Alonzo stood in front of the double doors of his father's home office, with Katrina still heavy on his mind. What was he doing bringing her into this kind of life style? He would have to have a protection team on her at all times; keep her in his sight. She was just too fragile at this time; he knew being pregnant would also make her emotional and she could overreact to so many things. She was just too fucking weak to survive without help, but alone, no way! Why out of the one in a million people getting pregnant on birth control, did it have to be her? He wouldn't regret his baby or the great night he had, he never was one to regret anything that happen in life. Nevertheless, this once he regretted bringing her into his life style, if he could just have his baby then he would; but he would not allow his child to grow up without a mother and deep down inside he knew he could do to it to anyone else, but not Katrina.
He didn't realize that he had knocked until he heard his father's voice booming through the door.
"Come in mio figlio"
Alonzo reached for the metal handle of the door as it opened in front of him. His eyes landed on his father who sat behind his marble desk, like a king sitting on his throne. He sat up, posture straight and his hands folded in front of him; both arms supported by the armrests on his chair. He met aging dark grey eyes looking back at him, the darkest grey he'd ever seen; while his was the color of burnt charcoal, his fathers were almost pitch black.
His father's eyes use to be the same color as his; he remembered. He had heard stories over the years that with every soul he took, his eyes were contaminated with the hatred of that soul. Making his once light grey eyes darken; this earned him the nickname grim; the collector of souls.
He didn't see his father much when he was a child. Every chance he got he tried to impress him either going for the best grades or trying out for the sports teams in school, anything to get his attention. He was so desperate that he picked up a gun once, but that was a mistake.
He remembered when he was eleven years old; he found the shooting range his dad kept under the house. He'd never seen such magnificent pieces of metal in his young life. What he didn't know was that his father was watching from a far. As soon as he reached for a gun, his father was walking out of the shadows and straight for him. His eyes grew big as his father's tall frame towered over him. He looked into the cold eyes of his father and knew that going down there was a big mistake. The silent conversations between him and his father began on that day.
He found it quite odd, that day his father's eyes had told him never to pick up a gun again; two years later, he was in the same place learning how to shoot a gun along with his brother and they started martial arts training. At the time, his father said that it was for defense purposes; but at the ripe age of twenty-eight, he still felt something drastic had to have happened for his father to let him touch a gun again.
His eyes wandered to the picture of the green eyed, brown haired, little girl, who sat there with a big smile, while her chin rested on her small hands. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her picture. She looked so familiar but he couldn't place a finger on where he'd seen her or whom she was. For a split second he thought that it was her, but he quickly shook the thought out of his mind. He wasn't going down that road again.
He met the cold glare of his father. This man had not been there for him as he grew up, he didn't have the pleasure of seeing him often when he was younger; he vowed that he would be there for his child no matter the case. He'd even try his best to be what Katrina needed not wanted; she would be in his life permanently. He would only marry once so Katrina would be his until he was no longer.
He furrowed his eyebrows as he replayed the look in her eyes every time she looked at him. She liked him and he didn't understand why. Did she veer towards danger without fully realizing it? She truly liked him without knowing fully who he was, while other women lusted after him because of his money, status, and of whom he is. He would have to keep her at arm's length, he couldn't afford for her to fall in love with him; he cringed at that thought.
"She looks familiar to you?" his father finally spoke, breaking him out of his daze.
Alonzo said nothing, he wasn't going to let his father lead him to think he was crazy. He was just simply mistaking the young girl in the picture for someone she was not.
"Amalia" his father said fluently.
"Amalia?" he questioned the name rolling off his tongue.
"Amalia Mariah Porcelli, your farfalla" he said in his deep Italian accented voice.
Alonzo looked back at the little girl, his butterfly. She was the little girl that would jump with joy upon his arrival; he was her Bello. She would shower his cheeks with extra kisses while he greeted her. He never tired of her singing farfallina. The same song he caught Katrina singing softly to him. Her voice was sweet as fresh honey and innocent as a baby's first laugh, and fluent with every pronunciation of the words. How could she have been singing a song without knowing it?
Alonzo froze as his mind finally registered what his father had spoken. He glared up at his father with a stare he didn't even know he was capable of making. He was beyond mad. He was fucking pissed, for fifteen years they had him believe he was hallucinatory, delusional, and fucking insane. He wanted to knock everyone out that lied to him, that tricked him. He wanted to knock that stupid look off his father's face.
His farfalla wasn't a figment of his imagination, she wasn't something that he'd conjured up in his head. He knew his thirteen year old mind didn't just create a five year old girl, hell at thirteen he looked at his first dirty magazine; if he was going to conjure up anything in his child-like mind it would've been one of those Playboy Bunny girls. Why had everyone lied to him, where in the hell was she? Mio Dio did she die? He couldn't help but voice his concerns out loud.
