"Uccellino, what the fuck was that!" Giuseppe spoke as everyone else looked around the room until Caterina started to clap. Giuse was confused, but he soon realized the man his wife had killed was about to stick his blade into his back. Lucky Regenia stopped him in time, but Berardo and his shit was pissing him off. It was time to end this once and for all. He wished the man would see his loss and move on, but Berardo couldn't seem to see he was fighting a losing battle. He was delusional, and if they didn't stop him soon, Giuseppe feared he would hurt a lot more people than them.
"Damn, Cuz your woman is a fucking G! Regenia, are you sure you're not a Köhler?"
"Elijah, can you take shit seriously?" Arianna asked as Eli shrugged, pulling a blunt and making everyone shake their head. "When is this shit over with. I'm tired of this fucking monkey suit. Giuseppe, how the fuck do you wear this shit 24/7?"
"I don't wear suits every day, asshole." He said, waving Elijah off as his wife took the dagger out of the man's hand; examining it without thinking, Giuseppe quickly snatched the dagger from his wife's hand. The knife he was holding didn't belong to them. All the Romanos, including their men, carried daggers with a rose on the end of the handle. The one he was holding had a snake on its handle, leaving Giuseppe clueless as he held the knife up, showing it to his Zio Mario. "There's no fucking way."
"Okay, I'm worried. Why do you look scared, Zio Mario? He's just a man Berardo hired. Or is there another problem Giuseppe and I should be concerned about?" Genia asked while his mother started to curse to herself. Truly, Giuseppe thought all of his father's secrets were aired out. No one had dared to target them for years besides Berardo and his stupidity, but this seemed different. It was something his family wasn't telling him. Or was it someone who decided to try their changes since his father's passing? "The problem is an enemy from the past has shown their ugly face again."
"So you are telling me this wasn't Ardo, and we have another fucking problem to deal with?" Regenia sighed while Giuseppe took a deep breath handing the blade over to his uncle, but his Nonno took it instead. "Have everyone leave and all the Dons and Donnas following me... NOW GOT DAMNIT!" Giovanni Sr yelled, making everyone around him move. At the same time, Arianna turned to the crowd, giving them their apologies and asking them to leave after she followed the rest into a conference room.
"This is bad... it cannot be. Padre, I thought you and Giovanni took care of those bastards. It's bad enough to have David's crazy ass son running around taking shots at the family but them. What if they go to Berardo or if he gets wind of this. What the fuck are we to do Padre!"
"HEY, SHOW SOME FUCKING RESPECT FOR YOUR FATHER!" Regenia yelled as Mario turned to her with a glare, only for her to match it. Giuseppe could see his Nonno was getting upset and confused, which caused his mother to kneel at his side, whispering into his ear. "I understand that you are married to my nephew, but you know shit about what this means."
"Then fucking enlightening, Zio Mario. How the fuck can I be the fucking Donna I need to be if you keep me in the fucking dark!" Genia yelled, causing Giuseppe to smile. His little bird was becoming ruthless each day, and he loved it. Most would have fallen by now, but Regenia was showing her dominance. Proving to everyone who doubted she would be a great Donna. Giuseppe knew she had what it took the moment he met her, and it was what pulled him in.
"You heard your Donna Zio Mario. Enlightening her as she asked."
"Since Mario is going to stand there and act as if his Donna shouldn't be informed, I will explain to her what this means," Leonardo said, taking a seat by Regenia. Gently, he took her hands into his with a settled sigh. They all were upset about the matter, but like Regenia, the younger ones in the room were in the dark just as she was. Giuseppe believed he knew the name of the mafia but never learned the hell they pull their family through. It was something they all were quiet about, but he was sure it was the same people that took the lives of his Nonna and one of his father's siblings.
"All of them need to know Mario. I'm no longer the Don, and my boy is gone. Giuseppe and Regenia must be the ones who put them in their graves once and for all—" Giovanni Sr spoke, pausing for a moment. Giuseppe knew he was slipping, and so did Adele and Xerxes as they quickly went to his side. "Where am I. Daniella... Daniella, you're not here."
"I have him... Look, I know this isn't my mafia, and I really don't have any say in this, but Mario keeping secrets helps no one. Axel kept Luca in the dark for so long that he started to believe his own lies. To this day, we still have his enemies' grandchildren coming after our family. Now is the time to speak."
"Adele's right; it's not a time to be hush talking. Like it or not, Mio Figlio is your Don, and Regenia is your Donna. Tell them the fucking story, the whole damn story. Or I will." Caterina warned Mario as he sighed, nodding his head. Everyone waited until his mother and Adele helped his Nonno out of the room as Giuseppe and Regenia turned back to the rest.
