I rush to get home and ring the doorbell. As soon as the door opens, I see grandma Marion looking at me with a furrowed brow; it's clear she's also upset with me for the way I behaved with mom."Where's mom?" I ask, struggling to call her "mom" when it used to come so naturally."She's in her room crying; she hasn't wanted to come out since you left." I just nod and head to her room. I knock, and my father answers. Unlike grandma, he looks at me with obvious disappointment, making me swallow hard and feel ashamed of my attitude."Come in, Alexandre." As soon as mom hears my name, she turns around, and I see her bloodshot, swollen eyes from crying so much. I approach her slowly with my head down."My baby! You don't know how much I've missed you." She takes me into her arms and starts kissing my cheeks."Stop it, mom! I'm fine, nothing happened to me. I left on my own will. I'm sorry for being rude to you; I love you very much, even if you're not my mother," I say, starting to cry."My
It's been five days since I arrived in Italy, and during this time, I've begun taking control of all my grandfather's businesses. Initially, the partners he worked with didn't seem convinced about me taking charge. However, I showed them that I'm just as capable as my grandfather to lead everything. Truth be told, I didn't care if they disagreed; I would simply take what rightfully belongs to me, as Bellini put it. I've also visited my grandfather, who remains critically ill since my arrival. On another note, Giulio has remained silent all this time, leaving me no choice but to get rid of him."I'm tired of that damn silence. Let's pay him one last visit." I tell Bellini and Flavio once I return from dealing with some troublemakers trying to take over our territory.We enter the dungeons, and at the end of a long hallway, I open the gate where Giulio is, looking severely beaten. He's so bruised that he looks more like a piece of meat than the man who once boasted of being the new Il g
"I'm really upset with you, Alexandre, and quite disappointed in you." She says. I shift uncomfortably in my seat, unable to look away from her."I guess it's about my father. Let me tell you, I'm more disappointed in him. I don't understand how you can still stand by his side after what he did." I yell, unable to contain myself. I stand up angrily and turn my back on her."Your father never forced me to stay with him all these years, Alexandre. You were very unfair to accuse him without knowing what really happened.""Why didn't you tell me the truth ten years ago? I had to find out from someone else what really happened to you. I guess you felt obligated to love me. If it weren't for me, you'd be with someone else and have other children. It's my fault for all the suffering you've endured over the years. Maybe you regret saving me years ago." I confess loudly, everything that has been consuming me since I found out about her kidnapping."My baby, I was not forced to love you. You mu
The next day when I came down for breakfast, I found my mother talking with Bellini, who had filled her in on everything that had happened, as well as my grandfather's health condition."Darling, you're finally awake. As soon as we finish breakfast, I want to see your grandfather.""Of course, mother. Also, I'm sure there's someone else who will be delighted to see you again.""Who?" She asks immediately."You'll know as soon as we get there." I lean in and give her a kiss. Once we finish our breakfast, we head to the hospital where my grandfather is. During the journey, I notice Flavio showing a lot of interest in my mother, which I can't help but frown at.Once we arrive at the hospital, my mother looks at all the men guarding the floor where my grandfather is, and I see her expression darken. Before she can say anything, Giovanni appears."Mrs. Carluccio!" He extends his hand, and as soon as my mother recognizes who he is, her expression changes to a big smile."Oh my, Giovanni! I
AlexandreI watch my mother as she boards that jet where she'll finally be safe. While it's true that she achieved incredible things years ago, right now, I don't want anything bad to happen to her. She looks at me from the window with a small smile that doesn't reach her beautiful eyes. I raise my hand and wave goodbye to her."Do you have any information about grandpa's attack?" I ask Flavio as I turn around."I got information from a guy. It seems there's someone in a bar called Passione Proibita who might give us some information.""Then let's go, let's not waste time." I cut in."It's not as simple as you think. That place is quite dangerous. It's not in our territory; it belongs to Stefano." He says cautiously."And am I supposed to know that name?" I inquire indifferently."Sometimes I forget you didn't grow up here. Stefano is a powerful mobster boss. He even treated his own wife like crap. But anyway, the point is I can get us in, but I can't guarantee we'll make it out alive
When we managed to enter the place, I observe everything around me. We walk through a hallway illuminated with neon lights. As soon as we reach the end of it, I am impressed by how huge it is inside. I make my way through the crowd that fills the place and climb a small staircase, following the guy who will take us to the reserved place where we agreed to meet.He opens the door and allows me to enter with Flavio close behind me. Inside, I see the whole place adorned with huge mirrors, an L-shaped sofa in burgundy, and small tables where champagne buckets are already resting, along with bottles of whisky. Finally, my gaze stops at a somewhat older man, quite gray-haired, waiting for me with a wide smile on his face, accompanied by two other men who look at us suspiciously, waiting for a wrong move from our side.Through the mirror's reflection, I observe Flavio, who seems quite tense and discreetly has his hand tucked where he keeps his gun. I give him a warning look to relax a bit an
