RAVENNA~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤Not again. That was what I thought when I saw Valentino’s lifeless body on the bed of a truck, a pool of blood gathering beneath him. “Ravenna,” Uncle Leo’s voice called out. His figure was blurry from the tears swimming in my eyes as he reached for me, pulling me into his arms. “Let it all out, Ravenna,” he mumbled. The softness of his voice did me in. I wrapped my arms around him, crying my eyes out for a long minute. “It’s okay. I heard about your pregnancy. Is the baby okay?” He asked. “Yes.” “Okay. Everything will be okay.” “No, it won’t. Valentino isn’t here. He needs to be here. It’s his kid. He should be here. I- I can’t do this alone.” “You have me, Ravenna. Until he wakes up, you have me.” “What if he never wakes up?” I asked, my anxiety skyrocketing. “What if he doesn’t wake up before I have the baby? I can’t do this. I don’t even know if he wants the baby. We never spoke about a baby. What if
RAVENNA ~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤“The people want a word, Ravenna,” Uncle Leo said. “Word got around. They have been pinning the death of every member of The eredità on you.” I turned on my stool to face him. “Well, they’re not wrong. I did kill those men.” “If you admit this to them without a background story, they’re going to be angry, and might vote to have you removed from your position as leader.” “That will only happen if I choose to step down. Otherwise, they’re stuck with me. Like I’ve said in the past, this isn’t a fucking democracy, but I’ll entertain their little tantrum. Whoever has a question for me can write it on a piece of paper alongside their contact information. Have some men gather the questions, and I’ll send out replies.” “Will do,” Uncle Leo said before walking out of my room. There was a knock on my door before someone pushed it open and in walked Alaina. “I’d have come in earlier, but I didn’t think you’d want to see me.” I rose fr
RAVENNA~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤MONTHS LATER... “Isn’t this Anthony’s car? What’s he doing here? Didn’t Zypher tell him I wasn’t home?” I asked as Drake helped me out of the car. “She knows you’re returning today. They probably came to check on you.” “That has to wait until tomorrow. I’m dead on my feet.” “I’d offer to carry you, but you’d probably slap the shit out of me.” “True that.” Drake shook his head at me. “Stubborn woman.” “Besides, you couldn’t carry me if I agreed to it.” “I lift weights in the gym every morning. I think I could manage, since it’s just a short distance.” “It’s all fun and games until we both come tumbling down the stairs.” He threw his head back in laughter. “Have zero faith in me, Ray?” I pushed open the front door. “I don’t trust myself to make it up the stairs without dozing off.” “Sneak up the stairs. I’ll handle Anthony and Zypher. Since Anthony is here, he’s probably in the kitchen.” “Thanks for
VALENTINO ~~~~~~~~♧♧♧♧♧♧“He’s amazing, isn’t he?” Ravenna whispered, looking down at our son in her arms. “He’s perfect.” “I can’t believe we made him. Having him in my arms is worth all my sleepless nights. And yours.” I shrugged. “I don’t sleep that much, anyway. You were amazing.” “Where’s Jasmine?” “Outside with Sofia and the rest. They’re dying to see you, but if you’re not up for it, I can turn them away. I suggest them waiting until you’re out of the hospital.” “I’m kind of exhausted right now, but Zypher will strangle you if you deny her entrance.” “I can handle her. I’ll go deliver the news to them.” “Thank you.” “Can we see the baby now?” Zypher asked. “No. Ravenna is tired right now. You can see her when she gets home later today.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why do I have a feeling this is all you and not Ravenna?” I shrugged. “There’s no way of finding out, is there? Except you plan on causing a scene in
RAVENNA~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤ FOURTEEN YEARS LATER... “Don’t call. Don’t text. Wait until we’re back. Understood?” I asked Jasmine, fixing the last of my makeup. “What if the house is on fire or there’s an earthquake?” She asked, crossing her arms. I paused with the mascara wand to my eye. “Why would the house be on fire?” “You know the sons you have. Domenico in particular. He broke the windshield of Uncle Ciro’s car when we visited the last time. Or the time he beat some kid up at school because he called him frost. The kid wasn’t wrong, though. His hair is white. I could go on and on, and you and Dad won’t get to leave for your meeting. We’re not raising normal humans, Mom. We’re raising wrestling champions.” A laugh broke out of me. She was right. Our first son was a bundle of trouble and his two younger brothers took after him, wreaking havoc around the house. “Okay, fine. You ca
RAVENNA Have you ever felt your world crumbling around you while you remained numb inside? Unfeeling. That was how I felt as I watched our house burn. All my childhood memories went up in smoke, but most importantly, my parents. They were inside the house as it burned. The normal reaction of kids who watched such loss in front of them was to kick and scream, trying to get into house, right? Well, maybe it wasn't. Because I didn't do any of that. Or maybe I was the one with the fucked up head. Just a few hours ago, I was eating pizza with my parents in the kitchen while my father complained about me not telling him how much I loved him every day as I always did my mom. I had just laughed in his face and told him he was just jealous and that I was a mama's girl. His response played in my head. "Mama's girl my foot. Keep gravitating towards your mother, but there'll be a day you'll want me to hug you and kiss you and tell you how much I love you, but I won't be there. Let's see if
RAVENNAI stared out the window, taking in the shitty view of the neighborhood we lived in. Like always, we would have to leave here again before we became a familiar face with the neighbors, although the chances of that happening were slim because the advantage of living in a shitty apartment were the neighbors that didn't give a fuck if their neighbor was a criminal or not. They didn't care if said neighbor kept late nights and only came home at the crack of dawn sometimes looking all bashed up. I wasn't a criminal per se. I drove criminals, but sometimes you had to take a little beating here or there as a part of the job. The cops would probably label me a criminal, but who gave a fuck? Certainly not me. The cops had failed us at the time we needed them the most and I would be a fool to put my hope in them ever again. My phone beeped in the pocket of my jeans and I fished it out. It was a message from Drake. He usually booked me the jobs. Drake: 7 PM. Don't be
RAVENNA ~~~~~~~I pulled up in front of the warehouse Drake gave me the directions to before sending a text to my clients for the night and pulling a ski mask down my face. The stars of the night were robbing a rich man's house and if we didn't all want to end up with our ass behind bars, we had to play it smart and according to the plan. Even though it was a risky plan, it was worth it because I got a cut out of the job. The money would take care of our food bills for a couple of months so I wasn't complaining even though the guys took their sweet time coming out. They came out wearing a black getup with a ski mask. In total, they were four. Three piled up in the back seat while the last one slid into the front. "So here's the deal. You spend longer than fifteen minutes in there, I'm leaving all of your ass in there," I said without preamble. "We good?" "Good," the one in the passenger seat growled as I took off down the road. "What's your name, pretty girl?"