Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

'And she would bow to no one.'

———♤♤♤———

One can never expect when things will change for the worse.

"Be careful, Isa!" The boy called out as he sat on a branch, looking down at his sister who was trying to climb her way up to where he sat.

"I know!" Isabella answered, pushing her legs up the trunk as her hands grabbed the crevices of the tree.

"I don't think this is a good idea." The boy muttered. His younger sister was clearly incapable of climbing a tall tree by herself.

When they were much younger, their father would simply place them on top of his shoulders, helping them up the tree; but their father was no longer there to help them. To their confusion, their dad was no longer with them. Vanished. Gone without a trace.

Perhaps he found himself lost on his way to the store. Or maybe he was taken hostage, tortured, and killed.

The two kids never found out what happened to him. They were too young when their father's 'disappearance' happened. Eventually, the two learned a life without a father. After all, they had a mother to portray the role of both parents. She was an independent woman, strong enough to raise both kids by herself.

"Ah!" Isabella blurt out as her fingers slipped, her body falling down onto the grass.

Upon seeing her mishap, her brother let out a loud cackle, his right hand laying on top of his stomach as some sort of support. His eyes scrunched into slits and his other hand continuously hit the trunk as he continued to laugh loudly.

Isabella sat up abruptly, wiping the specs of dirt that found its way to her cheeks. She looked up, crossing her arms in front of her chest before sending a glare towards the laughing boy.

"Stop laughing!" She called out, only making the boy laugh louder. "That's not very nice, Lorenzo!" She pouted.

"Sorry, sorry. You just looked funny." Lorenzo answered, wiping the tears on the corner of his eyes before he swiftly jumped off from the branch he was sitting on.

Isabella was about to speak again but was cut off by another voice.

"Isabella! Lorenzo!" Their mom called as she made her way to the tree where both her kids stood by.

"Yes, Mama?" The kids asked simultaneously, giving their mom a curious gaze.

"Look at you two looking like a mess." The mother chuckled, patting the dust off Isabella's shirt before ruffling Lorenzo's dark hair.

"Let's get the both of you inside."

"But I don't want to." Lorenzo whined, wanting to play outside longer.

"Alright, I'll give you another hour. But you must go inside after, okay?" She questioned, earning a nod from the boy.

"Me too!" The girl raised her hand, puckering her lips as if she was asking for her to heed her request.

The mother raised a finger and poked the tip of the girl's nose. "That won't work on me, young lady. You, on the other hand, have somewhere to be."

"Aw," Isabella sighed, looking at the ground sadly.

"Now, don't be sad. Are you forgetting what today is?"

"What is today, Mama?" The girl asked.

"It's your friend's birthday, remember? I thought you were excited for it."

All of a sudden, the girl's face lit up with joy. The girl had forgotten about said event. But that doesn't mean she wasn't looking forward to it. She grabbed her mother's hand and quickly dragged her inside the house and into her room.

"Ma! I want to wear my pink dress, please." The girl requested, pointing towards her closet where her dresses were hanged.

"Alright, then." Her mother opened her closet, reaching out for the dress.

As her hand was about to meet the fabric, a loud bang was heard from downstairs. Their doors were kicked open.

Someone had broken into their house.

One can never know what the future will hold.

Before she was able to move further, gunshots resonated around the area. Whoever had broken in was clearly searching the house. Were they looking for her? Were they going to kill her and her kids?

Nevertheless, the mother had to make sure both her children remain unharmed. For that to happen, she must get to her child who was at most risk:

Her son who had been playing in the backyard.

He was out in the open, alone by himself and clearly unable to fight against armed people.

The woman immediately ran towards her daughter whose eyes were open wide, obviously shaken by the sudden noise.

"Hey, hey. Are you okay, dear?" She asked the girl, her hands cupping Isabella's small face.

"W-what were those sounds, Mama?" The girl stuttered.

"Shh, don't think about it. I need you to get inside the closet, okay?" The mother said, before ushering the child towards the small wooden closet.

"Are you going out there?" The girl asked her mother.

"I'm fetching your brother dear, stay here okay?"

"N-no! It's dangerous, the b-bad guys might do something to you." Isabella cried. The girl believed in her brother. Somehow, someway, she had trust in Lorenzo to keep himself safe. The boy had was quick to think, after all. For now, she must prevent her mother from leaving the room. Everything was, however, not going according to her wishes.

