Mafia Legacy

Chapter Thirty Two-Charlotte

"Carlo, we can talk about this." I said. "Nothing that's been done is..."

"Shut up." His voice cracked. "I don't want to have to hurt you, too."

"But you are." I said. "All of this is hurting me. Please, just let Marco go. We need to get him to the hospital."

"We all know I can't do that. This all has to end here."

"Why?" I stood up. "We can fix this. Luca can make all of this go away, Carlo. Please. Let's just start by getting Marco some help, and then we can figure it out."

"There is nothing to figure out, Charlotte. I really didn't want to do this, but you and Marco couldn't stay out of it."

"What happened to you?" I asked, biting my lip and trying to fight my tears. This was all too much.

Carlo scoffed. "I couldn't do it. Is that what you want to hear? I wasn't as strong as Luca and I crumbled under pressure. I got myself in a mess, and Luca tried to bail me out, but it didn't work. And now the only way to save myself is to let him take the fall. Happy?"

As Carlo spoke, I heard a noise from the stairs and glanced over to see both Leo and Layla crouching around the corner, terror in their eyes. I sucked in a sharp breath, praying they'd stay hidden and not try to intervene. "Carlo, that's not true." I said, trying to keep him distracted.

"Charlotte, just shut up, okay? I don't want to rehash this. It's already hard enough." His eyes were bloodshot, and he was clearly high on something. I had to figure something out, and fast. It was all up to me now, and I had to protect my family.

Through the back window, I could see a figure moving through the backyard. At first, I panicked, wondering if Carlo had brought back up, but as he got closer, I realized I knew who it was.

Hunter.

Hunter gave me a reassuring smile, flashing his gun as he moved behind Carlo. He was here to help us.

"Fuck." Carlo hissed, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "I really am sorry, Charlotte. I never meant to hurt anyone the way I did. The police... they just started pushing so damn hard the second they found I knew Luca. Before I knew it, I was saying all kinds of shit and I had dug myself a hole. The only way out was to help them get Luca. I'm sorry. I really am."

He had just finished his speech when a shot rang out. The glass of the windows shattered and Carlo cried out, clutching his leg and falling to the floor. Hunter stepped through the windowpane, and threw Carlo over onto his stomach and slapping a pair of handcuffs onto him.

"Hunter!" I cried, standing up quickly and throwing my arms around him.

"You don't need to thank me," He said. "Get Marco out of here. I'll handle this."

Carlo grumbled, thrashing against his grasp.

"Mom!" Leo and Layla came rushing in. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." I hugged both of them. "We need to get Marco some help."

Leo nodded. "Lay, you go with mom. I'll stay here with Hunter and get Carlo somewhere safe."

I was in a state of shock, watching as everyone moved around me. Leo reminded me so much of his father as he stepped in to take charge.

"Marco, can you hear me?" I asked, kneeling in front of him.

"Mmm." He nodded. "I'm alright."

"No, you're not. We're going to the hospital." I said, releasing his binds and helping him up.

He shook me off. "Char, I'm okay. How did it go with Whitaker?"

"Marco..."

"Charlotte, tell me." He grimaced, adjusting his weight.

"I got what we need. I have it all." I assured him. "And I saw Luca."

"You saw him?" Leo asked hopefully.

I nodded. "He's okay. And he's coming home soon."

"We need to release the footage as soon as we can." Marco tried to stand up, stumbling a bit. "It was Carlo all along?"

I nodded. "Luca told me everything."

"Then let's end this once and for all."

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