The only thing we take with us is our phones as Seriyah drives us to Angelo's house. Maria sits in the back next to her Mamma while I stay in the front with Sy. The only thing coming out of our daughters' mouths is apologies.
The longer we sit in this car, the clearer it becomes that Lori's quiet isn't driven by sadness. She's mad, enraged. And I hope nobody in this vehicle gets put on the receiving end of that anger.
We reach a street with only three mansions lying in a straight line. Seriyah turns past the last one down the road and we enter the underground parking. I'm the first one out of the car, Lori is last to leave. I don't know why, but the three of us know it's best to leave that angry mom alone. We walk up to Angelo's driveway and it all clicks in. The situation we're in. A fucking mafia my daughter is the heir to.
When we enter the house, soldiers pause. It goes awfully quiet.
"Where is he?" I ask.
"Either in his room or office." Seriyah answers, waving at some of them.
"I wish to be alone with him when we get there." She nods, understanding why without me having to further explain.
We're barely in the foyer when someone barges through the front door.
"Angie!" Matteo screams. Matteo.
Something snaps in my cousin.
"Hi, Mattia." She grins.
He pauses, pinching his shoulder to test if it's some dream then mumbles. "Shit."
"What's wrong?" She raises a brow. "You're lies finally caught up to you, who knew someone could lie to their so-called love straight to their face? Marry them. Have a child with them..."
"Lori-"
"What? You think I'd believe a single thing that comes from your mouth after-" her voice breaks.
Angelo appears atop the stairs, probably hearing when Matteo screamed his name when he came in. Or maybe he heard Lori yelling. Whatever it was, he was here and he was staring straight at me.
I make my way toward him because I have a couple things I'd like to yell at him as well.
Then I remember something.
My gaze strays to Maria. She shouldn't be watching this. It'll probably hurt too much to see her parents like this. I nudge Seriyah and share a look with her, motioning to Maria. Seriyah grabs her shoulder and they slowly walk away from the fighting couple.
"Why didn't you just tell me, I would've understood." Her lower lip wobbles a little.
"It was an order." He says quietly.
"An order." She repeats, voice laced with malice. "A fucking order."
"I'm sorry."
"So many apologies today." She rolls her eyes. "But do they really solve anything?"
"I couldn't do anything about it- please."
"You could've gone behind his back instead, you went behind mine because your job means so much more to you than our love." Lori's crying now with a hand over her mouth to cover her sobs. They aren't tears of sadness but instead hatred and anger. So much anger. "You lied to me countless times, Matteo."
Matteo doesn't say anything. He stands there because he knows he broke his trust with Lori. Something she was scared of happening since the very beginning. The reason why she never liked dating. He knows he screwed up big time. And he knows there's no coming back from this.
I reach Angelo at the top of the stairs and motion for him to follow me. I don't know where I'm going but it has to be far enough to give them privacy.
"My office is down the left hall, the last door to the right."
I only nod and he follows a few steps short of mine. Watching. That must be something he's good at then. I wonder if they ever would've told me if the only way I was going to find out was by my daughter's sloppiness.
Eighteen years. Eighteen.
Almost nineteen.
I enter what he said would be his office and I wasn't expecting this big of a room. Yes, my office at the corporation is huge but this one is big enough to fit my living room and kitchen. I don't look for too long, I'm here for a reason.
I instantly go to his chair and sit behind the desk, he stays standing.
"You age well." He tries.
"Oh shut the fuck up."
He sighs. "How'd you figure it out."
"My daughter left a bloody bodysuit in her laundry, I went to Maria's door next to find more evidence to prove my suspicions."
"Our daughter." He corrects.
"She's mine."
"Ours." He shrugs.
"I raised her."
"I know you didn't know about it but I raised her as well, she's learned a lot from me."
Seriyah explained that as well. How she and Maria have been lying about school since fucking kindergarten. Training with Angelo's family this whole time. Oh and business school? Doesn't even exist.
I roll my eyes. "Who's Ava."
He observes me. "That's what you want to know?"
"Seriyah already explained everything, that's all that's left. She said you would know more."
"There's not much to know, my father won't tell me the full story." He waits for my reply then realizes I'm waiting for him to continue. "Okay, Ava is a threat-"
"Oh, really? When she shot down my daughter's ride to school that one time I thought she was just gifting us some bullets." I say dryly.
He glares at me but keeps going anyway. "She wants to see us die, some revenge plot for something my parents did. And she's gotten pretty close many times, I don't know what she's still waiting for."
