Page 4 of Flawed

Why didn't I tell him to use a condom?

Why does it have to be Luca's?

I leave the bathroom, pull my bedding back, and slide under the covers. For hours I cry, unsure of what I'm going to do. I'm only eighteen. I'm unprepared to be a mother, and especially a single mother. This wasn't my plan for my life.

My parents are going to kill me.

Maybe I should find Luca and tell him.

What am I thinking?

If he's the father, it's his right to know.

Maybe we could be together and it'll all be okay.

What am I thinking? He's the enemy.

He's my baby's father.

My baby.

Oh my God! What am I going to do?

I will never subject my child to the Abruzzos.

The debate over how I'll manage a baby, my career, and still keep Luca a secret never stops. When morning comes, I still don't have any answers, but there's only one thing I vow to do.

I'll figure out how to be a good mom and protect my child from Luca at all costs.

1

Luca Marino

Two Weeks Later

Angelo Marino,my uncle and head of the real Italian Mafia in New York, shoots me daggers and crosses his arms. I say the "real one" because Jacopo Abruzzo will claim the same, yet he defected from Giuseppe Berlusconi, who heads up all of Italy's top families. And the Marinos are still loyal to Giuseppe and under his leadership.

Years ago, I came to the States from Italy. Since no one knew who I was, Angelo utilized me as his spy. So I have two passports. One has my real name, Luca Alessandro Marino; the other is for Luca Alessandro Bianchi.

Angelo and his four sons are the only people who know I'm a Marino. Other than that, the crime family world thinks I'm loyal to the Abruzzos. Jacopo believes I'm a spy for him against the Marinos. It's one of the most dangerous positions in the Marino family, and I thrive at it.

Plus, my vendetta against the Abruzzos is personal.

Angelo demands, "Tell me what you found out."

I take out a joint and light it up. One thing I can't seem to quit is weed. It keeps me calm. Without it, I'd have a harder time keeping my cool.

The things the Abruzzos do make me ill. Nothing is off-limits. Human trafficking, both women and children, is their main source of income. They also have their hand in most other activities crime families are known for, such as smuggling, drugs, and gambling, but it doesn't even touch the income from human trafficking.

Lately, I've been put in more positions to do things against my moral code. I've had to buy women at their auctions, go into their whorehouses and select an innocent victim for the night, and other things.

My only saving grace is I insist on my sexual activities being private. So no one knows I never engage with the women. The women and children I buy, I pretend to sell and arrange for them to get to safety. The ones I have to "rent" for the night, I barely touch and pretend to fall asleep as soon as the door closes.

If I could save all of them, I would. But the Abruzzo operation extends throughout the world. So I do everything my uncle instructs me in order to someday take them down.

I inhale my joint deeply, hold it for a few seconds in my lungs, then release a cloud of smoke. I shift on my feet and relay, "A new shipment is arriving tomorrow night. They're using the O'Leary's docks."

Angelo freezes. "Why the O'Leary's instead of their own?"

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