Mafia Legacy

Chapter Fourteen- Charlotte

Shortly after Luca and I had gotten back together years ago, he built me our dream home. It was nestled in a grove of trees backing up to a lake, about an hour and a half outside of the city. It was private and quiet and had turned into our own little sanctuary. He spent months planning every single detail of the house and eventually surprised me with it. It was absolutely perfect for us, exactly what our growing family needed, and truly a dream come true. He'd chosen every color, every piece of flooring, every window that went into, and turned an empty piece of land into an absolute masterpiece. We spent the last 16 years here and although we'd changed little things here and there, but for the most part, it had stayed the same. It was like a member of our family.

Leo was just a baby when we moved in, and it was the only home he'd ever known. We watched our children grow up here — making memories of color baking, and Halloween costumes, and little artists' drawings on their bedroom walls. It was where we brought Cole and Lucy home from the hospital, where we'd hosted countless parties and BBQs and team dinners. We'd hung swings from its trees and played games of tag in the lush green summer grass.

It was the most perfect home I ever could have imagined and, as I watched it being torn to shreds by detectives, I felt sick. I stood on the porch with my kids completely helpless as pictures were taken off the walls, shelves were emptied, doors were nearly ripped off of their hinges. What the hell were they even looking for?

Luca was arguing with a detective a few feet away, Peterson at his side. I had no idea what was being said, and I almost didn't want to know. I had no idea how we'd gotten to this point. It had been my worst fear for years and, now that we were here, I was more terrified than I had ever been. So many emotions flashed through my brain as I tried to make sense of them. Anger towards Luca, ashamed that it had come to this, scared of what came next. I couldn't even face my children I was so embarrassed. We had always sworn to protect them, and here we all were watching their home, their haven, be dismantled.

"They won't be much longer." Luca said flatly, gently grabbing my hand. Every move he made was careful, as if he expected me to explode at any second.

"What do they even think they're going to find here?" My voice broke as I stared at the destruction. I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away, no matter how painful it was.

"Nothing, Charlotte. This is a game. It's all about show."

I let out a sharp laugh and rolled my eyes. He was out of his damn mind if he thought that was going to work on me.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"Don't do that." I glared. "Don't downplay this. Our lives are not a game, Luca. You can't keep denying that this is a big fucking deal, even if you didn't do anything."

"Even if I didn't do anything? You don't believe me now? What exactly do you want me to say, Charlotte?" He hissed, trying to keep his voice low, so the kids didn't hear. "I know our lives are not a game, which is exactly why I am so pissed off that they're doing this. They're not looking for anything because they know that they aren't going to find..."

Before Luca could even finish his sentence, an officer came out of the house holding a gun in his hands. It wasn't all that unusual that there would be a gun in our home, but I could tell something was off by the way he was looking at it. Luca looked just as concerned and confused as I was. The detective handing it to the sergeant in charge of this whole thing.

"Huh." He took it from him and turned towards Luca. "A Beretta 92... the same exact gun used in the murder."

"That's not mine. I've never owned one of those guns and as I showed you, I have legal permits for everything I've got and every one of them has the same insignia engraved on them." Luca clenched his jaw.