i love you guys so much, i hope you have a great day ❤️
LORENZO RUSSO:
"She's claimed her inheritance," Uncle Mario informs me.
Uncle Dario rolls his eyes, "You act like a bad thing."
"Do you think she will give me some of the money if I kindly ask?" Uncle Francesco asks me.
I give him a blank stare before shaking my head, "What the hell is wrong with you? Your father left you five hundred million and you want more?"
"Well yes that's why I asked you so when I ask her it will be okay," he says, drinking his whiskey.
Uncle Mario frowns, "If Giovanni was here, he would've put you back in your place a long time ago."
Yeah, my father would have shut Francesco up but he also would've shut them all up.
Uncle Dario nods, "Yeah. He was the most mature one out of us all, that's why he took over and you didn't."
Now that I think of it, back then Athena reminded me of our mother, who was kind, beautiful, and independent.
Now she reminds me of our father, who was always in control and held a lot of power but it didn't get to him. He cared for us as a father should.
If Athena remembered them I think she would've been happier knowing she was loved when she was a child. That she was supposed to be happy before she was taken away from us.
I know growing up for her was hard, especially because of everything she went through.
I just can't wait to have her back home with us.
"Anyways, what do you think she will end up doing with all that money and business?"
I look up at Dario and shrug, "I don't know."
"I bet she's probably spending it all," Uncle Francesco says.
"No, she wouldn't do that," I say, scrunching my nose. I know my sister, she doesn't like spending money like it's nothing.
"Maybe she will give some of it to charity," Uncle Mario suggests, taking away Francesco's whiskey.
Dario smiles, "That would be nice of her." Francesco opens his mouth but Dario cuts him off, "Don't you dare say a thing about that unless it's something nice."
Francesco sighs, annoyed, "Nevermind then."
Elijah walks in, "Marcello has come back."
Immediately, I stand up and walk out of the room and go downstairs.
Marcello is standing in the foyer, hands in pockets with no blood on him.
That's weird.
He looks at me and smiles, "Hi Lorenzo."
I freeze.
Did he just smile?
He tilts his head, amused, "Is something wrong?"
His eyes. There is a glimmer of happiness in his eyes. I've never seen him fake a smile so there's no reason why he would right now.
He's actually smiling.
"You just smiled," I state, shocked.
He nods, proud, "Yes it seems over the past few weeks I have managed to feel the emotion called happiness."
"How?"
"Athena gave me a gift that I have been playing with lately, it's helped me out a lot," he explains and then he walks away with a bigger smile than before.
"Was he just smiling or am I dreaming," I ask as I turn around and look at Elijah for an answer.
Elijah slowly nods, "Yep. That was what I was going to tell you about."
"What the hell is wrong with him?" Francesco asks as he comes down the stairs.
"He's happy," I slowly say.
Mario and Dario come down the stairs as well no doubt seeing what we all saw.
Mario smiles, "About time he smiled."
"When was the last time he smiled?" Dario asks him. Mario shrugs, "Plenty of years ago."
"Do you think Athena brainwashed him?" Domenico asks, coming out of nowhere with Dante following him.
Dante looks slightly paler than usual, I give him a concerned look and he just shrugs.
"Athena wouldn't do that," Ares says, also coming out of nowhere.
I look closely at Ares and Dom. Ares is losing weight again. Domenico looks high.
"Right you three," I point at my uncles, "go upstairs I'll be with you in half an hour." They sigh and go up the stairs like little kids. "Elijah go check Dante out," I quickly add as I begin to follow Marcello.
"I'm fine," Dante tells Elijah.
"Don't listen to him," I loudly say.
"Hey, what about me and Dom?!" Ares asks.
I turn around and walk backward, "Ares you go eat something, Elijah check if Domenico is high."
"I swear I'm not high, I accidentally got soap in my eyes!" Dom shouts, angry
"Check him out anyway!"
I turn back around and one of my men points to the direction Marcello went. I nod at him and see Marcello cheerfully walking down the corridor, humming a song.
I stop walking.
Do I want to get myself into this? Do I really want to? No not really but I have to.
I start walking again, but slowly. "Marcello?" I call out. He turns around, his grin still on his face, "Yes?"
"What gift did Athena give you?"
"I don't want to tell you," he says, his grin now replaced with a smile.
I awkwardly look around, Athena is easier to comfort.
Not that it's because she's a woman, hell no. It's because she's my little sister, she likes to tell me what's wrong. Well, when she's drunk.
Should I get him drunk?
No, I can't do that.
Let me try again.
No, I feel like I'm talking to a toddler.
Try again.
"Do you want to go somewhere else and talk about it?"
He looks around and then at the ground. "Okay hold on, I need to call someone."
"Um okay, I'll wait."
He pulls his phone out and calls someone. "Hey, Athena? Should I tell him?"
He's got her fucking number?! What the fuck?
I angrily walk toward him. "You've got her number?" I whisper shout.
He shoves me away, "Are you blind? Can't you see I'm on the phone?"
"I'm blind and I'm not dead either, how the hell do you have Athena's number?!"
"Mind your business," he snaps, then turns around and speaks nonsense to Athena.
That's not fair. I'm supposed to be her favorite.
"Why is it up to me? ...Oh yeah. Forgot. Right. How do I say it? ...But I don't know how I want to say it. Fine. Thanks bye."
He hands up and turns back around and says, "I was raped."
I open my mouth to have a go at him but then I close it. Wait what? I open my mouth again and then close it.