"I-I need to get your brother, honey. I'll be back, I promise." The woman assured before cupping her daughter's cheeks and pecking her forehead softly.

The mother faces Isabella with a sad look. "Mama loves you, my piccolo fiore." She whispers, both of them closing their eyes as their faces become drenched with tears.

[Translation: my little flower]

After what seemed like eternity, the woman had finally gained the courage to separate herself from her child. She stood up, making sure to close the closet doors in hopes of hiding her daughter's location. Isabella was able to peek through the small crack of her closet. Her eyes following her mother's figure with a longing glance as her hands cover her mouth, trying to silence her own sobs. Stifling her cries only became more difficult when her mother finally shut the bedroom door behind her.

Hours had passed as the girl remained in the wooden box, her face dry since her eyes had long ran out of tears. Despite that, her body continued to shiver ever so slightly due to shock and the temperature that has seemed to have dropped. Eerie silence lingered in the air. It was silent enough for a pin to be heard if one was dropped.

The silence was uncomfortable, to say the least.

For hours, the girl had been crying for her mother, trembling because of what had happened, shivering due to the cold.

And yet the small frail girl never lost hope.

She believed that somehow, her mother and her sibling found a way to outrun the bad guys and, in turn, survive. Isabella continued to believe that her family members will open the closet doors and give her a bone-crushing hug. Although the thought may seem impossible, Isabella trusted her mother and her brother enough.

After a couple more hours, the doors were pried open. But to the girl's demise, it was not her mother, nor was it Lorenzo.

Newfound tears found its way to her cheeks as she came to a realization. Her previous thoughts were proven to be correct.

Her mother and brother were not able to return to her arms.

"There's a kid in here!" The police officer who had found her announced to his colleagues, who were currently searching the other parts of the house.

"Kid, hey, you're safe now. The police are here." The officer consoled, rubbing the girl's back and calming her down before bringing her to the hospital.

♤♤♤

Isabella sat on her bed, her gaze remained forward as a nurse tended to her needs.

"Honey, are you okay? Does anything hurt?" The nurse asked, concern lacing her voice. She made sure that her voice was clear and loud enough for the girl to hear, and yet the little girl gave no response.

For the past couple minutes, doctors and nurses have been checking onto the frail girl's condition. But even then, her actions remained the same. Her expression blank as she held her stare forward. Though it's not like she can be blamed. Isabella had, after all, gone through shock. Hell they weren't even sure if she was aware of the fact that she was already out of the godforsaken closet the police found her in.

Suddenly, the girl's head swiftly turned towards the concerned lady as a thought popped into her mind.

"M-Mama and Lorenzo, where are they?" She asked, her voice cracking as she braced for the inevitable.

The nurse's worries were now the least of her concerns. Their house had been broken into and she had yet to see both her mother and her brother ever since she was pulled out of the closet by the police. Ensuring her family's safety was her first priority. Even if it may seem impossible.

The lady looked at her sadly, remembering what the police officer had told her and her team. The child's family was gone without a trace; they were nowhere to be seen. Blood was splattered around the house and they can only assume that it belonged to the girl's relatives.

The police had assumed her family to be dead. Unless they find a lead as to where the missing two may be. Until then, their statuses will remain the same: deceased.

The lady hesitated, contemplating if she should answer the girl's question honestly.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, causing Isabella to freeze.

One can never grasp what's out of their reach.

'No, they're not dead. They can't be.' The thought lingered on her mind. She wasn't about to accept the fact that her family was gone.

"You're l-lying," She glared at the woman. "W-Where are they?!" The girl lashed out as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Bella,"

Isabella was not dumb. She was not going to believe a single thing of what they're saying unless they showed her the bodies. What had happened to assuming missing people were alive unless their corpses had been found? Apparently police officers concluded things the other way around.

"Bella."

The girl was nothing without her family. With both her mother and Lorenzo gone, everything seemed meaningless. Her life no longer was worth living if it meant she was alone.

"Bella!"

Bella snapped out of her daze upon hearing Jace's call. Said man stood in front of them as they both situated themselves inside a ring. They were currently in the middle of a spar, until Bella had started to reminisce the past due to a word her friend had said: "Be careful, Isa!"