"I knew this wasn't a good idea, but no, you had to be so stubborn and risk coming." Flavio explodes furiously, glancing back as two SUVs that don't belong to my men follow us. "Don't stop!" He yells at the driver, lowering his window, grabbing one of the guns that were there, and starts shooting. When one of the SUVs is alongside us, they begin to push us to throw us off course."What are they trying to do?" I ask, cutting the cartridge from my gun."They want to steer us towards that deserted part of the highway." The driver comments. "There's a tunnel, and once we're in there, I fear the worst."And just as he said, we reach a desolate area. In the distance, I can make out small lights coming from that tunnel, but everything else is in darkness. The driver glances at me through the rearview mirror, gripping the steering wheel tighter."No matter what happens, I want you to run. Do you understand me, Alexandre?" Flavio, still firing, asks. When I don't answer, he turns to look at me
Yelizaveta BelucciAfter dropping the bonbon at his house, I return to mine. As soon as I reach where the guards are, I see total chaos, men running back and forth shouting instructions as if expecting something I am not yet part of."Hello, Bill! Is something wrong?" I ask the man stationed at the gates."Good evening, Miss Belucci! I think it's best you go inside; your parents are waiting for you." He responds, looking a bit tired. I continue my way and am surprised to see so many people awake at this hour. I know we always have to be careful because of my father's line of business, but in all these years, I have never seen anything like this, people running like they are going to war with weapons everywhere.Once inside, I head to the living room, where I suppose my parents are waiting for me."Where were you, Yelizaveta?" My father asks furiously as soon as I come into his line of sight, and it's no wonder, given that I took advantage of his truck entering the property to escape o
When she hears me say this, her body tenses, and she starts crying harder than before. I lead her to one of the chairs and gently sit her down.“What happened to her face?” I inquire after a while, lifting her face a little.“What happened to you, sweetheart?” My father-in-law asks, approaching her, and when his fingers touch his wife’s cheek, she swats his hand away.“Don’t touch me.” She replies without looking at him.I see the pain in Liza’s father’s eyes at his wife’s attitude. He lowers his hand but stays by our side, holding back the urge to hug her.“After Stefano left the house, about half an hour later, Lieutenant Barone arrived. Apparently, he had a warrant for Stefano’s arrest because they had discovered everything about his business, but the way he was acting wasn’t normal.“When our men noticed that he started circling the whole property, Mich advised me not to let them in, and that’s what we did. But suddenly, they started attacking us, managing to break through the gat
Once again, I find myself in the cemetery, a place that has become so familiar to me that my chest tightens with the loss I am facing at this moment. I lower my gaze and observe the white rose I hold in my hand, as I feel a single tear escape from my eye. With the same hand holding the rose, I quickly wipe it away, knowing that the person I am now saying goodbye to would not want to see me in this state.After five long years, Giuseppe Lombardi left us to reunite with his son, whom he has longed for all these years. If it weren't for my mother, who became like a daughter to him, the sadness that overwhelmed him might have taken him sooner.I look around, and both my mother and my sisters are devastated by his loss, but I know they also find peace in having been with him in his last days. Next to me, holding my hand as she always has, is my beloved wife Yelizaveta, and at our feet are our children, little Renzo and little Laryssa.As the priest finishes the last words of farewell, my m
We take the elevator down as quickly as we can, and when we reach the parking lot, I head straight to one of the trucks that’s still there without wasting any time."We won’t take long; it’s about thirty minutes from here." I inform them as I get into the truck, buckle my seatbelt, and then floor the accelerator.The drive to my old home passes in a blink, and when we arrive, I see that only a few walls have remained standing over all these years. I turn off the engine and grab one of the guns from under the seat."I want you to stay here until Bellini and Flavio arrive.""We're not staying. We said we'd come with you, and that's what we're doing." Yasha contradicts me, gritting her teeth."Absolutely not. You'll stay here until the rest of my men arrive."I get out before they can argue, pass through the open gates, and barely take two steps before some men appear in front of me. I fire my gun, but just as I'm about to hit another one of them, I see him fall to the ground. I don’t ne
