PastJune 2010We were going to get rid of old Russo.That was the conclusion the three of us came to after learning the gender of the creature.She was a girl, one who would have problems as soon as she was born. That didn't seem fair to me, I didn't agree with how women were treated within the mafia, so I had to get into a plan that my brother came up with.We had no choice."My grandfather will come soon to check that everything is going well, I..."Diana couldn't continue talking without crying, the enlargement of her belly made her look prettier, however, she was much more susceptible than usual and that was starting to irritate my brother."I'll take care of everything at the gender reveal party, it's our closest opportunity," Adriano said seriously, "we'll leave before he comes himself, we'll say we'll take into account the doctor's recommendation to look for a specialist in early detection of diseases."That's when I realized he was very cunning, maybe too cunning, so I asked
PastJune 2010My decision was to keep quiet."You know all the crap, so you don't count," I replied and he squinted at me."Matteo wouldn't have brought these fools in for the sake of his being, so tell me what the hell you gave him in return."He made a good deduction, but you would never dare to show my cards to an adversary like him. With that in mind, I blurted out the only thing that would get him off my radar."Don't worry about it, just settle for knowing it's a favor," I said and ignored him."Then you're stupider than you think, so stupid you'll end up badly under our father's shelter," he muttered in my ear and walked away."Gods! Giulia said nervously. “It seems that this last year he became the monster he had been hiding forever. “"No, that was, only now, since the cards are already cast, he doesn't have to hide all his nature," said Enzo, who looked at the area as if he wanted to understand everything."We'll catch up when we get home, now I want Diana to be treated wel
Past From July to November 2010The judge's decision on my father's fate was still hammering my brain.Part of me had wondered how the Caseys had taken it, but then I told myself it wasn't my problem, so I had to deal with that information at my last therapy session in Minneapolis."Emma, we've had almost six months of therapy, months in which you've barely made any progress," my therapist said a little tiredly. “I can go on, we can go on in this, but if you don't do your part, I feel like we're not going to get anywhere.”"You know what I've been wondering? Why the hell do I come to sessions where my therapist can't understand what I'm saying?” I questioned angrily. I walked out of there like I was burning. At that, my lawyer's call snapped me out of my musings on my way to the nearest bus stop."Good morning, Emma, I'm notifying you that the court has ruled in your favor, the judge accepted the sentence and previous events to allow the name change, so tomorrow you can go and do al
PastDecember 2010My life had gone crazy.I was with my siblings, Diana and the baby, in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, hidden in the shadow of mob violence, looking to have a few days in peace. Some well-deserved ones that we were looking forward to, mostly for the peace of mind of Ariella, my niece.Burying Russo was an odyssey, Adriano thought it would be a day of action, Matteo said the conservatives would wait to give respect and Enzo said that Cosa Nostra follows traditions, they wouldn't put them aside for a young boy seeking revenge.Whether we liked it or not, we were already involved, so involved that when Ariella was born and they sent her the head of the nanny who took care of Diana, the one who intended to help her with the child, to the hospital itself."What the hell happened?" I asked once I entered the room.When I saw the open wooden box with the woman's head, I focused on the note hanging from it."You will have no peace until you give me what belongs to me, unt
PastMay 2011I had recovered, but I had lost a lot.The first thing I didn't expect to receive when I went to Matteo's office was the divorce papers."This came first thing in the morning," said my father's lover, Massimo, and after reading, I took a deep breath. “It's legitimate, so legitimate that they're dismissing your paternity in the process.”"I'm not going to give Diana a divorce, she's not asking me and this is something that smells like an obligation," I specified, and that's where Matteo entered."You're going to sign it," he ordered, and I refused his aberrant tone. “You'll do it because he sent this.”He threw me a USB stick, I caught it and he invited me to watch it on the computer, which I did. Upon entering, an mp3 video was played automatically, in it, Diana looked serious, well dressed, groomed and made up in a different way.As if another woman were showing up there."If you watch this video, it's because I made the decision to separate, it's the best thing for bot
PastJune 2011My life had just gone on.I started going to therapy once I was able to settle down.It wasn't easy at all, it was hard for me to be able to control everything so that things went well, so I fell into a good routine in which I worked long hours, I would come in making dinner for me and Lilly and we would watch trash TV.It was good, so one day when I decided to deposit money in my savings for college, I never imagined that they were following me, I was not aware of it until a man hugged me in the middle of the street and pointed his gun at me. The breath of alcohol and the touch were what brought me to a complete halt."Keep walking or I'll shoot," he muttered as another came over to hug me.He began to tumble."We're going to go to the bank, we know you're going to deposit your weekly paycheck, so today you're going to withdraw everything and you're going to go with us or we're going to shoot you at the same time that your mother, your grandfather and your cousins in B
