Page 104 of Trapped

My father stiffened. “What about him?”

“I need to know the truth about him, Dad. I think I know who he really is, and I think you do, too.”

Zofia pursed her lips, glancing at my father. “What is she talking about?”

He waved a hand. “She’s babbling nonsense.”

“Dad, I’ve seen pictures of him at Santino’s house. He carries a photo of him in his wallet. Did you really think you’d get away with this forever? That you could…steal a fucking child?”

Zofia’s tinkling laughter broke the silence.

Dad shook his head. “I’ve never heard suchchepukhain my life.”

“Tell me the truth. Who is Luca?”

Dad’s voice was flat, almost bored. “Luca is no one important. Just a boy that your imagination has turned into something else.”

Heat flared in my chest. “He’s not just some boy. He’s Santino’s cousin who supposedly died in a fire you started.”

Zofia laughed again. “Such wild fantasies.”

I ignored her. “Dad, I need the truth. This isn’t just about family feuds or old crimes. People’s lives are at stake.”

“If you like living, you will drop this. Forget about Luca.”

I swallowed hard. “I can’t do that.”

He stood abruptly, his chair scraping back hard. “Then you are no daughter of mine!”

I stayed seated. “What the hell have you been doing to him?”

“I didn’t do anything to him,” he snapped. “I saved him. His family was killed, so I gave him another one.”

“You stole him from his real family and raised him in a world of lies. Why?”

His face flushed. “His family was a threat. Taking him in was the only way to neutralize them.”

“By turning him into one of us? By keeping him hidden all these years?”

“A dead child holds no value. But a living one who believes his family left him for dead, that’s useful. Luca isn’t here because he doesn’t remember who he is. He’s here because I made him believe there was nothing left to go back to.”

I stared at him, horrified. “You made him think his family abandoned him?”

“It wasn’t difficult. He was young and scared. He believed me because he had no other choice.” Dad glared at me, his voice rising sharply. “I saved his life.”

“After killing his parents!”

My father’s gaze hardened. “Luca is an adult. If he wanted to leave, he would have. But he hasn’t. He knows who I am, and what I’ve done for him. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you can change that with a few words. And if you try to change his mind, you’ll be the one who suffers.”

A sick feeling settled in my chest. “You turned him into one of us, made him live a life he never asked for. And for what? To keep your enemies close?”

He didn’t respond, his silence confirming everything. My stepmother shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

“Where is he?” I asked.

“I won’t tell you that.”

“Dad, come on. You must’ve known this day would come.”