▪■︎ Adrin Bianchi ■▪︎
"I want all the men to go out and find him. Seek in every house, use every contact, every hint, track his phone or a fucking watch, I don't care! But find him!" I ordered my men.
They ran through the building when I finished my speech, going after their tasks.
I had to calm myself down. This angry, impulsive part wasn't me. I was coolheaded, thought about my every move, but this unpleasant surprise brought me out of balance. To bring me back to normal, I did what I always did as a child. I trained.
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Sweat covered my body and I constantly had to swipe over my eyes and forehead.
I then continued to hit and kick the punching bag that had to take all my rage, punch by punch. My knuckles were bloody by now but the pain only drove me further into madness and added to my inner storm of emotions.
He's alive. He's alive. He's fucking alive.
The only good thing I could think of now, was the fact that I could finally kill the man who destroyed my life. With my own bare hands.
Five years ago I searched for him, relentlessly, only to find out someone already took the opportunity for me to meet my own promise, leaving behind a shitty son, again.
I hit the punching bag, again and again. It was far past midnight and I stopped counting the hours I had spent down here. Nicolas tried to talk to me but I just sent him away. I wasn't in the mood to talk.
I wanted to do something.
▪︎▪︎▪︎ 20 years ago ▪︎▪︎▪︎
"Dad must be here every minute, sweetie," my mom smiled at my seven year old self, messing up my hair by stroking over my head. Growing impatient, I shook my head and ran a few steps away, before turning and looking at her, stubbornly.
"It's almost night, mamá! I don't want to wait anymore. He isn't even here on Christmas!"
Her smile changed and mirrored sad, pityful thoughts. She walked towards me and squated down, lightly grabbing my arms next to my body. "I know you're upset but he has to work a bit longer tonight... I'm sorry, Adrin."
"Do you think padre will come back? I mean... maybe something happened." I looked her in the eyes, not sure how she would react.
It was a somehow exceedingly sensitive topic, although we both knew very well what my father did to earn money. They never really told me he was a criminal, but I figured it out eventually. The bigger picture, on the other hand, would be revealed a few years later. The moment I discovered I was the heir to a whole mafia empire, was another story to tell.
My mother sighed. "Don't say that, amore. I know you're scared, but your father can take care of himself."
Tears formed in my eyes and before I tried to blink them away my mamá noticed and hugged me. I was caught by surprise but hugged her back eventually, nuzzling my face inside her neck.
She pulled away and ruffled through my hair, then fixed the tie she made me wear for Christmas. A habit I didn't like at all.
"Mummia, stop! I'm a big boy already!"
"Ti amo, amore mio," she smiled, trying to uplift the heavy feeling inside my chest.
"Ti amo," I answered, trying to give a smile in return.
The sound of the door bell caught my attention and my mood lifted instantly.
It's dad, finally!
I ran towards the door and grabbed the cold metal knob to open it. The footsteps from my mom were numb in the background, therefore I only recognized her when I felt her hand on my shoulder. A man was in front of me and when I looked up at his face, I recognized my uncle. He looked so much like my father, it was remarkable.
"Zio!" I shouted, joyful. He laughed before taking me into his strong arms to hug the air out of me. (uncle)
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop opening the door, Adrin!" My mother lectured, frowning. She then noticed the brother of my padre and smiled to greet him.
"Buonasera fagmilia! I thought I could visit my nephew and his beautiful mother! After all it's Christmas and my brother and I are done working, si?"
(good evening, family)
"Where is dad?" I asked, tugging on his leather jacket. He motioned towards the garage on the side. "He is parking my car because he thinks he does a better job. You know how he is sometimes..."
My mother laughed. "Typical for him, indeed. Now come, come inside before we're freezing out here in the snow!"
He nodded and let my mother and me get inside first. I smiled to myself, happy about the opportunity to spent a decent Christmas in the end. I halfway turned, when a sudden sound pierced through the air.
A gun.
I fully turned and everything seemed to happen in slowmotion. My uncles eyes looked at me, widely open in surprise and his eyes went down to look at his chest. I followed them and saw a dark spot on his sweater, slowly growing. My eyes watered, my body got the situation before my mind could've comprehended.
He stared at me for a few heartbeats before his body fell to the floor. When the sight through the door became clear, I saw a black car that drove away oddly fast, one window open. Only for the quickest heartbeat I saw a pair of brown eyes and a smile that made my gut wrech. This little, supposedly insignificant moment burned into my memories, never letting me forget him. I felt someone behind me pulling me onto the floor, the body shielding my own.
My uncle got shot? Why? Who? What happened to my dad? Is zio dead? Will he be fine?
A thousand thoughts ran through my head all at once but when the rush died down slightly, everything happened incredibly fast.
My father came running inside with a gun in his head, scanning the floor, seeing us, healthy, and lastly his bleeding brother. He fell to his knees before my zio, trying to feel his pulse. His face was twisted with pain and destructing sadness.
My mother took me and hurried to a safe room so I couldn't see anything more.
Just seconds ago I hugged my dearest uncle, a man that was there for me since I could remember, and now screaming and crying pierced through the house. My tears fell silently in shock. The heartbreaking sobs and cries came from my father only.