"Why did you lie to me? Why make me feel like I was crazy?" He asked a small part of him having a hard time believing if this was the truth.
He watched as is father's body became tense and his eyes became cold. "It was not my intention mio figlio. No father what's to watch his child spiral down into not knowing what to believe and who to trust. No one knew something would happen to her, we had to cover it up. I did not trust you not to run off and go find her on your own, you were strong minded even back then." his father answered.
"Something happen to her?" he asked truly concerned completely forgetting the deception of his family and friends.
"It's not my story to tell." His father said with ease; previous emotions vanished.
"But you know?" Alonzo said getting frustrated.
His father simply nodded at him. He felt himself seething in anger; that damn nod. The nod was not enough for him today; he was done playing mind games. No more silent conversations, it was time to talk. It felt like problems were piling on top of each other, without any solutions. He clenched his fists together trying his best to control his anger. He knew lashing out at his father would be a mistake not worth making; but he didn't have the patience for his manipulating mind fucks today.
"Alonzo mio figlio it would be best to control your anger, si." His father said with a calm voice, but his eyes told a different story. His papa was a man who told you what to do but made it seem like you were doing it voluntarily.
Alonzo closed his eyes and took a deep breath; it was so hard to communicate with his father.
"Tale padre tale figlio," his father said
Like father like son! Alonzo tensed up immediately, and had to unclench his fist before he drew blood. He looked at his father with cold light grey eyes and his father looked back at him with one brow raised in curiosity. "I'm nothing like you," he said through clenched teeth.
His father frowned at him and then his face muscles relaxed and his lips formed a small smile. "No! You run the empire my papa built from the dirt of Italy, just as I have done. You're a ruthless mafia boss, the son of one, and the grandson of the famous Donatello Riccardi, the most notorious of them all. You're ruthless in the boardroom and merciless when putting a bullet in someone's skull. It's odd you say you're nothing like me when my blood courses through your veins; you, my son are more like me than you think."
"I may be all of those things, papa but I'm not you. You had responsibilities as a father to be there and you weren't there for Angelo or me; now look at us. I'm sometimes amazed Angelo has managed to find happiness." He said standing up; the control he had on his anger now slipping. It was best for him to leave his father be. "I may be your son and ruthless, but that is where our similarities end. I would never let my son think he was crazy, no matter the cost"
He made his way to leave, but his father stood from his throne.
"Responsibilities you say Alonzo! I protected my family and I made it so that you and your brother could do anything you wanted, without worrying about the cost. I was a busy man who had and still has many enemies. Pardon me for not throwing a football with you occasionally; I was too busy protecting my family from people who wanted to harm them. I might not have the award for the best papa in the world, but I stand here proud knowing that I kept my family safe and that I can look my children and wife in the face. I worked my ass off none stop, knowing my family were my most prized possessions; and here you mio figlio stand in front of me, ungrateful. My priorities were intact, I didn't have the time to cruise around the world and come back with a girl, who you are claiming to wed." His father said with clenched fists and red tinted cheeks; he'd made him angry.
"Che porta il mio bambino, papa" he said suddenly exhausted.
"I know son, I saw it's heartbeat on the monitor." Sitting back down and motioning for Alonzo to do the same. "I do not wish to argue with you Alonzo; it hurts me that you feel this way." He spoke with a sad and distant look in his dark eyes.
"It is the way I feel papa, I cannot change that." Alonzo spoke truthfully. His father nodded his head in understanding "But I have made amends with my grandchildren and will do the same with your child. You're going to be a papa." He said with a small smile.
"Si, and Katrina she's young and inexperienced; she's not used to this lifestyle, better yet what this lifestyle is. Something isn't right though and I can't put my finger on it. Someone has tried to hurt her already." He said
"Si, but she's a donna di una bellezza mozzafiato (A woman of a breathtaking beauty) even with blood dripping down her face." he father said comfortably going back to his native language every now and then.
He felt his core harden. "A hit was put out on her by some Marcello Conti, good news is they didn't know she was pregnant; bad news is they didn't know she was pregnant and they put the woman who carries my child in danger, also putting my child in danger." He felt himself become more furious.
Marcello couldn't possible know the war zone he just planted himself into. Alonzo wanted blood for the little Katrina had lost and killing Elizabeth wasn't enough.