Marcello stares at me, waiting for an answer.
"When?" I quietly ask, still trying to process it.
"When I was ten."
"How many times?"
"Every month on the eleventh until I was fifteen."
I momentarily close my eyes and compose myself.
"And where are they now?"
"Athena gave me my rapist to torture. That was my gift," he says softly smiling.
Dammit. I stare at him, tears forming in my eyes. How did I not know?
I pull him into a hug. I'm so sorry I didn't notice earlier. I'm so fucking sorry. He hugs me back, "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," I tell him.
"I know."
"Good."
✮ ✮ ✮
"Dante seems fine, he hasn't been drinking, surprisingly," Elijah tells me as I sit down back in my office.
Uncle Francesco laughs, "I don't know how that kid does it, I couldn't go a day without my whiskey."
Ignoring my alcoholic Uncle, I ask Elijah about Dom.
"He's clean, he must've really gotten soap in his eyes," Elijah says, chuckling.
"Getting your soap in your eyes is worse than getting shot," Uncle Dario mumbles then adds, "I feel bad for that kid, it must have hurt a lot."
Uncle Mario turns around and looks at him with disbelief in his eyes. "That's worse than getting shot?! You know what's worse? Getting accused of cheating on your wife daily!" He exclaims and before anyone responds his phone rings.
"Wait hold on," he says and answers the phone. "Yes, darling?"
"What do you mean I took too long to respond, you called me and I answered straight away," he says, his eyebrows furrowing.
Yeah, that's why I am never getting married.
I lean back in my chair and cross my arms, amused.
"What? I'm not with another woman. I'm with— I don't care if you don't care, fucking listen to me. I am not with another woman, get that in your beautiful little head," he says as he walks out of the room.
"Well that's why I am never getting married," Uncle Francesco mutters, drinking his whiskey.
"Yeah don't, my wife makes me sleep on the couch when I piss her off and I've been pissing her off a lot lately," Uncle Dario says, sighing.
"I think I find it cute what Mario and Kate have, she's got trust issues and he's always reassuring her no matter what," Elijah quietly says.
We all look at him, weirded out.
"What?" he says.
"You're reading into their relationship a bit too much," I tell him.
"Sorry, I've been hanging out with Isabelle too much," he says, grinning like a teenage boy.
"Isabelle as in your therapist," Dario asks.
Elijah nods.
He smiles, "Cute."
"I'm going to throw up."
"Shut up Francesco."
"You shut up, Lorenzo."
I pull my gun out and point it at him, "I'm in a bad mood but I am kind enough to let you live since you are drunk now leave before I change my mind."
They all stand up, scared for their lives, and run out of the room. What? I said Francesco, not all of them.
Fucking idiots.
I tap my fingers on my desk, irritated about everything.
Marcello has been raped and I never knew until now. How the fuck did I not notice?
I clench my fists, I can't get let my anger out because my cousins are here because Nonna thought it was a good idea.
It wasn't.
My door opens and Nonna walks in holding a box. "I got a gift!" She says, excited as she sits down at my desk.
I raise an eyebrow, "Who from?"
"It doesn't say but I don't care, I never get gifts nowadays," she mumbles as she starts to open it.
She opens the box and pulls out a painting with bubble wrap on it. She starts to move things to the side of my desk and places the painting on the desk.
Sure. Do whatever you want. That's what everyone seems to do nowadays.
She then pulls a navy blue notebook out. She opens it to the first page and then her eyes widen.
"No, this must be some joke," she says, angry.
"What do you mean?" I ask, confused. I quickly internally pray she doesn't get mad.
She flips to the next page and reads whatever it says. I shrug and take the bubble wrap off the painting and look at it.
My eyes soften, "Nonna. It's you."
Her head snaps up and looks at ms, "What do you mean, it's me?"
"The painting. It's a painting of you, although they made you younger in it," I tell her.
She snatches it out of my hands and looks at it. Her eyes go red and she tears up.
"How is this possible?" She whispers, trying to find who sent it.
I slowly take the book and open it, I flip to the last page and read it.
And this is it. The end of us, cara mia. When you read this it means I'm dead now. I'm sorry for not warning you that I knew how we were going to end, please forgive me for keeping it from you.
Yes, I had Alzheimer's. I was slowly forgetting you, and the reason why I wrote every moment we had together is so I wouldn't forget.
I didn't want to leave you, I swear but there is nothing I could do about it. I hope you understand that.
I would say move on but I don't. I'm not a gentleman, for saying that, I know but I'm not sorry.
Even when I was forgetting you, I still loved you. Even if I didn't know it. And I know I will love even when I'm dead.
Bury me at the oak tree you painted for me. The one in our garden.
I love you, Vivian.
I'll wait for you to come back to me. Take your time cara mia, there's no rush.
Don't ever forget that.
Crius Russo
I slowly look up from the book with a frown. Tears slowly stream down her cheeks as she looks at the painting.
I pass the book back to her. "Read the last page," I softly tell her.
She slowly nods and reads it and places her hand over her mouth. She then chuckles and drops her hand onto her lap, "Thank fucking God I buried him at that tree."
I smile.
Something drops out of the book. A small piece of paper, she picks it up and reads it.
She shakes her head in disbelief. "It was Athena who sent it," she quietly says.
Standing up, she wipes her tears away with the back of her small fragile hand.
"Please bring Athena back," she begs me.
I frown.
"I can't, she wants to come back when she's ready."
Smiling, she says, "Then she better hope to be ready soon, or else I'm dragging her back here."