"Does she have any allies?" I ask.
"One that we know of, her brother, Luca."
We stay in silence for a while. I know now that there's nothing I need from Angelo anymore. I have my answers and I'm still processing everything. I think I need a break, all this information coming at me all at once like a tsunami or something. I need air, not fresh air, but something pure and new.
"I thought I would yell at you but that wouldn't change anything would it?"
He shakes his head. "Thank you for sparing my ears."
I exhale harshly. "I hate you."
"A lot of people do get in line." He grins.
I don't know why I'm so calm but this is going a lot better than I initially expected it to. Maybe this isn't so bad.
"Well, I guess our meeting is over." I stand.
"Already?" He raises his brows. "I was wrong to dread this day."
"You're not forgiven. Don't mistake my dismissal for that. It's your fault I gained trust issues, your fault Matteo hurt Lori, and your fault my family wasn't allowed to tell me anything." I glare, my chin raised. "Compared to the movies, you're a joke of a mob boss."
He only tilts his head to the side. I make sure to bump his shoulder when I leave the room.. though it did more harm to me than him. I slam the door behind me.
I find myself looking for someone, anyone to busy myself with while I'm here. Lori and Matteo have disappeared from the foyer, Maria and Seriyah have disappeared in general. I don't know where they went but I'll worry about it later.
I just need some peace and a friend, someone who isn't from my past. Purity.
I reach the backyard and think I'm alone until I see a group of kids hanging out in a treehouse. Some of them are familiar, like Kara's boy, Camilo. Marianne and Sole's twins, Marisol and Ravenna. And Marcus' daughter, Premila.
I approach the joyful kids, ready to meet them all and find out who their parents are.
I climb the ladder and when I get to the top, in a child's writing is written: Knock three times if you do not have access to the fortress.
I smile and knock hastily. They should hurry up because I grow more scared the longer I stay on this ladder.
The kids go silent and I hear harsh whispering.
"Can I ask this time?" A girl's voice asks.
"No Venetia, you asked last time." A boy says.
Venetia. Camilo always talks about a girl named Venetia. How cute is that?
"Please! Don't lie, it was you!" Venetia counters.
"Roman, just let your sister-" Camilo starts but is cut off by the other boy- whose name is apparently Roman. The same Roman Premila always talks about.
Too fucking adorable.
"No, you always side with her. I'm your best friend- side with me for once."
My hands grow sweaty so I knock another three times. I will fall if they leave me out here for any longer.
"Guys, remember last time my dad fell because we left him out there for too long? She's trying to tell us we're taking too long." Another boy says.
How many kids are up there?
"Zio Romano is a little dumb, no offense Ace." A new girl says.
Romano. He had a son and named him Ace. My smile grows a little. I've met Romano before, I'm happy he's happy.
"Tira, you know who your mom is, you can't be talking," Ace states.
"Leave Zia Mariah alone-" Mariah? She got over Matteo? Seriyah could've mentioned all these children when she was explaining. "-She's the best," comes from a voice I recognize, Ravenna.
I knock another three times, I'm so close to falling.
"Alright, you guys take too damn long," Marisol states. "Magic word. You'll get three guesses and three hints. Hint 1: he's the most obnoxious of our uncles. Hint 2: he gets bullied the most out of our uncles. Hint 3: despite the other hints, he is pretty well respected. Guess."
"Angelo," I state just out of spite.
"What? No." Marisol seems taken aback.
Tira hums. "Normally they get it on the first try."
"Tia Lan?" Camilo asks.
"Tia? What's she doing here?" Ravenna questions after him.
I start thinking. Obnoxious. Bullied. Well respected. Back when I was friends with Vince, Carlo, and Alessandro, only one of them met those hints.
"Carlo." I grin.
"Ding ding ding!" Venetia shouts and the door on top of my head opens.
I let out a breath of relief and crawl inside.
"They either finally told her or she figured it out," Camilo states.
"They would never tell her," Marisol raises a brow. "She figured it out."
"Alright, introduce yourselves please." I grin at all the faces, they're so adorable. "And ages."
Camilo I know is fourteen, born a day after Lori's birthday. The twins were born June 1st so they're eleven. Premila was born on February 8th so she's also eleven. But what about all the other ones? And if Venetia's young as hell, I'll have to teach my nephew about perverts.
"I'm Roman, Vince and Iris' son. I'm fourteen." Roman. He looks just like them. "My dad talks about you a lot. Says you guys were a dominant duo back in his day."
