Diego Ricci is dead. My brothers didn't really explain to me what had happened to him but it was obvious who killed him. I was curious as to how he was killed because I hoped he had suffered a lot.
Amelia knew a lot more about this life and its rules. She had more friends in these circles and by asking around a bit, she found out what happened. We hid in her bathroom as she whispered about what had happened.
"There is this abounded warehouse. They call it the gates to hell. Every time the Don needs to make a bloody statement, he makes all his Capo's come there so that they could see what happens if you disobey."
The gates of hell? I shivered but nodded for her to continue.
"They publicly tortured and killed Diego for what he had done. Hector made a statement out of him. So that everybody knows that what he's done is not allowed and will be punished harshly."
Diego suffered. That was all I needed to know. This life of crime was really not made for me. I handpicked whatever I wanted to know and the rest I just blocked out. It was better like that. Otherwise, I would've just gone insane.
"Girls, where are you?" Hector stepped inside Amelia's bedroom.
We hurried out of the bathroom. He wore a three piece suit again. My eyes always went to his golden signet ring. How many people have kissed it was a fucking mystery to me.
"What were you doing?" He questioned.
"I showed Elena my new lipglosses." Amelia grinned.
She's been doing that while telling me about the gates of hell. So she wasn't lying exactly. Hector nodded and mentioned for us to come closer.
"I came to get you so that I can announce something to the family." He explained.
He placed his hand on our shoulders and took us to the living room. Ariana sat next to Theo and she looked healthier. In the first days after the Christmas party, she didn't even want to eat, so she lost weight. But she was gaining it back slowly.
Mostly because Hector encouraged her to go to therapy.
He was literally the biggest advocate of mental health.
Except for himself, of course. He really needed to get his workaholic tendencies checked out.
Leonardo was leaning against the wall and he looked like he was ready to kill. I don't know what his ordeal was but he looked pissed as hell.
I sat down next to Dahlia who was snacking on cookies. So of course I sat down next to her.
"Wise choice, my young child." She winked.
I smirked and pushed a cookie in my mouth.
Ariana really made the best red velvet cookies.
They were moist and crunchy.
"There is something that I need to announce." Hector clapped his hands together.
I noticed Leonardo rolling his eyes.
"Nicolas will be the new Capo of Nevada."
My jaw dropped. I hadn't even thought about the fact that Nevada needed a new Capo. I most certainly didn't expect Nicolas to get chosen.
"So you'll move to Las Vegas?" Amelia asked Nicolas.
He'd adapted that same emotionless face as Hector. I've gotten used to it by now.
"Yes." Nicolas nodded.
He's moving out? I remember how much I sobbed at the thought of Theo moving out. So I wasn't surprised when tears filled my eyes.
Since when was I this attached?
"The state is a mess and Nicolas is more than qualified to restore our claim." Hector added.
I hated all this business talk. What about family? Won't he miss us? He'll go there all by himself. He's isolated himself from us but what about Leonardo. They've never been apart for more than a day.
"You're sending him on a fucking suicide mission." Leonardo snapped at Hector.
Now I understood why he was so angry. His twin was moving away.
"Silas will accompany him for the first few months. If I believe that Nicolas will succeed, he'll succeed." Hector told him calmly.
He was clearly confident in Nicolas' skills. I truly had no idea, I just wanted him to be safe and surrounded by the people he loves.
"You only care about your dumb claim on Nevada instead of his safety." Leonardo accused him.
Hector snapped his head towards him and even Silas looked highly offended.
"Watch your mouth, kid!" Silas warned Leonardo who just scoffed.
"I understand that you're upset that Nico is moving away, but don't put that frustration out on me. I asked you if you wanted to join your twin, but you said no. Deal with the consequences." Hector replied simply.
Always levelheaded and never losing his cool. I still don't understand how he does it.
"Go have fun dying." Leonardo purposefully bumped into Nicolas who didn't even flinch.
He had gotten a whole lot stronger over the past year.
I got up from my seat and pulled Nicolas in for a tight hug. He wasn't a hugging person anymore but I just wanted to say goodbye. He also didn't push me away and tightened his arms around me.
"Don't date any more guys, El, I don't ever want to see you cry like that again." He muttered against my forehead.
Daniel now felt like a lifetime ago. I don't know what my brothers did to him but Cecelia told me that he had to switch schools and that I won't have to deal with him.
"Please be safe and promise to come home often. I'll even give you my cake pops."
For the first time in a very long time, a honest smile stretched on his lips which made me cry more. He wiped my tears away and nodded.
"If you're willing to give up your cake pops, that must mean that you're being serious."
I nodded urgently and he chuckled.
"Of course, I'll come back home. Don't worry too much about it." He assured me.
Nicolas had changed. He was more mature and I didn't worry too much about his mission. He was strong and he'll have Silas by his side.
He'll be fine and I hope that he finds happiness there.
Because that's what he deserves.
///////////////
When Silas came back, I had successfully graduated high school. He missed the ceremony but Theo must've taken about a million pictures. He was like an overexcited mom beaming with pride when Amelia and I walked on the stage.
"You really did bullshit your way through the speech." Dahlia laughed as we sat in the restaurant.
I raised my hands in defence. The principal had forced me to give a speech because I was the valedictorian. I tried to make someone else do it but he insisted that I did it. So I just wrote some bullshit down but it resonated with a lot of people apparently.
"I bullshit myself through a lot." I shrugged.
That was the truth. How else did they think that I made my way through my philosophy class?
"Baby, I thought that you did very well! You looked so pretty!" Mom insisted.
I smiled brightly. Any type of compliment from her made me feel like I was on top of the world.
"Yeah, you even got a medallion!" Ariana cheered me on.
