A few seconds later the door opened and I was met with an older lady.
"Vieni dentro.(Come inside)" She said.
I acted confused so they didn't know I speak Italian. I turned to look at Riccardo.
"You can go in."
"Oh, okay."
As I was coming in I heard many footsteps coming down the stairs. I also saw how pretty the house was. When you first enter the house you are met with a staircase that leads you to the second floor, it also splits and one side goes left and the other goes right.
There is a beautiful chandelier hanging above the staircase right where it splits. The design is old Rome, just modernized.
I was so busy looking at the details of the house that I didn't see the 7 men/boys standing in front of me. I recognized my biological father because of the articles I read.
"Buon pomeriggio Signore. Tutto è andato liscio, inoltre non credo che lei conosca l'italiano.(Good afternoon Sir. Everything went smoothly, plus I don't think she knows Italian.)" Riccardo told my bio father.
"Bravissimo Riccardo. Grazie per averla portata qui in sicurezza.(Very good Riccardo. Thanks for bringing her here safely.)" My bio father told him. After that Riccardo put my bag beside me and told me goodbye and left.
I turn my attention to my bio family and just look at them with no emotion. No way in hell am I starting this conversation. It's so awkward. Up until my bio father decides to speak.
"Hello Valentina, I'm your father and these are your brothers. I'm glad you made it here safely, also I'm sorry for your loss. Your mothers body arrived a little before you. We arranged for a funeral and burial for tomorrow." When he started talking about arranging her funeral he looked mad and furious. Actually they all looked mad about it.
Do they really hate my mom that much? Wow.
"Hi, nice to meet you guys. Thank you for that. I didn't want to be so far from her." Thinking about her made me sad but I wasn't going to let them see that.
"No problem neonata. (baby girl). Boys, introduce yourself from oldest to youngest." I already know all of them but they don't know that so I play along. Don't want to expose myself so early on.
"I'm Luciano Principessa, your oldest brother. I'm 26. It's nice to have you back." He said with an emotionless face. Although when you look at his eyes you can tell how genuine and happy he was. I just nod and look at Vincenzo.
"Hey Principessa I'm your second oldest brother Vincenzo but you can call me Vince. I'm 23. I'm so happy you're back home." He had a small smile on his face as he was saying this. I gave him a small smile and nodded, then looked at Alessio.
"Hey sorella (sister) it's so nice to see you again, I'm Alessio and I'm 21. You have no idea how much I've missed you." He said with a genuine smile on his face. I also gave him a small smile to acknowledge him but not big enough for him to think that I am comfortable with them yet. I moved on and looked at Alessandro.
"I'm Alessandro, Alessio's twin." He wasn't glaring at me but he also didn't show that he even cared that I am here. He is very emotionless. I also kept an emotionless face and turned to Giovanni.
"Hey sorella I'm Giovanni, you can call me Gio. Also I'm 18." He gave me a tight lipped smile. I returned it with a small smile and a nod then looked at Lorenzo and he was smiling. Like showing your teeth smiling.
"Hey sorella! I'm Lorenzo, you can call me Enzo, and I'm 17. We're going to have so much fun together. It's so nice to finally meet you!!" He seems very happy that I'm here. I don't think he really remembers me that much because he would've been 3. I did the same thing I did with the others. Small smile and a nod.
"Vince, can you take her to her room and then give her a tour of the house." Alfonso told Vincenzo.
"Sure father." He came and took my big luggage and tried to take my small one but I held it and just looked at him waiting for him to lead the way. Reluctantly he turned and led the way.
We went behind the staircase and there was an elevator. We got in and pressed the button to the second floor. On the elevator he was very hesitant to start a conversation. I don't blame him it was so awkward.
Once we got onto the second floor he led me down the left hallway, where I'm guessing my room was.
"On the right side it goes dad, me, Alessio, and Enzo. On the left side it goes Luciano, Alessandro, Gio, and you. Also at the end of the left hallway there is a library if you would like to go there. " He said as we were walking to my room.
As I was opening the door Vincenzo was telling me how they decided to choose neutral colors so that I could design it with whatever color I wanted. The room was so beautiful, I liked the black, gray and white colors and I don't plan on changing it.
"I like how it is now, there is no need to change it. Thank you." I told him.
"Are you sure you don't even want a color to pop out?"
"Yeah I'm sure"
We went in and put the luggages in the closet.
