Couture Criminals
Cheeky owner of a struggling fashion boutique, Poppy Fields dreams of having her designs rocking the couture runways in Paris and Milan. While fantasizing about the glamorous life, her world is about to collide with the devil himself in the form of a dangerous mafia leader, Roman D’Amico, out for revenge for his dead brother. Often mistaken as the future wife of one of Chicago’s most notorious crime bosses, and Roman’s rival gang member, everyone who enters Poppy’s little shop believes they are doing a favor to the Gambino family. When her doppelgänger waltzes into her boutique, the women are shocked to find they look like twins. Leaving her identification behind as a ruse to flee the country, Claudia switches lives with the unsuspecting fashion designer. When Luke Gambino falls for the ploy, he believes Poppy is his runaway bride, forcing her to take on the persona of the real Claudia Ricci. Following the murder of his brother, Roman D’Amico is looking for revenge. When he suspects the Gambinos are behind it, he plots to kidnap the rival gang member’s wife. Unknowing that the women have switched places, Roman kidnaps the wrong couture diva. With Claudia missing, Poppy must keep up the ruse, and convince Roman to keep her alive or fall into the hands of the murderous Gambino family.
Chapter 81
"… There's one more thing to address. You haven't mentioned Claudia. What does she have to do with all this, and where is she?"
Mustering up the nerve to do the one thing he was trained to do, Luke sat up in his seat with confidence. If he wanted to set things right with the five families, he needed to tell the Godfather himself.
"Don Ricci—"
"Call me Sal, son."
"Sal… The woman inside with your wife is not Apollonia."
"It's not? So, that's Claudia?"
"No sir. I don't know how to tell you this other than just be straight with you. That woman is their missing sister. Her name is Poppy Fields. I'm sure you noticed she's got an American accent and wasn't speaking much. She doesn't speak Italian because when she was kidnapped she ended up in the US."
In utter disbelief, the man stood from his seat, pacing the floor. "This can't be true. She's been missing for years. We thought she was dead."