Secret Crown

XIII. Thirteen

Luca

The Romanos had been a small chapter of Italy for five generations. We were always bowing down to the Santoro's and Lombardi as two of the biggest Italian families. That was until the Santoro's were wiped off the face of the earth and the Leon and Lombardi came and took everything for themselves with the help of the Polish. My father, along with my uncle Salvatore, immigrated to New York in hopes of a better life and a bigger empire. For years, we ruled New York. We were kings. Until Leon's came and took everything by force. What had started as something small quickly turned into something big, pushing us Romano's to scraps and bad deals. Then it got worse once the Lombardi were given the green light into New York by Leon when their former leader Mateo married off his only daughter Natalia to the Irish.

They were so quick and easy into giving the Lombardi a piece of my empire that it was a slap to our face. A sign of disrespect by letting them into our backyards without any arrangements. We got the shit end of the bargain as the Lombardi began to push their way into our territory, and it was all with the full support of the Leons. Leaving us with an even smaller piece of our former territory.

My father had me promise to take back what was ours and take the Leons out along the way. As I sat looking out of my office window, I could make out the Leons home in all its glory, standing tall over its concrete walls. The Lombardi's home was not too far from theirs, making it easier to burn both places down to the ground. The only problem was that, in doing so, the Polish and Irish would step in without hesitation.

My uncle Salvatore had a plan, though. As we made alliances with rivals of the Leon and Lombardi. We were moving behind the scenes and gathering as much funding and arm power as we could, and it would only be a matter of time before we would take them down and claim everything they owned for ours. As I sat reclined against my chair, my uncle Salvatore came in, dragging a clammy, pale man by his shirt. He flung him onto the floor as the man began to beg for his life. He was shaking and appeared as if he would piss his pants at any given moment.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"Jonas Emerson, il medico che ti aiuterà (the doctor who will help you)"

"Come (how)?"

"The red head that helped save you—she is the one we've been looking for." My uncle grinned, "And our little friend Jonas here will help us get her. Won't you, Jonas?" He asked as he bent down to the floor, grasping onto Jonas' face. Jonas shook his head up and down in agreement. My uncle patted his head hard. "Good, now carry on with your day as usual and report back to us on everything," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," he agreed as he rose to his feet and scrambled out of my office. "La dottoressa, lei è la chiave finale (the doctor, she is the final key)," my uncle said. "Find her, and we will be unstoppable. Our wealth will match that of the Leon family, and no one will be able to stop us."

"We raided her home; she wasn't there." I told my uncle. "She's disappeared."

"She hasn't, Luca. The Leon's have captured her." My uncle said as he walked over to my desk and took a seat at the edge of it, "Find her and get her back from that figlio de puttana (son of a bitch), or our deal will go sour."

"When we find her and get our hands on that money, Luca, with it we can buy a whole army. One bigger and greater than the high-table families put together. But if we want it, we must capture her first." My uncle continued, "A doctor cannot simply abandon their job here. She will show up this afternoon, and when she does, Jonas will give us the details. We will get her tonight, and we'll have our money soon. She has been promised to you since birth, Luca; she will be your wife, and with her at your side, we've secured our futures." It would show the people of our world that with the Catalano heir and fortune at your side, we mean business, money, and power." My uncle said

He threw a stack of photos of her on my desk before exiting. She was tall and curvy, with warm caramel skin and vibrant red curly hair. She had a smile from ear to ear and was standing among her colleagues. She had been living under Scarlett Rivera all this time. When it came to power, there wasn't anything I wouldn't do, and this was by far the easiest. All I had to do was find wherever she was hiding and marry her. A simple woman like this wouldn't be hard to break down, like my personal toy. After all... she has been promised to me since our births.

What a small world it was for the same woman who saved my life—the same one we had been searching for. Everything was neatly falling into place.