"First let me give you a tour of the house then you can come back and explore your room."
"Okay"
We went back to the first floor. He showed me the way to the kitchen and the dining room. He also showed me the living room, theater, indoor pool, gym, and the gaming room. He told me that I'm not allowed to go into the basement. I didn't mind because I doubt I will go anywhere other than my room and the dining room.
Then we went outside. He showed me the outdoor pool and lounging area outside. He told me that this is where they hang out when family comes over. There were also stairs that led to the 2nd floor balconies.
He led the way upstairs to the 2nd floor balconies and there was a nice seating up here. I might come out here when I want to read. It's nice and relaxing out here.
"Don't come up to the third floor unless me, Luciano, or Dad is escorting you up here. All of our work offices are up here and nobody comes up here unless they work up here. Not even Gio and Enzo come up here unless one of us is with them. Alessandro and Alessio work with us but because they are new they don't have the ability to be an escort yet."
"So why are we going up right now?"
"Dad and Luciano wanted to talk with you about something."
"Oh, okay"
Once we got to Luciano's office Vincenzo knocked on the door and only when we heard a faint 'come in' did Vincenzo open the door.
When I walked in Vincenzo shut the door behind me and left me alone in here. Luciano was sitting behind the desk and Alfonso was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk.
"Come in and sit next to dad," said Luciano. So I went and sat in the other chair in front of the desk.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"No nothing's wrong la mia bambina (my baby girl), it's just we have a couple things we need to tell you." Alfonso said. I just nodded and Luciano started to talk.
"What we're trying to say is that we want to talk to you about the house rules principessa."
"Okay" I kind of expected that there would be some rules considering they might be the mafia.
"Okay I'll list them out and after I'm done you can tell me your thoughts.
One, respect anyone older than you. That includes me, dad, and your brothers
Two, we expect good grades, there's a private school where they speak English
Third, no cussing if you're under 18
Fourth, no drugs, alcohol, partying, etc
Fifth, no boys, you can have boys as friends but no boyfriends or girlfriends
Sixth, when you want to leave the house you have to leave with either one of the bodyguards or any one of your brothers that are older than 18
Seventh, curfew is at 10:30pm
Eighth, no going into the basement that's where we work.
Lastly, don't come up to our offices unless either me, dad, or Vince are escorting you.
This is all for your safety, okay. Any questions?"
"One is a given I respect anybody older than me that is until they disrespect me. Respect goes both ways. I had straight A's in America anyways so that's not a problem. I don't cuss often but if I do it's either on impulse or I actually meant it. I have no problem with number four. I don't do any of those anyways. As for number five, if I want a relationship I will have one, you guys can give your opinions about them though. You don't have to worry about number six, I don't know Italy enough for me to leave without someone with me. Same with seven. Eight and nine are fine with me. I'll probably spend most of my time in the library. But I do have a question, what do you guys actually do, because on mom note all she said was that your job was dangerous." Their faces paled a little bit when I asked that question. If I wasn't sitting so close I wouldn't be able to tell. They also looked irritated when I mentioned mom.
"We just own a couple casinos, restaurants, hotels, malls, etc. It's very competitive and our competitors try harming us in any way. You don't need to worry about it, that's what the bodyguards are for."
"Okay, if that's all I would like to unpack my clothes."
"Yes that's it. You can go now."
I left and made my way to my room. I have photographic memory and that helped me not get lost. On my way back to my room I saw Vincenzo, he told me that I should go get ready because lunch is in a few minutes.
Once I got to my room I got my backpack and unpacked the photos and letters (The one with the photos and her suicide letter) and put them in the nightstand drawer. I also took out my books and put them on top of the nightstand right by the lamp. I got the family photo my mom left on my bed and put that with the rest of the photos. Then I took out my sketchbook and put it on the desk by the window. I opened one of the drawers and it had organizers so I got my drawing supplies and organized them for easier access. I then collected all my jewelry and went to the closet because there was a jewelry organizer in one of the drawers there.
As I was putting the last piece of jewelry I heard a knock on the door. I made my way to the door and opened it. It was Vincenzo. He was letting me know that I had to come down for lunch.
I made my way down with Vincenzo and got to the dining room. What I didn't realize was that my mom's necklace that I was wearing of their rings was showing.
"Where'd you get that?" Alfonso said as he was pointing to the necklace.