His father stiffened in his seat "on her?" he asked
"Si papa, I was informed by a Miss Elizabeth. I got the information I needed from her and afterwards she was no use to me," he said slightly shrugging his shoulders. An eye for eye was a silly phrase to him. He didn't believe in letting a threat just walk away because they didn't succeed in their plans. Once you attempted an attack on his family, whether successful or not, then you deserved to die.
He looked at his father who had a look of concentration; he was thinking about something "who is your fiancé, mio figlio? Do you really know who she is or anything about her?" he asked looking Alonzo straight in the eyes.
"Katrina Stewart, twenty years of age, her parents died when she was eighteen and she's been on her own for two years. Before I brought her to Italy she was working at an Olive Garden in Orlando Florida as a waitress." He replied automatically.
His father's eyes became cold and emotionless "Your fiancé is more then whom she seems to be?"
Alonzo was still tense, "I've thought the same way but to hear you question it intensifies my beliefs. You think she has slithered her way into my life, to try to con me while using my child as a bargaining chip?" but as soon as the words left his mouth he knew it wasn't true. He might not know Katrina as a person but he knew how to read people; and she read innocence. She didn't have it in her to pull off such a dangerous stunt.
"You spoke those words son, not me. I haven't had the pleasure of consciously meeting her, but the look in your eyes tells me that you don't believe the words you yourself just spoke. This Katrina is a mystery, but Marcello is the bull's-eye on the target."
"And I will find him and take care of him."
His father shook his head "You should worry about your fiancé and child, let me worry about Marcello; it's been awhile since I stretched my legs. No one put's my family in danger and something tells me your fiancé will be craving your attention after this little incident."
"Papa I will...."
"Nonsense Alonzo I will handle things. In the meantime I would like to meet your fiancé when she wakes up."
Alonzo mentally flinched at the word fiancé; oh Dio he was getting married and having a child. It was hard to believe sometimes but looking into the face of Katrina put him back in reality.
"When is the wedding?" his father questioned.
"In a couple of days, I'll leave it up to mama to make the arrangements; I want only family there and security wrapped around the building." He had to take more measures to keeping his small family safe. He couldn't risk anything happening to Katrina or his child. She would have to be on lock down until he could figure out why she was a target.
"And the honeymoon?" his father asked.
"There will be no honeymoon; I don't have the time for that." He answered with a small frown on his face.
"Every bride deserves a honeymoon son."
He knew his father meant well but he just couldn't imagine seating on the beach, sipping a long island ice tea without a care in the world. He wouldn't put himself in torture being somewhere alone, anywhere alone with Katrina. She was too irresistible sometimes. The way she slightly bit her upper lip and dragged it into her mouth; how her shaky hands brushed her dark locks behind her ear. The blush almost sent him over the edge. He'd told himself that he would make her his wife in every way; she was already pregnant with his child.
He now felt that being intimate with her would bring her too close to loving him, He was her first. He was going to be her husband for Christ sake; she was destined to fall for him whether he liked it or not. Was it bad to think they could have a marriage of convenience? Could he put her through something like that, it didn't seem extreme to him, but would it be for her? Why was he trying to fool himself? She couldn't have sex without wanting more.
"There will be no honey moon, I will not relax until she and my child are no longer in danger."
His father chuckled at him "son I don't think it's wise to tell a pregnant woman, she can't have a honey moon after her wedding night."
Alonzo just shrugged his shoulders not really giving a rat's ass "She'll get over it"
His father just looked at him with a knowing smirk on his face. Then there was a knock on the door; his father didn't seem like he was expecting anyone.
"Come in" his father said with authority ringing in his voice.
The door opened and in walked in Mr. Leonardo Porcelli. His father's best friend, the stepfather of his ex-fiancé, and the biological father of Mariah, whom he now knew was Amalia. Someone else who deserved to be knock the hell out.
-
Leonardo watched as Amo stood to greet him. Alonzo on the other hand sat down and acknowledged him with a nod of his head; the boy wasn't much of a talker. Amo came around his desk and captured him into a brotherly hug. They both grabbed hold of each others shoulders, to pull pack and look at the face of the other, assessing each other.
Leonardo looked into the dark grey eyes of his most beloved friend, a man he'd known for more than thirty years and saw no soul. Being in this kind of life could corrupt a man's soul, but his friend's was almost completely gone; he'd been that close once, too close.
He'd gone crazy when someone had come through and ripped his family apart. He was outraged and going out of his mind but most of all he was torn; how could anyone take his life away from him, the only piece of him he had left. Like others he was born into this life, but he'd never taken it seriously. He should've though, he should've known that having one of the most thriving businesses and being in business with Amo would put him on the target list. If only he'd been more careful, he'd still have his little girl, his Amalia.
