The Mafia's Contracted Bride

Chapter One - The Plan

Chapter One – The Plan

Eva stood at the door of her bedroom, ensuring it was locked, before she headed into her closet and pulled out the small metal tin hidden in a shoe box that sat under a mountain of other show boxes. She opened it up quickly and added a wad full of twenty pound notes to the already overflowing tin, then closed it and locked it with the small key on her keyring, and replaced it back in its hiding spot, safe and sound.

For the past three years, she had been busy, not only with her studies, but with her plan to escape. That fateful day when she found out she was to be pawn in some underhanded business deal, Eva refused to be frightened, or to feel hopeless, instead she became proactive, and began syphoning money from her allowance, then once a month she would visit a different city or town as part of some ‘school trip’ she had gone on, or made up, and visited a bureau de change and changed the euros into GBP. The past six months, she had taken some of her diamond jewellery and again on one of her many travels, sold them, then purchasing cheep replicas to replace them and stashing the cash through her fake online store. She had amounted a sum of 400,000 pounds which she had obtained by setting up a business account on pay pal in the name of Emma Smith. Then opened her fake designer store on ebay, where she would also make purchases, and pay the money, to have it go into her pay pal account, so that she could draw down whenever she wanted. With the 7,000 pounds cash she had in her tin it was more than she would ever need, but enough should she have to buy herself out of trouble.

After the day the Dovizioso’s had come to her home, they were never seen again, but there had been a lot of men dressed in black suits, with handguns in their belts around the house ever since. It was through quietly listening to these men, that she found out about a forger who could get her a false British passport, and so she had made her way into Florence on a “School Trip” and visited the man. Seeing her name, he had initially refused to help, but money talked, and after paying triple the normal rate he agreed to get her a British passport, and drivers’ licence under the name of Emma Smith and it was more than his life was worth to tell anyone he had helped her. Eva was approaching her 18th birthday fast, and time was running out for her to make her escape, but she had waited for her exam results, so that she could hack into the school system and change the details of her name and address on her qualifications, so that she could enter Newcastle University situated in the North East of England, just below Scotland, as Emma Smith medical student. With that all completed, all she had to figure out now was how to leave, and given her birthday was fast approaching, and she was no longer in school to fake trips to different towns, that was becoming a headache for her.

“Eva, could you come down please, your father and I would like to speak with you” her mother called.

Eva, let out a long sigh, she was fed up with pretending everything was okay, and that she knew nothing of the disgusting plans her parents had made to sell her off to the largest Mafia family in Tuscany. Standing up, she glanced in the mirror, over the past three years, she had grown, she now stood at five foot four inches, not tall, but average. However, the biggest change was her body, she had finally developed, it happened over the period of a few months, and now she had all the right curves in all the right places. She never once thought this would interest he,r until she found it worked to her advantage when selling her jewels or wanting to distract one of the many mafia guards that surrounded the house.

“Give me two minutes, I have just got out of the shower” she shouted down.

Eva returned to her closet and pulled out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, and pulled on a bright red V necked T-shirt, before scraping her long red curls into a ponytail, then headed down to the drawing room to find out if today would be the day, her parents informed her she was being sold off to the highest bidder.

As she walked into the drawing room, her father was stood next to the white marble fireplace, her mother sat on one of the two long gold and white stripped sofas that sat opposite each other with a walnut coffee table between them.

“Take a seat darling” her mother motioned to the empty sofa opposite the one she occupied.

Eva sat down, her posture perfectly straight as she placed a small, fake smile on her lips as she had done for the past three years, and looked between her parents.

“Eva Darling, remember a few years ago when you met Mr Dovizioso and his handsome son Marco?” her mother asked

Eva gave a nod, it is not like she could ever forget that day, it was the day that her life was turned upside down, and she had to grow up, and quickly in order for her to escape the clutches of that family.

“Well, Marco, it appears that he has become a little bit smitten by you and has asked your fathers permission to court you once you turn eighteen” her mother smiled.