PastFrom September to December 2011Recovering from the robbery wasn't easy, especially with Lilly still recovering from the accident and me starting a new job that didn't help me pay off debts.I felt trapped.One day, while I was working on the espresso machine, a man approached me to place an order for many coffees, those that were different and were made in two machines."I'm sorry to bother," he said, and I turned to shrug it off."Don't worry, we're here to serve," I replied politely.Almost half an hour later, I had all their drinks ready."You've never been here before," he said."I've only recently started working at this café," I admitted."Well, I'm sure you've already been told, but you have a very pretty, very unique beauty, have you ever modeled?"I shook my head at what seemed to me to be a clear attempt at flirtation."No, I've never modeled and it's not something I plan to do.”"You should, you have a very nice bone structure, as well as features and features that fa
PastFebruary-June 2012I signed the divorce and got my fortune back at a high cost.Those months after Ariella's death were very hard, they were ones in which I had to do catharsis, concentrate on college once and for all, as well as take my life into my own hands. According to the FBI, the mob had been dispersed, petty thieves remained, but there were no people who posed much danger to me or my family. The case by that time was closed, however, the feeling of emptiness was unbearable.Because of this, the lawyer dragged me to a therapist."You need help, you have to give in a little and someone can give you a hand to better manage your emotions," Alejandro said. “You're a guy who's going to be twenty years old, barely... You've been through a lot in a very short amount of time, it stands to reason that you need help with everything. Life will go on; you have four years left to touch without problems the fortune that you must manage for your family... You have to improve, if not for
Emma's BirthHannaI was tired of fighting.I had to do it for the child I was carrying in my womb because otherwise, I had no reason to continue. I was weak, discarded, and with my soul in pieces, without the consolation of saying that no one had told me. My whole family was at pains to remind me how foolish I would be if I let myself be carried away by the love of a man who wasn't worth it.They were right.The result was to run away with him, leave my house like a thief, and travel with the thought that my love story would have a happy ending. It didn't—quite the opposite. What would be a life away from a controlling father and siblings, where I could do whatever I wanted and no one would force me one more day to do what I didn't like, became a dark hole that swallowed me up without letting me get out of it.It was scary and very disturbing.Bruno was just the bait that someone else used to kidnap me from my life, my roots and origins in Britton. After a twenty-two-hour drive to Ne
Months later...EmmaWe went for Aurora.I was a little girl who was abandoned at the entrance of a church, she had a terrible story, but she was one who told me she needed all the support in the world. She came from a family of Latino immigrants, she was a beauty of a creature, but she was afraid of people, of the world, of people.And rightly so.I couldn't blame her for it, it was just a matter of trust.She was eight years old when we met her, isolated from the rest while drawing fairies and magical creatures. The first one who saw her was Luc, when I looked for him, I ran into her and I just fell in love and even more so when they told me that she went through many shelters where she ended up with some kind of problem because people had no patience for her silence. That caught my interest and when I found out that she was aware of how a family member left her, pushed her aside, I just wanted to do all the paperwork right away.She was hurt, lacked confidence, and deserved all the
Three years later...LucianoWe would finally have our happy union.She, as an adventurer, decided that she didn't want a big gala or celebration, but wanted to have a quick and fun meeting in Las Vegas, that's why we were there, in one of the most iconic chapels on The Strip.Emma seemed like a goddess in every sense of the word.Seeing my wife walk towards me in a beautiful champagne satin silk dress and with a long neckline that incited all my desires, was not only what excited me, but my biggest dream more than fulfilled. I felt in the clouds because of the beauty she gave me, because of the immense love she gave me and because she agreed to be with me, before that, I could not avoid some tears, it was something automatic that not only touched the audience, it touched her much more who also let some tears slip from her eyes and when she arrived at the altar, Bruce gave it to me with great love."Here I give you my granddaughter, live to make her happy, don't break her heart again