Afterwards he watched as Amo put his two sons through martial arts and taught them how to shoot; he made sure that if anything happen to his family while he was away, they would be able to protect themselves. Amo had kept his secret and helped him erase his daughters identity. Amo was ruthless, something that he had become over the years.
He should've done the same for his family, and then maybe he would still have everything.
"My friend how have you been, it's been awhile since I've seen you. What's the occasion?" his friend asked him.
"Marissa was summoned by Bianca, something about Alonzo and a fiancé and a baby. Poor child almost had a heart attack; I on the other hand came to wish you congratulations." He said looking directly at Alonzo and noticed the tension. He walked over to him and gave him a fatherly hug. "Relax my boy I won't allow Marissa to jeopardize your relationship; she had her chance and she messed it up. She'll stay away from you so long as you stay away from her." He stated while looking Alonzo in the eyes, letting him know he was serious.
Alonzo simply nodded his head and they all sat down. The boy was so much like his father; he was a man of few words; only speaking when necessary and the words vital.
Leonardo heard Amo chuckle and couldn't help but chuckle himself; Alonzo took a deep breath of annoyance.
"If I had it my way, you would've been married and had a little one running around. I would've been a nonno by now," he said smiling with a distant look in his eyes, but he wasn't too distracted not to notice Alonzo's annoyance.
"Marissa and I are over. It wasn't meant for me to be with her or else she would have my ring on her finger and be chasing after our child." He said through clenched teeth. He'd heard enough of Marissa's name for one day; and now she was in the same house as his fiancé; it was time for him to take Katrina to their house. First he wanted to know the truth about Amalia.
"I wasn't talking about Marissa my boy; I was talking about Amalia."
Leonardo watched as two sets of grey eyes turned to look at him, one set darker than the other; He tensed noticing his slip up.
"Amalia, you mean the daughter that doesn't exist is it that Amalia?" Alonzo asked sarcastically.
Leonardo looked at Amo who simply nodded his head; letting him know that Alonzo had finally knew and to continue. Now that Alonzo was older maybe now he would understand.
"She exist, she's very much real." he watched to see if either of the two would catch on, he sighed they were alert when they wanted to be. "You two were arranged to be married. There was an age difference but your father and I saw how she clung to you, and how you adored her; she practically followed you everywhere, had poor Marissa so sad that she couldn't have you for herself. The marriage between you and Amalia would have been the marriage of the century; putting you at the very top. You would've ran both of our empires with her by your side." He said with a smile on his face and then his face became emotionless "the contract is void now."
Alonzo looked at him stunned "I was arranged to be married to Mariah." then his mind finally registered "what century do you think we're in?" He asked incredulously. Both men ignored him and his mind finally caught up to the disturbing matter "but she was five and I thirteen." He said.
"The contract is no longer Alonzo. You are free to marry whomever you want."
Damn right he could marry who ever the hell he wanted to. Did they not know him at all? He was his on boss! Alonzo voiced in his mind.
Alonzo had a look of concentration on his face he was tired of circling around the most important issue. "What happen to Amalia or Mariah?" He asked.
Mariah, she preferred that name to Amalia. She'd smile like a Cheshire cat when people called her Mariah but would whine horribly when called by her first name; he loved her first name, her mother had given her that name. Since her mother died while giving birth, he would always honor her by saying Amalia; it made him think of her, his first true love.
Amalia was a sore topic and would always hit home for him. Wearily he looked towards Amo "It's time to say something my friend; he questioned me about it earlier today."
Leonardo looked at Alonzo with cold eyes.
"Fifteen years ago my daughter was taken away from me" he started and noticed how Alonzo was startled and drew in a deep breath. "I had to leave for an important business trip at short notice. I thought I would have the time to stay home with my family and just be around them, but there was an emergency and I had to go. Amalia begged me to stay home, but I couldn't. To be so little she had a big temper and she wouldn't let me talk to her for the rest of the day. She would keep herself busy by bugging poor Marissa half to death. Right before I left I went to her room to check on her; it was around the time that I would tuck her in.
There she was looking at the door patiently awaiting my arrival; I knew she would not approach me first since she was mad at me, but she was smart enough to know that I would come to her. She sat up in her bed with her favorite princess book, waiting for me to read and tuck her in.
She'd tried to hide her look of satisfaction, but I saw it in her eyes; eyes just like mine. My little girl held the eyes of an open book.
That night I had read the book and tucked her in, but right before I left she tugged on my shirtsleeve with her small hands; and looked deep into my eyes begging me not to go. I left anyway, after telling her sweet dreams. After kissing Marissa goodnight and doing the same to my wife, I walked out the door.
