Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
The door opened and Daniel barged in fuming and with his presence, snatched away all of the joy in the room. The smiles vanished from everyone’s faces, Lukas stiffened upon seeing his father while the color drained from Penelope’s face. Even little Chloe must have sensed evil had entered the room because she started crying and Daniel stared at her with unadulterated hatred.
Seeing his gaze on the kid, Penelope instantly handed the toddler over to Lukas who took her in his arms protectively with his heart pounding in his throat. He was scared of Daniel, but he had a stronger desire to protect his sister. Yes, she was his sister.
Penelope swallowed, stepping towards him nervously, “Daniel…”
A hard slap met her face, nearly taking her to the ground, but she managed to stay on her feet, having gotten used to his maltreatment.
“You dared to adopt a child behind my back?!” He raged, about to land another slap on her face when she shouted,
“Lukas was lonely!”
“What?”
“Lukas needs someone by his side,” Penelope said.
“Isn’t that what you’re here for, bitch?” Daniel grabbed her hair, and yanked on it tightly, “Your role here is to train my son, not to take liberties with me!” He pushed her to the ground, hard.
Chloe cried harder, and Lukas rocked her in his arms. She can’t draw his father’s attention, he would hurt her. Worse, he might even take her away from him… or kill her. But the deed has been done, Daniel turned to them with his scary eyes, and Lukas swallowed, tightening his grip on Chloe.
Daniel started in his direction when Penelope grabbed Daniel’s leg, explaining desperately, “Lukas needs other siblings to communicate with, but you won’t give me another child, so I thought it was best to adopt.”
But Daniel snorted, “As if I would dare to have another child with you,” He didn’t hide his disgust.
She didn’t know where the courage came from, but Penelope continued to beg him, “Please, don’t take her away, Lukas really wants this and she’s a girl anyway. She can’t take away his position, so you have nothing to worry about. ” She assured him.
For once Daniel must have had some human conscience because he didn’t beat Penelope, rather, he turned to Lukas and asked him boldly,
“Is it true? Do you want the girl?”
Lukas had to blink twice to make sure his father was really talking to him. He croaked, “W-what?”
Daniel sighed in disappointment, running his hand through his hair. He said, “I don’t have a dumbass for a son. So I ask again, do you want to keep her?”
Lukas’s throat clogged up and he looked at his mother who was staring at him with high hopes.
“I-yes,” He stammered.
“What?!” Daniel didn’t hear him properly.
“Yes, I want her, father!” He said a little more loudly and with conviction.
“Fine, you would be your sister but she’d no Luciano. She would be taking your mother’s maiden name. And you very much remember what it feels like to have something you desire because you don’t know when you might lose it. And we, Luciano, take what we want.”
[Bonus Chapter] A trap
“We have to go now,” Lukas told her after the reunion was over. If what his sister said was true, then Reina would have suspected her absence long enough by now.
“What?” Chloe said. It just dawned on her that her brother was not joking at all. He wanted to take her away now.
Lukas bent down so they could look into each other’s eyes and said to her, “Listen to me, Chloe, Niklaus and Sakuzi and I are not on friendly terms, and if they dare to discover that I’m here, I don’t know what they are going to do to me. That is why we have to leave now!” He told her firmly.
“But…” Chloe looked around in confusion, “I can’t just leave them like this. Reina has done nothing but be good to me!”
“I appreciate their kindness, but you don’t belong here -“
“Where do I belong then?” She asked him, her jaws clenched tightly.
“Of course, you belong with me,” Lukas said.
“And yet you did nothing as Daniel took me away!” She accused him and Lukas’s eyes flared up in anger.
“You think that I did nothing? Do you know what I had to do, no, what I was forced to do, just so I could keep you alive and out of harm’s way? I almost married someone I didn’t love! I almost repeated the same steps Daniel took just so you could be safe. You think that I have been able to rest since the day you were taken from me?!” He startled her with the ferocity of his anger.
…..
Lukas had to control his anger so as not to scare her away. He placed his hands on her shoulder and squeezed it affectionately as he said, “I’m your brother, Chloe and I would go to the ends of the earth just to keep you safe. However, we need to leave here before Reina realizes that I’m here.”
“But I need to say goodbye to Diego and Elsa and Ella. They’ve been so good to me and I can’t just leave like that.”
Lukas’s expression changed as he stood to his feet, “We don’t have time for that Chloe, we have to leave now.” His tone was hard and unyielding. He finally got his sister back, Lukas would not let petty emotions get in the way.
“If that’s the case…” Chloe withdrew from him with a hard look in her eyes, “I think that I’m much more protected here,”
Damn it, Lukas had forgotten how headstrong Chloe was since birth. She always made sure to have her way in anything she was passionate about and now that she was a teenager, her stubbornness just tripled.
Before his very eyes, Chloe took off running and Lukas cursed under his breath. She doesn’t understand, Chloe was putting everything he planned in jeopardy. Couldn’t she recognize the efforts he was putting in here? Why does she have to be so rebellious like… Rhea. God, he must have a thing for headstrong women.
“What are you waiting for? Go after her! We must stop her before she gets to the party!” Lukas ordered Winters who stood at the spot after Chloe ran away and watched him as if waiting for his instructions.
If Chloe got somebody to help her, then it was game over for them. And the thought made Lukas clench his fist, he didn’t come all the way here to go home with nothing. Chloe was coming home with him.
So Winters went after the girl and Lukas did the same.
The girl was flexible and good at running all thanks to Lukas who had trained her at a young age to be able to protect herself. Their occupation was dangerous and with a father like Daniel, Chloe needed to know how to fend for herself before help arrived. But at that moment, Lukas was regretting ever giving her training because it made catching her now more difficult.
Winters was the first to catch up to Chloe, however, she couldn’t tell what happened next. It all felt like a dream to Winters because the instant she touched the girl at the back of her clothes, Chloe suddenly turned and grabbed her arm, shifted her weight, and flipped her over her side. Winters found herself on the ground with the breath knocked out of her lungs.
Sorry, how old was the girl again? Winters groaned on the ground. This was not what she signed up for. Lukas was going to have to pay her extra for this. Yeah, injury insurance.
“Are you okay?” Lukas wanted to check up on her but Chloe was getting away and it was now or never. So he left Winters and went after his sister, successfully tackling her to the ground before she could think of escaping.
“Let me go!” Chloe screamed and Lukas closed her mouth with his large palm. She then began to hit him and man, her punches were vicious.
“Stay still, Chloe!” He warned her, but the girl was too stubborn for her good.
Fine, if tying her up would get her home, he’d do just that. Chloe can hate him as much as she wants now, but she will come to understand in the future. Moreover, she can’t be mad at him forever.
Lukas was still thinking of a way to tie her up when his phone rang and distracted him. Chloe took advantage of that and kneeled him in the spot where the sun never shines.