Book One
Aria Rossi grows up is in a family war between her family and the Violante's. This story follows her journey as a young sheltered child through the challenges that arise ahead.
Lies, loyalty, deceit, ambition, pain, trust, love, and fami...
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2032 Flashback
Uncle Sal had heavy footfalls. It was something we all knew about him. Whether he was walking around the house in the middle of the night or sneaking up on someone, it was a fact. That was the sound that woke me up at 9 in the morning. My night at the club with Ethan and Genesis had been spectacular. I was very hungover and going through mild withdrawals as a result when I woke up.
I could hear his footsteps getting closer and closer which was weird because he rarely came up to this floor of the house. "Wake up!" He barks, shaking my shoulder.
Slowly, I opened my eyes; the hangover headache began to pound immediately in my temples. "What?!" I groan.
"I know what happened last night," He says, grabbing my hair and yanking it back so I was looking up at him. "You swing both ways?!"
"What are you talking about?" I demand, blinking a few times. I needed to play this down if I could.
Uncle Sal slapped me so hard that I saw stars, effectively waking me up from any remnants of sleep. "Don't play dumb with me, Ryker. One of my girls reported back to me!" Genesis.
"It won't happen again... I was high as fuck yesterday," I mumble, grabbing his wrist. Pain was radiating through my head and my heart began racing. "Let me sleep."
He lets me go but kneels down to my level, staring at me. "I will but rest assured nephew, I will use your newfound proclivities to my benefit! Or I can tell your father what you are." If he told Papà, it was all over for me anyways. From that day forward, I was forced to work for Uncle Sal in ways that I never thought possible. Being gay or bi in Catholicism was seen as a sin- as a devout Catholic family, a mob family in the public eye, if it were to come out that Leonardo Rossi's second son swung both ways, it would not be accepted in the criminal underworld. Sal withheld drugs until I agreed to comply with what he ordered.
According to him, this was my way of helping the family. I was already withholding a major secret and all I had to do was get more secrets on other crime families. Little did I know that this was such an effective way to further the Rossi family name.
2033
I look up as Mrs. Faava comes into the room. "Welcome," I said, standing up. "You look beautiful as usual."
"I don't have a lot of time," She says, brushing by me and going to the bathroom. "Are you ready, Ryker?"
Internally, I sigh. She had been one of my best clients since the beginning, sharing secrets about her husband's affiliations with a terror organization and arms dealings. I kept some of her secrets to myself for my own benefit but shared most of them with Uncle Sal. "I'm always ready for you, Mina." She comes out of the bathroom, stripping down. She was older, around her mid-50s. I could imagine that she might have been attractive in her younger years but not anymore. "How're the kids?" I ask, opening a condom.
