Page 14 of Kidnapped By the Mafia

His struggles are weak, his pleas barely audible as I tighten my grip, cutting off his air supply. It’s over quickly—too quickly—but I feel nothing as his body goes limp in the chair.

I step back, wiping my hands on the cloth that Jake silently offers. The room is quiet, the only sound the faint hum of the city outside the penthouse walls.

I should feel something—satisfaction, perhaps, or at least a sense of closure—but there’s nothing. Just the same hollow emptiness that’s been with me for years.

“Make sure there are no loose ends,” I say to Jake, my voice steady. “Put him somewhere he won’t be found.”

He nods, already moving to carry out the order. I watch him for a moment, then turn and walk out of the room, the door closing behind me with a soft click.

As I step back into the opulence of my penthouse, the city lights glittering outside the windows, I can’t help but think of Emily again.

She’s too good for this world, too good for me. But despite everything, despite the darkness that consumes me, I know I’m not ready to let her go.

Not until I get her necklace back to her.

9

EMILY

Days slip by in a blur, each one melding into the next, but the weight of my decisions only grows heavier. Every morning, I wake up in my cramped apartment, staring at the ceiling as the reality of my situation settles in.

I can’t seem to shake the memory of that night with Lucas, the way he made me feel things I’d buried so deep I’d forgotten they existed. But it’s not just the memory that lingers—it’s the guilt.

I search for jobs, Mia covering for me with her dwindling savings, but my mind is often on Lucas. I couldn’t stay. Not after the way I felt lying in bed next to him. I wanted him so badly, it felt like love, but what have I got to offer him?

Nothing.

I walk home from another failed interview, a potent mix of emotions gnawing at me, a constant reminder that I’ve tangled myself in a world I don’t belong in.

Lucas represents everything I’ve always feared—a world of power, wealth, and moral ambiguity that’s utterly alien to my own.

I’ve always prided myself on staying away from trouble, on keeping my life simple and straightforward, even if it meant struggling to make ends meet. But Lucas… he’s different. He’s a complication I never expected, and now, I’m caught in a web I’m not sure I can untangle myself from.

The streets of the Bronx reflect my mood—gritty, worn down, and unforgiving. The buildings around me are covered in graffiti, their once-vibrant colors faded into dull shades of gray and brown.

Trash litters the sidewalks, the smell of gasoline and stale piss hanging in the air. It’s a far cry from the opulence of Lucas’s penthouse, a world so far removed from mine that it feels like a different planet.

As I walk through the neighborhood, I can’t help but feel the stark contrast between my life and his. Here, the people are hardened by life’s struggles, their faces lined with worry and fatigue.

The kids play in the streets with broken toys, their laughter tinged with a resilience born from necessity. This is my world, the one I’ve always known, and yet, for the first time, it feels small and suffocating.

I try to push thoughts of Lucas out of my mind, but it’s impossible. The guilt isn’t just about the one-night stand; it’s about the way his world has started to bleed into mine.

I’ve heard about the fire that burned down Vince’s house, Greg’s car getting smashed up the day he bought it. Then he got the shit kicked out of him last week in a random attack. Vince got mugged the same day, teeth smashed in by the butt of a pistol.

The news unsettles me, a cold shiver running down my spine. I can’t shake the feeling that Lucas might have had something to do with it, that somehow, my association with him is dragging me deeper into the darkness of his world.

I tell myself it’s just paranoia, that I’m imagining connections where there are none. But the unease lingers, a constant companion as I navigate these streets that used to feel like home.

I’m still broke, still jobless, and now I’m emotionally tangled with a man who feels both thrilling and terrifying. It’s a mess, one I’m not sure I know how to fix.

The sun is setting, casting long shadows across the buildings, and the streets are beginning to empty out. I pull my jacket tighter around me, trying to ward off the chill that has nothing to do with the weather.

I need to get my life back on track, to find a job, to stop thinking about Lucas and the chaos he’s brought into my life. But even as I make that resolution, I know it’s easier said than done.

As I reach my apartment building, I pause, looking up at the faded brick facade, the windows dark except for the faint glow of a few scattered lights. This is my reality, and yet, for the first time, it feels like a cage.

I can’t stop thinking about the world Lucas inhabits—a world of luxury and power, but also one of danger and deceit. A world that I’ve barely glimpsed but that already feels like it’s pulling me in.

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