Pietro's wife's funeral was an incredibly private ordeal, it had been his wish to keep it private and only invite anyone of closeness or designated importance. Nonetheless there was a hundred people here to mourn her unfortunate death. I'd asked Santino to make sure Pietro didn't fall too far into mourning, because of the unfortunate death of his wife, I still needed him to be an Underboss of one of my cities.
My typical wardrobe of black or grey suits had also reached a similar status to others in the mob especially on my more serious days, when it felt important to dress in a complete black suit, now it was almost fitting that I inflicted so much death, and was attending a ceremony of mourning as a guest. As I came downstairs in the nine piece suit I spotted Arianna her hair pulled back in a simple pony tail, while she wore a black dress that was pleated and stopped just past her knees, long black heeled boots also stopped mid calf and a wool coat pulled around her.
On any other day I'd tell her she looked beautiful but that wasn't the point of today it was to attend the funeral of a woman who had been only forty-six, with a daughter of seventeen, and a husband who as expected had wiped out every member of the Vincenzo Familia from the La Spezia province. I had never really considered what would happen if one of my family was killed during a war. Sure I knew I'd be ballistic and unnerved to the point I'd avoid any actual logic. Even Matteo knew I'd kill everyone involved and all of their loved ones. I was many things in that state, sociopathic, and machavellian were the main ones, but I was also the vindictive Salvatorini Sibling. Arianna thought I was honourable, and though I had my morals that could be viewed as honourable, I was a different kind of monster when it came to her.
I don't even want to imagine who I'd be if I knew that someone hurt her.
That would be the exception to my calm anger, I'd end up being who I was when I was young and my sadist of a father ordered me to do something. The difference would be instead of making a scene for the sake of having the man fuck off. I wouldn't be sated even if I killed a thousand enemies of the Familia and my power.
I'd honestly been surprised when a hundred people were dealt with by the Fianntino Familia. Now I would be respectful and allow him to grieve his wife knowing now if he wished to remarry he would have to pick a widow and that meant another woman's children which wasn't necessarily frowned upon but I was merely a bastard child and had been beaten my whole life, but being a step child in the Mafia world had its own problems.
As Aria and I left the house we passed the other vehicles of Lino, Matteo, with Aria not far behind me before we got into the new Bentley I had just bought and starting the engine I allowed myself to admire the car before leaving with the others not far behind.
"Were you close with the Fianntino's?" Aria asks as she buckled her seat, and in response I glanced to her with my eyebrows raised.
"Unlike Antonio, I watched Pietro be passed up constantly, almost all of my Underbosses were ignored for years until I came to power. Pietro was the exception since we were at his families house constantly," I say, "I promised him a position when I became Boss," I add and she nods.
"So you reward loyalty?" Aria asks seeming surprised, though other Familia bosses liked to consolidate power in the actual family.
"Yes I do, blood doesn't make you family. You and I are going to be family, may one day even have a family, and I know you and I hold more trust and loyalty then most families have in our world," I say as I got onto the main highway and sped off passing other drivers.
"I know that's just you and I trying, and being honest with one another Alessio, how often have you noticed dishonesty in the world of the mob," she says and I nod in thought as I turned along the coast to get to La Spezia faster then the others would.
"Too long, that is also why we are going to La Spezia to attend Marie's funeral," I say with a sigh and I could tell that Aria was thinking about how to act for this kind of public event since this was going to be a mafia collaboration of all Familia's since it was often tradition to have the families unify for a funeral of an important figure or associated figure.
Not that my father got much of one he wasn't a beloved Don.
When we eventually got to the venue where the funeral was going to be taking place I parked and slid from the car before looking around at the numerous other cars that had arrived with me and the high profile individuals that were here. I'd on several occasions wondered why no one ever broke tradition and took out an entire Familia at a funeral, which had been why I was grateful it was also a tradition that all Familia's heads, Consigliere's, Capo's, and other powerful members were at a funeral. It had happened before in the states, and as a result a war had been occurring between the West and East Coasts for more then a decade, to no avail for either side.
Getting to the pew I stopped in the row next to my siblings though I noticed Antonio casting Julia glances and all I hoped when watching them was that neither would make this funeral more tense then it needed to be. I already had the Don of every Familia in Italy here, and six were my enemies, while another dozen were allies of them. Santino was even pretending that he wasn't particularly warm towards me even if he was an informant for me.
"Everyone seems so uptight," Aria whispers to me as the ceremony began and the priest began to speak.
