Heart of the Mafia's Captive

Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past

Lila’s POV

The tension between us thick enough to cut with a knife permeated the long, silent vehicle trip to Luca's estate. I watched as the familiar skyline of the city vanished from view and was replaced by undulating hills and deep forests beyond the window. Every beat of my heart served as a reminder of the life I was bidding farewell that which had been snatched from me in return for the safety of my family.

When we finally got here, the mansion looked like a fortification. Cold and uninviting, it was vast, its stone walls reaching skyward. Tall iron gates surrounded the estate, and the trees lining the driveway seemed to shut in around us, their limbs jutting at the heavens like skeleton hands. Here there was no warmth, no indication of life outside the perfectly groomed lawns and the darkened house windows.

Luca stepped out first as the car stopped, his face blanked as he extended his hand to me. I paused for a second, then grabbed it and felt a shock when our skin connected. His hold was strong, uncompromising, and I understood right once that this was not a man who would readily change or soften.

"Welcome to your new home," he whispered, his voice low and smooth but with an edge that made me shudder.

I nodded and tried a courteous smile as I got out of the car. "Thanks."

Luca spoke nothing; she simply guided me across the weighty wooden doors that crested menacingly as they swung open. Inside the mansion, it was still more striking. The entrance was large, with marble flooring echoing our footsteps and lofty ceilings. Grand stairs on both sides led to the second story, and pricey artwork and tapestries fit in a museum on the walls.

Still, the room felt uncomfortably chilly despite the grandeur. An uncomfortable silence permeated the air, as though the house itself were waiting for something to happen. And the people, Luca's guys, stationed at different spots around the estate saw me with the same intensity Luca had in the automobile. They seemed to be waiting for me to make a mistake, to provide them with cause to remind me of my position.

Luca led me across the estate, his hand on my small back acting as a continual reminder of his authority. From room after room, each more opulent and threatening than the next, we ascended the stairs, and he guided me along a long hall.

Stopped in front of a set of double doors, Luca stated, "This will be your room." He pushed them open to show a spacious, exquisitely furnished bedroom with a balcony overlooking the estate, a canopy bed, and a fireplace. Still beautiful, yet, it felt to me more like a prison cell. Though big, the windows were barred; I also observed the subtly visible surveillance cameras in the room's corners, their lenses pointed at the entryway and the bed.

Heart thumping, I glanced at Luca. "Is this really essential?" Pointing to the cameras, I questioned.

Luca's face was icy, his eyes narrowing just slightly. "Lila, right now you are my wife. It is my responsibility to guard you and ensure your rules understanding.

" Rules??" I repeated, my voice trembling with a mixture of terror and rage. "What rules?"

He stepped in front, his presence intimidating. "As long as you follow, you will be protected. Lila, this is my universe; everyone finds a place in both of ours. Your place follows my directions and is by my side. Try to challenge me; you will pay for it.

Fighting the impulse to yell, I tightened my hands. "I'm not Luca, a puppet. You cannot merely tug my cords and hope I will dance.

His lips turned into a lethal smile. Lila, you are dancing right now. You simply don't know yet.

Luca turned and left the room before I could answer, leaving me standing there shaking with a mix of terror and wrath. The door closed behind him, the sound resonating in the vacant room trapping me inside my golden cage.

The next days were a haze of boredom and anxiety. Spending most of my time at the mansion, I explored its many halls and rooms, each more luxurious and frigid than the next. A music room with a grand piano that had most likely never been used, a library full of literature I had no interest in reading, and a ballroom that seemed to ridicule me with its grandeur, all of which I avoided. The mansion seemed to be a living entity meant to remind me of my insignificance anywhere.

But Luca was the one who most unsettled me, not the mansion. Always monitoring, always lurking in the shadows, he was everywhere and nowhere at once. His silence of power choked me while he was at home. And when he wasn't there, I was left with his men staring coldly and deliberately as though they were waiting for me to slip up.

Seeking some comfort in the fresh air and sunlight, one afternoon I walked outdoors to the gardens. With their vivid flowers and well-kept hedges that reached as far as the eye could see, the gardens were lovely in sharp contrast to the frigid, dead home. Still, I sensed Luca's control weighing down. Though the security guards and gardeners stayed away, their gaze followed me to remind me that I was never really alone.

Trying to clear my head as I meandered around the tangle of hedges, I heard two staff members chatting. Their voices were just heard above the rustling of the leaves, they were speaking in subdued tones.

One of them softly asked, "Did you hear what happened to the last woman who crossed him?"

"Yeah," the other said, his voice tinged with both awe and terror. She vanished totally without a trace. Some claim Luca set an example for her.

My heart skipped a beat, and while I listened I squeezed myself against the hedge, hoping to remain invisible.

The first voice said, "Do you think the new Mrs. De Luca knows?"

Doubt it, the second one answered. But if she neglects to watch her step, she will soon enough find out.

My brow started to flush coldly, and I gently turned aside while my head whirled. Who was the woman they discussed? And had Luca done it to her? The idea of being imprisoned in this place, under the control of a guy with such a terrible past, made me fear.

My heart thumping in my chest, I rushed back to the estate. I had to leave here. I had to flee, but the truth of my circumstances struck me like a ton of bricks. Nobody to turn to, nowhere to go. Luca's authorities determined my family's safety; any attempt to flee could put them at far more risk.

I felt more imprisoned than ever that evening as I laid in bed staring up at the ceiling. Staff whispers tormented me, their words playing over and over in my head. Luca was a monster, a man who would stop at nothing to acquire what he wanted, not only a business person. And now I was his prize, stashed in a silk and gilded cage.

But throughout the course of the days, I started to see something unusual. Luca's attitude toward me changed. He was still frigid and domineering, but occasionally I could see a flutter of something else in his eyes. She hardly noticed. A tenderness, a hesitancy, as though he were holding back something. It was perplexing, disturbing, and it strengthened my resolve to find out who Luca De Luca actually was.

One evening I decided to approach Luca after a particularly uncomfortable dinner where he had hardly talked to me. I was tired of living in the dark and sought responses.

He was in his study, the space barely lighted by the flickering fireplace. Back to me, he was seated at his desk, but I could sense the strain in his shoulders from the way his fists clenched the desk's edge as though he were attempting to control himself.

"Luca," I murmured, my voice quivering but steady. "We must speak."

He did not turn around, but I could sense his focus moving to me as the atmosphere grew tense. " What is it, Lila?"

I steadied myself by inhaling deeply. "I listened in on staff conversations about you. About a woman who crossed you and vanished. And what became of her, Luca? Not what are you not telling me?

There was a protracted hush so weighty I could hardly tolerate it. Luca gently got up and turned to face me. His eyes were dark and fierce as they latched onto mine, his face unreadable.

"Some things are better left in the past, Lila," he muttered, sounding low and threatening. "I advise you to stop asking questions you do not wish the responses for."

Though my heart hammered in my chest, I would not waver. I have the right to know the truth. I have the right to find out who my marital partner is.

Luca moved toward me, and I automatically turned away, but he closed the distance between us his presence too much. You desire the.....