Chapter 64

**Lily**

I didn’t think I would ever get used to the ease with which these people talk about ending a person’s life. Or discussed the beating of a human being until they blacked out and beyond. It was truly appalling. Especially if it concerned your own body being beaten, or a loved one being killed.

I blinked a few times and shook my head to try to wrap my head around what he just proposed.

“You say I need to kill Matteo, or I will get killed?”, I summarized his proposal in my own words. I couldn’t believe that I would have summarized this correctly. There was no way.

“Yes, exactly that. And when you kill Matteo, you will be head of the Bruno famiglia.”, he said. Mario had an interesting choice of words. Not if, but when I kill Matteo. Like it was a given.

“What if I don’t want to be head of the Bruno famiglia?”, I asked. I didn’t know why that was what I asked, maybe because that was the last thing I heard so I forgot about the first part? The question should have been: what if I didn’t want to kill Matteo? But then again, that would probably not be the best question to ask in this setting.

Mario chuckled. “Then you would be head of the Bruno famiglia. You can play any role you want to, I will see to that. Of course, we would also need to change your name to what it should have been in the first place. Liliana Bruno. That sounds good, doesn’t it?”

Wait, what? He wanted me to change my name? Lily Brown, Liliana Bruno. I had never thought about it before, not even after visiting Jelena. I always just figured that Brown was a common name. But now I realized just how much it sounded like the name I would have had if my mom hadn’t run away.

“I never killed anyone.”, I said. I wanted this conversation to last. The time we were talking in here, was time that I wasn’t being tortured, which was a big positive already. Also, I wanted to get information from this man. Obviously, he had known my mom and I wanted to know more about all the things she never told me about.

“Doesn’t matter. Do you know how to shoot?”, he asked me kindly. He really was acting like a caring father to me. I shook my head.

“Mmm… Matteo failed to teach you even the basics.”, he sneered. Matteo hadn’t taught me how to shoot, nor had he taught me any fighting skills. I had also never asked him to because I never expected that I would need them.

“Never mind, we’ll create a situation in which you cannot possibly miss.”, Mario muttered.

“Why do you think that Tommaso is not suitable to be the leader of the Brunos?”, I asked him. Mario groaned out of frustration.

“The boy is stupid. All brawl, no brain. He has the intelligence of his fucking mother, stupid bitch. You have the best of both your mother and of me.”, Mario said. He seemed pissed off when he talked about his son and wife.

“How do you know that? I have never met you.”, I asked him surprised. Mario laughed.

“You are so naïve and pure!”, he exclaimed. “I’ve known of your existence for quite a while. It just took some time to track you and your mom down. Once I did though, I have been watching you constantly. Simon spoke highly of you, too bad you quit there by the way. You have great friends. Adam is very positive about you as well.”, he was reminiscing. How the hell was he able to do this, and how did he even know Adam?!

Mario laughed at my shocked face. “Again, you need to be more careful, dear. We have spies everywhere.”

I was disgusted. He must have watched my every move! I felt queasy at his revelations. My privacy had been breached completely! I wondered what he had been watching. Had he been watching me at clubs? Had he been watching me in my house? Had he seen me having sex with Matteo? It was making me feel sick to my stomach.

Mario slammed his hand on the table as he stood. “Think about it. You kill Matteo, or we kill you. We all know he will never give up his suppliers for you.”, he grinned. Mario walked to the door, and just before he walked out of the room, he turned around again. “Welcome to the family, dear.”, he smirked.

I’m back in my little prison. Everything that Mario just mentioned was playing through my head. I don’t know whether I should be glad that he took over the reigns from Nero. Or that at least he pushed Tommaso down a notch.

Deep down, I also knew he was right. Matteo would never give up his suppliers for me. I didn’t fully understand why it was such a big deal, but I guessed it had something to do with what Valeria told me a while ago about territories and such. Maybe it was partly that, partly ego. Or maybe he didn’t want me enough.

I didn’t want to go down that route in my head, so I forced those thoughts out. Instead, I focused on the fact that Mario apparently knew for sure that I was his daughter. How did he know though? Jelena had her suspicions, but she didn’t know for sure either. My mom always told everyone that I was the child of a soldier. So, how could he be so sure?

Truth is, I didn’t know. There are more answers now, but again they are followed by questions. I also knew that I could easily drive myself crazy when it came to questions that I didn’t have the answers to. Again, another topic to be forced out of my head.

Leaves only the topic of how I was going to get out of this place. I tried to find any other way, but I didn’t think I had any other way out, but to agree to the plan of killing Matteo. I didn’t for one second think I would be considering doing that, let alone that I would actually be able to do so. But I needed to find a way to get out of this prison. And this seemed to be the only way.

I hated to be with my back against a wall, but I had no choice anymore. I needed to agree to this. I gulped, not liking it one bit. Even if it brought me out of this prison, there was still no guarantee that I would live.

The next day, Tommaso was back. His men dragged me out of the prison cell I was in, back to this all-familiar torture place. Again, hooked to this hook in the ceiling, a gag in my mouth, it was becoming like a routine. Yet, this time he also placed a blindfold over my eyes. I hated not being able to see, it made me think the worst of the situation.

I heard Tommaso talk to someone, but I heard no response coming back.

“Ciao Matteo. Anything you want to say?”, I heard him say. I didn’t hear an answer, so I started to brace myself for the beating that was to come.

Sure enough, Tommaso kicked my stomach a few times, making me scream out through the gag in my mouth.

“How long are you going to continue this bullshit, Tommaso?”, I heard Matteo’s voice say. “You know I will not give up my suppliers for Lily.”

Damnit, hearing him say it out loud hurt like hell. It added more doubts to the list that was already in my head. Did he love me to begin with?

Tommaso hit me in the face. It stung like hell, and I felt something warm trickle down my cheek. I didn’t know whether it was tears or if it was my blood.

“You’d rather watch me fuck her in her pussy than hand over your suppliers?”, Tommaso said, pushing his fingers up my cunt. I screamed at the pain he caused. Even though my screams were muffled, it must still be clear to everyone I was in pain.

“Yes.”, Matteo said. To most people it must have sounded steady and cruel, but not to me. I heard a tremble in his voice, indicating that it was not something he wanted. But still, his answer cut straight through my soul, and I broke then and there. I didn’t hear anything else that was being said or talked about anymore. I didn’t want to be here, or anywhere for that matter.