Forty-five:Cesare Luna“Why are we doing this again?” Marco must have thought that I was crazy. We were standing on the side of the road, about a mile from where I thought my family safe house was. A memory had come to me while we were driving there. It was Luna tradition that we had to fire a gun before we arrived at the safehouse. It was a way to let people know that we weren’t a threat.“Because, Luna tradition dictates it.”“You forgot how to use a fork at breakfast this morning,” Marco said, “but you can remember this?”“I have a concussion from being almost killed,” I reminded him, “I still remember the important things. I can’t remember the pin number to my credit card, but I---for instance----remembered that I’m not married to Emmilia.”Marco frowned at me. “What?”I looked at the side of the road that led up to the big, modern style mansion that was up on the hill, guarded by a gate. “I was going to marry Emmilia. We weren’t able to get married before my brother went psycho
Forty-six:Emmilia Vitore I wasn’t used to being helpless. Normally, I had a plan. Sometimes, the plan went awry. But normally, there was at least some semblance of a plan. In this case, once Tori was with me, I found myself going into a kind of out of body state. Bianca helped me get dressed and ready but I didn’t remember it. I went from being in the room Donatello had forced me to be in, to being out in the back yard with people that were supposed to be my family. It really seemed like it was a lot of Donatello’s business associates and their wives with maybe a few of their kids sprinkled in. Everyone kept on coming up to me and telling me congratulations as I sat at a table with Galileo. Galileo kept on placing his hand on my shoulder, and another on my thigh. “You should smile,” he whispered to me, “this is supposed to be the happiest night of your life.” “It’s not even the wedding,” I hissed, through gritted teeth, “it’s the rehear
Forty-seven:Cesare Luna “How did he seem?” I asked my sister after she had made the call. “Like most Luna men,” Laura said, “he behaved like a cold asshole.” Vera, my mother, glared at her. “Laura, that’s a little too harsh. We’ve all lost your father and---” Laura glared back at our mother. “Mom, dad’s dead. You don’t have to defend him anymore. You certainly don’t have to defend Galileo. I’m pretty sure that he’s the reason why we’re all in this mess to begin with. I think he made some kind of twisted deal so that he could marry Emmilia instead of Cesare and now he’s completely lost his marbles. For all we know, he’s the one that killed dad.” Vera laughed. “Oh please, Galileo isn’t cruel enough to kill your father. All he wanted to do was to be a chef but his stupid feud with his brother wouldn’t let him. He became obsessed with Emmilia because he’s a petulant child who isn’t used to not getting what he wants because we ga
Forty-eight:Emmilia Vitore I grabbed Tori and I took her to my room. Bianca noticed, and started to follow me, but she was stopped by one of the guards. “Mama?” Tori said. “Is everything okay, Mama?” I looked down at my daughter and I had to keep my face calm. I didn’t think Galileo would punish me for mourning his brother, since he was too, but I had no doubt that Donatello would. I looked down at Tori. “We’re going home, baby,” I said, “that’s why I look sad. I never thought that I would get to take you back to Boston with me.” Tori’s eyes widened. “We’re really going home?” I nodded. “Yes.” “But I thought we had to stay here?” she asked. “I thought you had to get married to new Daddy and that we had to stay in Italy.” “There’s been a change in plans. Don’t worry about it too much. But we’re all going to leave together tomorrow, alright?” Tori nodded. “Alright, Mommy. But promise me that you aren’t
Forty-nine:Cesare Luna To get someone that was a fixer out of hiding was not an easy thing to do. Titus Vitore showed up when he wanted to, where he wanted to, and half of the time you never knew if he was alive or dead. Given how I had ended up nearly beaten to death after our last meeting, I was surprised that he wasn’t dead. But my mother, Vera Luna, had dealt with men like my father all her life. Which meant she knew how to find people to clean up messes. People like Titus. So, we put the word out. And we waited. I didn’t like the idea of waiting. It meant that time would pass. I had no idea where Emmilia was. I didn’t know what my brother was doing with her. And I had no idea if my daughter was okay. Titus was the key to helping us find that out. Laura had made a call to Galileo. She knew that he would answer her calls still. She told him that father was dead and that I was too. It was all a ploy to try to get him to come back to Boston. Hopef
Fifty:Emmilia Vitore When I pictured my life back in Boston, it seemed like a whole world away. I wasn’t even sure how long I had been in Italy. But I knew that being back home made me feel easier. I had people there. People that if I found them, I could get them to help me get away from Galileo. All I had to do was put on a brave face for my daughter and then I would be able to get through the mess that I was in. I had never been to Galileo’s home. But that was the first place that we went. It was a penthouse, in a ritzy area, not far from where the Luna family home was. In contrast to Cesare’s pristine home, Galileo had walls painted different colors and art hanging from them from all over the world. Even being scared and hurt about everything, I couldn’t help but stop and marvel about it. “Wow!” I glanced back at Galileo. “I never pictured your place looking like this.” Galileo smirked. “You’ve pictured my place before? Well, that’s
