PastAugust 2009"Do you know what Cosa Nostra does to cowards?" old Russo asked, and I made no move. We shoot them in the forehead because it doesn't work. “Your father, who has been a faithful man, told me that I could do it if it would help to make up for the damage you did, the humiliation of my princess Diana... Tell me, why don't I kill you?”I didn't say anything, my tears were stuck."Beat him up so he learns to respect, don't touch his face because I want him pretty for pictures," Russo told one of his men. “You're going to marry my granddaughter this Friday, if you don't, I'm going to kill your brother and sell your sister to the Chechen mafia.”That one upset me, it made me shake, I wanted to kill the damn old man and I looked at my father to get him to tell me in the face that he was going to allow that madness. He ignored me and what Russo did was laugh before taking the cane and with incredible strength for an old man, he hit it in my stomach, took all the air out of me

PastFrom August to September 2009The month of August ended and the first weeks of September consumed me in a pathetic spiral that led me to sleep everywhere, to cry like an idiot and to be listless. My father kept me locked up most of the time after that disastrous fight in which he proved that I was the worst of them all."Emma is punished until further notice, she has to spend time at home and not walk around like a street person," he snapped before slamming the door in my aunt's face.It was hell and it opened up when days later my mother asked me for pads because theirs had run out. That set off alarm bells everywhere because for the first time I was aware that I was late for my period.On a day when my parents went out, I checked the calendar and counted the weeks. I was a week late; a whole one I didn't think about while I was a mess in bed crying for Luc."It can't be, it can't be," I said to myself, curling up into a ball on the bed.I thought about what the hell to do, thou

Past December 2009 to February 2010December arrived without anesthesia.I was locked in a luxury apartment where I lived with my wife, an innocent girl who had been miserable since the moment we got married. I remember perfectly well that two days after burying my grandfather, I was forced to wait for her at the altar, one where she arrived walking through tears, in the most pompous dress a young woman could wear.His first words to me, just before the wedding, were:"I'm sorry to have your life ruined like I am.”Then she burst into tears as if the world had ended. I didn't know how to react to it, I just gave him a tissue and took out the prenuptial agreement that my brother carefully snuck in. I opened it and presented it to him in that state."If you want to annoy your grandfather for what he's doing, sign this," I said, and he looked me straight in the eye."What's that?""Lee, you have to sign it before we can get married.""It's a... prenuptial agreement? How does signing thi

PastJune 2010We were going to get rid of old Russo.That was the conclusion the three of us came to after learning the gender of the creature.She was a girl, one who would have problems as soon as she was born. That didn't seem fair to me, I didn't agree with how women were treated within the mafia, so I had to get into a plan that my brother came up with.We had no choice."My grandfather will come soon to check that everything is going well, I..."Diana couldn't continue talking without crying, the enlargement of her belly made her look prettier, however, she was much more susceptible than usual and that was starting to irritate my brother."I'll take care of everything at the gender reveal party, it's our closest opportunity," Adriano said seriously, "we'll leave before he comes himself, we'll say we'll take into account the doctor's recommendation to look for a specialist in early detection of diseases."That's when I realized he was very cunning, maybe too cunning, so I asked

Past From July to November 2010The judge's decision on my father's fate was still hammering my brain.Part of me had wondered how the Caseys had taken it, but then I told myself it wasn't my problem, so I had to deal with that information at my last therapy session in Minneapolis."Emma, we've had almost six months of therapy, months in which you've barely made any progress," my therapist said a little tiredly. “I can go on, we can go on in this, but if you don't do your part, I feel like we're not going to get anywhere.”"You know what I've been wondering? Why the hell do I come to sessions where my therapist can't understand what I'm saying?” I questioned angrily. I walked out of there like I was burning. At that, my lawyer's call snapped me out of my musings on my way to the nearest bus stop."Good morning, Emma, I'm notifying you that the court has ruled in your favor, the judge accepted the sentence and previous events to allow the name change, so tomorrow you can go and do al