The Don's Rebellion

CHAPTER 2. DAMSEL IN DISTRESS.

The club was still filled with loud music and the heavy smell of alcohol, which Carmen always found was enough to steady her nerves.

Five years later and she was still stuck in the same pattern, trying to run from the same demons.

Tonight was the most fun she’d had in a while and she was determined to enjoy it to the fullest. The man in front of her was heavenly, his short dark hair and brown eyes accentuated his physique. He looked powerful, yet oddly familiar.

Where had she seen him before?

Every time he shifted, her eyes landed on his muscles, and she could swear her insides gave a little tingle in anticipation. Her fingers wrapped around the crystal glass of her untouched drink, eyes locked onto his with an intensity that was both challenging and amusing.

They were now in one of the dimly lit private rooms, the humming of background music barely passing through the concrete walls.

“So, tell me.” He started, leaning forward so he could get a proper view of her in the darkness. “Do you make a habit of pretending to be men’s girlfriends, or was I just lucky tonight?”

Carmen smirked, looking away. “Only when they look desperate enough to need rescuing.”

His lips curved upward, though the amusement didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Desperate? That’s an interesting choice of words. Last I checked, I was handling the situation just fine.”

She let out a small laugh, setting her glass down with a soft clink. “Oh, sure. I could tell by the way you grabbed me and lied through your teeth. Nice acting by the way, you definitely had her fooled.” She said sarcastically.

This time, he let out a genuine laugh. “Fine, you win. You were the hero of the night and I was your damsel in distress. So, what do I call this valiant knight?”

She smiled softly. “Carmen.”

“Carmen?” He repeated.

She nodded, then decided to stir the conversation away from herself. She was never really comfortable with telling people her last name, mostly because she hated the fact that she was born into her family. “Who are you, damsel?”

He gave a funny look, before leaning backwards into in chair in defeat. “You really don’t know?”

“Should I?”

A smile formed on his lips. “I’m Dominic. Dominic Contini.”

As soon as she heard his last name, her body froze. Dominic Contini of the Crimson Camorra??? She screamed in her head. The biggest mafia family in the whole of New York and her family’s supposed rival. That Contini?

She almost hit her palm over her forehead. The name of the club was bloody ‘CAMORRA CLUB”, how could she have been so stupid? Her eyes traveled to the door and she decided she had to get away from there as soon as possible.

“Does my name ring a bell?” Dominic asked, his voice slicing through the silence, startling her.

She gave him another look and now understood why she had thought he was familiar. He was on the cover page of almost every magazine in New York, how much slower could she possibly get. He was still staring at her, waiting for an answer.

I should say something, she thought.

She decided to play it cool. “Contini does ring a bell, actually. You made the cut for top ten eligible bachelors—”

“Top ten? I’m number one.” He corrected quickly.

Of course, she already knew this.

“Oh,” she said casually. “That is impressive, I guess.”

“You guess?” He almost sounded annoyed now. “Tell me, Carmen, what exactly do you do when you’re not saving men from their admirers?”

She shrugged, finally taking a sip of her drink. “I work. I live my life. You know, normal things.”

I kill people and try to stall my wedding to some jerk, she thought.

Dominic’s smirk turned into something sharper. “Work, huh? Let me guess…..some cushy family business where you wear expensive heels and make decisions from behind a desk you don’t really need to be at?”

Carmen’s fingers tightened slightly around her glass, but she kept her expression chill. “Wow. That’s quite the assumption. Do you always make snap judgments about people, or am I just special?”

“You seem like the type,” he said simply, swirling his whiskey. Then, in a swift motion, he sat up straight and tipped his glass towards her legs. “I noticed you’re wearing a limited edition dollizer heel. Only three exist in the world, and don’t even try to say it’s a knockoff, because my friend Roy just gifted his girlfriend one. Plus, I know an original when I see it.”

“I’m not denying the fact that I’m wearing a limited edition shoe, but I do have a question for you though.” She continued when he nodded. “How do you know it wasn’t a gift? You know, like your friend Roy did with his girlfriend.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?” He asked, watching her attentively.

Carmen paused for a bit, wondering if she should lie, but decided against it at the last minute. “I don’t.”

He scoffed, the look of victory plastered all over his face. “Well, a mere friend wouldn’t buy that for you. It’s way too expensive.”

“Your friend could afford it.”

“My friend is part of my family, of course he can afford it.” Dominic snapped, then exhaled and spoke softer. “Besides, you look like someone who’s never worked a day in her life. Never had to struggle for anything.”

Carmen’s blood boiled. “No offense, but you’re the last person who should judge me.”

Dominic c****d his head, but amusement danced at the corner of his lips. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She leaned forward slightly, voice dropping just enough to sound hurtful. “You walk around like the world owes you something. Like you can do whatever you want just because you’re powerful enough to get away with it.”

His expression didn’t change, but she caught the way his fingers flexed slightly against his glass before he took another sip. “And what if I can?” he mused. “What if power is the only thing that keeps people like me ahead?”

Carmen shook her head, pushing back against the spark of irritation that threatened to rise. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? You think just because you can, you should.”

Dominic chuckled, the sound low and condescending. “And you think the world is some fairytale where people get what they deserve through hard work and kindness?”

Carmen’s jaw clenched. “I think people like you don’t realize that not everyone is handed power on a silver platter.”

His smile was almost lazy. “And people like you don’t realize that power isn’t handed out at all. It’s taken.”

