THE MAFIA DON'S PLAYTHING

Chapter 002: The kidnapping

My sister was dragged to the vehicle, her white dress tearing at the hem as masked hands pushed her inside.

The material of her dress was caught on the doorframe before they closed the door.

I wanted to scream at them to not touch my sister that way, but now I was powerless.

I didn't stop running, and I was close, ten feet and then five.

“Luca!” She screamed again sounding very desperate, she was calling for me, not her pathetic husband or coward if a father.

I was close to the car but a fist smaller into my jaw sent me to the ground, the impact shook me to the core as I tested blood.

I stood up and started running again to save my sister but another blow landed in my stomach making me collapse to my knees.

The SUV's drove out as their tires were smoking and just like that Sofia was gone.

People looked at what was happening with shock and some were recording the wreckage like it was some damn movie.

I was beyond annoyed with all the guns they had no one even tried to same my sister.

My chest was heaving with hot uncontrollable rage.

“Luca!” My father’s weak ass voice called pulling me back from the edge of madness.

He was kneeling beside Matteo, who’s groaning, clutching his shoulder where blood was seeping through his fingers, staining his pristine suit.

My father's face is pale, his hands trembling as he presses a handkerchief to Matteo’s wound, but his eyes showed fear of the Vitalis and not concern over what happened to his only daughter.

He looked like he knew where she went

I staggered to my feet as my vision was getting blurry and wiped blood from my chin with the back of my hand.

“Where the f**k is she?” I snarled, grabbing my father's collar, yanking him up until his feet scraped the pavement.

While I always talked about my father behind him, I never got once challenged him but today, my sister's life was at stake.

“Who took her?” I repeated sounding angrier this time.

“The De Lucas,” he whispered, his voice barely audible, like saying their name will summon them back from the shadows.

I looked at him with confusion wondering why the familia De Luca’s in Italy who normally minded their business took my sister.

“Matteo… he killed their top bodyguard last week. This is their retaliation.” His eyes darted to the wounded groom, then back to me, pleading for understanding that I can’t give.

I shove him away feeling very disgusted.

“And you let them take her? On her wedding day?” My voice cracked showing the kid I am trying not to be, the one who still cries when the nightmares get too loud.

She was all I have left, and now she’s gone because of Matteo’s stupidity and My father's spinelessness.

I turned toward the smoking tire tracks, the last trace of the SUVs, and started running as my mind was screaming to get to her, to chase them down, to rip her out of their hands.

The car’s tail lights are fading, a red blur against the brick buildings, and I was close enough to see the license plate and maybe get them when my father's hand clamps onto my arm, yanking me back.

“Let us go!” He said.

I shouted, twisting against his grip, but he held me firmly. “I am getting her back!”

“It is no use, Luca,” he said like the true coward that he is. “You are just a kid. Stop acting like a hero and think. They are gone.”

“A kid?” I spat out, finally breaking free and I shoved him hard enough to make him stumble. “You are the coward here, hiding behind your ‘yes, boss’ bullshit while they take my sister!”

I see the look of shame in his eyes before he looks away and slumps his shoulder but I didn't care.

I turn back to the street, ready to run again, to flag down a cab, to do anything, but Marco grabs me again, his voice rising.

“You will get yourself killed, you stupid boy! This is mafia business—leave it to the Vitales!”

I turned to look at the so-called Vitale's and Matteo was sitting against a lamppost, his face pale, blood dripping onto the pavement, pooling around his polished shoes.

I walked over to him and grabbed him, “You,” I growled in a low voice.

“This is your fault, isn't it? You killed their guy, and now they have got !” He didn't replied, he just looked guilty. “I… I didn’t think they would come for her. It was a mistake—a job gone wrong. I am sorry, Luca.”

Even though his voice was weak, there was still a hint of smugness beneath it, like he still thinks he was untouchable.

“Sorry?” I roared out and my fist connected with his face. I didn't even feel satisfied when his nose cracked and blood splattering his chin, and he cried out, slumping back.

I wanted to hit him again, to pound that smirk into the ground, to make him feel every ounce of my pain, but my father's

arms wrapped around me from behind, pinning my arms to my sides.

“Enough!” He shouted. “You will kill him, and then what? They will come for you next!”

I didn't know my father was this strong, but maybe his desperation was giving him strength.

“Let me go, you spineless bastard!” I snarled and kicked Matteo's chin.

“What are we gonna do to get her back?” I demanded.

I needed an answer, a plan, something to hold onto. Matteo looked up at me, his face showing his resignation, and I knew the bastard wasn't going to eat anything.

“There is nothing we can do,” he said. “She is at the mercy of the Don. They will take her to Italy—Naples, probably. The De Luca Don, Alessandro… he is ruthless. They say he once flayed a man alive for disrespecting his family, left the body hanging in the square as a warning. He rules with an iron fist, no mercy, no weakness. If he has her, she is lost to us unless he decides otherwise.”

My blood runs cold, the words sinking into me like ice.

Alessandro De Luca, a name whispered in fear, his shadow looms over the mafia world.

I have heard the stories, the ones my father tried to shield me from, tales of a man who took the De Luca throne at twenty-three after his father’s assassination, who’s held it with blood and terror for fifteen years.

They say his gray eyes see through you, that his hands are stained with the lives of rivals, that he once ordered a traitor’s family burned alive in their home to send a message.

Ruthless doesn’t begin to cover it, he is a monster, a king who crushes anyone who dares cross him. And now he has Sofia.

The thought of her in his hands, at his mercy, makes my vision blur with rage and fear.

“You bastard,” I hissed at Matteo, yanking free of my father's grip.

“This is on you. If she gets hurt, I will come back and finish what I started.” I turn away, my mind racing, trying to formulate a plan.

I am not waiting for the Vitales, not trusting my father's cowardice or Matteo’s lies.

Sofia needs me, and I will burn Naples to the ground if I have to.