THE MAFIA DON'S PLAYTHING

Chapter 003: The reckoning

I had walked around town a couple of times till it got really dark till my legs started to ache, but I knew that his wasn't going to bring back my sister.

I didn't have a plan, but somehow I knew that I was going to go to Italy and get my sister back, with or without the Vitales.

I went back to our building hating how the stairwell smelt like cigarette smoke, this dump was the best my father could get us even after years of working for the freaking mafia.

Even the metal railing felt cold and sticky under my palm

Our apartment door creaked as I pushed it open, the familiar scent of burnt coffee and my father's cheap cologne hitting me like a punch.

The living room was a mess with empty beer cans scattered on the coffee table, a faded couch sagging under years of neglect, the TV blaring some late-night commercial I didn’t care about.

This place was a mess because Sofia wasn't here to make it better, it wasn't that I was saying a woman is meant to clean, I just met my sister's presence who always lightened up the room.

It was as if whenever she was around, I wore rose coloured glasses and now I saw everything lily the dump it is.

My father wasn’t home yet, probably still groveling to the Vitales, and I didn’t waste time. I headed straight for his bedroom.

He had hidden his stash somewhere, a secret hoard he thought I didn’t know about, cash he skimmed from Vitale jobs to keep us afloat when the “yes, boss” routine didn’t pay enough.

He had enough money to get us a better house, but my father was very frugal.

I started with the dresser, yanking drawers out, clothes spilling onto the floor, stained undershirts, a moth-eaten sweater, a faded photo of Mom I paused to stare at.

And I found nothing.

I moved to the mattress, flipping it but only found dust and a crumpled magazine.

I was already getting very frustrated until I remembered the loose floorboard under his bed, a trick I had learned years ago when I caught him counting bills late at night.

I dropped to my knees, prying it up with my fingers, and there it was: a metal box, rusted at the edges, but stuffed with cash.

I yanked it free, the lid popping open to reveal stacks of twenties, fifties, a few hundreds and a lot of thousand.

It was enough for a ticket and a start.

I stuffed the bills into my pockets, feeling a little bit betrayed that I had stolen my father's life savings, it was his safety net, and now it was mine.

But Sophie's life was much more.

My hands were still trembling as I pulled out the phone from my.pocket to call my friend Joey, a skinny kid from the old neighborhood who had gotten mixed up with some shady hackers.

I hadn’t told him about Sofia yet, but he would know something about the De Lucas.

The line rang twice before he picked up. “Luca? What the hell, man? It’s past midnight.”

“Sofia’s gone,” I said and I immediately sense that Joey was interested, he always had a little crush on Sofia. “De Lucas took her. I need info on their Don, Alessandro De Luca.

He paused and let out a low whistle. “s**t, Luca, you are in deep. Alessandro is a f*****g nightmare, ruthless doesn’t cover it—he’s a machine, no mercy, no weakness. You do not mess with him, man. Stay out of Italy.”

His words hit me hard, but this was my sister we were talking about, I couldn't stay here and do nothing.

“I can’t,” I said and then almost choked on my saliva. “She’s my sister. I.am going after her.”

“Luca, don’t be a dumbass!” Joey’s voice rose, sounding urgent now. “You have no contacts there or even here, no backup. He will eat you alive—literally, if the stories are true. Come to me instead, we will figure something out here.”

“No,” I snapped, cutting him off. Any second I wasted was Sofia getting closer to her death. “I am not waiting. I am bringing hell to the De Lucas, getting Sofia back, then bringing hell to the Vitales, Matteo especially—and that cowardly father of ours.”

Joey sighed because he knew me too well, if I had an idea, there was nothing that could take it out of my mind.

“I can't change your mind can I?” He asked rhetorically of course.

“No you can not.” I said in an annoyed monotone.

“Then how can I help?”

“Send me everything you have on Alessandro.” And with that, I ended the call.

***

The next morning, I was a man with a. Freaking purpose, my father wasn't still back maybe he feared I would stab him in his sleep.

Which was a very reasonable fear.

I grabbed a duffel bag from the closet, stuffing it with a spare shirt, a pair of jeans, and a photo of Mom, anything I could carry.

The cash bulged heavily in my pockets as I headed out, locking the door behind me.

I wasn't even old enough to drink but I was single handedly going to Italy to rescue my sister.

I feel badass.

I hailed another cab, the same dented yellow sedan pulling up, the driver giving me a nod like he had expected me.

“Airport,” I said and entered and my mind was racing.

The driver didn’t ask any questions, just started the engine, and I leaned back, the vinyl seat sticking to my sweat-soaked.

I didn’t know anyone in Italy, didn’t have a plan beyond getting there, but I would figure it out.

Because after all, Sofia had raised me, taught me to stand up when our father wouldn’t, held me through the nights I would wake up screaming after Mom’s death.

She wasn't much older than me but she stepped up, she would draw circles on my face, give up meals for me and tell me stories of knights saving princesses, and now I would be her knight, even if it meant facing a monster like Alessandro.

The airport terminal was chaotic, travelers hauling suitcases, announcements blaring in a dozen languages, the air thick with the smell of burnt coffee and jet fuel.

I approached the ticket counter. “One-way to Naples,” I said, my voice steady despite the war in my hands.

The clerk, a woman with tired eyes and a pinched mouth, hesitated before she took the money and handed me a boarding pass, her fingers brushing mine, and I snatched it, heading for security.

The plane was small, the seats cramped, the air stale with the scent of sweat and recycled oxygen. I took a window seat, my forehead pressed against the cold glass.

Alessandro De Luca was a man who would make Matteo look like a playground bully. I didn’t know how I would face him, didn’t know the layout of Naples or the De Luca compound, but I would learn.

And I would bring hell to them, tear their world apart to get Sofia back. And then I would move to the Vitales, especially Matteo, I would make him pay, break more than his face, leave him a ruin for what he jad done to her.

The plane lifted off and I closed my eyes, letting the pain in my jaw anchor me.

Naples awaited, a city of blood. I was walking into it with nothing but my fury and a stolen stack of cash.

I checked my phone to see a text from one hour ago.

Joey: Don’t do this, Luca. He.will kill you.

I ignored it, I wasn’t just going to rescue Sofia—I was going to bring hell to the De Lucas, the Vitales, a reckoning they would never forget.