Entrapped By The Mafia

Seconds felt like hours as Lena stared at her phone, her fingers drumming on the counter. She was waiting-no, hoping-for her sister Linda to call back, but the screen remained stubbornly silent. Her frustration simmered, a fiery urge to smash something boiling beneath her calm exterior.

"Lena!" snapped Lorie, the restaurant manager, jolting her back to reality. "Table three. They're waiting."

"Right, sorry." Lena grabbed her notepad and pen, hurrying toward the table.

Lena paused when she noticed the guests on table number 3. It was occupied by a man and a lady, and they were both in their late twenties. A frown formed on her face.

"Linda's friends," Lena thought; this was the company her sister joined before she became all rebellious, and it's been a month she hasn't seen her sister, so she could only ask them.

"Where is Linda?" Lena asked at once; she didn't think that these people needed politeness as they lacked one themselves.

They both stared at her and snorted; of course they knew who she was; after all, she had an identical face to Linda.

"This is Linda's boring and careful twin sister," the lady muttered to the man, who chuckled and stood up, picked up his bag, and pointed a finger at Lena.

"Your sister is a mess; if I were you, then I would consider it a curse to look like her."

Lena blocked his path, not letting him go. "I asked where my sister is; you ruined her by introducing her to your stupid line of business, and now you call her a mess."

The guy pushed Lena to the side, and this caught a lot of attention. He pointed a finger at Lena and said, "Don't do that judgy stuff with me; your sister wasn't a teenager when she chose to join us. And we regret ever working with her; she took a business offer from some dangerous men and didn't even think of letting us in on it."

Lena raised a brow, confused. What business offer? Was her sister in danger?

"Lena" Lorie hurried towards her; he crouched and helped her up. "Are you okay?" he questioned, and Lena nodded before she watched Linda's friends leave.

Lorie dragged her to the kitchen before she folded her arms and kept glaring at her. "Since when do you attack the guests? What is wrong with you?" He scolded, and Lena bowed her head slightly with an apologetic look.

"I am sorry, Lorie," Lena muttered and quickly sniffed back her tears, which threatened to roll down her cheeks.

Lorie held her hands and patted her head with the other hand, throwing a reassuring smile at Lena.

"It's not the first time your sister disappeared; she will come back when she feels like it."

Lena shook her head in denial. She knew her sister was always leaving home without saying a word and only returning after weeks, but Linda had never been absent for their parents birthday; she always showed up, and today was their parents birthday, but she didn't show up.

"It's already 7pm; I am sure your parents must be waiting for you, so why don't you go back home?" Lorie suggested, and Lena nodded. She walked to the wardrobe at the end and took out the apron and kept it carefully before she picked up her bag and turned to leave when Lorie said.

"You could show up at home as Linda, then make an excuse and leave, then return as Lena; this way your parents won't be sad."

Lena chuckled. Of course she was the complete copy of Linda with no differentiation, and it was always hard for people to tell which is which but not their parents; her mom knew her kids so well and couldn't be fooled by them.

"Good night, Lorie," Lena waved at her before she got into the cab, which took her to the Morgan mansion.

Lena lingered at the gate, wondering what excuse she was going to tell her parents.

"Should I tell them that Linda called and was stuck in traffic?"

"Or maybe she was rushed to the hospital?" Lena thought but kissed her teeth; that would only make matters worse.

The sound of her phone ringing brought her out of her trance. Lena quickly rummaged through her bag for her phone and sighed disappointedly when she saw the caller ID; for a moment she thought it was Linda, but it was her boyfriend, Chris.

The call got connected when his voice echoed, "Hello baby, how are you?"

Lena pouted, "Linda hasn't shown up yet; guess the state I am in right now."

"I am sure she is fine; remember she is used to leaving?" Chris explained, and Lena didn't think so. No one was worried about Linda because they thought it was normal for her to always leave and suddenly show up, but she knew Linda wouldn't miss their parents' birthday for anything in the world.

"Don't worry, baby, if she doesn't show up by the end of the day, then I will ask my detective friend to look into it." Chris assured her, and a smile quickly found its way on her face. How did she end up meeting such a caring man?

"I am the luckiest woman on earth to have you, Chris."

"I am the lucky one, baby," Chris answered, and the line went silent for some seconds before Lena broke the silence.

"I will call you later, okay?"

"Hmm, I will be waiting," he replied before the call got disconnected, and Lena found her way into the mansion and was welcomed by silence.

Her father wasn't in his usual chair sipping his late-night coffee while complimenting her mom for being the best coffee maker in the world.

"Did they go to bed this early?" Lena thought before she found her way upstairs to her parents bedroom.

"Mommy." She called, but there was no one in the bedroom.

"Papa," Lena kept calling, but there was no response. The front door was open, so there was no way they would have left without locking it.

She found her way to the first floor, which was occupied by the library and her father's study room. Lena halted on her steps when she stepped on something.

