CHAPTER ONE
ISABELLA
The sound of plates breaking and chairs being thrown around greet my ears as soon as I reach the door to my father's restaurant. I pick up speed and run inside the building, my heart beating fast inside my chest.
Inside the restaurant, I see my father being held by his neck against the wall by a huge guard. I am no match for the guard so I look around for his boss. I find Damien sitting in a big chair that does not belong to our restaurant, with a cigar in his hand, smirking at me.
Damien has been a torn in our flesh for a year now. We were in a bind and my father borrowed money from him but ever since then, the terms of the arrangement keep changing. There's a gun on the table in front of him so I approach slowly. He might be smiling now but Damien is trigger happy.
"Damien, please ask your man to release my father."
He looks up at me and puffs out a smoke. "I like him like that. Have a seat."
I take a seat in front of him. "Your father hasn't paid me this month. I think he's forgetting the risks that come with not paying me."
"He's not. Business wasn't that good this month, but we'll give you your money soon."
His lecherous eyes find me and he licks his lips.
"I know an easy way to work off the debt." He says.
"Not on your life, Damien!" I say, a little more forcefully than I wanted.
I am not afraid of him. My father groans in pain behind me and I turn to look at him. He has been punched by Damien's man.
"Easy, Bella. My man there doesn't like it when people disrespect me."
He flickers his wrist and my father is released. I run to my father to help him stand up.
"I'll be back in a week, make sure my money is ready by then." Damien says and walks out of the restaurant.
Once he and his men have gone, I look at my father’s bruised face. He's the only family I have left and I breaks my heart to see him like this.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here, Daddy."
He smiles weakly. "There's nothing you could have done. This is all my fault."
I help him stand up and guide him to sit down. After that I go into his office to bring the first aid kit. When I come out, my father looks lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" I ask.
"Maybe we should sell the restaurant."
My eyes meet his and I see that he's serious.
"You can't. You and mom started this place. Why would you want to sell?"
"Soon Damien will get bolder. I don't want him coming for you."
"It won't come to that, Daddy." I say, not quite believing it myself.
"There's nothing left to do. I hate that we're in this situation because of me."
My father was seen talking to a cop two hours before the cops made a burst at one of our secret warehouses and even though my father swears he didn't betray the family, no one believes him. They see him as a traitor and have stopped coming to our restaurant. They were our biggest clients so business took a hit and has not recovered since.
He's no longer included in any business that might give him extra income. It's difficult but at least he wasn't killed.
"There's an option you're blatantly refusing to consider." I say quietly.
My father's expression turns cold and he stands up.
"No! Why would you even suggest such a thing?"
"Of course, I'm suggesting it. It's our only hope."
"He's a very dangerous man, Bella."
"You're a dangerous man too, father and I'm fine am I not?"
"You don't understand, there's nothing I have done or could have done in my prime that will equal what that man has done."
Our Capo needs a wife. Next week, single, available young girls are going to be presented to him.
"He's not going to pick the traitors daughter!"
He looks stricken at my words but they had to be said.
"I'm sorry Daddy, I know you didn't betray the family but everyone thinks it. He's not going to pick me as his wife. We need the money he's going to give those who weren't picked. That money can pay Damien for two months while we think of what to do next."
"I don't want you anywhere that man, Bella. Everyone knows what he did to his first wife."
I smile a little to comfort him. "It's either him or Damien."
He huffs but doesn't answer. A few seconds later, he finally looks at me.
"Let me think about it. I'll give you an answer tonight."
I sigh, shake my head and bend down to start cleaning up the mess Damien made. My father can be stubborn when he wants to be. It's a trait I got from him but I need him to be less stubborn today. We're barely making enough money to keep the lights on and we still have to pay Damien from the little we make.
This meeting with the Capo will do a lot for us. I doubt the Capo knows us or what happened. It's his second in command that saw my father. He's the one so sure that my father is the rat. The only reason he didn't kill my father is because of a blood debt he owes him. If I can get a few seconds with the second in command to convince him that my father is innocent, the ban will be lifted and we will get our customers back.
After I clean up the restaurant, I get busy in the kitchen. The servers will soon be here. We used to have a Main chef but we let him go because we could no longer afford to pay him. I went to culinary school so I took over.
After closing, my father drives us home in silence. I can tell he's thinking about what I told him so I don't say anything. He parks in the drive way but doesn't make any move to get down from the car. I can tell he's come to a decision so I sit there with him.
"You can do it." He finally says.
I sigh and give him a hug. That couldn't have been easy for my proud father.