Emily wakes up from a nap after a rough day of meeting with her grandfather and father. She yawns and gets out of the bed. Walking towards the door, she suddenly finds herself peckish and heads downstairs to grab a bite to eat. But first she wanted to go to Antonio's study to see him. She knocks then lets herself in and wishes she didn't just barge in.
Antonio had a petite blonde in his arms and they were kissing passionately. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" She says and proceeds to walk backward, closing the door. "Em! No, come back." Antonio calls after her, but she had already closed the door. Oh gosh, she'd forgotten that he had a girlfriend now, so she couldn't just barge into his life as she pleases anymore. Emily smiles, walking towards the kitchen. She was so happy for Antonio, he's finally happy after all these years of living under the iron grip of Giovanni. He had something to look forward to each day. As she prepares herself a cup of tea, she hears Antonio andElizabeth was collecting her luggage. She had just landed in Ainsdale 20 minutes ago and was waiting for Liza to pick her up. She felt like she was on autopilot today. Nothing felt real.She collected her bags and proceeds to go to the waiting area, but she didn't need to wait at all, as Liza was already there. Her best friend sees her and runs toward her, wrapping her in a hug. "Lizzy! I am so sorry! How are you feeling?" Liza says as she holds onto her. Elizabeth feels close to tears again but pushes it down. She needed to be strong today, and wouldn't show she was sad. "Liza, I missed you. And it's okay. I'm just still in shock." she replies. That was true at least. She wasn't sure how to feel. Her mother hated her and her father was distant. Why should she cry and feel sad over people who wished she had died instead of her sister?"I understand. Come, let's get you home." Liza says and helps her carry her bags to the car.The drive to Elizabeth's villa
White Manor casts a miserable air around it. Elizabeth steps out of her Maybach and scans the property. This used to be her home, now it's just an empty shell. The family lawyer would be arriving in the morning to read her parents will. A feat she was not looking forward to. She knew they would have left her nothing anyway, not that she needed to be left anything, just the fact that her parents thought very little of her would be the final nail in the proverbial coffin, no pun intended.As she walks up to the door, she suddenly remembers that she didn't have a key or passcode to the manor itself. Sighing loudly, she tries the door handle and surprisingly it opens. Frowning, she looks down at her palm, now dusty. Then it clicks, the police must have been here to investigate and search the house after she positively identified the bodies as her parents'. Walking into the foyer, I've catches the scent of her mother's perfume and her eyes well up. Willing herself no
Emily stares at the wedding dress Elizabeth had made for her months ago and starts crying. This dress had been made with love but will cause so much heartache. Tomorrow is the celebration. They will all be here under the guise of her wedding.She found out that Elizabeth's parents had been killed by Elred Dereon. Burnt alive by him, just because she called Elizabeth ONCE. This was the final straw for her. She was not going to back down. They all would pay.She walks towards her vanity and sits down, eyes falling on the picture of her mother. She picks it up and holds it to her chest, tears falling down her face. Giovanni didn't know, but Emily walked in on him berating her mother for lying to him, the day after this she mother committed suicide by hanging herself when they all had left for school. She still wasn't sure why he was berating her, but it was quite intense and she felt like she was intruding. Her mother was weak, but Emily would make sure she ca
Elizabeth looks at herself in the mirror and smiles. She felt elated. Things are finally coming together for her. Dressed in a mauve figure-hugging Libelulle original gown that she designed for today, and her signature red bottom heels, she was ready to face Eldred Dereon and be there for August and Emily. Grabbing her clutch, she turns to head out the door. But as she opens the door, she finds Detective Decascos standing on the porch, arm poised to knock. "Ms White caught you just in time." He says and she frowns. Caught her just in time? "Detective, how can I help you?" She says, confusion evident on her face. "There is something that I wish to discuss with you. May I please come inside?" He asks, gesturing to inside her manor. She steps aside and says, "of course, come in." And walks inside, the detective following her and closing the door behind him. She turns around to face him and waits for him to start."Ms White, I'm sure you are on your way to the Dereon-Gray
The pastIn the next few chapters to follow, we will be delving into the feud between Giovanni Russo and Don Marino.Giovanni Russo was Don Marino's consigliere. He was an up an
Brewing freshly made coffee has always been a staple in the Marino family. Gianna was taught from an early age how to make it the way her papa liked. And he would only have the cup of coffee she brewed first thing in the morning. So that is what she's doing right now, brewing coffee and awaiting her father's arrival. "Hmmm, I have not breathed in the scent of my Gia's coffee in so long!" She hears a booming voice from the passage and could not
Four days later, Gianna spies two little legs running towards her in the airport and her heart bursts. Emily was her only happiness in a cruel world. Despite being borne of sexual assault, Gianna never held it against her. Emily was an innocent consequence."Mama!" She exclaims, running towards her. Gianna gets down on one knee and Emily runs into her arms. "Mia! I've missed you, Bella!" Gianna croons and holds onto her tightly. She can't remem
Gianna opts for a loose-fitting dress that accentuates her Italian curves. She noticed that Giovanni had his eye on her when she was wearing a dress, so she opted for this one. Although she feels uncomfortable being alone with him, Gianna knew she needed to do this. Her father would never see Giovanni for what he was, so she needed to prove it. She's dealt with mobsters who were guilty before, she knew the telltale signs to look out for.