She crouched to find it was her dad's reading glasses, and there were some muddy steps on the floor. After carefully following it, Lena found herself on the balcony, and her eyes bulged when both her parents were tied around a chair and surrounded by some men.

Lena tried to hurry to her parents but was held by a man; he grabbed her hair and pulled her closer to him.

"It's Linda," he blurted, and the man who stood by the side dressed in a gray suit approached them and took a proper look at Lena.

"Why do you have my parents tied up?" Lena asked angrily when the man showed a coin to Lena.

"The boss already spun the coin; I am sure you know what it means," the man chuckled. He was the Italian Mafia's spin man, Dante, and since the boss couldn't come all the way to America, he was placed in charge of finding Linda and wiping off her family.

"What are you talking about?" Lena asked, What coin, and who was the boss?

Dante crouched to Lena's level and gripped her cheeks tightly. "We trusted you, but you chose to betray us?" he asked, and Lena shook her head in denial as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You must be mistaken; I am not Linda, and please don't hurt my parents," she burst out in tears, and Dante chuckled. Of course he expected such a reply from her.

Lena's gaze moved to her parents, who were in tears but couldn't utter a word as there was a tissue in their mouth, preventing them from talking.

"Go on" Dante nudged at one of the men who walked towards Lena's dad, and her eyes widened in shock when the man pushed her dad off the balcony. Lena's gaze was stuck on the empty space her dad was sitting in right now.

She was in a trance and couldn't comprehend what was happening. Was she having a nightmare, or did this really happen?

"Papa," Lena muttered as countless tears found their way down her cheeks. She stood up and pushed Dante angrily.

"What are you doing?" Lena burst out in tears, fell to the ground, and kept hitting it. Her dad was pushed off the balcony like it was normal; the building was about ten meters high, and there was no way he was going to survive.

"Papa," Lena clutched her chest tightly, not able to stop herself from crying. She stared at her mom, whose face was also wet from tears; the thought of her mom being pushed off the balcony made her shiver in fear.

"Please, please... If Linda has done anything, then I promise to pay it back. Please..." Lena folded her hands in a plea, went on her knees, and pleaded Dante.

But what she didn't know was the fact that Dante didn't have any say; their boss already asked him to spin the coin, which was used to determine if her parents would live or die, and it landed on die.

"Where is the suitcase?" Dante asked Lena, who shook her head; she had no idea about the suitcase; why wouldn't they believe she wasn't Linda?

"Believe me, I am not Linda. I have no idea about a suitcase."

Then she pointed at her mom, "You could ask her; I am not Linda." She kept pleading, but this frustrated Dante; the fact that he knew she was lying made him so angry before he turned to one of the men.

"Just do it," Dante ordered, and the man used his leg to push Mrs. Morgan off the balcony.

"No!!!" Lena screamed her lungs out as she watched her mom fall off the balcony. "Mommy," she called out, but no reply came from her mom. Lena was pulled up by Dante, and he pushed her to one of the men.

"She is coming to Italy with us; we will let the boss decide her fate," Dante said before he turned to leave when Lena pushed his man away and hurried past him.

"Go after her." Dante scolded as Lena kept running without looking back; she hurried to the entrance when she spotted some men.

"God please..." Lena muttered before she hurried to the kitchen and closed the door as they kept hitting the door.

"Enough games, Linda; I am sure you don't want to make the boss angrier." Dante yelled from outside, and Lena pushed the chairs to block the door and she sat at the edge of the kitchen as her hands and lips kept shivering.

"Mommy, papa" Lena was in tears before her phone rang; she quickly retracted it and noticed it was a call from her sister Linda.

"Yes, Lena, I am on my way to the mansion, so don't blow my phone up," Linda snorted.

"Linda, some men... They are looking for you; they killed mommy." Lena stuttered as she tried to explain the situation to Linda, who was fast to understand.

"Lena, get out of there; run as fast as you can." Linda scolded over the phone, but Lena kept crying; she was surrounded by them, so how could she leave?

"They think I am you; if you show up, then maybe they will leave," Lena explained as Dante's men kept trying to break the door.

"They want a suitcase, Lena, and it was stolen from me; they won't kill you if they think you are me," Linda said before she tried to explain things in detail to Lena.

"Don't let them know you are not me; I promise to find the suitcase and come to you," Linda explained while in tears, and Lena shook her head; she just wanted this to end.

"Linda, please come; these men will harm me," Lena pleaded.

"If you tell them you are not me, then they will kill you; they can't kill me because they need the suitcase, so let them believe you are me. I promise to save you, Lena; please stay alive." Linda kept pleading when the door pushed open. Lena shot the phone below the table when those men rushed towards her and grabbed her.

"You think you are smart?" Dante scolded before he took out a white tissue and pressed against her nose, and she lost consciousness.

