10. Cara

Chapter ten

Cara

T he world feels wrong, a funhouse mirror reflection of the life I knew. Colors are too bright, sounds too sharp, every sensation a razor blade against my raw nerves. It's like I'm walking through a waking nightmare, a hellscape of my own making, and the only thing tethering me to sanity is the tiny spark of life growing beneath my heart.

I press a hand to my stomach, feeling the gentle swell that's just beginning to show. "We're going to get him back," I whisper, a promise and a prayer. "Your daddy's coming home to us, little one. I swear it on my life."

But even as the words leave my lips, doubt coils in my gut, insidious and cold. It's been weeks since June was ripped away from us, weeks of dead ends and false hopes, of mounting despair with every passing day. The police are useless, hamstrung by the long arm of Elaine Deveaux's influence. And my own efforts have been met with stonewalling and thinly veiled threats at every turn.

I'm at the end of my rope, my resources and my sanity stretched to the breaking point. Which is why I find myself here, in the sprawling manor of the most notorious crime lord in the city, preparing to barter my soul for the man I love.

"Cara?" A gentle hand on my shoulder startles me from my dark reverie. I look up to see Natalie watching me with concern in her warm brown eyes, her brow furrowed. "Are you sure about this? We can find another way, something that doesn't put you at risk..."

I shake my head, a bitter laugh escaping my throat. "There is no other way, Nat. You know that as well as I do. Elaine has her claws sunk too deep, her web spun too wide. If I want to save June, if I want to keep our child safe, I need the kind of power and resources only Dante can provide."

Natalie sighs, but there's understanding in the set of her mouth, a gleam of steel in her gaze. "I know. I just wish it hadn't come to this. When I left all those years ago, I was swept into this life – this darkness that follows the Corleone name. And now, here I am, dragging you right into the thick of it."

"You're not dragging me anywhere," I say fiercely, gripping her hand in mine. "I'm walking into this with my eyes wide open, Nat. For June, for our baby...there's nothing I wouldn't do, no line I wouldn't cross. Elaine wants a war? Well, she's got one. And I'll burn her whole fucking kingdom to the ground if that's what it takes to get my family back."

Natalie's eyes shine with unshed tears, her smile tremulous but proud. "There's the Cara I remember. Stubborn as a mule and twice as fierce. Elaine won't know what hit her."

A soft knock at the door interrupts our moment, and we both turn to see Dante's new Underboss, Luca, poking his head into the room. "Boss is ready for you," he says, his gravelly voice carefully neutral. "Conference room three."

I take a deep breath, squaring my shoulders and straightening my spine. It's time to face the devil and strike a deal. For June, for our future, I'll gladly walk into the flames.

Natalie and I follow Luca through the winding halls of the manor, the thick carpet muffling our footsteps. The opulence of our surroundings is staggering - priceless art on the walls, antique vases on marble pedestals, the gleam of gold and crystal at every turn. But beneath the veneer of wealth and taste, there's something darker, a sense of danger that prickles the hair on the back of my neck.

We stop outside a set of heavy oak doors, and Luca raps his knuckles against the wood before swinging them open. "Miss Briers and Mrs. Corleone to see you, boss," he announces, stepping aside to let us enter.

The conference room is all sleek lines and muted colors, a clear contrast to the old-world grandeur of the rest of the house. At the head of the long table sits Dante Corleone himself, looking every inch the powerful crime lord in his impeccably tailored suit and cold, assessing gaze.

"Cara," he greets me, his voice a smooth, cultured drawl. "I wish I could say it's a pleasure to finally meet you, but given the circumstances..."

"I'm not here for pleasantries," I say bluntly, ignoring Natalie's warning look. "I'm here because my husband has been taken, and you're the only one with the power to help me get him back."

Dante's lips quirk in a humorless smile. "Straight to the point. I can appreciate that." He gestures for us to sit, steepling his fingers on the polished wood of the table. "But before we discuss any potential...arrangements, I need to know exactly what we're up against. Tell me everything, from the beginning, and don't leave out a single detail."

So I do.

I tell him about June's obsession with taking down Elaine, about the incriminating evidence he'd gathered on her illicit dealings. I tell him about my futile efforts to find him, the dead ends and the stonewalling, the creeping certainty that Elaine had finally made good on her threats.

Through it all, Dante listens with a stoic, unreadable expression, only the occasional flicker of his eyes betraying any reaction. When I finish, my voice hoarse and my hands shaking, he leans back in his chair with a heavy sigh.

"Elaine Deveaux," he says, his tone dripping with contempt. "I wish I could say I was surprised. The woman's been a thorn in my side for years, always dancing just on the edge of what I can prove. But this...this is a new level of bold, even for her."

"So you'll help me?" I ask, hardly daring to hope. "You'll use your resources to find June, to bring him home?"

Dante exchanges a loaded glance with Natalie, a silent conversation passing between them. When he turns back to me, there's a new intensity in his gaze, a coiled readiness that sends a shiver down my spine.

"I'll do more than that," he says, his voice low and deadly. "I'll help you burn Elaine's empire to the ground. I'll use every weapon in my arsenal, call in every favor and dirty secret I've gathered over the years. By the time we're done, there won't be a safe harbor left for her in this world or the next."

Relief crashes over me like a tidal wave, so strong it nearly brings me to my knees. "Thank you," I whisper, my voice cracking. "I don't...I don't know how I can ever repay you."

Dante waves a hand, dismissing my gratitude. "No need for that. Elaine has crossed me for the last time. This is as much about settling old scores as it is about helping you. And besides..." His gaze flicks to Natalie, something warm and fierce flickering in their depths. "We take care of our own. And you, Cara, are family now."

Natalie reaches out, taking my hand in hers. "Whatever you need, whatever it takes...we're with you. To the end of the line."