There was tension in the air as they both refused to look away. Refused to be the first to crack. This was not the way Carmen had expected the conversation to go, it was just supposed to be a polite drink between two strangers.

And now, it had turned into something far more antagonizing.

Finally, Carmen sighed, draining the last of her drink before standing. “Well, this has been enlightening, Dominic Contini. Thanks for the drink.”

He watched her with an unreadable look in his eyes as she grabbed her clutch, tilting his head slightly. “No ‘see you around’?”

She gave him a sharp smile. “I think it’s better if we don’t ever cross paths again.”

And with that, she walked away, leaving him seating there with an almost amused expression on his face. One that annoyed Carmen way more than it should.

Who did he think he was? Telling her she’s never had to struggle for anything. He didn’t know her, he didn’t know what she had been through.

Ever since her father’s men caught up with her five years ago, her life had gotten relatively worse. Worse than she ever thought would be possible. First, he had murdered her dog Coco, and made her watch. Then, he locked her in a cell for almost a week.

The only thing that kept her from going insane was her brother’s love.

Eventually, her father had succeeded in breaking her spirit. To the point that she stopped believing she could ever really be free of him and the life he was forcing her to live.

Carmen got to the Ferrari estate and blended into the shadows, her tipsy state making it harder to sneak back in. She did this every Friday night. Got all dressed up and escaped her hell for a couple of hours. Except tonight hadn’t really been more of an escape.

Somehow, the thing she was running from had found her. In the form of Dominic Contini. She couldn’t believe in that short couple of minutes before she learnt his name, she had actually found him attractive.

She shook her head in disgust, climbing up the pipe that led to her room as carefully as she could. She had done it a thousand times, in even worse state. That was the easy part.

The hard part was not making a noise.

But as soon as she crawled her way into the window and fell to the ground, she noticed two pairs of dress shoes staring back at her. Her heart began to pound as she raised her head.

“Welcome back, princess.”

That annoying voice. She knew who it belonged to, and she hated her chances as soon as she heard it. It was her father’s right hand man, Jethro. But next to him was the devil himself, her father.

“Papa—”

“Where have you been, mi amor?” He thundered before she could get a word out.

“I….The night was so beautiful….I just had to take a walk.” She forced out, trembling, almost bursting out in tears. “I’m sorry, papa. I should have told you.”

“Oh mi amor,” he whispered, pacing the length of the room. “I did not raise a liar, did I?”

Her lips quivered. She was still on the floor, now on her knees. “Papa, please.”

“Get up!” He yelled, and Carmen obeyed immediately. “Come closer.”

She exhaled shakily before moving towards him slowly. When she was inches away, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms in a tight embrace.

To outsiders, it would have looked like a father-daughter bonding moment, but Carmen knew better.

When he pulled away, his eyes were red with anger. “How dare you go drinking? Do you know the embarrassment you put me through today? The Segretos were here and you were nowhere to be found, and now you show up drunk and dressed like a slut?”

“Papa, I—”

Before she could complete her statement, she felt a sharp pain across her cheek. She stumbled backwards, tears spilling out of her eyes, her eyes wide with horror as she stared back at her father.

“You better not have f****d some good for nothing boy out there,” he continued, ignoring the hurt written across his daughter’s face. “You know your marriage to Bruno only works if you’re pure and untouched.”

Carmen was now wheezing, struggling to catch her breath. For years, she had put up with the abuse. She had been told she was to stay a virgin, been told what to do and who to hate. She was sick and tired of it, but there was nothing she could really do.

Dominic face flashed through her mind for a second, and her anger toppled over. He had thought she was some rich princess who ordered people around and got whatever she wanted, when in reality…..

She took a deep breath. A thought had popped into her head, but she didn’t know if it would be worth the risk.

“Papa, I’m sorry, but I have a good reason for leaving the house.” She paused to take in her father’s expression. When he said nothing, she continued. “I was at the Camorra club.”

“You were where?” Her father shouted out.

“Listen, papa.” She said as firmly as she could, standing her ground. “I met Dominic Contini, the next don to the Crimson Camorra. We talked, we got to know each other. He doesn’t know who I am, and I can use that to my advantage.”

“What do you mean?” Jethro finally asked.

She gulped. “I heard there’s an opening for the CEO’s assistant at Camorra Dynasty. I can apply, papa. Think about it. If I’m in, I can get all kinds of information for our family. We can finally be number one in New York.”

“I don’t need your help to get information from the Continis, all you have to do is marry Bruno. With his family, we can finally defeat the Crimson Camorra.” Her father said, brushing her off.

But Carmen refused to back down. “Yes, but that’ll just make us equal to the Segretos. Don’t you want our family to be the only ones on top?”

Ciro Ferrari said nothing, and Carmen finally smiled. She knew she had gotten through to him, even for a bit. She used his love for power to play on his emotions, she knew her father all too well. He was selfish, he wanted to be the supreme ruler, and if there was a way to achieve that without the help of the Segretos, he’d take it.

“Fine,” he finally gave in, giving her a stern look. “We’ll give your plan a try. But if it fails, mi amor, your marriage to Bruno will happen. Understood?”

Carmen nodded, massaging her cheek as she watched the two men stroll out of her room.

She had bought herself some time, and she wasn’t going to waste it. She’d really be killing two birds with one stone anyway. Preventing her marriage to the perverted Bruno Segreto, and watching the smug Dominic Contini go down.

Life just couldn’t be sweeter.