like I was some silly child. "Charlotte, the way I understand it, I'm the only one telling you the truth." 

"Antonio? What the hell are you doing here?" 

Normally, my mom's voice would have felt like music to my ears, but considering what I was just told, it made me feel even worse. Facing a man I hardly knew that lied to me was one thing, but with my mom and with Luca, it cut deeper. 

Tears welled in my eyes as they both walked in. The look on Luca's face when he saw Antonio told me everything I needed to know. It was like a knife to my heart. 

"Hello Elena." My father stood up. "Luca." 

"What have you done?" My mom locked eyes with him.

"Are you out of your god damn mind?" Luca hissed. 

"Charlotte and I were just getting caught up. Seems the two of you have been keeping a hell of a lot of secrets from you." 

"Fuck you." Luca hissed. "You're the one who..."

"Get out." I glared. 

All three of them turned to look at me. 

"I want to be alone." 

"Baby, please listen..." Luca put his hand on my shoulder. His touch felt like of fire right now, and I couldn't get away fast enough. 

"Don't touch me." I clenched my jaw. "You knew about this?" 

"Charlotte, if I could have told you, I would have." He pleaded, a desperate look in his eyes. 

I looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. All I wanted from him was honesty, and I wasn't even worth that. 

"Honey..." My mom started. 

"I don't want to talk to you, either." I said. "I want to be alone." 

"Let's go outside." Antonio said. "Give Charlotte some time to process." 

My mom hesitated, but eventually all three of them left the room and I was left alone again. 

My head felt like someone had it in a vice, squeezing and squeezing and draining the life right out of me. Everything I knew was a lie. My mother. Luca. Hell, Josh probably even know. I felt betrayed in the very worst of ways, and all I could think about was getting away.