Cara
Ever since my cousin gave up the mafia and chose to live peacefully with his new family, I made sure no one dared to harm them. Sol was the face of our mafia although ironically, he was careful not to let anyone be familiar with his face. He was a prudent man. As much as he could, he wanted to avoid war or anything that would bring harm to the family. He was more like my padre who chose peace and order rather than conflict among mafias.
However, that wasn’t enough to avoid greed and envy from others. In the end, he still managed to attract enemies. Our name and reputation was no different than royalty in our world. Just an utter of our name, people no doubt will know.
When he stepped down, I had to do things differently- aside from the fact that I do handle things differently. In order to divert his enemies, I had to show my face and claim his name. I have enjoyed eliminating them one by one, especially those who do not appreciate my friendly offer. Things have been quiet after that. I don’t know if I should be happy knowing I am bored out of my mind. It was too quiet for my liking.
Sol would definitely prefer it this way. That’s why my babbo wanted him to lead the family. Babbo was named the Mafia King. Sol took over when he died and now… there’s me. A woman who is leading one of the world’s biggest mafia. After making people know that the king was actually a queen, I thought for sure someone would dare come after me. Perhaps I have instilled fear too much after wiping out those scums.
“What’s with that sigh, Cara?”
I watched Vassily take a seat right across from me. There was a flicker of amusement in his eyes and a quirk of his lips as he looked at me. His men joined my men behind guarding us quietly. “About damn time, Ivanov.”
I had been waiting for him on the patio at the back of my manor. The weather was lovely and I figured I would wait for him here considering he always takes his time. It’s not Vassily Ivanov if he’s not going to be late.
The Ivanov family was our number one partner. My father and Vassily’s father, Viktor, were the closest. The two shared the same ideals when it comes to the family. The three of us practically grew up together- Sol, Vassily and me.
“What exactly do you need from me? You know Moscow is not a walking distance from here.” He joked, brushing his bright blonde hair as the wind messed up his once well kept hair.
“Oh, please.” I snort. “I wouldn’t have called you if I knew you’re still in Russia. You’re only here anyway to play so why not make the most out of it?”
Vassily dramatically rolled his eyes. “Alright, you got me. And before that, I originally came here to ask for a favor. But that had been resolved the moment I landed.”
One of the maids then came to serve him coffee and left right after asking us if we needed anything in which we denied. He immediately drank the coffee as if he needed it for the day. A second later, he spurted out the dark liquid.
“Ivanov, you are such a disgusting man.” I watched him in mirth.
“What the fuck! This is disgusting! You know I don’t like black coffee. What the fuck, Cara!” His face wrinkled unhappily.
I chuckled. “You need to watch your sweet intake, amico mio.”
He rolled his eyes. “Just get on with it. If you’re just going to play pranks then I’m off.”
“Oh, don’t be childish.” I stared at him for a while as he wiped the splattered coffee in his tatted arms with a napkin. “Have you thought about marriage, Vassily?”
He returns his attention to me. He stares with an unreadable expression before answering. “I did.” He fixes himself on his seat. “You know it’s not the same as before, Cara. With our parents being dead, Angelo with his new family…” He trails in thought.
Majority among our circle call Sol, Angelo. It was his nickname. It was our padre and I that only called him Sol, despite his long ass name. I knew it was Sol that irked him about the idea of having a family. It was that or the idea of loving someone. Ever since his visit to New York, it caused a rift between them. Eventually, he understood Sol, that my cousin brother only wanted to be happy together with the woman he loves.
“Perhaps you would like my proposal then.”
His attention perked. He raised a brow questioningly.
“I’m going to offer you a marriage proposal, Vassily Ivanov.” His eyes widened in surprise. “A marriage that will both benefit our families and one that would surely make our parents happy.”
His lips quirk a little. “I have always wanted to have a fierce wife.”
We both grinned in agreement.
We were both in our late twenties and in our line of work, we do not trust easily with other people especially when they’re going to be our husband or wife. We learned that the hard way when Sol, who was once a womanizer, brought a woman who almost killed him if I wasn’t able to step in and blow her brains out.
The memory brought shivers down my spine at the image of my naked cousin and the woman who was on top of him naked as the day she was born. She had the knife on her back ready to lodge it on his throat. I was never the one to trust easily even back when I was just a thirteen year old girl. I knew that woman was up to no good when I smelled fish in the air.