"Leonardo—"
"I'm not going to try and sugarcoat this shit, and I know what you are thinking. This isn't some silly rival between mafias that started over something crazy... your Nonna's sister was married to the Don of the Gallo Mafia. She and our Padre tried to recuse her, but it ended in war between our mafia. We were children when our families started fighting, but it was something none of us could forget. They killed half of our men like it was nothing, then disappeared. Later, they showed their ugly faces again, killing our eldest brother." He sighed as Giuseppe sat up, looking at Zio along with his siblings and cousins.
"I thought Zio Giovanni was the eldest. There are more of you?" MJ asked while Giuse's uncles shook their heads. "Giovanni is the oldest Romano, but as you know, Davido is the eldest. He and our oldest brother shared a father, and he saved the life of our Padre. Carl was only sixteen when the Gallo's Don showed up on our doorsteps looking for his Donna. Our Padre challenged him and almost lost his life until he stepped between them. The man took his head and ran. That was the day we witnessed our Madre lose a part of herself. She was hellbent on getting revenge, leaving her to start ignoring her other children. Her sister tried to reason with her, but in the end, she took her sister's life because she felt it gave her justice."
Giuseppe couldn't believe what he was hearing. This wasn't the woman he knew and loved. His Nonna was perfect, kind, and gentle. None of the things his Zio Leo was saying. She loved her children, husband, and grandchildren and did what she could for them. There was no way she killed her own sister. "I don't believe that."
"Arianna, sit the fuck down and let your Zio finish his story!"
"Zio Luca—"
"SIT!" Luca yelled, pointing at the seat behind his sister, and Arianna knew not to defy Luca. Their father was strict, but their Zio Luca was a different story. He didn't care if they weren't his children; he treated them all the same and whooped their asses as he did his own. However, Arianna slowly lowered herself into her seat as Luca nodded for Leonardo to finish.
"Ari, you don't have to believe it. We lived and saw it with our own eyes. Losing a child can make a person lose it, especially when they are at their breaking point. Madre... your Nonna had some problems she didn't allow herself to show to her grandchildren. You all were her second chance, and she allowed that man to take her life to save you. She killed his wife, the love of his life, so he claimed, but he only wanted the woman to be his surrogate. He wanted her for one thing and one thing only, and it was to give birth to his son, but this." He said, holding up the dagger.
"Why would he be after us now?"
"That old bastard died the day he took my Madre's life. This is the work of his son."
"Wouldn't that mean he would be related to us?" Edoardo asked as Mario and Leo shook their heads, leaving the rest a bit confused. "I said he wanted our Zia to bear his children. I never say that she did. The man had many other children, and after our Madre killed his wife, he remarried and had the Don, who seeks to harm us now. It's crazy when they won long ago when they took Madre, but seeing Giuseppe bring our mafia back to the top has stirred something up. They want to see us suffer, and they sent their hitman here to see how strong we are. I advise you to take care of Berardo now. Then turn our attention to Gallo's, and I hate to sound like I'm overstepping you, Nephew, but please understand you know nothing about the evil they will bring. So, to our allies, prepare yourselves for a fight. I know you are your Padre's son— fight like it, and let's put an end to the Gallo's; Santino Gallo will fall, and so will his entire mafia.
"Hey, why can't things just be simple?" Regenia asked the next day as she packed their daughter's bag. She was looking to have a peaceful night, but someone had to ruin it. Sadly, she was hoping it would be Berardo trying another one of his fucked-up attempts. Instead, it was another enemy they had to worry about. Genia didn't want to question herself, but it made her wonder why she had to fall for a mafia man besides an average one. She loved Giuseppe and wouldn't trade him for the world but planning for war with another mafia while trying to find Berardo was too fucking much.
"I know that face. Uccellino, you are overthinking things again." Giuseppe spoke, stepping up behind her and gently rubbing her shoulder.
"Everything will be fine. I promise to never let harm come to you or our children."
"What about you, Giuseppe? I-I can't lose you. So many people have left me, and I can't lose you... any of you. The way your Zio Leo talk—"
"I don't give a fuck how they talk. The Gallo's may have won against my Nonno and Padre, but this will end with me— with us. It's none sense to keep a war going like this, and that's why I set up a meeting with Santino Gallo." Slowly, Regenia turned to her husband, looking at him like he lost his mind. The man just tried to kill him, and now he was about to bring the enemy into their home, allowing him to see his wife and children. There was no way Regenia was about to let that happen.
"Giu—"
"My mind is made up, Uccellino, and he has accepted my invitation. I'm not bringing him into our home, baby, and I'm not dumb. We will meet him in a well-crowded area where our men will be posted at every exit if he tries something stupid. Come with; I need your detective skills to be at work well we discuss things. After, we will leave for New York and take care of Berardo once and for all."
Since I was late posting the last chapter I decide to treat my beautiful readers with a double update. I hoped you enjoyed them but there will be no more updates on Romano's Queen until next week. I have some writing to do on this book but I may update The Coming of a New Generation.