Chapter 3

Lorenzo entered the highly furnished apartment.The home contained marble floors throughout as well as beautiful hand painted murals. It still looked the same as it did 16 years ago, when he was first brought into the DeVille House. 

A middle aged fat woman moved towards him in excitement. 

"Lorenzo!" She cried out, giving him a hug and a kiss on his two cheeks afterwards.

"Signora!" Lorenzo retorted grinning from ear to ear. He was excited to see her. She was the Chef of the DeVille Family and had always given him Motherly care. When he was young, he always got special treatment from her that upset the others. He was glad he got to see her again.

"My Lorenzo, I missed you. It's been how many years now. What? 5? Or 6? Tell me" she said with a raspy voice dragging his two cheeks playfully. 

Lorenzo gave a hearty grin. "You're getting old Signora, have you been well?" He asked and she Chortled. 

"Oh my dear, since you've been gone. There's no one here to make me laugh. Now that you're here, I might start looking younger"

"Splendida!" Lorenzo's eyes widened as his laughter reverberated.

"Where's Viviana? I thought she was with you." The Woman said looking around as if she were searching. 

"Err... "Lorenzo was interrupted.

 "..Tsk tsk tsk..Now what have you done to that poor girl. Just hurry..You should head to the dining room. Everyone is waiting there for you." She said as she rubbed his shoulders, giving him a slight push towards the direction of the dining. Lorenzo smiled. 

Lorenzo entered the dining room. It was a classic and elegant one that screamed luxury. It had a large geometrically shaped table specially made with marble surface and gold lining. The dining tables and chairs were of beige color.

Lorenzo stared at the room. He was never privileged to eat at that table because he was believed to be an outcast. He wasn't legally adopted. Only members of the DeVille Family by blood were allowed to sit there. He stood in front of the table, avoiding the temptation to look at the mouth watering dishes the Signora had prepared for the family dinner. 

  The crystal reflection from the designer chandelier and floor lamps lit up the room, revealing the filled dining seats that graced the table. Lorenzo's eyes scanned through the room. They were all complete; Antonio DeVille and his three Children- Marco, Ricco and Viviana. His presence seemed to have caused some sort of uneasiness.

The middle aged white bearded man who sat at the extreme top of the table- Antonio DeVille, the Chairman or rather, the Mafia Boss was elegantly cutting a piece of beef steak with a pair of fork and Knife. On Lorenzo's entrance, he dropped the cutlery and picked up a white napkin to wipe his lips. 

" Lorenzo De Niro," Antonio said as he looked up at him with a light smile. 

" Bourngiono, Don!" Lorenzo said with his hands clasped behind him. 

Immediately, Antonio DeVille gave a loud guffaw, holding his belly. Consecutively, Ricco, the second son of the boss joined in the laughter. Marco, who was seated at the first right hand seat of the chairman rapidly gave Ricco a sneer. Ricco stopped laughing in embarrassment and gulped down a cup of water. 

" Lorenzo, has it been that long? This is your home, not the Mafia. Have your seat," 

Antonio gestured, still smiling uncontrollably as he resumed his meal. Everyone's attention seemed withdrawn. They all marveled in shock

"Father, he is not allowed to dine with us at the DeVille dinner table, he is not a DeVille"  Marco, Antonio's first son said, his face was filled with dissatisfaction. He seemed upset.

Antonio dropped his cutlery once more. 

"I see, who said so?" He turned to Marco. 

"You Father, it's always been a tradition." Marco Said. There was an awkward silence everywhere.

"I made the tradition, Son, I can as well break it" Antonio said.

Marco forced a smile and Ricco cleared his throat to break the awkwardness in the air.

Antonio turned to Lorenzo. "Aren't you hungry?" He said with a hoarse voice. 

Lorenzo gave a polite nod and pulled out one of the dining chairs beside Viviana. Viviana's face brightened a bit as he sat down beside her. 

"It's been a while, Lorenzo. How has Noto been?" Ricco said pouring himself a cup of wine. 

"Very well" he replied coldly. 

"I heard about Paolo's death, I must say, you're one fine gentleman that loves blood" Ricco said sipping the wine.

"Ricco!" Viviana cautioned. "..we are currently dining, no one's talking about blood here" she said furiously. 

"Take it easy,  Everyone loves blood here, after all, it was Father's orders to Kill Paolo. And Lorenzo, the perfect errandboy, never fails to do his job diligently." He said smiling. Marco smirked feigning dumbness this time

There was silence everywhere. Only the sound of Antonio's knife crashing against his plate resonated.  Lorenzo seemed unmoved, he was already used to taunts like that from them. He grabbed a plate. 

Ricco cleared his throat again, out of uneasiness. He cut a piece of beaf and put it in his mouth.

"It tastes so nice. Lorenzo you should come dine with us often, when you are done running errands for the Mafia" Ricco said.

"Lorenzo DeVille!..." Antonio broke the silence. His words grasped the attention of everyone seated, including Lorenzo. ".. bellisimo, isn't it?"He continued. 

Marco stopped eating. His appetite had gone and he seemed agitated. 

"How would you like to be the Mafia boss, Lorenzo..?" 

"Papa!" Marco yelled, slamming his cutlery against the table, startling everyone except Antonio and Lorenzo. The former giving a sly smile and the later keeping a straightface. 

"...I'll be retiring soon and I'll definitely need a hand. You've been a caporegime for many years now, don't you think it's time to be a DeVille?" Antonio continued absolutely ignoring Marco. 

"Father, Lorenzo cannot be the Mafia boss. You could as well make him the CEO of DeVille Cars at this rate. Marco has served the Mafia too for so long now." Ricco tendered. 

Antonio ignored him too and Viviana gave a mona lisa smile. 

"I called you here for this, Lorenzo. The Mafia has one last mission for you. You'll be infiltrating the Leone family of the Leonetti Cars. Get close to them and wait for my next orders. Bria Leone,the only daughter of the family, you need to gain her trust. You are a charming young man, you should be able to make her fall in love with you..." Antiono said calmly. 

Viviana frowned...

"You have just three months, Lorenzo. Your flight ticket to Milan is ready. I trust you, Lorenzo. Once you're done with this mission, you'll legally become a DeVille." Antonio said 

All gazes were fixed on Lorenzo who was absolutely quiet. One could hardly read the expression on his face. Suddenly, he smiled, cleared his throat and responded.

"When do I begin?".