I figured it’s high time for me to get married and have an heir for the family. Truthfully, being the only Di Angelo left in here added a vital part to the pressure. Vassily Ivanov had the same circumstance as mine and with our families being close, it was only logical that we fitted each other for marriage. And when I bear a child, I would be confident to leave the mafia to him temporarily. Not only that, it will also bring happiness to both of our families.
“Boss.” Franco, my right hand, came to my side and pulled us out of our discussion.
Ever since Leo followed Sol, Franco easily replaced him as the second in command. He was, after all, very skillful and our best tracker.
I turned to him, catching Piero walking away who had just seemed to deliver the news to Franco.
“What is it?”
“I don’t think you would like this news.” My eyes narrowed at the thought. “Our shipment last night disappeared.”
“Where is Alvaro?” I asked, unable to give him the chance to speak for further details.
“He’s not here. His wife had just given birth so he asked for a leave. He’ll probably be off for a month or more.”
“Cazzo. Of all the fucking times, Alvaro had to be on his leave. Did you manage to retrieve the location of the shipment?”
“No.” My face darkened. “But we managed to find the name of the person who hacked into the system. He goes by the name of Link.”
“Location?”
“New York.”
I smirked in excitement. And to think I just happened to complain about the silence fetching nothing but boredom to me.
“Never liked that smirk on your face.” Vassily remarked.
“Someone who dared to hack into our computer, hijacking our shipment worth almost a billion dollars, making it disappear from our own radar. My, my~ whatever shall we do?”
The ship contains countless firearms of all sorts hence the cost. The vessel was supposed to be headed in North America. Alvaro was in charge of tracing all the shipments. He was the best tracker online. Unfortunately, he’s not here.
Just the thought of torturing or killing this daredevil excites me. He will entertain my growing boredom.
“Need some help, my future wife?” Vassily asked in amusement. I could see the glint in his eyes that he understood what was reeling in my mind. He knew his help wasn’t needed anyway.
“Oh, no, my future husband. This one is all mine. There’s nothing more exciting than playing a dangerous game.”
He chuckled. “Of course, as expected of you.”
“Apologies, Vassily, I’m afraid we’ll have to postpone discussing our marriage.” I said as I rose to my feet. “You’re free to stay here in the estate. You know your way here anyways and of course your room. I’m sure the people here offer better services than the hotels here.”
He nodded. “Be safe.”
I then leave a kiss on his cheek before leaving. I have a flight to catch.
Destination: New York.
Dylan“Hey, man. You need to hear this.” Miles comically dashed his way towards our cubicle in haste. He just came from the pantry which was the center of gossip since they usually gather there to talk.Like a gossip girl, he always reports to me about news, updates and even rumors circulating in the company. He was always updated with the latest gossip. He’s also very close to the girls in the office. They love him because he’s funny and always has something to talk about. “You won’t like what I'm about to say.” He said as soon as he sat on his chair, dragging it closer to me. I had to stop my work for a moment. He had a habit of making me listen to him. “What?” I asked as I turned to him.“The director came here and talked to Hudson.” Hudson was our manager. “You won’t believe what he did- actually, you’ll believe it because of course, the guy is an asshole. I mean continuing on, they talked and the director was impressed with the latest website and app ‘you’ made. He was so happy
I instinctively stepped back the moment she moved to put down her legs and rose. There’s something about this woman that doesn't sit well with me. Her aura was dark and dangerous. The darkness of the room only added to that. She stepped out behind the desk and took careful steps towards me. Once she was halfway towards me, I could see her more clearly now. She was wearing an all white business suit. One that perfectly fitted her. Her long dark hair was up in a ponytail. She was very tall. A few inches taller than me. My back hit the wall as soon as she reached before me. She didn’t need to push me with her own hands. Her presence alone pressured me to push back. I couldn’t believe that there was a woman taller than me. I was already tall, over six feet. And the height she possessed added more to her menacing aura. “I believe you have something that belonged to me.” She spoke in a way that was calm yet firm and intimidating. “I...I-I… don’t know what you mean.” She snorted
Cara It had been three years since the last time I talked with my cousin. We had a silent agreement that it will be the last. It was the day he renounced his position as the don of our family. He gave it back to me because he thought I was none other than the rightful heir. My father was the don before him and even though I was his only child and his real heir, he gave it to Sol instead, his brother’s son. He reasoned that he didn’t want me to inherit it because I was his only daughter and he didn’t want anything bad to happen to me the same thing that happened to his brother and his wife. And the fact that I was the only female born in the entire family, that includes the Ranallos. Our family was dominated by males. It was a given that I was treated like a princess by everyone. Being in the mafia, your life is always at risk and you are bound to have an unexpected death, especially when you're the face of the family. He didn’t want that for me. And though he denied me the posit