Fifty-one:Cesare Luna “Are you sure you need to save her?” Laura asked me this as we were driving back to Boston. I looked at her. “Why would you ask that?” “I mean, as much as you hate to hear this, it is possible that she did fall in love with Galileo and they decided to get married. Besides, you always talk about how she was trying to kill you. You were hired to kill her first, even though you like to pretend that wasn’t the case.” I glared at my sister. “She’s not in love with Galileo. That’s not something she would ever do willingly.” “How do you know?” Laura said. “I mean, you never really saw the two of them together. I lived in the same apartment as her. I saw them. They had a certain something. I don’t think that Emmilia ever acted on it, but there was a chemistry between them. Maybe Emmilia didn’t want to marry you because she still hated you. She didn’t like that she was being forced into the wife role by her uncl
Fifty-Two:Emmilia Vitore Galileo had to give me his cell phone. Mine had long since been taken from me. There was also no way that he would give me one. He couldn’t have me calling someone that would help me. But Nikos Balis and I had once had something special. He had tried to kill my father and that had been the end of our relationship. If it hadn’t been for that though, we might have still been together. He was incredibly possessive. If I could figure out a way to let Nikos know what was happening, maybe I could get away from Galileo. But I had to do it in a way that would let him know that there was something wrong without alerting Galileo about it. If Galileo knew that I was trying to get away, he would kill Nikos. I couldn’t have another person’s blood on my hands. “Call him,” Galileo said. “What do I say?” I asked. “Tell him that you’re worried because you’ve been hearing rumors about Cesare being dead. Te
Fifty-nine: Cesara Luna There were too many people in Boston that knew who I was. But Marco had places that he could take me where people wouldn’t know. “Your family is mob, right?” I said. I didn’t use that word often. I always said ‘underground’ as though that somehow made it less frightening, less of a cliché. But that’s what we both were. Marco nodded. We were sitting at a bar called Allegra’s. It had been owned by the Allegra family, the same one that Giana----or Maria----depending on who were talking to, belonged to. “I’m a cousin. I think. Maybe a brother. Our parents were never very clear, and they did have a weird history together. Either way, we’ve known each other since we were little. Went to the same schools and everything. I made my bones when I was sixteen working for her father. Her father was trying to make his empire expand, and so he arranged a marriage for Maria to the Vitore family. But Maria always had a mind of her own and she ended up
Fifty-eight:Emmilia Vitore I had no cell phone. I had no purse. When I left, the guards didn’t even follow me. Vera seemed to scare even them. I should have known she wasn’t as innocent as she looked. To survive in our world, you couldn’t be a wilting flower. You had to be as dangerous as the men in it. Vera had killed her own husband. I had no doubt that she would try and kill me if I didn’t leave. At least if I were alive, I could try to get Tori away later. I didn’t want to leave. But I didn’t want her to witness my death either. Vera had already killed her husband. I had no doubt that she would try and kill me. I went to the only place that I could think of where I would be safe. Victoria Mariano’s house. The woman I had thought was my mother…. I had no way to get there but walk. As I walked, I couldn’t help but feel the rage that was coursing through me. Everything had been taken once again. A ca
Fifty-seven:Cesare Luna “Pull over!” I demanded. Marco looked at me. “We’ve got to get to Las Vegas. We’re on a time crunch.” “Pull the fuck over!” I demanded. My uncle had told me the last thing that I wanted to hear. “Get out!” I shouted to my uncle. He got out and I did too. I took my gun out of the back of my pants and pointed it it at him. Uncle Augustus laughed. “Are you going to shoot an unarmed man?” “Why not?” I said. “It’s exactly the kind of thing that you would do.” “Ah, but you pride yourself on not being like me. You’re the next generation. You always told your mother that you were going to be better than me. You wouldn’t want to fail your mother, would you? Although, you’ve already failed because you fell for the daughter of the whore that ruined your parent’s marriage.” I thought of Emmilia. I hadn’t noticed that there was a resemblance between her and Maria. But I did re