"And you're Venetia." My eyes flow to the girl who looks like Roman and Vince and Iris. "Twins?"
She laughs. "No, I'm eleven."
"You're gorgeous." I smile kindly.
She blushes.
I wink at Camilo and he hides a smile.
Roman and Venetia have dark brown hair and pale brown eyes from Iris. Why are all these kids so beautiful, I'm sure they never went through an awkward phase.
"I'm Tira, Valentino and Mariah's. You don't know my dad but he's the best hacker here, I want to be just like him." She grins, thinking of her father. "I'm also eleven."
"I'm Ace, I'll turn fourteen on October ninth. My parents are Romano and Viola." He waves.
The De Santis genetics are strong as hell because these hazel eyes have been flowing since before Ciro. Both Tira and Ace have them. Followed by black hair.
"And you know the rest of us." Premila shrugs.
The girls are all eleven while the guys are all fourteen or turning fourteen, yet they all hang out like they're still children. It reminds me of growing up with my sisters and cousins. It's so pure.
"Wanna play a game with us?" Rave asks.
"Sure, which one?"
"We were about to go inside for some hide-n-seek." Marisol stands. "You're it."
I'm quiet for a moment until I start counting down. "Thirty..."
The kids scream and start to stand, tumbling down the ladder.
I gasp, "safely down the ladder guys, safely!"
Their laughter flows up from the bottom. "Twenty..."
They're running again, scrambling to find a place to hide. I realize how big the backyard is then, it's connected to all three of the houses. A few of them go into Angelo's, some into the middle one, and the rest file into the first one.
When I'm done counting, I go to the middle house first. I'm not ready to face Angelo again and fewer of them went to the last house so this is the best option.
Most of them went in here, I think this house is special. That thought is proven when I come across Alessandro in the kitchen right away. I ignore him and walk hastily to any other room. I'm not ready to talk with anyone.
Camilo, Venetia, Ace, and Tira went in here. Roman and Premila- smirk smirk- went to the last house alone and Marisol and Ravenna went to Angelo's.
It takes about thirty rooms before I hear a kid's laugh. Camilo and Venetia. They're hiding together and I know it's childish of me but I can't help but eavesdrop.
"It's okay for us to be friends, you know? I'm sure Roman wouldn't mind us sharing a best friend." Venetia says.
"We both don't like sharing, that's something we have in common," Camilo says quieter.
"Don't be silly, you're the one being shared. It doesn't matter if you don't like sharing. And as for Roman, he'll just have to deal with it because I'm his sister."
"If I had a sister and she went for my best friend, I'd punch my friend." He tells her truthfully.
"Then we'll be friends in secret, nobody will have to know."
I feel like I just eavesdropped on an important part of their story so I cockblock and enter the room.
Someone's bedroom.
They're probably under the bed but I humor them by looking around first. "Kids? Where are you..." I sing.
Ven giggles under the bed.
I drop to my knees and blindly tickle whatever I can feel under the bed. Ven's giggles grow louder as Milo pops up from the other side of the bed and helps Venetia escape me.
"I found you." I throw my hands on my hip and grin at them.
Camilo rolls his eyes. "Mila always goes to the first home and the twins are always alone in the third one."
"I know, I watched you guys choose your houses." I wink.
Ven gasps. "Cheater!"
"Not really." I shrug. "I was up there the whole count."
"Whatever, follow me. Tira hides in her mom's room every time." Ven stalks out the door, looking sassy and adorable.
Milo walks next to her and the height difference is crazy. Both of them aren't even done growing yet and he's taller than me, that says something. He's probably six foot honestly. Venetia can't be any taller than five feet.
We reach Mariah's room and I walk in after knocking to make sure nobody's inside. Milo leads me to a closet and I open it not expecting to see a waterfall.
"Zia Mariah loves overdoing things." He explains.
"Mariah's dramatic," Ven states.
I realize then that not all of these kids are actually related. The only ones who are related, are Camilo, Premila, Maria, Seriyah, Tira, Marisol, Ravenna, Liana- Adriana and Dahlia's adopted daughter, and Ace.
This means Milo and Ven happening isn't incest. And Roman and Mila aren't either. I don't know why that's just crossing my mind right now but I do know that I will be these couple's number-one supporter. Proudly.
"Alright, Tira come out. You hide in the same spot every time and it's getting tiring, don't make me come in there." Camilo says drily, boredom all over his tone.
This next generation is so fucking adorable.