PresentOctober 1017"Well, Luciano, you can start exercising, soft things, nothing high-impact, you must recover your previous condition, but yes, I give you my blessing to have intimacy.”We burst out laughing, I saw my sister typing mischievously and I asked her:"Did you write to my girlfriend?""No, I wrote to the one I want to be mine, but it's very hard to crack, I have a feeling it's going to be a very difficult ninja path to travel," he blurted out solemnly and I shook my head over his nonsense."Take it easy, Alice has a past that hides beneath that noble heart, be careful and don't pressure, she must have her time...""Well, I'll drop you off at home and then I'll go to the academy, so...""No, I need to go to the headquarters of the companies, I have something very important to do there and I'll take one of the cars I have there," I asked and he looked at me suspiciously."Well, let's go.”When I got to my office, I looked at the person who was filling in for me, a person
PresentAugust 2017Luc was still the same, a little more stable for passing the critical stage, but the same.I spent the day with all of them, Diana left early to be with her baby and me, Giulia, Enzo and Lilly went to the cafeteria for dinner."What do you want to eat? I talked to the manager of the cafeteria and juggled to get something decent," Enzo said and I didn't even know what to say."I'll just eat some fries and a soda, today is the day to break the diet," Giulia said and her brother shook his head, but didn't say anything."I'll eat a hamburger, thanks," Lilly said.Both she and Enzo saw me and I had no choice but to lie to them, so I sighed deeply and said:"Like Giulia, I don't have much of an appetite and I don't know if I'll be able to eat anything else.”Then a man not so old, perhaps about Uncle Ismael's age, appeared and Giulia got up to go and hug him tightly."Who is it?" Lilly asked and I shook my head."I don't have the slightest idea about it," I admitted.I s
PresentAugust 2017"I wondered if you would follow the route of the road, but no, I thought that the best thing you could do was to seek help," Adriano said mockingly as the six men around us laughed."Don't do this, Adriano," Luc muttered clemiciously."Of course, I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it very well, so well that I'm not only going to go get you, but I'm going to make sure that Giulia and Enzo suffer a lot," he blurted out angrily, and I watched as the dogs we heard came out from behind the trees."Put me down so I can help you," I said softly to my beloved, and he ignored me."Separate them," Adriano ordered, and that made Luc squeeze me much tighter.The men came over and the dogs growled, that's when I knew it would all end badly, so badly that my tears came out without any filter. I was thrown at the feet of Mr. A, who bent down to see me with a wicked smile."What I'm going to do with you will be the funniest thing, Emma.”I swallowed hard and restrained myself fro
PresentAugust 2017Guido was a demented one."Please don't do anything stupid, murdering a billionaire like Luciano Basciano will put a target on your back, you won't be able to live, you won't be able to run away easily," I said in an attempt to negotiate with him and touched my earrings, begging Enzo to pick up the signal."Don't want to see my idiot face, just... Don't do it, it's your fault that I already have that bullseye on my back," he explained cheerfully."You're not thinking with your head, release him before the FBI sneezes and does an unprecedented search," I offered, and he laughed."Emma," Luc said a little nervously."Just be crafty, if you leave Luciano near the road, he'll pay you a lot for me, use that, give you anything to free me later...""Shut up! You talk incessantly and if you don't want me to lose patience with both of us, just shut your mouth," he blurted out furiously and I restrained myself.”He kicked the seat and I squealed with some drama that made Luc
PresentAugust 2017"I'm all ears," I said with difficulty."Things have become difficult for me in these months. I'm not going to lie to you, it's still hard to understand everything, but now I'm coping calmly and the therapies help. Opening up was something I always wanted and didn't imagine it would be so painful.” His voice cracked a little, and I held back. “Now I see events more clearly and I am able to accept my mistakes.” He smiled with a bed. “It's up to me to give myself the opportunity to supplant hatred with love, to recover the illusion of the uncertain and to believe in what is really worthwhile.”"That's good..."It was unmatched."Yes, it is. However, it's not an easy thing to do, saying it motivates you, but doing it is taking it to another level. Continuing in pain won't do anything for us and I want to remedy that.” The understanding of his words showed me the clear and stark reality of us. “Your life went on after you left Britton, it's such a different one... Whic
PresentAugust 2017"Say what you have to say.""My cousin will never forgive me, and I'm aware of that.” The phrase made me hesitate, especially because of the perennial lament she had. “I want to tell the whole truth once and for all.”"What are you talking about?" I asked, not understanding anything.She avoided the gaze as if she had a hard time holding it."When you guys started dating, things changed a lot for me. Emma was all about her family and she was immersed in the love they feel... That made me feel displaced and I made stupid things because of my jealousy that affected both of us.”"Why tell me and not her?""It's something I'll do in due course, when he's able to hear me... Now, I know it's not the time and I must tell you something that involves you. That's why I came to you first, Luciano.”His tone of voice was weak, but the firmness in the last few sentences was all seriousness."I don't know what you mean by telling it now. What makes you think I want to know anyth