"Take her to the van; the boss will be so happy to see her." Dante ordered before Lena was moved to the van, which drove away from the Morgan's home.

Lena grabbed the sheets tightly as she kept reminiscing of her parents being pushed off the balcony, "Mommy." She kept crying when her eyes slowly opened; it flickered and tried to balance with the light.

Lena scanned her surroundings and noticed she was in a bedroom with white and yellow curtains and was on the queen-size bed. She hurried down the bed and stood by the window and noticed the building was high.

"Papa," she extended her hand to try and catch her dad falling off the balcony, but it was just in her thought; her dad was already gone.

"Papa!!!" Lena screamed out when the door pushed open and a maid walked in carrying a tray of food and placed it on the bedside table.

"Your dinner," the maid said, as Lena has been asleep since she arrived this morning, so the maid knew she must be so hungry right now.

"Who are you?" Lena asked, the maid who smiled at her and walked out of the bedroom. Lena lounged to follow her but stopped on her track when Dante walked in.

Fear was visible in her eyes when she saw Dante. "I see you are awake," Dante said, and Lena didn't reply; instead, she took a step backward.

Dante chuckled, not able to believe that she could behave this cowardly; the Linda he knew would have tried to escape right now.

Some heavy footsteps could be heard against the floor. Dante moved to the side when a man walked in. He was dressed in a black shirt and jeans with rough black hair. Lena felt the skin on her body stand when the man's gaze met hers.

She didn't need a magician to tell her that this man was the boss, the man who had decided her parents fate with a silver coin.

Lena found it hard to swallow her saliva when the man kept taking steps towards her. He was known as La Mano Nera (Nero), the leader of the Italian mafia, who had quickly made his name known by mafia's around the world. He was one not to dare with as he was known for his cruel strategy of dealing with his victims.

Nero scanned Lena's face for a while before he turned to Dante, who approached him with a box. Dante opened the box, and the Russian roulette was exposed.

Nero picked up the gun before he sat on the bed and spinned the cylinder. "Ciao, bellezza. [Hello Beauty]"

Nero's hoarse voice made a shiver run down Lena's spine with her gaze focused on the gun in the man's hand.

"Come ti chiami, habibi? [What's your name, Habibi]?" he asked, but Lena couldn't understand a word he was saying. A creepy smile formed on Nero's face before he pointed at the space before him.

"Stand here," he ordered, and Lena still didn't move when Dante walked towards her.

"Don't you understand English, Linda?"

Lena dragged her feet to stand before Nero, and he stood before her. "What's your name?" he asked, and Lena clenched her fist; she knew she couldn't mess with these men.

"Linda Morgan," she muttered. Since her sister had told her that the only way she could live was by feigning to be her, Lena didn't have a problem, and if they wished to kill Linda, then she was willing to sacrifice herself.

But to her surprise, Nero laughed before he took a good look at the gun. "You see, baby, I don't have enough time to waste. So I will ask one more time, "What's your name?"

Dante stared at Nero confused. Didn't he get the lady when she said her name, or maybe he wanted her to say it with a louder voice?

Lena bit her lower lip as a tear rolled down her cheeks. "Linda Morgan," she answered, and Nero nodded.

"You see, baby, this revolver holds a single bullet in one of its chambers. Spin the cylinder, pull the trigger, and pray that fate is on your side."

"So let's play a game; if I say my name wrongly, then I pull the trigger on myself. If you say your name wrongly, then I will pull the trigger at you," he explained, and Lena's eyes widened in shock when Nero pointed the gun at himself.

"My name is Dante," he said, then pressed on the trigger when Lena's eyes widened in shock. Nero chuckled.

"My luck; now let's try on you. What's your name?" Nero asked, and Lena burst out in tears.

"L...Linda Morgan," she muttered, and Nero pulled the trigger, but the only sound that could be heard was the click sound; this made Lena stare at him in disbelief.

"What psycho man?" Lena thought in disbelief as Nero pointed the gun at himself again.

"My name is Kiel," then he pulled the trigger at himself, and the click sound made Lena fall down on her knees.

"Lena Morgan, my name is Lena Morgan," she burst out in tears when Dante's brows furrowed. Lena Morgan?

Nero handed the gun to Dante. "Lei è così fortunata e carina. [She is so lucky and pretty].

Nero crouched towards Lena's level and scanned at her body. He knew at first sight that this lady wasn't Linda, so how did his men even mistake her?

Of course they looked alike, but this one had an attractive beauty, and her innocence was something he had never seen in the ladies around him. A smile formed on his lip before he said.

"Mi piace questa [I like this one]"

Nero stood up and patted Dante's shoulder. "Go find me Linda Morgan and my fucking suit case."

Nero walked to the door before he stopped on his track and pointed at Lena. "I want to have dinner with my woman; get the maids to make her presentable." He winked at Lena, who felt like she had fallen into a hole and there was no way out.