Maxine Davenport was living a quiet life with her Irish grandmother in England, completing her degree in criminology when she was plunged into the darkness she was running away from.
Valentino DeLuca. A name no one is brave enough to say even in the...
Just his name sent chills down my spine. My anger immediately dissipated and was instantly replaced by immeasurable fear. My heart pounded in my chest, ready to leap out any minute. Myriads of thoughts accelerated inside my head like a montage. Even though I was oblivious about my father's business for a majority of my life, I was well aware of the existing rule of the DeLuca family in the mafia world, especially Valentino DeLuca.
Valentino DeLuca was a walking nightmare. A nightmare veiled as a fantasy. I've never met him in person , but I've only heard about him. At only twenty-four years of age, he had claimed his title as the most feared Capo dei Capi across the globe. Even the trespassing Turkish bastards were wise enough to stay away from his territory. He was ruthless, cold, calculating and undeniably charming, or so they say, capable of unimaginable gruesome murders.
My father was rambling on about how beneficial this amalgamation would be for the teaghlach but I barely registered anything he said. I couldn't believe that this was happening to me. My father was deranged, yes, I agree, but I couldn't fathom how he could even think about marrying me off to a complete stranger let alone a man who was infamous for being the boogeyman men in our world feared.
The sharp noise that erupted when the knife slipped from my hand pulled me out of my frenzied mind. My grandmother gasped as she took in my bloodied hand and hurried to get the first aid box. She emerged from the bathroom a couple of minutes later and pushed me down on the chair and carefully began working on my hand.
"I'll leave for Dublin in the morning. Your wedding is in two months, till then you can stay here. All you have to do is put on a pleasant smile and behave like a happy bride to be. I hope at least that would be easy. " My father said in a stern voice.
He started walking out of my bedroom and turned when he reached the door. "Oh! And Maxine, don't do anything foolish. The Capo will be keeping an eye on you." He shot me one last warning look before walking out of the room, his overgrown minion trailing behind him.
For a while, I just sat on the chair, wincing now and again as my grandmother stitched up the wound. This was all too much to take in. All I wanted to do right now was cry and scream at my father, deny marrying a sick psychotic manipulator, but I am not a fool.
If my father thinks that he can easily throw me towards a lunatic, then he's delusional. I will not marry DeLuca, that is for sure, but I will not make any rash decisions. Everyone must be on high alert. They must be anticipating a retaliation from me, but I will not give them that.
After my grandmother was done bandaging my wound, she pulled a chair and sat next to me.
"The Sicilians and the Irish were almost on the verge of war, twenty-one years ago. Those were terrible times."My grandmother said looking out of the window as if in a trance. " Even before the actual war happened, an alarming number of soldiers were massacred from both the parties. Then you happened."
She looked straight into my eyes. "You were like a truce between the two families. You were promised to be Leonardo DeLuca's son's bride. You cannot deny this. This is the world we are born in. This is in your blood."
With that, she lightly kissed my forehead and left me alone with my thoughts.
Thankfully when I woke up the next morning, my cacodemon for a father was gone. However, my relief was short lived as the minute I entered the kitchen, I spotted a giant SpongeBob looking guard stationed at the door whilst my grandmother ate pasta, scrolling through her Instagram feed on her iPhone, completely unaffected by the vile insect standing ten feet away from her.
Dia.
I made my way to the front door but unfortunately, the oaf blocked my path. " Where are you going, Miss Davenport?"
"Out, you peabrain," I said nonchalantly.
"Ah! Yes, Maxine." My grandmother smiled as she walked over to where I was standing."I almost forgot to tell you. This is Jack. From now on he will-"
"Babysit me, no thank you."I cut my grandmother in annoyance.
"Young lady, obedience is a virtue that you should have learnt by now. As much as I love you, I will not tolerate the name of my family getting tarnished because of your rebellious orientation."She paused for a second before resuming to rebuke me." Jack will escort you everywhere you go till the day of your wedding whether you like it or not. If anything happens to you while you are still under our wing, Christ knows what Valentino would do to us."