Eva shook her head internally, her parents were going to sell this as young love, the plan he would somehow seduce her into marrying him within a month of her eighteenth birthday. It was laughable, if it were so not tragic Eva mused to herself.

“Given Mr Dovizioso is head of our family and business security, your mother and I have agreed” her father intervened

The hairs on Eva’s neck stood on end, she could hardly contain herself from screaming in their faces, that she knows she was sold to them, so that they could have extra guards, but she also knows they plan on killing them, and her to get their grubby mafia hands on their billions. But instead of doing just that, she took a steady breath and nodded slightly.

“My darling, this is a great honour for you, Marco is the most sort after bachelor in Tuscany. He has women falling at his feet, but his devotion to you has been steadfast for three years. He has been the perfect gentleman by waiting to court you until you are eighteen, I am sure he will make you very happy” Eva’s mother continued

Eva once again bit her tongue thinking why and how any mother could do this to their only daughter, in fact their only child, then turning to her mother she smiled sweetly.

“We have arranged that he will attend your eighteenth birthday party, and the day after he has requested you go to his home under the protection of his father, so that he can get to know you better. I am sure with his father in residence you will be in no danger, so we have agreed” her father said his tone low, and Eva did not miss the slight break in his voice.

Danilo looked at his beautiful daughter, she really was stunning, she had matured so much of late, and had gone from a scrawny child to a heart stopping beautiful young woman, almost overnight. His heart broke for what he had agreed to three years ago. He had no other option, with Romano Petrucci, the head of the Petrucci mafia, threatening the lives of his wife and child, so that he could use the Marini supply chain for his drugs and illegal human trafficking, and with the attacks on the factories, that had caused more than a couple of his staff to be killed in the fires he had set. Danilo’s only way to ensure his daughter was kept safe was to enter into a deal with the Dovizioso family at for all their faults, at least that family did not operate in human trafficking. It was a case of better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. He knew that they wanted a Marini and Dovizioso heir, who would stand to inherit both the families fortunes from of the match, and strengthen their own mafia family,  but it was really the only choice he had, after finding their beloved family dogs head in his bed one night, a gift from Romano Petrucci, and a clear warning of what was to come he had approached Enzo for help, and paid the price of his daughters hand in marriage to his only son Marco so that she may live, it was his only option he had in order to save her life.

Eva looked between her parents, and nodded

“Yes, I am happy to do that, he is, as the girls at school say, hot” Eva said placing a fake smile on her lips.

“But, before it gets mad with party preparations, and I have to leave to spend time with Marco and Mr Dovizioso would it be possible for me to have a trip to Rome, a couple of the girls from school are going to celebrate the end of exams, and I would really like to go with them?”

Danilo let out a sigh of relief, his daughter had not fought him on this, and she seemed quite taken with Marco, and after what he was doing, he could not refuse her this one request.

“When will you leave?” he asked

“The day after tomorrow, and I will return two days later, the day before my party, I am sure you will love to plan it for me mother, you know I am not good at these things” Eva answered, hoping her mother would take the bait.

“Okay, how will you get there? and you need to take Stephano with you” Danilo answered

“We will take the train, and really, Stephano, it will be uncomfortable for Bella, and Maria to have him tag along” Eva protested.

“You can go Eva, but you must take Stephano with you” her father insisted.

Eva nodded, it was the best she was going to get, but now she needed to organise a girl’s trip, with the only two girls who she spoke with at school and hope to be able to slip away from her guard.

Returning to her room she picked up her mobile phone and text both Bella and Maria

All expenses paid road trip to Rome day after tomorrow, are you in?

Instantly her phone lit up like a Christmas tree, with both girls saying yes immediately,

Eva let out a sigh of relief, as she messaged the details, and booked the hotel, then booking a flight into Amsterdam, in her name, plus a ticket from Amsterdam to San Francisco, to leave a false trail. She then booked the Ferry under the name of Emma Smith that went from Amsterdam direct to Newcastle. All she could do now was pray she got away from Stephano and she would be free.