"That's because everyone is waiting for some sign of weakness, and it leaves a 'weak point' in the Familia. Fuck, even I'm aware that someone could have planned a way to get at me, I meant to sever Romeo Vincenzo's head and since then chaos had spread through the Familia's.
We watched Marie Fianntino be lowered into the ground and one by one the Familia heads spoke of her in a respectful manner though for now everyone had been silenced from speaking down on her, or against the Familia. No one would dare to do or say much thought the presence of the Sorenko Family wasn't expected, yet Stefan's sleek gunmetal grey F-Type was along the curb with some of his men keeping the car protected.
When the funeral was over and everyone walked from the graveyard to go to Fianntino's home I stopped to speak to the Romanian Mafia Boss for the few minutes I knew I'd be afforded. Not that I gave a fuck both him and I controlled Europe's underworld and that made him and I busy men.
Walking over to him and his brothers Gabriel, and Misha, along with their wives Verena, and Anastasia. Stefan on the other hand never bothered like myself to find a wife, or even a mistress.
"Don Alessio Salvatorini," he says stiffening, though I had a feeling that was due to Matteo's presence a few feet from me along with Lino's ever watchful gaze. He was my best soldier which had been why I trusted him to be my security and now he almost did too good of a job by impassively staring at an ally of the Familia.
"Stefan Sorenko, how are things in the East?" I ask staring at the blonde haired man in front of me that lacked much of the same darkness I did in the form of anger. If I thought I was cold Stefan was a glacier, nothing wasn't a calculated chess game in his mind, and it paid off to have him as an ally since he always seemed to be five steps ahead of everyone else at the least.
"They are as expected, I have my own troubles with the Triad along with the Bratva but everything is under control, I'm just not appreciative of how blatantly disrespectful certain members of other Families have become when it comes to disagreement. You may find yourself with a war if rebellion continues in your territories," he says considering the stragglers of the crowd of people leaving the funeral.
"You have no need to worry Stefan, everyone of actual problem causing is on a short leash or, is already being choked by it," I mutter and he nods.
"Still doesn't mean they will fall into line, it has been many years since you've resorted to... blood, to solve a problem," Stefan says a smirk of a real killer crossing his face. Men like him and I couldn't get rid of the look in our eyes, the darkness in them. People wanted to be like us for the power but none of them could put a bullet into someone's brain like those of the Salvatorini Familia or Sorenko Family.
Stefan had been there when I crucified hundreds of Bratva soldiers, had choked out their Lieutenant, had burned the abandoned facility to the ground along with the surrounding village they had annexed. He and I were two people of the same coin. I was violent and brutal, he was just calculated and cunning.
"They all know I wouldn't hesitate, it's their mistake to think of me any other way," I remark, though I did know I would be needing to make a statement at some point to prove that I wasn't going to let anything slip past me or tolerate insubordination.
Things had descended too quickly over the past two months and I wasn't willing to be made into a fool for it.
"I've seen it myself," Stefan says a ghost of a laugh leaving his lips.
"So I'm guessing the rumours are true," Arianna interjects and Stefan turns to her.
"I'm guessing you are his fiancé, Arianna Valentino, you have a good man for a future husband," Stefan says and if I wasn't a mask of civility and suppressed annoyance all the time I would've smiled.
"I know I do," she says glancing to me and I see his lips quirk up.
"Excuse me, Boss," one of Stefan's men says and as expected Stefan listened to the man before nodding to Aria and I.
"I must leave, business to attend to," he says his lips now a tight line and I could read it well enough that something had gone wrong in Sorenko Territory.
"We should as well," I add before wrapping my arm around Aria's waist and guiding her back to the car.
Looking to her I watched her glance to Stefan then to me, "he's the boss of the Eastern Territories?" she asks and I nod.
"He has been for five years, his father stepped down and gave it to Stefan and his brothers," I explain before gesturing to the younger Sorenko brothers.
"They seem like they all saw things in Romania they made them ooze danger," Aria comments and I smirk.
"The three of them make me question my own methods. Of control. They haven't ever had a civil war in their time ruling, and I've had multiple wars," I admit getting to the car and opening the door for her.
"You had to conquer, they didn't," Aria points out and I nod though I didn't comment. Stefan was right about one thing many in the Familia's borders had gotten too bold, and I would have to put an end to it sooner then later.
That's it for today and it was an actual good length.ive starred to dislike anything shy of 1750 words so I try to make them long. Comment, vote, and share. Anyways
Peace✌️