He jumped out and followed her quickly as she strode up to the main door and opened it walking inside its cool interior,‘Posso aiutarla, signore, signora?’ [Can I help you Sir, Madam?]The little Novice Nun glided over to stand in front of them deferring to the man as usual and Alcina snapped.‘La Madre Superiora e sii veloce.’ [The Mother Superior and be quick about it.]‘Era ancora qui.’ [She was still here.]Alcina realised glaring at the tiny fragile woman who walked slowly towards her using a walking frame, she should have felt hatred but the woman was so old she felt nothing.‘Posso aiutarti giovane signora.’ [Can I help you young Lady?]Her voice was surprisingly strong and familiar,‘Ti prendi ancora cura dei bambini qui?’ [Do you still care for children here?]Alcina asked her keeping her voice low, Anton raised his eyebrow but said nothing,‘Oh caro, abbiamo un altro figlio mafioso bastardo indesiderato?’ [Oh dear, do we have another unwanted bastard Mafia child?]The elder
She stuttered angrily and Alcina lost her temper,‘Dio ha lasciato questa Casa anni fa, il male vive qui e voi siete la personificazione del Diavolo. Ero un bambino qui e tu hai reso la mia vita un inferno, ora fai le valigie e vattene.’ [God left this House years ago, evil lives here and you are the personification of the Devil. I was a child here and you made my life hell, now get your things packed and get out.]‘Dove andremo, siamo un povero ordine di suore.’ [Where will we go, we are a poor order of Nuns.]She tried to wheedle her way out of the problem but she got no help from Alcina who snarled back,‘Potete marcire per le strade per quanto mi importa, ma potreste dire alla vostra chiesa che sporgerò denuncia per abusi su minori, rapimenti, traffico di esseri umani e vendita di minori a scopo sessuale, e questo è solo l'inizio.’ [You can rot on the streets for all I care but you may tell your church I will be pressing charges of child abuse, kidnap, people trafficking, and sell
‘This book is about the Italian Mafia, which is based mainly on the Italian mainland and Sicily. As such, when the main characters talk to each other sometimes it is in Italian, if you do not understand Italian I have translated the words into English in the brackets. The Italian speech is to make the storyline more authentic and I believe it enhances it. It will not distract from your enjoyment of the plot or the characters. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you‘Porta il bambino da me’ [Bring the child to me]Don Giovanni commanded and his men obeyed instantly, dragging the helpless Nanny and her little charge from the room they had been locked in since the coup three days ago. Marcia, the Nanny, was terrified, she was just nineteen and had been appointed Nanny to the child a month ago. Straight out of college, she had not been able to conceal her joy at landing such a prestigious position with her first application. Her friends had been so jealou
He had told her Mother quietly, that everything he did was measured and quiet, he had never raised his voice to his young daughter, he did not have to, she hated it when she saw the sadness in his eyes. Alcina was too young to understand the sadness was not aimed at her it was for the life he knew she would have to live as his daughter. Everything she did was to drive that sadness from his eyes and make him proud of her. When he smiled and told her he loved her she was his ‘Speciale angioletto’ [Special Little Angel] he would say swinging her up into his arms it was all she needed. She loved him so much he was her world, being with him, and learning about the Mafia made her feel special and on the rare occasions he left her with her Mama she hated it.‘Come Alcina we will go and visit with my friends they have little girls your age. You need to play with them and do things other little girls do’Mama meant well but Alcina hated those days because she had nothing in common with the sil
She dug her nails into her small palms and not one single tear left her eyes, clenching her small fists she bravely looked into her Papa’s eyes,They were identical to her own, a brilliant blue that took your breath away, the Moretti eyes he told her, only a true Moretti had them. She saw him blink once and caught her breath, that was her sign, Papa had taught it to her.As soon as she was old enough to understand what he wanted her to do, he told her that if he could not speak then he would blink once to let her know how much he loved her. She blinked back and he smiled although it clearly caused him pain through his spilt lips, instantly she looked at his hands and he managed to make a circle with his thumb and forefinger. She knew what that meant as well, he was telling her to be brave, that she was a Moretti, and they never showed any sign of weakness to the enemy. When she looked into his eyes again he blinked once again and she did the same adding a tiny nod of her head to show s
A tiny sob escaped her lips and out of the corner of his eye he could see they were covered in blood, she had bitten them so hard to stop from crying out he was amazed at her stoicism, He sighed, she was such a beautiful little thing, far to young to have witnessed all this brutality, his estimated she was probably about six years old but no more. ‘I’m sorry’He began gently taking hold of her tiny cold hand,‘Tuo padre è morto e i miei uomini devono spostarlo. Non puoi stare qui e non puoi andare con lui. Devi venire con me' [Your Papa is dead and my men need to move him. You cannot stay here and you cannot go with him. You must come with me]He stood up and held out his hand and was surprised when the little girl pushed herself to her knees and kissed her Papa’s cheek and whispered in his ear.‘Ti amo papà e prometto che un giorno quell'enorme uomo grasso pagherà per quello che ti ha fatto.‘ [I love you Daddy and I promise one day that huge fat man will pay for what he did to you.]
At the moment the little girl’s tummy rumbled so loudly there could be no doubt about her hunger and she blushed then giggled and suddenly she was a child again and it was so endearing he laughed to.‘Dai, tesoro, ti diamo da mangiare.’ [Come on Sweetheart lets feed you.]He carried her to their canteen and picked up a large hot dog and fries then watched her devour them hungrily barely coming up for air,‘Caro Dio, povero piccolo mio, stai morendo di fame.’ [Dear God, you poor little thing, you’re starving.]He went back to the counter and purchased two large cookies for her and was rewarded when her pretty little face broke into a huge grin,‘Sono per me?’ [Are they for me?]Carefully placing the glass of milk she had been drinking back on the table,‘Sì, mia piccola principessa, ho pensato che, dato che hai due mani, potrebbe piacerti un biscotto per ciascuna di esse.’ [Yes my little Princess, I figured that as you have two hands you might like a cookie for each of the them]He tol
When they had finished they printed off half a dozen copies, then emailed it to their direct Superior, the Commandant, as well as the President of Sicily, the Sicilian Media and then the icing on the cake they had sent it to the British and American Media explaining who they were and why they were sending it to them exposing the misogynistic attitudes of their Bosses. After handing over the paper copies to their Boss thy had picked up their bags and left with their heads held high. Needless to say the storm of protests that followed kept the Sicilian Police Force embroiled in ‘Equality’ litigation for years much to the delight of the Mafia unfortunately for the two women it backfired spectacularly as no one else would employ them, they were blacklisted as troublemakers and whistle-blowers. Their fate was sealed when the Commander had a word with his good friend the local Mafia Don and the two women disappeared over night as the Mafia could always use fit healthy young women. They were