Fifty-six:Emmilia Vitore I couldn’t help but stare at Vera. “What do you mean, you know my mother? Do you mean the woman that raised me? Victoria?” Vera shook her head. “No, I’m talking about her sister. Victoria’s your aunt. She helped take care of you while your mother was in hiding.” “How do you know her?” She looked away from me. “The hardest part about growing up is realizing that your parents had whole lives before you. That maybe you haven’t known every version of them that you’ve ever been. But you must know…I didn’t have a choice.” “Didn’t have a choice in what?” “Octavious liked to tell our story like he was the greatest romantic of a century. It wasn’t romantic. I was forced to marry someone else. Octavious knew him and he became obsessed with me. He seduced me away from him. But there was a time where I hated him so much that I wanted to kill him. Even when I did finally marry him, I still harbored that. And of cou
Fifty-five:Cesare Luna I made the call I didn’t want to make. My family was planning my funeral, and I went to the New York state prison. I waited outside and a pair of guards brought out my uncle. He was almost an exact replica of my father. It was strange, like watching a clone come out. Marco, who had come with me, shivered a bit. “Why the fuck are we getting the worst man in the mob out of prison?” “Because, he knows where Emmilia’s mother is. And Emmilia’s mother is the one woman who is part of a family that is powerful enough that they can help take on my brother.” “Why haven’t you just asked me?” Marco said. “Are you really going to tell me where she is?” Marco shook his head. “No, because I’m more scared of her and her family then I am of you.” “See? That’s why I need the evil bastard. So that we can find her and help Emmilia. We haven’t been able to find The Fixer, and this is our last resort. Also, I’m starting
Fifty-four:Emmilia Vitore He had finally left me alone. I still had security guards with me. But he didn’t make me sleep in his bed when he realized I couldn’t remember what was happening. I stayed in a room with Tori. Galileo went to work on trying to find out what had happened with his father. On our third day back in the city, there was a knock on the door. “Emmilia? Are you there?” I recognized the voice. It was Vera, Galileo’s mother. I had been with Tori in the kitchen. I had made us sandwiches and drinks. We were sitting at the counter. “Who is that, Mommy?” Tori asked. I got up from the counter. “Give me a moment, honey. Stay right there.” I went to the door. “Vera, is that you?” “Yes,” she said, “can you open the door please? I don’t have a key and the security guards won’t open it for me. Which is ridiculous, because I’m Galileo’s mother.” “I would like to see her. She’s my daughter’s grandmother. Please, let her in.” I wa
Fifty-three:Cesare Luna “What happened?” I asked Laura when she got back. We were back home, in Boston. I needed to find Emmilia’s father and it was hard to do that when I was supposed to be dead. Laura was doing my errands for me. I had to stay in the house, like a ghost. It was horrible, especially when I should have been going after my brother to get my girl back. Emmilia wasn’t his. He was using her to try and take over the family fortune because my daughter was the heir to the Luna fortune. That was the only reason he wanted her. He didn’t care about her at all. But I was in love with Emmilia, and when I got her back, I would do whatever it took to make her mine. Laura’s face was drawn as if she had seen something terrible. “Cesare, you aren’t going to like what I saw.” “What did you see?” “Emmilia knows that you’re dead, but she…” “But what?” I asked. “She thinks th
Fifty-Two:Emmilia Vitore Galileo had to give me his cell phone. Mine had long since been taken from me. There was also no way that he would give me one. He couldn’t have me calling someone that would help me. But Nikos Balis and I had once had something special. He had tried to kill my father and that had been the end of our relationship. If it hadn’t been for that though, we might have still been together. He was incredibly possessive. If I could figure out a way to let Nikos know what was happening, maybe I could get away from Galileo. But I had to do it in a way that would let him know that there was something wrong without alerting Galileo about it. If Galileo knew that I was trying to get away, he would kill Nikos. I couldn’t have another person’s blood on my hands. “Call him,” Galileo said. “What do I say?” I asked. “Tell him that you’re worried because you’ve been hearing rumors about Cesare being dead. Te
Fifty-one:Cesare Luna “Are you sure you need to save her?” Laura asked me this as we were driving back to Boston. I looked at her. “Why would you ask that?” “I mean, as much as you hate to hear this, it is possible that she did fall in love with Galileo and they decided to get married. Besides, you always talk about how she was trying to kill you. You were hired to kill her first, even though you like to pretend that wasn’t the case.” I glared at my sister. “She’s not in love with Galileo. That’s not something she would ever do willingly.” “How do you know?” Laura said. “I mean, you never really saw the two of them together. I lived in the same apartment as her. I saw them. They had a certain something. I don’t think that Emmilia ever acted on it, but there was a chemistry between them. Maybe Emmilia didn’t want to marry you because she still hated you. She didn’t like that she was being forced into the wife role by her uncl