Tit for Tat

CHAPTER 1 “If there is no bride for Matteo Russo tomorrow, we are finished.” Dad didn't say it. He shouted it. He stood in the middle of the living room, his shirt soaked with sweat. His jaw shook from how tightly he was clenching it. His eyes were red. He hadn't slept since Isabella disappeared two days ago. He threw his phone onto the table. The screen was still on. More calls to Isabella. No answer. Mom flinched on the couch. She had been crying nonstop. “Bob... our daughter has been missing for two days, and that's all you can think about? That marriage?” Her voice was tired and broken. Dad turned toward her. “We owe him! Do you think he will forget? We owe him more money than we could ever pay. He was supposed to clear everything if he married Isabella. Now she's gone. The deal is off. Do you know what that means?” His hands were shaking. He had to clasp them together to stop them. “That man is not someone you play with. If there is no bride tomorrow, he will come for us. All of us.” Mom started crying harder. “You did this. You made a deal with that monster. You took his money.” Dad's face changed. The anger disappeared, leaving only fear. It started ten years ago. Mom was sick with cancer. We had no money. We were already struggling, and the hospital bills kept growing. Dad was working as Matteo Russo's personal driver then. He drove him everywhere. One night, Dad knelt in front of Matteo and begged him for help. Matteo gave him the money. A lot of money. Enough to clear Mom's hospital bills and give our family a chance to stand on our feet again. But nothing was free with a man like Matteo Russo. The deal was simple. When his daughters grew up, one of them would marry him. He chose Isabella. “He helped us when no one else did,” Dad said quietly. “I signed the agreement. He cleared the hospital debt. He gave us money to start again. Now we have to keep our promise.” “She didn't run,” Mom whispered. She wiped her face with both hands. “Isabella would never leave like that without telling me. Something is wrong with my daughter.” I couldn't listen anymore. My chest tightened. “Enough!” Both of them looked at me. I stood up. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. “My sister is missing, and you're standing here shouting at each other?” I took a breath. “Fine. I will do it.” Dad stared at me. “Do what?” “I will marry him.” The room went completely silent. Dad looked at me as if he hadn't heard correctly. “What?” Mom stopped crying. I forced myself to continue. I looked at the floor so they wouldn't see my eyes. If they looked closely, they would see that I was lying. “If that's what will keep this family safe, I will do it. Isabella... she's probably just scared. Anyone would be scared to marry Matteo Russo.” I swallowed. “She'll come back when she's ready.” My voice trembled. “She loves us. She'll come home.” My voice broke on the last word. Dad crossed the room quickly and pulled me into his arms. I felt his heart pounding against his chest. “God bless you, my child,” he whispered into my hair. His voice was broken. “God bless you.” I closed my eyes and let him hold me. Inside my head, I repeated the lie I'd been telling myself for two days. Matteo Russo doesn't care if it's Isabella or me. He just needs a bride. One of us will do. After a few seconds, I pulled away. “I need to go for a walk,” I said quietly. “I just need some air.” Dad nodded. He returned to Mom and sat beside her, speaking softly now as he tried to calm her. All they knew was that Isabella had left for work two days ago and never came home. I walked down the hallway with my head lowered. I didn't look back. I kept walking until they couldn't see me anymore. Then I stopped. I wiped my tears with my fists. My hand went to my stomach. I could cry with my mother. I could lie to my father. I could keep telling them Isabella was safe and would come home soon. But I knew the truth. And it was killing me. Not because I felt guilty. Because I had planned it. Isabella wasn't missing. I had made her disappear. Two nights ago, she was crying in our room. She told me she couldn't marry Matteo. She said she loved her college boyfriend and wanted to run away with him to California, but she was terrified Dad would be killed. That's when I saw my chance. “You should go,” I had told her. “I'll cover for you. Dad will be angry for a few days, but Matteo will forget you once you're gone. He might come after us, but maybe he won't if we tell him you were kidnapped.” I had looked directly into her frightened eyes. “Go, Isa. Be happy.” I even used her own dreams against her. I knew she kept her boyfriend's old bus tickets in her drawer. She had kept them for years, like they were proof that their future together was real. I brought them out. “Look,” I told her. “It's a sign. This is your destiny.” She hugged me and cried. She told me I was the best sister in the world. She had no idea I was arranging everything for myself. I'd spent my whole life being the second one. Isabella was beautiful. Isabella was responsible. Isabella was always the one people noticed. I was just Elena. Matteo Russo was supposed to choose Isabella. He had seen her once at Mom's birthday and said, “I want her.” Not me. I was tired of being the one nobody chose. So I gave Isabella all the money I'd saved for nursing school. Three thousand dollars. I bought her a bus ticket for four in the morning and drove her to the station myself. I watched her board the bus to Portland, where our aunt lived. Before she left, I made her promise not to call anyone for a month so Dad wouldn't find her. She thought she was escaping a marriage. I was escaping being nobody. And tomorrow... Tomorrow, I would take her place at the altar. I would become Mrs. Matteo Russo. Diamonds. A mansion. Power. No more hospital bills. No more struggling to survive. No more watching Isabella have everything while I had nothing. The only problem was the baby inside me. A baby that wasn't his. Marcus had left me on the side of the road and told me to get rid of it. But I couldn't. A Russo baby could never simply be thrown away. If Matteo believed the child was his, I would have everything.