T grunts something under her breath but does exit from one of the doors in Riah's wardrobe. "My Mamma is not dramatic, she has perfectly fine taste and would be very mad if someone told her that to her face."
"Where's Ace?" Ven asks.
"Under the bed." She crosses her arms.
"Tira!" Ace whines. "You're a traitor, every time we agree to share where we're hiding and if one of us is found, the other leads them off. Why must you always give away my secrets?"
"You should know by now, I'm not very trustworthy." She shrugs.
"Roman probably went with Mila." Ace drawls. "They're starting to form a pattern... interesting."
I wink at the kid and he grins. I guess there are two number-one supporters on the Romila train. We should begin an operation RP.
"Why does he always go with her, that's my best friend, not his." Ven frowns.
"Now you get what I mean." Camilo smiles.
Ace and I share a look again. I guess he's on the Miloven train as well, operation CV is a go.
We exit the room, all five of us. Camilo and Venetia walk in front of us, Tira walks in the middle, and Ace and I walk in the back.
"We should start an Operation RP and CV." I suggest.
He tilts his head to the side. "What's that?"
"Roman and Premila, Camilo and Venetia."
"Yes!" He shouts and the others turn to look at us. Ace shakes his head, "my bad, continue walking."
"Romila and Miloven, isn't it perfect?" I sigh. "Who are our passengers?"
"Well, we obviously need their parents so Leonardo, Kara, Marcus, Diya, Vince, and Iris." He says. "Let's add Tira, Ravenna, Marisol, and Carlo."
"Alright, why not Seriyah and Maria too," I add.
He nods. "Carina and Liana."
I hum. "That's all?"
He gasps. "I forgot, let's add my best friend Astor, he's Emiliano and Amira's child."
"Who are they again?"
"Emiliano is a commander with his older sister Gianna. You've met him." He explains while we walk through the halls of the first house. "Amira is Kara and Viola's best friend."
"Oh..." I drag in understanding.
I heard when Romano met Viola, she was best friends with Amira. Since Romano is best friends with Leonardo and Kara, they just merged friend groups and now they're all a happy bunch of friends.
>|<|>|<|>|<|>|<
I find Lori in Angelo's living room.
I understand the look on her face enough to know she's not ready to talk so instead, I sit next to her and hold her hand. Letting her lean her head on my shoulder as we sit in silence.
I'm not even sure if I've fully processed what's going on but being with those kids definitely calmed me down a little more.
I take the silence to observe her psychical appearance until she's ready to talk. If I didn't know what she was going through right now, I'd think she was only stressed. She looks so put together right now it's impressive. Then my gaze finds the hand I'm holding and I pause when I don't see or feel her wedding ring.
She sees my change in demeanor and sighs. "I talked to Angelo."
"Talked or yelled?" I muse.
She smiles. But it falters after seconds. "I also gave Matteo his ring back."
She stares at our joined hands and I wish I could see what she was thinking.
"Marianne agreed to be my lawyer if I ever wanted a divorce." She squeezes my hand. "I'm still deciding, I don't know what to do anymore... I think I'm starting to lose motivation. All I want to do is sit on this couch until it's over."
I lift her chin up. "You're free to do whatever you wish, take your time. I'll handle things at the corporation."
She nods.
"When you're ready to speak to someone, the kids here are very smart. They could be great companions." I nudge her shoulder and she chuckles.
When her smile fades, she admits. "I haven't talked to Maria yet."
"Are you ready to?" I ask.
"Of course." She shrugs, "this isn't her fault, the only person I'm mad at right now is him."
I saw Seriyah earlier, she told me she and Maria were in their rooms, Maria is in the second house and Seriyah is in this one. Apparently, the three houses all hold different purposes, the first one is for the trusted guards or soldiers. For example, Gianna, Emiliano, Niccolò- crusty dusty nails, Ricardo- the sexy one, and Bianca and Romeo- the guys that were in my apartment that day whispering awfully loud.
The second house is for close friends and family. I'll stay away from there until I'm ready to talk to them. The third house is Angelo's, he and Seriyah stay here.
"I think I'll go find her right now." Lori rises, pulling her phone from her pocket to contact her. "Thank you, Lana. For being here."
I only nod understandingly.
>|<|>|<|>|<|>|<
Word count: 3591
I am so ready to start this period bruhhh
It's only the second chapter tho there's still so much to happen
Wink wink
Feedback/ideas?
Adios mi lovelies <33
2/24/23.