“How do you even know where my basement is?” Sol asked as we made our way towards his basement.“You know I know everything, fratello.” I smirked mischievously at him.He stopped walking and turned to me, making me stop as well. “What are you up to, sorella? What is this that you want to talk about?”My smirk immediately fell, replaced with solemnity. “You’ll see.” I replied as I started walking again and he followed suit until we finally arrived in his basement.The room was dark and I did not intend to switch the light on. I let the moonlight do its work. Franco stood at the corner, waiting for my orders. And in the middle of the room, Dylan Ross sat on the chair with his hands finally tied behind his back. His head bent to his front. He was consciously on and off from all the beatings I did to him back at his apartment.“Sorella…” Sol began. “Explain.” He spoke calmly but there was curiosity and hint of firmness behind it as he watched the man in question in the center of the room
We didn’t stay long in the basement after that. I left Franco in charge of the guy.Surprisingly, Sol wanted me to stay for a bit before leaving. His wife and I talked, catching up on three years worth of information since I was never really physically here for them and though I already knew most of the things, I let her talk. I appreciated that she wasn’t all shy and closed off around me and she was most definitely eager to tell me about her experiences with the twins and of course, my ever nice cousin. She and the twins retired for the night after our long ass conversation. It was pretty late and I can see the exhaustion on her face. Taking care of the two boys really made her tired, nonetheless the exhaustion doesn’t mean she’s not happy.I played with the twins and the puppy I gifted them which they named Alpha. Sol snorted at the thought because my middle name was Luna. The twins treated me as their very close aunt right away probably because they were so happy with Alpha. Ther
“No, please. No.” I begged, shaking my head in misery. “Come along now.” She spoke with a hint of impatience.She was standing outside by the door of the car, waiting for me to step out. But I didn’t want to step out. I knew what awaits beyond the door. I don’t want anything bad to happen to my family. No, not like this.I regretted complying to that bastard’s demands, at the same time not. I had no choice. Right now, I don’t know what to do. They’re going to be in danger again because of me.Tears pooled my eyes as I begged for her mercy.“If you don’t step out of the damn car, tesoro, I will visit them myself.” She snapped.“No, no, no! I…” I stopped her as she almost turned around to leave. I gulped. “Please… I’ll tell you who’s behind it. Please just leave my family alone.” She stared at me blankly. I know she’s waiting for me to speak what she wants to hear. My mouth opened ready to spill it to her but I couldn’t. I choked.My eyes were wide in alarm when she slammed the door s
I was in a daze the whole day as I watched my family bond with her. A mafia leader. The thought made me feel dizzy and nauseous. I was in mixed emotions the whole time. I don’t know when she’ll blow up and pull a gun to kill each one of us. She’s a walking time bomb.My mom introduced her to my grandma who was bedridden yet talks too much. She’s the reason my mom couldn’t leave the house to work. She had to watch over Damian and my grandma. I was the only provider of the family. That’s why I have to work hard. It’s the reason why I have to do what I had to do. Mortgage, bills, my grandma’s meds, they’re budget for the month- the list goes on. My dad died when I was just sixteen. He had an accident at their construction site. Although the company paid for compensation, it wasn’t enough for us. I was seventeen when I started working part time. I did a lot of odd jobs until I found a steady one at a diner. The owner was a friend and took me in willingly, understanding my predicament.I
I instinctively swallowed down my own saliva, throat bobbed up and down at the sight before me. Her beauty is that of a goddess and a body to match. She’s perfect and beyond.She grins when she sees my stunned state. “Ciao, tesoro.”Her voice pulled me out of my reverie. I remembered that despite being carved to perfection, she’s actually a witch. The nickname managed to put a frown on my face. I still have to find out what the heck that means.“I… I’m ready to talk.”There was a huge burden on my shoulders weighing me down. I don’t know if telling her the truth is right. It’s not like I have a choice. But she’s right here with my family and if I do something wrong, I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for letting her harm them when I have the power to avoid it.Cara sat on the edge of my bed, discarding the towel that once caressed her dark hair. She pats the bed, gesturing to me to sit beside her. I followed defeatedly like a dog.She was silent and I knew she wanted me to star