Mafia Legacy

Chapter Seventeen- Charlotte

When I got back from the jail, my mind was spinning in so many directions there was no way I could sleep. I thought Luca would come home with me, or, at the very least, I could see him, but neither of those things happened and I was left with more questions than answers. All anyone could tell me to do was to be patient and wait, but waiting wasn't something I was good at. Especially not when I knew that my husband was sitting in a jail cell, which was as dangerous a place for him as any other.

Carson was right. He had many enemies in this city—cops and criminals alike. I would never be able to sleep wondering if he was safe all night. Thank goodness the kids were sleeping when I got home because there was no way I would have been able to face them after the conversation we'd just had. Life...at the least. Carson's words rang in my ears, making me sick to my stomach.

Someone was framing him. There was no doubt in my mind. But I also felt like there was more to the story than Luca had shared with me. There was no way they had been able to fabricate all of that evidence. I whole heartedly believed he didn't kill that girl, but someone had and if we didn't figure something out soon, Luca was going to go down for it.

I couldn't bring myself to sleep in our bed without him, so I tossed and turned on the couch until I couldn't take any more and finally got up the day at 4:30AM. Today was a big day and it could potentially change my entire life. The entire lives of everyone in my family.

I sat on the back deck for a little while just looking out towards the lake. I loved seeing it this time of day because of the way the rising sun would reflect on the water. It was usually so bright you could hardly see, and the warmth of the sun hit like a tidal wave. It wasn't like that today, though. It was cloudy and gloomy and there wasn't even a single ray of sun poking through the clouds.

The back door slid open behind me and I turned to see Leo coming out with a steaming cup of coffee. He gave me a small smirk and sat down on the steps beside me.

"You should be sleeping right now." I smiled, taking the cup from him.

"So should you." He countered. His grin made him look even more like his father than he already did, and this morning it was breaking my heart.

"I wanted to get a jump start on the day." I lied. I had tried my best never to lie to our kids, but for the past 24 hours, it seemed like that was all I was doing. Trying to make this remotely okay for them.

"Dad didn't come home last night." Leo cut right to the chase.

"No." I let out a heavy sigh. "He didn't, but probably today."

"You don't have to lie to me, mom. Dad's in a lot of trouble, isn't he?"

I bit my lip, torn about what to say next.

"I honestly don't know, Leo." I finally said, deciding I couldn't keep them in the dark any longer. If things didn't go Luca's way, it would hurt them even worse if I wasn't upfront. "It's bad. Someone is trying to frame him for some really awful things. But we're doing everything we can to fight it, and you know if anyone can fix something like this, it's your father."

Leo marinated on my words for a few minutes and I could see the wheels turning in his mind. He was so mature now, sitting here next to me like a man and not my little boy anymore.

"What can I do to help you, mom?" He asked, putting his arm around me.

I let out a sharp laugh. "Leo, thank you, but you don't need to do anything."

"But I could help down at the warehouse or with uncle Marco..."

I shook my head adamantly. "Leo, I appreciate you wanting to help, but I'm the parent here. It's my job to fix this and help you and your brother and sisters through it. I want you to be a kid, and let me worry about this. Okay?"