Yelizaveta Little by little, I open my eyes and feel a bit disoriented, not knowing where I am. I shake my head, and when I finally manage to focus, I look around and realize I’m in some sort of abandoned warehouse. But strangely enough, I’m alone—or at least I think I am.Everything is so confusing that every time I try to remember what happened, my head aches a little. When small scenes of what happened this morning finally come to mind, a shiver runs through me. All those trucks blocking our way, my father’s men trying to protect me, the ones from bombon following us, and that girl, screaming my name before being hit and losing consciousness.I try to touch my head where I was struck hard enough to knock me out, but I realize that I’m tied to a chair. Just as I’m about to move it, I hear unfamiliar voices.“They hit her pretty hard.” Shouts a man, followed by a thud. I try to turn my head to see where it’s coming from, but I can’t, so I listen closely to their conversation.“I’m s
Alexandre “Boss, Mr. Belucci is outside and insists on speaking with you.” One of my men informs me. I set aside the documents I’m reading, somewhat confused by the visit from Liza’s father.“Let him in, please.” My man steps aside, and I see Mr. Belucci enter, clearly upset. He looks around as if searching for someone until he finally fixes his gaze on me.“Where is Yelizaveta?” He asks angrily.“I’m sorry, father-in-law, but Liza and I didn’t plan to meet today. I haven’t seen her in days.”“T-that can’t be possible. She told me she was coming to see you and left the house at noon, and she hasn’t returned. It’s already past midnight.” I check the time on my computer and realize she’s been missing for over twelve hours. I jump up from my seat, grab my phone, and try to reach her. “She’s not answering; we’ve been trying for hours.” He says, his voice trembling slightly.“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I ask, frustrated. “What exactly did she say before leaving the house?”“One of yo
Alexandre "For several days now, you've been acting a bit strange. What's bothering you, Alexandre?" Inquires Flavio as soon as he notices my expression.I turn my chair, let out a deep sigh, and gaze out over all of Liguria in an attempt to clear my mind of so many problems. After a brief pause, I decide to speak."Someone blew up Liza's father's ship a few days ago. Apparently, they had a very valuable cargo that was about to be shipped to Russia. This was a significant loss for both my father-in-law and his partner.""And how does that affect you?" Bellini asks. "Don't tell me the bastard dared to blame you?" He growls furiously.I can't help but laugh. When I turn my chair back around to face them, I shake my head."Why am I not surprised you think that of my father-in-law?""Maybe because the idiot is capable of that and more." Bellini retorts, glaring at me."Only because Liza isn't here will I agree with you, but in front of her, I never will. So, you know, Bellini, keep your
Yelizaveta As soon as we got into the SUV of my bonbon to head to his mansion, I heard his parents begin to argue in hushed tones, trying not to be noticed."Can I ask why you didn't intervene, Massimo?" Mrs. Lilibeth inquired, and from the tone of her voice, I could tell she was a little upset with her husband."Little shrew, you were handling it wonderfully; you didn't need me at any point. Besides, I love seeing you in that mama bear mode." Mr. Massimo replied, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. I immediately turned my face away so they wouldn't think I was eavesdropping, but I continued to listen to their conversation anyway."I don't like the way he talks to Alex." She said, lowering her voice a bit more."I know, little shrew, but Alex accepted it all along and didn't say anything. What can we do? Nothing.""It's not your fault, honey." My bonbon murmured, wrapping his arm around my waist. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who had overheard them arguing."I'm sorry! It's just
Fabrizio “If you're here, it's because you need to tell me something. What is it?” I ask without looking up from my work.“Our men reported that Carluccio just arrived at the Belucci mansion with his parents. They believe they are there to make their relationship official.”“With a demon!” I explode angrily, hitting my desk, “this can't be happening.”I get up from my seat and start pacing around my office, thinking of the best way to prevent that engagement from happening at all costs.“I want you to blow up the shipment waiting at the port.” I order, stopping my steps.“H-how?”“Are you an idiot? Do I need to repeat my orders twice?”“I’m sorry, boss, it’s just that it will be a significant loss for both you and Belucci.”“That loss is nothing compared to what I stand to gain by keeping Yelizaveta away from Carluccio.”“Should I ask our men to abandon the ship?”“No, sometimes it’s worth making certain sacrifices to achieve a greater good. I want that ship to blow up within ten min
Alexandre "I don't understand what you mean, bonbon." Says Liza with a slight frown. In front of us, I hear Brianna chuckle, but I ignore her."Yes, bonbon, explain to us." Brianna chimes in with a malicious smile."Brianna!" I scold her, because I am sure that now that she knows what Liza calls me, it will be impossible for her to stop calling me that."You're so boring." I see grandpa give her a conspiratorial look, and I shake my head."Baby doll, let your brother explain." My father intervenes. Brianna makes a little pout and falls silent, still hugging grandpa."Liza's father must have his own hangar. I know that if we talk to him and explain the situation, he could help us. Besides, we can get grandpa out through the tunnels in the house. That's what I can think of for now.""And will your girlfriend's father agree?" My father asks, not very convinced."It's possible, though I'm not quite sure.""Don't worry, bonbon, I'll talk to him.""I think it's best if Massimo and I go and