Her swollen stomach was visible even above the table. She was about five months pregnant and already showing. Mom said it was normal, especially after we learned that it would be a boy. She said all Cassano' boys had been ginormous babies.
I prayed in silence for her pussy. She pushed out seven children. That's insane. Not even one was a caesarean.
"Well, congratulations, brat. You made it!" Silas appeared behind me and kissed my cheek.
He was late for dinner but the jet had a few issues that needed to be resolved first. He leaned over to Amelia and kissed her cheek as well.
"How's Nico?" Leonardo didn't even wait before Silas sat down.
He acted like he didn't care but he was the one who asked daily updates on his twin. He just had to suck up whatever was holding him back and apologise to Nico for acting like a complete dick.
"Great. He barely needed me." Silas smirked proudly.
They restated their claim on Nevada and Nicolas had done it successfully. I noted the proud look in dad's and Hector's eyes.
"My little piglet is all grown up." Dad sighed with a wistful look in his eyes.
The nickname didn't really fit Nicolas anymore. He didn't eat as much as he used to and even copied Silas' healthy diets. I had lost a fellow foodie but luckily I still had Dahlia.
Right now, Hector was trying to stop her from vacuuming her plate. When she ate too fast, she got an upset stomach.
"We should visit him before heading back to Italy." Mom squeezed dad's hand.
He nodded in agreement. I wanted to see Nicolas again as well. It's been months since I've seen him.
"I want to visit him as well." I spoke up.
"Me too!" Amelia chimed in.
We both turned to Hector. He had his arm wrapped around Dahlia and was listening to her whine about wanting to eat more. She was on her period, so she was very sensitive right now.
"Not now." Silas muttered.
I frowned and turned to him but he just shook his head.
"You said that he has everything under control." Amelia argued.
"He does but that doesn't mean that the situation is any better. It's too dangerous for you two to go."
My stomach turned. I'd hoped that things would be more safe. I missed my brother and I didn't want him to constantly be in danger. Now that Silas was back home, would he be alright on his own?
"Don't worry about him. He's a Cassano." Silas caught our worried glances.
I wouldn't start feeling less worried until I got to see him in real life. But that would take a few more months.
////////////////
When I came back home from prom, my mom and Hector wanted to talk to me. Dad was supposed to be there as well, but he flew out to Las Vegas earlier than mom to make sure that she'd land safely. I entered Hector's office in my gown and fell down on his sofa. My feet were killing me and I was sweating from all the dancing.
I celebrated the end of my high school career in style.
"How was it?" Mom asked with a warm smile.
August did a lap dance, Cecelia made out with at least ten guys, Eunha and I danced our feet off, while Amelia finally kissed Henry Walton who she'd been crushing on for the entire year.
Not to mention someone spiking the punch with liquor and resulting in our principal being wasted.
I wanted to pull out my eyes when he started to do a striptease.
"Great." I smiled back.
My mom didn't have to know all that.
"We won't keep you up any longer. You must be tired but there is something we'd like to discuss with you." Mom spoke and sat down next to me.
Hector took a seat on the sofa facing us and crossed his legs. He was surprisingly silent and nodded at Mom to continue.
"Have you decided your major for college?" She asked.
I was stressing out. I still had to pick a major. I got accepted in Colombia. I didn't have a dream college but this was our family's college. All my siblings went there and I didn't want to leave home.
I've grown too attached to these idiots.
"No." I sighed.
This was hard for me. I was bad a choosing things. I found a lot of majors interesting but not one stood out. Amelia already knew what she wanted, she's known it since she was little. She wanted to study law and work for Theo's law company.
I didn't even know he had a company but it was part of the family business.
"Maybe this will help you. I don't want to push you to choose a particular major. You know that I have a company, right?" Mom continued.
"Dream entertainment?"
Mom had her own recording label. It's been years since she released something. Her younger sister, Fiona, became CEO after my mom went on hiatus. Fiona was Priscilla's mom and she was just as horrible as her daughter.
"Yes. I'm not planning on continuing my career anymore. But I don't want my company to fall in the hands of Fiona."
That was understandable. My aunt was crazy. She was an entitled, spoiled, and insane Karen. I dreaded all the family parties where she was present. Last time she screamed at Victor because she bumped into him.
Silas quickly put her in her place. How dare she yell at Victor? It was like signing a death warrant in our family.
"You don't want to take on the position of CEO, again?" I asked her.
"No, I just want to live peacefully with your papa. I'm not as passionate and young as I used to be. My company needs someone new and strong."
I could already see where she was going with this.
"You'd trust me with your company?"
I was fresh out of high school and didn't know much about business. It felt like a lot of pressure.
"I've been thinking about it for a while now. Your papa and brother share my opinion. You're the best candidate. You're such an intelligent girl with a strong willpower."
I blushed. Dream Entertainment was her life work and I know how much she treasured it. Now she was entrusting me with it.
"I don't know anything about business." I confessed.
"You're attending an Ivy League University, Elena. The business program there is good. Besides, we won't just push you right in. I'll help you." Hector spoke up.
I could major in business. I had no idea what I wanted to do but now I had this opportunity to do something useful. I felt excited but I didn't allow myself to go overboard. This was my mom's career. I'll protect and honour it.
"Aunt Fiona won't be mad?" I questioned.
She was greedy. I don't see her willingly handing over her position to me. She's made it quite clear that she didn't like me.
I don't know how my mom was even related to these wicked sisters that she had.
"Oh, she will but it's my company. I'm still the chairwoman and there is no way she can fight this decision." Mom nodded firmly.
CEO Elena Cassano did sound good.
I wanted my mom to fully relax and I'd make sure that I was going to make her company blossom again.
Once I wanted something, I didn't stray away.