For the Empire - Inganno

Chapter 1

STELLA/CHARMAINE

I wish someone had told me that nightmares, just like dreams, can come true; your worst fears can be your reality.

And monsters are not limited to villains, seen on TV or in movies but can materialize in everyday life. And not just that, but that the monsters and villains are not always strangers.

If only I had known this was going to be my life in the coming months; I would have never gotten out of bed after having an old reoccurring nightmare.

But then again, if we always knew what was going to happen in life, we would miss out on the excitement and thrill of new beginnings, of the unknown pleasures of life, love, and undiscovered adventures awaiting us.

I inhale and exhale deeply, waiting for my racing heart to slow down, coming out of the repeated old nightmare that first transpired the night I lost both my mamma and my best friend.

The moonlight streaming in from the open curtains hanging over my balcony doors helps my eyes adjust to the darkness of the room. The sheer curtain flutters with the light breeze blowing in on one of my windows, from leaving it open; a habit I've done since I was a child.

My dad's stern voice telling me to keep it closed because he's not paying to air-condition the whole neighborhood comes back to me.

I sit up and check the time on my phone.

2:30 a.m.

I groan, falling back on my bed, knowing I'm not going to fall back asleep any time soon. I rub at the stinging fantom pain inside of my palms unconsciously. The memory of when I fell chasing after the car my best friend was in, the last time I saw him, is fresh on my mind, especially with the recent bad dream I just had.

The nightmares have lessened over the years and are not as intense as they used to be. Instead, they're more like flashes—clips of the awful night my life was changed, forever.

At least you're no longer waking the whole house with your screams, I tell myself.

That life-altering night holds more than one significance for me. Not only did I watch my mamma die, but I learned that my best friend Enzo's dad was involved with one of the most powerful Mafia families in New York.

But the surprise didn't end there. Nope. As it turns out, that same Mafia family Enzo's dad, worked under is my actual family.

Ten years later, I still have a hard time believing my Uncle, Timoteo "Timo" Bracco, is the leader of the most dominant Mafias in New York, well the entire East coast.

I've had people be friendly to me throughout the years just because of my last name. However, the name also brings the phony's out, those who want to get a foot in the door with the mafia.

But it's also backfired; for example, my dating life is non-existent, and it mainly has to do with the fact that no one wants to get killed by even thinking about asking me out.

Okay, fine. That was a little dramatic. I have had a few dates, but that's as far as it's gotten.

It's obvious which guys ask me out to get to know me versus which ones ask me out, hoping for a chance to meet my Uncle.

However, even the few nice ones I have gone out with eventually put two and two together, and they walk away, no more like run—bolt even, to get away and avoid me like the plague afterward, but I don't blame them. Well, not entirely.

I've had people say they wish they could trade places with my life, after they learn of my relation to Uncle Timo, pining for this life with things like: