MariannaIt's been over a week since Alceo came back from their house about Nina's death. No news or any progress has been made concerning it. And I could see worry and fear starting to reside in his eyes and his gestures. He became more clingy and protective of us, always swearing and promising to protect us.I decided to indulge him in the house chores I wanted to do. It was a general cleaning and it would be so cumbersome for me to do.“Al,” I called out for him. He came out with an apron tied around his neck, making him look sexy as fuck. I was beginning to drool just by looking at him.“You can take me if you want pretty,” he came closer, running his index finger over my cheek. “The sitting room is big enough for us to do as we wish and you can be sure that I would make you scream my name loud enough for the neighbors to hear.”I snapped out of the trance he was trying to put, I hit his hand away and pinched his arm, making him curse out.“Ouch,” he whined. “That wasn't nice, pre
AlceoThere was no amount of consoling that I could do for Marianna. First of all, I was glad that the Russians had no hand in Diego's death; maybe a little but not totally. And his Russian spy is dead as well. All the pieces of the puzzle were falling in place. Before I could return back to the surface of the earth, I heard screeching of a car outside in the compound.I had zoned out and forgotten that Marianna asked us to call Rosco. She sat by the phone and kept crying her eyes out, holding the phone like her life depended on it.The door flew open and I met with Rosco's bloodshot eyes. He searched for Marianna with his eyes and came straight for me. There was no time to tell him that I didn't cause her tears. 2 heavy punches hit me in the face and he held me by my neck, choking me. I tried to break free, but he was just too strong. Marianna ran from her position and tightened her grip on him.“I told you if she shed a single tear, I'd kill you,” he reached for the gun in his pock
MariannaKnowing Diego's final moment was both torture and relief for me. At least we knew the son of a bitch that murdered him. Rosco and Alceo sat there without saying anything. His head was bent and I could hear very gentle sniffs from him. I never saw him as someone who could cry but I guess the death of a loved one was the most torture to be ever created.My eyes were starting to hurt badly, I could feel how swollen they were. Without looking at myself in the mirror, I pictured the color to be red.I reclined in the direction of Alceo and laid in his body, he wrapped me with so much warmth and care. Maybe my tears weren't enough but there's still a lot more that I would do.I decided to go first, the silence in the room was shattering. It could pass for a graveyard.“I'll go to the house tomorrow and show them the evidence. Javier Bezzio needs to be dethroned, he has done nothing but harm since he assumed that title.”“No way,” Alceo said.“I'm not going to let you put yourself i
AlceoThe night felt like eternity to me, I couldn't close my eyes to sleep properly. Any little sound, I was up; knowing that Diego's killer was still roaming freely with no idea of him being exposed.Then I thought about Javier's words to Diego, he has a bigger plan than to rule the Italian mafia. He was after the Russians too. If I could connect all the dots properly, that would make a lot of sense why Nina kept pressuring me to marry her. Not because of my father but because she needed to marry me and then get rid of me for Javier. After that, he would be successful in penetrating the Russian mafia.The pads of my palm stroked Marianna's hair gently, showering her with a lot of thanks in me. Her giving birth to Cael made me come back to my senses. Thank whoever made her fall into forced labor, might as well be Nina; every disappointment is a blessing after all.Her light snores captured my attention back to her, she is a very beautiful woman. Ecstatic that we ended up with each ot
Marianna As usual the asshole who called himself my husband that stole my rightful position was up there, smiling at me. It's only a matter of time, sorry hours and minutes. Heaven knows why he decided to answer the message sent out this morning.“Good morning elders of the house,” I started to say. “You gave me an option the last time that I was here and I am here to present to you what I found the past few days.”Oblivious of what was spoken about the last time, the smirk on his face still did not disappear.I brought out the recorder in my pocket and handed it over to the house boy. He connected it to the speakers and everyone listened to the devastating truth on it.As I looked up to see the look on his face, it had been replaced with one of shock. Now was my turn to smile, a proud smirk plastered itself on my lips, refusing to go away.Huge uproar of mumbles arised and he kept adjusting himself in his seat. He had begun sweating and cursing himself. Even the great Javier still h
MariannaThe mumbling sound of disagreement was starting to get to my ears. I refused to take my gaze away from the forefather, we both stared at each other like our lives depended on it.He hit the table, silencing everyone at once.“If I hear you well, Alceo Romanov is of Russian descent. His father is the late Isiak Romanov who got into a crossfire with your father, right?”“Very well forefather, you are correct,” I responded in affirmative.“I'm afraid my dear Marianna, that will not be possible,” he said. Deep down, I knew that was a response I might get. Rosco and Alceo believed that I was at least going to attain my rightful position today but I purposely kept that part away from them. Alceo renounced his position just because of us, and I wouldn't take my father's position and leave everything that concerns us. I love him too much to do that.“Why forefather? Is there something attached to it?”“The Russians are our enemies, one of the main reasons Javier was stripped of his
AlceoThe days pass us by quickly; minutes turning into hours and hours turning into days. The bigger portion of it wasn't left behind; days turned into weeks and weeks turned into a month. Word on the street was that Javier was still on the run with the house and Rosco desperately looking for him.When Marianna told Rosco about how everything went, he was skeptical about her decision at first but reluctantly had no choice but to accept it. We managed to act cool but deep down I knew how much Rosco loathes us.Our lives have been beautiful ever since then but paranoia wouldn't release its tight grip on me. My presence seemed to calm Marianna down, knowing that I was crazy in my own way. I would watch the world burn for your sake if she demanded it. She lived freely and Javier became her past.She hummed along to the music playing from her phone inside the bathroom. She decided to use that day to wash her long dark hair, there was no way she was going to let me in with her.“It's high
AlceoI sat on the couch for as long as I could remembering. The thought of how I had failed Marianna accompanied me all through the night. Seeing my devastated state, the men and Rosco left me to be by myself. Who knew what was happening to her at the moment? Javier was a sadistic bastard, he had tasted power and tasted blood and he wouldn't stop. Nothing could quench his thirst now, unless I see the end of him. Having Marianna was something he always wanted and he finally accomplished it.The rage burning in me failed to subside. A deep roar left my throat and I rushed to the nearest wall and punched and kept punching. There was no one to stop me, no one to caution me about my broken fingers. Stop Al, you wouldn't find me like this. I imagined Marianna saying to me and just like I was in a trance, I stopped and fell to the floor. The tears I suppressed all morning flooded out and I didn't try to stop them. I hit my face multiple times, trying to inflict the pain and torture she wo
AlceoWe knew exactly how dangerous wasting was but it was our only choice in order not to mess things up. I tried so hard to believe in my head that it was Javier that was with Marianna and not that bastard that I just heard about today. For like a week, we stopped every street tracking and went silent, keeping the most vital information to ourselves. Just between our circle, making whoever else Javier has on us to believe that we have given up.Rosco's call came in, I jumped from my seat and had it placed on speaker. “We've gotten Lanco’s position, I'll hold him off till you get here. I'm sending the address to you. And have some of your trusted boys go join mine at Renzo's house. I don't want a repeat of the trouble I carried.”The line went dead and without being told much, my brother's grabbed every piece of gun they could find, fixing silencers onto some of them. We weren't in our city, we had no reason to have the cops on our tail.Every one of us wanted to be there when we fou
AlceoHaving an inkling about how much he despised the so-called Lanco, I decided to know what exactly must have transpired between them. I poured wine into his glass cup and watched him down it at a go. “What happened between you and Lanco?”He sighed, shutting his eyes tightly, as if trying to shut out a bad memory. “He is a hitman or someone you call a mercenary. He's devoid of any human feelings and does things that are out of the norm. Once a girl was stolen from her home and the girl's mother came to beg me to help look for her child. I searched everywhere and information later reached me that she was taken by Lanco.“I tried to reason with him about how we were both Italians and how he should honor the bond between us, so he'd release her to me. Lanco told me that she was his plaything and vowed never to let her go. I let my ego down and promised him whatever amount he wanted, he still wouldn't listen. All of a sudden, he asked me to go back home and be at peace, that he'd sen
AlceoHis leg was wrapped up in order to avoid him bleeding to death before could say what he needed. We didn't start anything yet, he just sat in the middle of the room, sweating profusely with each of us watching him intently.“I heard the latest news,” the last person we were waiting for showed up. Rosco was in the most casual clothing I had ever seen him in, he was probably taking a nap when my call came in. Seeing Rosco had him drag his bloodied leg uncomfortably on the floor.Rosco settled beside Uri, making me wonder why. Another excuse that came to me was the fact that it was far away from where the guard was. Knowing how bad his temper was, he wouldn't want to kill him before he gave up the information we needed.He relaxed back, crossing his legs over one another. “What I hear, is it true? Is it true that you were caught speaking with the one person that has been troubling both the Italians and the Russians for months now?”Ashamed to face us, he knew very well the cost and
UriJust like that, 4 months in total had gone by since the death of Diego and the disappearance of Marianna. Alceo looked a little closer to death everyday, the house was gloomy and nothing made anybody smiley. We all admitted and accepted that we had treated Marianna in a bad way, most especially me. Not knowing that she was a top asset to us. I imagined that, only if father was alive, he would have fought tooth and nail to make sure nothing comes in between their love. It would only make him so much more protective irrespective of whatever bad blood is between him and Santo.The picture of the late Lady Del Vecchio hanging boldly on the wall in our living room gave me a little bit of hope anytime I walked past it. It was a way of reassuring me that we would find her and properly I'll tender my apologies. The way her cheek lit up and a part of her teeth showed, it was obvious, Marianna took her mother's face.For my father to have fallen in love with this woman, it meant a whole lot
Alceo2 weeks laterThe last meeting with Javier's father was relieving and at the same frustrating. Everything went silent, no new information or anything to keep our asses on the street. Rosco was busy helping us to comb the street but since he was a lot more used to it than us. My brothers have welcomed him gladly into our home but he wasn't one to cross his boundaries. Something was tying the Italians and the Russians together now, it was best we work together.The elders of the Italian house too couldn't find anything on Javier, not after the last threat I gave them. Javier was pretty stealth and I was sure that he had help else he wouldn't be able to pull this off by himself.It was late at night, everyone sat alone, moody and pissed. The door swung open and in came Rosco.I was the first to go. “You look like shit, have you had a bath recently?”“There's little or no difference between us, so wrap it up boy.”His muscular frame made him look like my older brother, so him callin
AlceoI managed to make myself a little bit neat, shaving my beards and taking a cool shower in order to help me think. My phone chimed and I got out of the bathroom, locating it immediately. It was a message from Rosco. We've combed every place we knew but everything ended in futile. There was a place we could try out, this time, it was just going to end in talks not the usual bloodshed.I dressed casually, tucking a pistol behind me. I met my brothers waiting for me downstairs.“You got the location?” Uri asked, loading the guns in the back of the car.I nodded my head in affirmation. “But we might not be needing that. We are just going there to have a talk, we are hoping he might have an idea where he is.”“Hmmm,” Uri said, still ignoring everything I said. “You never can tell what will happen. To be on the safer side, I'll just keep them here.”I didn't argue with him anymore and just found a spot to settle in. My mind was clouded, my vision was starting to become blurry due to th
JavierReality was starting to dawn on me, I thought kidnapping Marianna and having her whenever I wanted would fill the empty space in my soul. Instead it just made it wider, seeing her lose herself made me lose myself too.I sat outside in the cold, lighting a cigarette to keep me warm. One single drag in, and I felt so good, having the feeling of euphoria. This continued for a while and I threw my head back to relish the feeling I was getting.It was a quiet scenario with just the cottage in the area. A call from my other phone shattered my blissful feeling. I stared blankly at the caller ID before picking it up.In a straight, stern voice, I answered. “How can I help you Arico?”“Where are you boss? The Russians have been going berserk, killing whoever they find affiliated to you. Are you safe where you are?”“So what should I do about it? You are my boys, so it is necessary you die for me,” I didn't think twice before I said what I said. If I was in Arico’s position, I'd be quite
Alceo Everywhere went silent after the call, no one dared say a word. My anger could make a whole pasta go from raw to finished. I grabbed the phone beside me and threw it against the wall.“AARRRRRRRGH,” I destroyed everything that was in my way. The guards rushed in, trying to see if an intruder was in the house and I decided to transfer my anger on them. Going physical on them was doing little to nothing to my anger, instead it enraged me more.Before I could say jack, a real heavy punch lodged itself in my face. Turned around to see who it was and lo and behold, it turned out to be Aleksi.“You want to let off some of that heat, let's go,” he took his stance in front of me and that angered me more. He was more strategic, I was fighting blindly. Most of my punches missed him but his punches were hitting me in sensitive places, making me go weaker faster.“You bastard,” I spat out blood. “You think you can handle me?”The others stood at a corner watching the drama happening betwee
Trigger warning ⚠️ Marianna1 month later I don't know what day it was or how long I've been there but to me it felt like months. I was plunged into the dark and the only time I had any companions was when my master came in. Either to serve me or to relieve himself using me. I crave for the sun, I crave for the morning light, I crave for a particular touch but I didn't know who it belonged to.All I remembered of him was his distinctive features; full eyebrows, dark skinned with a different shade of blue eyes. His face was starting to disappear and I desperately sought to keep it. Master told me he was the one that caused all my misfortune but his face failed to give off that vibe. His face was the definition of peace, it gave me all the tingling I needed. The door opened and immediately I went on all fours. It was in the same position that I was fed and used as a tool to satisfy master's cravings. If I failed to do so, I'll be met with master's anger and I wasn't ready to face tha