Heartbreak & Lies

“Suraci, it’s time” Matteo stated firmly as soon as we stepped inside.

Dante nodded and left, leaving me to be stared at.
I shifted my weight nervously when Giuseppe walked towards me.

“La mia bambina” he mumbled and pinched my cheeks before pulling me into a tight hug.
“Siete infine domestico” he continued with tears in his eyes.

“Can’t breathe” I gasped and struggled against him.

“Padre” Matteo said, trying to hold his laughter.

Giuseppe let me go and looked me over with pride.

“Assomiglia alla sua madre” Giuseppe said before pinching my cheeks again.

“I really don’t understand at all what he is saying” I mumbled, staring at the floor.

“Father is happy that his little girl is finally home” Marco grinned at me.
He also said that you look like our mother, Gina, which is very true” he nodded.
“That’s how we recognized you at the restaurant. You look like a clone of our mother.”

“You called me Alisha…” I trailed off, remembering that evening.

“That’s your name; Alisha Salmonelli” Matteo explained.

“This is insane” I exclaimed suddenly.
“I feel like I’m in a movie or a book. This does not happen to normal people.”

“We’re not normal people” Marco answered.
“You’ll find that out soon” he continued, sharing a look with Matteo.

“Great, more secrets” I grumbled while sitting down with a huff.

Giuseppe just sat and observed me with a huge smile on his face. He also looked very proud.

“You said that I was kidnapped. By who?” I demanded, wanting to know everything.

“His name is Cody Brooks. He’s in cahoots with the Cavallinis” Matteo explained.

“I don’t know any Cody” I said, confusion lacing my voice.

Matteo got up and disappeared into a room for a minute before coming back and handing me a paper.
I grabbed it and looked at the picture.

“Jonathan” I gasped.
“You got to be kidding me! He wouldn’t do that. He loves me!”

“Of course he does” Matteo snorted.
“He was also very keen on showing his love the last few days you spent with him.”

“But… He took good care of me… He couldn’t possibly…” my voice wavered a bit.

“Alisha, I was there. I saw him kill her and take you!” Matteo raised his voice.
“So don’t tell me what he would or would not do!”

“He killed someone?” I asked shocked.

“He killed our mother” Matteo answered softly, sitting down next to me.
“He’s not who you think he is, trust me” he mumbled and hugged me close.

“If that’s true, we should call the police” I exclaimed.
“Why are we just sitting here like nothing?”

“Don’t worry, he will get punished” Marco answered with a grim smile.
“We’re dealing with it in our own way.”

“So Jonathan is Cody. Cody killed my mother and kidnapped me. You will punish Cody” I summed up.

“Correct” Matteo commented.

“I don’t like it” I stated.
“I still think we should call the police.”

“Sweetie, we don’t deal with the cops” Marco laughed.
“We run this town and will deal with our problems ourselves.”

“You sound like some kind of mafia family” I laughed, only to be met with serious looks.

“Oh no” I shot up from the couch.
“You can NOT be serious” I screeched, only to be met with silence.
“No, no, no… This can’t be happening to me… I’m a good girl… I don’t deserve this” I chanted while pacing the room.
“So those guys Jonathan works with…”

“Cody” Matteo interrupted me.
“Yeah, they’re part of the mafia too. The Cavallinis are our rivals. They wanted to use you to bring us down.”

“How would they do that?” my curiosity took over.

“They knew you were fathers pride and joy. That he would do anything and everything for you” Marco explained.

“How does Dante fit into all of this? Where is he?” I looked around.

“Dante works for us. He takes care of the punishments” Matteo nodded.
“As for where he is, well… He’s visiting our dear little Cody as we speak.”