Submitting to the Mafia King

Gone was the carefree girl with light eyes that showed happiness; a minute was enough for Cara to understand what was happening. Staring at the men through blazing bloodshot eyes, she whispered.

"Is that my father?"

Silence reigned in the room, and Cara's eyes drifted over to the body on the floor. She closed her it in pain, and a single tear rolled out.

Followed by another and another until they were gushing, yet a sound didn't come from her. She raised her head to look at the man with the bloodied knife in hand.

"Is that my father?"

He smirked, his eyes crinkling at the side.

"Mine is six feet under, so he definitely isn't mine."

His subordinates snickered, and suddenly,

All hell broke loose.

"You bastard!"

Cara screamed as she lunged for him, but was blocked by one of the men.

Was her life a joke? Her father's dead, yet they seem to be acting like nothing happened. Is murder a joke to them?

She clawed at the air, thinking of a way to free herself from his subordinate's hold. This only made the killer enjoy the show more as he leaned back, watching Cara with a chuckle.

Cara let out a scream once again; she didn't care that she was acting out of character or like she had gone feral.

"Let me go! I'll kill you. I'll kill you all." She screamed

He dared to smile. What? He chuckled? She was going to kill him or die trying to.

Trying to free herself, she gripped the forearm of the man that was holding her back, and bit down hard; he let out a painful cry, letting go of Cara, she reached for her tote bag in search of her phone to call the cops.

Just in case she fails to kill them all, they mustn't go scot-free, Cara decided. Just as she raised the phone to her ear, she was tackled by the side, the phone slipping out of her hand.

She reaches for the phone once again but is shoved to the ground.

Cara grunts in pain, her eyes dizzy from the fall. She blinks rapidly to clear her vision as she looks up to tell off the one who had been holding her back but is shocked once again.

"Timothy..."

She had seen him earlier but didn't have the time to process it.

What was he doing here? Was he also involved in this?

"Timothy, don't tell me you did this. No."

She shook her head in denial, "You're not this callous."

Everyone in the room burst out in laughter, and Cara looked on in confusion. The killer stood to his feet, walked over to Timothy, and patted his shoulder.

"Thank you, Kane; you can step back."

Cara grew more confused.

"Kane?"

"Oh, sorry, to you, he's Timothy." He mocked making everyone laugh again, as he walked up to her.

She couldn't help but feel eerie. His sinister laugh didn't sit well with her. She glanced at him and shuddered at how ruggish he looked. Cara didn't know what he had been through or how he had lived his life, but from the thin, long scar that ran from below his left eye to his chin, she could tell he was dangerous.

"You know, Tesoro." He started with a faint Italian accent. "I thought Kane over there was the bad guy. Leading a girl as pretty as you on for so long was cruel. I never knew you had your plans." He chuckled darkly, giving her a once-over.

Cara felt her skin crawl, and resisted the urge to throw up.

Once again, here was another thing in her life that had been a lie. She couldn't believe she had wasted three years of her life with a scum. Throwing a glare at the man in front of her, she spat out

"I've come to expect the worst from him, so I'm not surprised... but what is it to you? Why did you kill my father?" Cara seethed.

"You and your dogs, get out of my home! Get out! I'm going to call the cops. You won't get away with this, you bastard."

The man shook his head in mock pity.

"Dear dear, you should've told your father to curb his gambling habits if you really cared for him."

Then, with a serious face, he kneeled before her. Swinging the knife playfully

"...and you can say my name. It's Carlo. You should know that much from your work done."

Cara frowned

So this was about the money her father owed?

"What are you talking about? I was given a week. I was going to pay you back."

"Oh, really? Kane here had something else to say."

Cara turned to her lying ex-fiancè

"You know I was going to pay. I always pay back. You could've protected my father. You owe me that much."

"Then what about you? Deceiving me whilst you were f*cking Adonis?" Kane sneered at a livid Cara, who gasped in bewilderment.

"What?"

"Kane!" The man Cara now knew as Carlo boomed, halting their exchange. "Settle your affairs elsewhere."

"No. What did he mean by that? You were the one who cheated. I didn't even know him up until yesterday. What do you do?" Cara paused in realization. "Wait, how do you know Mr. Bernardi?"

She looked back and forth between Kane and Carlo, then at the other two men, who were silently watching the entire conversation play out.

Something doesn't add up; they were too familiar with the tensed atmosphere to be a petty gang. The subordinate, who had been quietly sitting all this while, finally spoke.

"State tutti sprecando il mio tempo." Everyone became silent as he rose to his feet and nonchalantly walked over to Carlo.

Cara couldn't understand what he said, but from the subtle change in the atmosphere of the room, she could tell he was in charge.

"I'm Antonio Greco, but I'm sure you know. You were sent to spy on us. No?" He said, his words heavily laced with an Italian accent.

What was it with everyone assuming she knew them? More importantly, why was everyone speaking with an accent?

"I didn't spy on anyone." She met his stare head-on.

"Kane said Adonis was waiting for you at the staff room in the club last night. He saw you two leave together."

Cara frantically shook her head in denial once again.

"That's a lie. Yesterday was my first time meeting him. I only pretended to know him to get back at Timothy, well, Kane." She argued.

Antonio tutted.

"So you're telling me that you just so happened to walk up to a dangerous man who can kill you within the blink of an eye and make out with him for no reason, eh? Knowing his ties with the mafia, eh? Knowing he's the heir to one of the most vicious and treacherous gangs in the world, you expect me to believe that, eh? Dimmi!" He questioned with an angry scowl plastered on his face as his voice rose with each sentence.

Cara stared at him, mouth agape at the revelation.

What in the world had she gotten herself into?

Everything began to add up. The accents, the club, how Adonis was able to get information on her so quickly, her father's death.

They thought she was a spy for Adonis.

"I show you mercy by giving you a week to pay back my money, and you go and work for the enemy? Having the audacity to spy on me and my brothers on the pretext of love?"

Cara remained muted.

The information was all too much to take in, and honestly, even if she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say. They wouldn't believe her anyway, and the worst had been done.

"Listen here," Antonio continued.

"I'll be back exactly when the given time is over. This is just a warning." He gestured to her father. "If you try to call the cops, you'll end up like him before they reach here."

He lowered his voice, leaning forward to whisper in Cara's ear. Tucking a card in her palm,

"Tell Adonis I said to come at me openly." He raked his eyes over her, tucking a flay strand of hair behind her ear. "I know for one that you're not his type. Call me if you need a good f*ck."

And with that, he turned towards the exit, his men behind him as they exited her home.

Cara remained on the spot, sitting quietly as she took it all in.

For the past four years, things had been rough for her, but she was coping well. At least she wasn't alone; she had her father. And to think she thought Adonis was her salvation.

Her ticket to a better life.

She crawled over to her dead father's side with a smile, picking up her forgotten phone on the way. His body had gone stiff and was starting to change colour, but she still dressed his hair, which was matted in blood, as one would a child.

This is all because of Adonis.

She giggled.

No. They all did this.

They all lied to her, played her, and made her a scapegoat in their reckless game. Betrayed her. Kane, The Grecos, Adonis...

She stood to her feet, looking absurdly calm as she headed for the bathroom. The non-stop trembling of her fingers and her bloodshot, lifeless-looking eyes were the only things that gave away her grief.

Dialling a number, she waited patiently as it rang.

First ring

Second ring

Third ring

And then the line connected, but the receiver didn't say a word. If it wasn't for the sound of a deep exhale on the other end, one would think the line had dropped.

Her face stretched into a bigger smile as she spoke.

"We should meet up, Mr. Bernardi. Have your driver come pick me up. Now." And then she ended the call.