"Are you alright? You spaced out all of a sudden." Her friend asked, concern laced his voice as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah. Just don't call me Isa." She requested, punching Jace's arm softly.

"Fine," Jace rolled his eyes, before raising a brow and sending Bella a sarcastic look. "Am I really that weak of a fighter that you ended up spacing out in the middle of our fight?"

"Honestly? Yeah, you are." She said with a laugh, and it was now the man's turn to punch the other person's limb jokingly.

"Haha." Jace mocked. "Why did you space out anyway?"

"Yeah, just remembered something." Bella replied as she made her way outside of the ring with Jace following closely behind. Jace held the bottom-most rope down with his leg, pulling the opposite rope up with his arm before he gestured for Bella to exit the ring before him.

"Jace." Bella called out as she jumped down the ring.

"Hm?"

"You're aware of my past right? Of how I ended up here in the academy." Bella asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, I'm your friend after all. And besides, everyone was curious of the ten year-old girl the Romanos had brought home. Especially when they introduced her as their adoptive daughter who was going to be trained in their very own academy." Jace shrugged, picking up his water jug form the metal bench on his right.

Bella sat down, looking up at her friend as he chugged his jug empty. Jace Mendoza was one of the first kids who approached her once she found herself situated in said Assassin Academy.

"I was quite curious too. And surprised." Bella chuckled. "I mean, why would the Romanos adopt a massacre survivor?"

Like what the two had said, Giovanni and Liliana were known as the pair who ran Combattere L'Academia one of the best if not only Assassin Academy in Europe. And despite running operations in the shadows, said academy was registered in the government as a private school for handpicked individuals.

Both Romanos were merciless and dangerous in their own ways yet they were the only ones to spare Bella a glance. After her family's death, the girl was sent to a home for orphans where they can be adopted by couples who desire to have a child. But of course, it's not like people would want a survivor of a bloody massacre as their adopted kid. Who knows, adopting said kid might lead them to their demise too.

But given the Romanos circumstance and position, they were not afraid to give the child a new home. They took her in and trained her as one of their assassins, if not, one of the best the academy has produced. They gave her a new chance to live life, and for that she was grateful.

"But I'm glad they did. If they didn't then you wouldn't have had the chance to meet me." He winked before sitting beside Bella, placing his elbows atop his thigh.

The woman simply rolled her eyes at her friend. "You'll never believe what my intel told me this morning." She starts, making Jace's face contort into curiosity, tilting his head towards her direction.

"What is it?"

"Have you ever heard of the Sicilian Mafia?" Bella questions.

"Who hasn't? Aren't they fighting against the Venetians for the territory of Italy?"

"Yeah, but that's not the point. The Sicilian Mafia—" She paused, taking in a deep breath. "—they were behind everything. They sent out the attack to our house."

"What?" Jace asks, obviously shocked about what his friend had said.

"That was my reaction too." Bella lets out a dry chuckle, clenching her fists. "Because why would one of the strongest mafias in the world attack my family? We were living peacefully, minding our own business."

Jace sighed. "What will you do now?"

"Go after them, I guess." She answered bluntly, making Jace tense from where he was sitting.

"Alone? Against a whole mafia?" Jace asked with a tone of disbelief as Bella nodded back in response. Jace's concern was acceptable. A single assassin against thousands of mafia members? While that seemed impossible, Isabella knew of her capability. Though she might not be able to take on against thousands, she might just be able to stand a chance against the leader. Why catch the small fishes when you can catch the big one instead?

"Not necessarily the whole mafia. I'll go after the Don, that way they will lose before they would even find out about it."

"I don't know about this, Isabella." Jace said, sitting up straight and sending a serious look towards the woman.

"They're much powerful than you think. Don't underestimate them."

"I'm not, I know how powerful the Sicilian Mafia is." Bella denied with a shrug.

Silence engulfed the two of them as they paused, both thinking of similar things.

"Let me help--"

"No." Bella refused, standing up from where she sat. "I need to do this alone, Jace. This is between me and the Sicilians." She finished, before walking away.

Jace sighed in defeat, knowing that there was nothing he can do to change Bella's mind once she has made a decision. Though one thing was clear: Isabella was ready to do everything to make the Sicilians pay the price for what they did.

She will kill, torture, and fight without letting anything hinder plans.

After all, she's only a survivor, trying to survive; it was Isabella's ever known, she's only doing what she must to stay alive.