Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
This is it, Rhea gulped down a lump lodged in her throat. This was what she had been talking about, the punishment Big Joe reserved for her. Her hands were shaking beneath the table and she was scared out of her mind yet she had to put on a calm demeanor.
“Whatever Big Joe planned, she would survive it,” She chanted inwardly, gathering strength from it.
“Days ago, I’m sure you all here must have heard that my fiancée Rhea here took off.” He gestured to Rhea who now was as pale as a vampire. She’s finished. She was about to be punished for running off. In public. How cruel could he be?
“But I can assure you that my Rhea didn’t mean to run away, she was deceived by another,”
It happened that Rhea who had her head lowered immediately jerked up, “Huh?” She stared at Big Joe as if he suddenly developed two heads. What was he talking about?
“I looked into the matter and realized that someone tried to sabotage my happiness, no, our happiness,” He tried to pull off the image that he and Rhea were a perfect couple dwelling in peace and harmony.
He went on, “But do not fret, I already got my hands on the suspect and today, you, my guests, would witness her getting her deserved punishment,”
Big Joe turned to the door, commanding both men standing guard there, “Bring her in,”
Honestly, Rhea didn’t understand what was going on anymore. She was relieved yet anxious at the same time. What Big Joe had fed the guests were completely lies yet she was relieved she wouldn’t be punished in front of them – she would be humiliated to death.
But at the same time, she was tense. Whatever Big Joe would try to do was to teach her a lesson for trying to escape him. So who then did he use as a scapegoat? It had to be someone close to her – and that was her greatest fear.
The door opened…..
Punished For Her Crime With Ten Lashes
Oh no.
Rhea couldn’t believe her eyes when she caught her cousin Costanza being dragged into the room amid her protest. What the hell was going on here?
“Let me go you, bastards!” She screamed on top of her voice, thrashing around but her strength could not compare to the two men holding her down on both sides.
“Costanza,” Rhea whispered. As if the the air carried her words, her cousin turned around at that and their eyes connected at that moment.
“No,” Rhea was about to rise from her seat when Big Joe gave her a meaningful look and she knew she was supposed to stay put. Any disobedience on her part would only make her punishment worse.
“Rhea?” Costanza recognized her at that moment, shock sprawled across her face. However, to her surprise, that look distorted into fury and she hissed, “You! You are the person responsible for this!”
“C-Costanza,” Rhea choked. When Cassie told her Big Joe would likely use someone close to her, Rhea had thought of Mimi and hoped that she was far away from them – held hostage by Lukas, thankfully and prayed the asshole doesn’t give her up as he did to her.
Never did she imagine in her wildest dream that it would be Costanza, it just didn’t cross her mind or she just never saw it happening, after all, Costanza and her parents were the ones who gave her up to Big Joe. Who knew Big Joe would turn his back against them?
…..
The same way they sold her, had they stood and watched helplessly as Big Joe’s men took Costanza away? Had her aunt cried hard for her daughter? Had she felt even half the pain she – Rhea – felt when they gave her up to the gang? Did her heartbreak even just a little? Rhea sure hoped it did. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratification now her uncle’s family was being bitten in the ass by karma.
Even at that, Rhea felt guilty that Costanza was being punished for crimes she did not commit. She ran away on her own, no one pushed her into doing it. She needed her freedom.
Well, you wouldn’t have been in this situation either if her parents hadn’t sold you off, a dark part of her mind spoke. Rhea shouldn’t blame herself for what was happening. Well, not that Costanza agreed because she was still throwing accusations at her at the top of her voice.
“This is all your doing! Why would I help you escape?! Am I crazy?! No, I bet you were the one who told all this lie so you could finally have your revenge on me like you’ve always wanted, bitch!” Costanza screamed on top of her voice and Big Joe had to rub the inside of his ear.
Feeling irritated, he signaled to his men,” Do something about her mouth, “
“Yes, boss!”
The order was effective immediately, Costanza was gagged with a rag and all that was left of her ravings were muffled sounds that weren’t much of a fuss anymore.
Big Joe said, “As you all can witness, the perpetrator of the crime that has led to a few instabilities in my relationship has been comprehended,”
Rhea wanted to roll her eyes, when did the both of them ever have a relationship? She couldn’t tell if Big Joe was simply being dramatic or plain stupid. She would choose the first. He has revealed to her that he intentionally played her games from the start. Now, it was her turn to dance along to his tune.
“The accusations are true and my fiancée can testify to that, isn’t that true, Rhea?”
Rhea was so shocked by that question that she became dumb. Big Joe was not going easy on her this time.
“Rhea?” Big Joe pressed for an answer.
“I – I… uh…” Rhea didn’t know what to say. This was wrong and she was never the type to accuse someone falsely. She looked up to Costanza and saw the fury plus plea in her eyes. Rhea could imagine her saying, “Bitch, just say the truth,”
She took her gaze away and turned to Big Joe who looked confident she wouldn’t turn him down – else there would be hell to pay.
“You’re right,” Rhea conceded to the claim and one should see the mask of rage on Costanza’s face. She let out an inhumane scream that was drowned out by the gag but one could see how aggressive she became because she tried to lurch at Rhea only to be pinned down by Big Joe’s people.
Rhea could tell Costanza was currently cursing her to death and honestly, she felt dirty by the act but it was the only way out; she did this to ensure their life.
This was a trap and Rhea had no choice but to save Big Joe’s face in front of his partners even if that meant lying against her family and proving her loyalty to him. That way, she had proven to be a loyal wife in the future.
If Rhea had gone contrary to his expectation, she wasn’t even sure her life, not to talk of Costanza’s, would be safe after this. Big Joe was giving her a chance to be the submissive wife she was supposed to be at the expense of Costanza’s dignity.
And let’s be honest, Rhea knew Costanza would have done the same to her in a heartbeat if she was in her shoes. All of this wouldn’t have happened anyway if her parents hadn’t been greedy and selfish. So yeah, she refused to be blamed for what was happening or for defending herself. They were the ones who set everything in motion and the wheels have turned against them.
“With my fiancée having confirmed my words…” Big Joe said proudly and Rhea felt like throwing up. She played right into his hands, “She would be punished for her crimes with ten lashes of a cane!”
Rhea gasped at first until she thought over it and discovered Costanza would be able to survive the ten lashes. On the bright side, it wasn’t thirty lashes.
However, Rhea must have rejoiced too soon because the soldier from earlier walked back in with a wicked-looking whip, not a cane.
Goosebumps climbed her arms at once, what was happening. This was not what they just agreed on….
Who Left The Note
Rhea has heard of whips with small pieces of metal or bones at the top used to cause disfigurement or serious trauma for the victim like ripping pieces of flesh from the body and though the bullwhip in the guard’s grasp – made with braided leather- wasn’t like that, she still couldn’t help but panic.
She could see that Costanza was scared as well; her lips were trembling, beads of sweat on her forehead, and of course, the fear in her eyes.
If that whip landed on Costanza’s body, in addition to causing her pain, she might approach a state of hypovolemic shock due to loss of blood. And as much as her cousin was a bitch, Rhea couldn’t lose her.
She turned to Big Joe hurriedly, speaking with a hushed tone, “You said it was a cane, that doesn’t look like one,”
“Don’t cause any scene, just sit back and enjoy the show,” Was all Big Joe said to her, causing her hands to fist with anger.