Elizabeth rummages through her storage. Damon had run off in this direction with her bag and she could not find her wallet anywhere. Today was the opening of Libellule School of Design and she would be late at this rate. Sighing in exasperation, she vows never to have any more kids. As she bends down to look behind one of Damon's old strollers, she spots a box hidden in the far end of the shelf. She frowns and reaches in further until she could touch the box and pulls it out. It was about the size of a normal shoe box and looked oddly familiar. She took the top off and sighed, it was a photo album. Her mother used to old fashioned back in the day before greed took over. As she paged through the album, she becomes misty eyed at the happy memories she had when Blair was still alive.But as she neared the end, she recognized an envelope that she put there a long time ago; a letter left to her by her parents in their will. She had completely forgotten about the letter; he
Elizabeth waves at Damon as he walked into daycare, his blonde curls bobbing up and down as he runs towards his teacher. At three years old he was already starting to look like his father, he even inherited August’s heterochromia but he had the temperament of his mother, loving and kind.Just as she was about to turn around, she sees Damon turn around and wave to her one last time, “Bye, mama! Wuv you!” he shouts and gives her a big smile, her heart absolutely bursting with love. He then runs inside, feeling satisfied with his message.She gets inside her Maybach and drives towards Blair Industries.Life being married to August was everything she could ever hope for. Damon was growing every day. Both their companies were doing exceptionally well and they were more in love than ever. She kept on waiting for her world to come crashing down, but it never came.Maybe true happiness does exist, she thinks to
Emily watches from the vantage point of her bulletproof bedroom windows.Antonio was hoisting Amy into his Emperor, of course, he came with that ridiculous car to do a rescue. She sees them getting away despite the gunfire and sighs sadly, knowing Antonio would plan revenge after he sees the extent of Amy’s injuries she had Vito inflict over the past 3 days.She touched his woman, his property. He will be out for blood.She turns away from the window and walks out into the hallway. Piero had already called a cleanup crew to dispose of the Russo filth on Marino territory. “Famiglia!” she calls, and all her soldiers had their attention on her, “Tomorrow we wage war on Russo ground. They trespassed on our territory for the last time. We need to make an example of them.” she hollers, with heated grunts and shouts coming from her men.It always amazed her at the power she had over these men and h
Emily tells her enforcer, Vito, to leave Amy to stew in her own thoughts for the night. They would continue with the torture in the morning. The evening would give her plenty of time to reconsider her predicament and tell them where Antonio was hiding out.She couldn’t help but think her brother a coward. He left the woman he supposedly loved in order to keep himself safe. Giovanni would turn in his grave if he knew the man he trained to be the next Boss was in fact a coward and not worthy of the Omerta.Smiling a silent victory, she slips into her nightgown and retires for the evening.***Days pass with no word from her brother or his family.Vito had exhausted all his t
* August and Elizabeth's story will continue soon.*Emily stares at her reflection in the mirror.A face she did not recognize anymore because of the extensive plastic surgery she had to endure after the blast to their limo 2 years ago. Just as she was made Boss before killing Giovanni Russo, her territory had been invaded and they betrayed her. Luckily, she reclaimed her throne before the vultures descended. She took down so many of Russo’s men that she lost count. In Sicily, they nicknamed her Strega Rossa because of her red hair and penchant for killing with blades. She definitely was not Antonio’s pufetta anymore.She puts on her corset and has her ancella lace her up tightly. She only fought in corsets, the pain meant no
Elizabeth stares at Damon through the glass of his incubator with a worried frown etched on her face.After they found him screaming in a bassinet in one of the hospital hallways, her doctor had run all the necessary tests on him to see if they hurt him. There was nothing physically wrong with him, however, he endured tremendous stress during his abduction. He wa
*WARNING, EXPLICIT SCENE*
August looks down at his bloodied fist.He had to take his anger out on something after seeing Madison walk out of the hospital with his newborn son. Staring at the wall, he watches his blood drip down the paint and proceeds to punch it over and over again.
Hi, there readers! I am so sorry for the delay in updates to the story. The last week of December has been so hectic for me, but that’s no excuse. I will be writing full time from the end of January, so be prepared for daily updates! Thank you so much for reading my novel and supporting me, you have no idea how much I appreciate your feedback and support!Love always, J.Tarr x