I nod, too choked with emotion to speak. For the first time since this nightmare began, I feel a flicker of real hope, a sense that maybe, just maybe, we might actually stand a chance.

But even as that hope takes root, a cold tendril of fear curls in my gut. Because I know, with a bone-deep certainty, that this is only the beginning. That the road ahead will be paved with blood and brutality, that the price of June's freedom may be higher than any of us can imagine.

And yet, as I sit there in that room full of killers and thieves, I feel a strange sense of calm settle over me. A resolve as hard and sharp as diamond, as unyielding as the love that drives me forward.

I will find him. I will bring him home. And God help anyone who stands in my way.

The next few hours pass in a blur of strategy and secrets, Dante's inner circle arriving one by one to offer their expertise and their loyalty. There's Luca, cold-eyed and lethal, the whispered stories of his exploits enough to make even the hardest men tremble. There's Nina, Natalie's cousin and Dante's master hacker, her fingers flying over her keyboard as she digs up intel and lays false trails. And then there's Enzo, the family enforcer, his scarred knuckles and grim smile speaking volumes about the kind of "persuasion" he brings to the table.

Together, we pore over every scrap of information, every lead and rumor and half-formed hunch. Slowly, painstakingly, a picture begins to emerge. Shell companies and offshore accounts, dummy corporations and bribed officials, all leading back to one name: Deveaux.

"It's worse than we thought," Dante says grimly, tapping a finger on a grainy surveillance photo. "Elaine's tendrils reach far beyond what any of us realized. She's got hooks in everything from the mayor's office to the fucking FBI. Taking her down won't be easy."

"But not impossible," Natalie says, her jaw set with determination. "We've got the element of surprise on our side. She thinks Cara's just a broken little bird, too lost in grief to be a threat. She has no idea what's coming for her."

"And we have an ace up our sleeve," Enzo chimes in, a wolfish grin spreading across his face. "Or should I say, a Sarah up our sleeve."

My head snaps up, my heart leaping into my throat. "Sarah? June's Sarah, from the hospital?"

Enzo nods, something like respect flickering in his dark eyes. "Kid's been playing double agent for weeks now, ever since your man got snatched. Gathering intel, sabotaging Elaine's operation from the inside. Risky as hell, but she's got balls of steel."

A rush of gratitude and fear washes over me, so strong it leaves me lightheaded. Sarah, sweet Sarah, risking everything to help bring June home. Putting her life on the line, day after day, in the heart of enemy territory.

"Is she...is she safe?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

Enzo's grin falters, a shadow passing over his face. "For now. But the deeper she goes, the higher the chances of her getting made. We're working on an extraction plan, but it's dicey. Elaine's got that place locked up tighter than a nun's c-"

"Enough," Dante cuts him off, shooting him a quelling look. "The point is Sarah's intel has been invaluable. Thanks to her, we know where they're keeping June. And more importantly, we know how to get him out."

Hope and terror war in my chest, a dizzying cocktail of emotions that threatens to send me to my knees. "Where?" I manage to choke out, my fingers digging into the soft leather of my chair. "Where are they holding him?"

Natalie reaches out, laying a steadying hand on my arm. "A private facility upstate," she says gently, her eyes full of sympathy. "Heavily guarded, state-of-the-art security. But not impenetrable."

"We've got a man on the inside," Nina pipes up, her fingers never ceasing their dance across the keys. "A guard named Romero. He's been feeding us information, smuggling in supplies. With his help, we should be able to breach the perimeter and extract June with minimal casualties."

"Should be?" I echo, my voice rising in pitch. "Minimal casualties? Jesus Christ, this isn't a fucking video game! That's my husband in there, the father of my child! I can't just sit back and hope for the best while you guys play at being action heroes!"

"Cara," Dante says, his voice sharp with rebuke. "No one's playing at anything. This is deadly serious, and we're all acutely aware of what's at stake. But you need to understand...there's no version of this that doesn't end in blood. Elaine's not going to let June go without a fight, and we need to be prepared for that."

I open my mouth to argue, to rage and rail against the unfairness of it all, but the words die on my tongue. Because as much as I hate to admit it, Dante's right. This is the only way, the only chance we have of bringing June home alive. And if that means wading through an ocean of blood and bullets, of staining my hands with the sins of the father...then so be it.

"Okay," I say, my voice barely a rasp. "Okay. What do you need me to do?"

Natalie and Dante exchange a long, loaded look, a silent conversation passing between them. When they turn back to me, there's a new gravity in their expressions, a weight that settles like lead in my stomach.

"We need you to be our bait," Natalie says softly, apology and steel mingling in her gaze. "Elaine's fixated on you, sees you as the key to controlling June. If we dangle you in front of her, make her think she's finally got you in her clutches...she'll let her guard down. And that's when we'll strike."

Fear clogs my throat, a visceral, animal terror that threatens to choke the air from my lungs. The thought of putting myself at Elaine's mercy, of offering myself up like a lamb to the slaughter...it's almost more than I can bear.

But beneath the fear, there's something else. A spark, an ember, a burning coal of rage and defiance that refuses to be extinguished. Because this is for June. For our child, for the future we promised each other in whispered vows and fevered touches.

I will walk through fire for him. I will face down the devil herself, will stare into the abyss until it blinks first. I will be the bait, the lure, the sacrificial lamb...and when the time is right, I will bare my teeth and remind them all that even lambs can bite.

"Tell me what I need to do," I say, my voice ringing with a conviction I hardly recognize. "I'm ready."

And as I sit there, surrounded by killers and thieves, by the most dangerous men and women in the city, I feel a strange sense of peace settle over me. A clarity, a certainty, a bone-deep knowledge that this is my path, my purpose, the role I was born to play.