As I walked out the door, I had this gut wrenching feeling that something wasn't right. I passed one of my trusted bodyguards and told him to put more security on the house, until I returned home.
The flight to Miami felt as if a lifetime had passed and when I could finally turn my phone back on I had tons of missed calls. Some from Tony but mostly from my wife; I felt my palms become sweaty and my hand shook as I redialed my wife. She answered the phone with a voice full of horror and my face dropped. She'd explained how she got up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, and when she walked out of the room, she tripped over something. In horror, she noticed that it was a body and immediately scrambled to her feet.
Her mother instinct kicked in and she ran down the hall to the girl's room. Marissa had still been sound asleep and as she walked towards Amalia's room, she stopped in her tracks. A man held my baby in his arms with her unmoving. Then she had been hit from behind and instantly fell to the floor unconscious. She didn't get a look at the intruders face because he wore a mask, but we knew that he wasn't working alone.
In a panic, I called your father and asked him to go to the house; I couldn't do anything but jump on another plane to come home. When I finally got home, I was devastated by the look of pity that I received from everyone around me; my little girl was gone. For years, I looked for her, not believing that someone could be so heartless as to kill a child. During those years I thought if only I hadn't gone, I had left later or maybe I could have took my family with me; but no matter, I blamed myself. Hopefully you will never know how it feels to erase the identity of you child, the only child your deceased wife had left you. For years I continued my search and your father has given me the same look of pity that he did that one night; but two years ago I stopped searching because I had found her."
Leonardo was prepared for the look of shock from both Riccardi men; he had kept the fact that he had found Amalia a secret.
"She's still alive? You found her?" Amo asked, questions flowing out of his mouth, while Alonzo impatiently waited for the answer.
"I have," he answered simply and before he could continue his phone rang; it was his wife. He answered and she seemed ardent to talk to him. "I need to take this," he said to Amo.
"The room there" Amo said while pointing to his left "should give you the privacy that you need, but we will talk when you are done si."
Leonardo made his way towards the room and closed the door behind him.
-
Alonzo looked back at his father with a shocked face, and his father looked back with a burning glare. When he was about to open his mouth to speak there was another knock on the door. He groaned to himself. The person on the other side of the door didn't have the patience to wait and just entered without permission.
He heard small footsteps followed by larger ones and turned around in his chair. Isabella was dragging his poor fiancé towards them and he instantly stood. She was still drowning in his clothing and fidgeting with her fingers as she stood in front of him.
"Zio, Zia was wandering around the house looking for you, so I brought her to nonno's office." She said and he looked down at her as she spoke.
"Isabella, what have I told you about waiting for permission before you do something?" his father said and he watched how his niece looked at his dad with puppy dog eyes; well that wasn't going to work.
As his father and niece had their own conversation, he assessed Katrina's bruise. It wasn't bad it would heal fast. He looked at her head to toe and then looked directly in her eyes. "You dressed me." she accused and he smirked at her "I bathed you Katrina." She looked at him with wide eyes and a beautiful blush graced her cheeks; she put her head down. He lifted her head up by her chin "don't look down Katrina, Riccardi's look down for no one and, in a couple of days you'll be one." He stated firmly
His fathered cleared his throat behind him, which made Katrina jump slightly; he frowned, she was so timid.
"It would be nice to finally meet my new daughter-in-law." His fathered said right behind him, He had gotten out of his chair and sent Isabella on her way.
Alonzo moved so that he was standing behind Katrina so that she was on display in front of his father; he seemed pleased.
"Katrina you're a beautiful young woman, it's nice to meet you officially."
He could tell that his father intimidated Katrina, just by the way she kept moving uncomfortably in front of him; he just wanted to hold her still.
"Nice to meet you too, sir" she said quietly, which caused his father to look up at him with a smirk on his face and an emotion in his cold eyes. It seemed like he was warning him that his timid Katrina would be replaced really soon. He and his father were broken out of there silent conversation when Katrina started to talk.
"I don't mean to sound rude but why do you have a picture of me?" me she asked loudly this time; her voice full of curiosity. Alonzo tensed immediately, something wasn't right.
"Come again?" his father asked, confused and shocked at her question.
"Right there on your desk" she said pointing to his desk "that's a picture of me, even though I've never seen that particular picture before, it's still me. Do I know you?" she asked, confusion overwhelming her. Alonzo's eyes followed her finger and he was aware that his father was doing the same thing; she was pointing at the picture of Mariah. Alonzo became still as a statue as he processed this information; it couldn't be.
"Amalia" he heard someone say and looked in the direction of Leonardo; who looked deathly pale as he stared at Alonzo's fiancé.