Page 5 of That Time I Accidentally Took Over the Mafia

I glance from Luca to Enzo, the two of them silent as they exchange some unspoken conversation that tells me everyone in the room knows what’s in the envelope except me. Fine. I’ll bite.

Taking the envelope from Enzo makes my stomach churn with anxiety.

Luca slouches in the chair, eyes locked on the paper, while Jax watches me like I’m an animal about to spook and run off.

I don’t like this. I really don’t like this.

Looking at the thick paper, the first thing I see is the large, audacious “C” for Caputo, and I know it’s from my father. My estranged father.

I’m just about to crumple it and tell them I’m not interested in anything that man has to say when I catch the first line of the letter:

If you are reading this, I’m dead, and you are now a very wealthy woman.

What the fuck?

My heart thuds painfully in my chest, and for a split second, I want to throw this damn letter in the trash and pretend I never saw it.

But I can’t.

Instead, my fingers curl around the edge of the envelope as I read the rest.

A very wealthy woman who is in very grave danger.

The letter continues, but all I can focus on is the fact that my father is dead—and that he wrote a pre-planned letter to cover the scenario. Who lives a life like that? I wonder as I look around the kitchen like the answer is here somewhere.

“Keep reading,” Luca mutters. His voice is almost too calm, like he’s already expecting me to freak out.

He can’t know methatwell. We spent a few months together in college before I gave him my virginity. The next night, my father introduced me to stepmom #5 and my new stepbrother: Luca. The man who spent the night before fucking me into oblivion. He looked horrified, like I’d just grown a second head made entirely out of dicks.

Until today, I hadn’t seen him since. Not a picture, not a mention.

Not that I looked.

You are now the heir to the Caputo family. Your life will change dramatically, and there is no going back. This empire is yours.

I sit there, dumbfounded. The words blur as my brain tries to wrap itself around what I’m reading, and I realize my hands are trembling.

The next line hits me like a freight train:

I have kept you in the dark about this life for a reason. You will soon learn why. Be careful. There are people, very close to you, who would do anything to see this empire fall.

Trust no one.

“Trust no one?” I blink, feeling like the floor has just dropped out from under me. “This is some sick joke, right?” My mind spins as my eyes rush over the letter, skipping words and goingback to reread the same sentence three times. It still doesn’t make sense.

“What empire?” I demand, my voice pitched high as reality begins to sink in.

I look to each of my exes, desperate for an answer, but all I see is sympathy on their faces. Every one of them is staring at me like I’m some poor, lost kitten about to get eaten alive.

Except Luca. He’s staring down at the table like he’s made of stone.

“The Caputo Family Mafia,” Enzo says, completely unfazed by my growing panic, as if he’s explaining tomorrow’s weather forecast.

I almost laugh, but it comes out more like a sob. “Oh, thanks for explaining that perfectly,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “My father was a crime lord? And I’m... what? Expected to drop everything and go run it?”

I laugh again, but it’s shaky and forced. The weight of what I’m hearing crushes me like lead on my chest. “Well, I have no plans to take the throne as some sort of mafia queen, so you three can fuck off.” My tone is surprisingly even, but the words feel hollow, like I’m drowning under the weight of this new reality.

The worst part? I have no idea what to do with any of it.

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