The Daughter of the Mafia

She had seen the Eiffel tower every Valentine's Day and felt the heat of an Australian winter, but of all the stamps on her passport, Juliette Diamonte was least of all excited for Italy. It had been years since she last set foot in the town of Verona that she once called home. Only this time, she descended from her favored choice of airline with a handsome Brit on her arm. He was a man of great success and good looks marked by German ancestry that showed in his facial features. But it had been his philanthropic sense of work that led them to meet and fall in love. However, this kind of love was a kind that was sported with small notions of romance such as flowers, while desire and passion left long ago-if it was ever present to begin with. Because of this, Juliette was the kind of girl that would become lost in the words of E.L. James or Diana Gabaldon, hoping that David would take up the sensual traits of their most infamous characters; Christian Grey and James Fraser. But of all the men she dated in her 27 years, David was the most noble of her previous suitors. He was kind, independent, and attentive-in all ways but the way she truly desired. Even if these feelings were present in her mind and deep within her heart, she still believed he would propose upon this trip. And so, each time his hand would move into his pocket or he would take her somewhere visually orgasmic, she would hope for that sight she had been working for in their four year relationship. But each time, she was left disappointed with only the memory of the sight to take with her. And even so, this disappointment was no comparison to the nervousness she felt in being set before her father and brother again after almost ten years apart.  The cold sensation of the airport mixed with the humid heat of Italy did little to aid the nausea Juliette already felt upon her return. The familiar atmosphere of a place she once loved now hit her like cold water as she slid into the seat of her father's car.  As her gaze fixated on the sights she held strong memories to, David was distracted with messages flying to and from his phone, doing little to ease her. However, the weight of a gaze forced her own eyes to drift to the passenger side of the car. Through the rearview mirror, her gaze came upon a mysterious man who was under her father's employment. His appearance was that of impossible caliber; a light scruff upon his face, a set of emerald eyes, and two full lips that made her catch her breath for a moment. By the time her eyes tore from him, she found herself looking at the home she had left angrily ten years ago.  The exterior was still a sickly yellow with flowers well kept around its border. A fountain sat to the right and a gazebo disconnected diagonally to the left. She could recall running around the grounds with her brother Alessandro as they spoke of adventures within the United States that they would have one day. Of the siblings, Juliette had made good on these adventures, while Alessandro remained at his father's side, desperate to make him proud. But it seemed as she scanned her remaining family upon the steps, she could see the look of disdain in her brother, allowing her to understand that it was a venture still fragmentary at best.  "You're alright, love, I'm here." David spoke as the mysterious passenger in the front pulled himself from the car to open her door while scoffing at this faux attempt to ease her. As the door came open and her feet met with the ground, Juliette had ignored the handsome man who now stood at her side, unaware he was taking in her physical appearance as well. He seemed torn between speaking and breathing as he clenched his jaw as she moved past him. Although she was only a few inches over five feet and adorned with thick black hair that was crafted into perfect loose waves, he was drawn to her immediately. His lips parted gently upon watching her moisten her lips with her tongue-a nervous tick she redeveloped upon coming home.  "Buongiorno!" Her father spoke before placing two light kisses on either cheek while pulling her into a hug. For a moment, Juliette paused before seeing her brother give a look of pity before then taking her into an embrace. Within seconds of giving this greeting, David was then introduced via verbal acknowledgement from Juliette as handshakes were then delivered by both male figures of her family. While crossing the threshold of the house, David shook off the ache in his hand from the forceful grip felt upon his extrinsic muscles. Once more, the mysterious man who had taken her breath away upon first noticed was unimpressed, a detail she felt she had to defend until her father began to speak to them both.  "You must be famished from your flight...Eunice and Sergei have put together a meal if you would care to join us." As Juliette wished for nothing more than to disappear into the warm shower she had been dreaming of after their twelve hour flight, David had plans to make a good impression. Due to this, her attempts to decline were overruled by her boyfriend having accepted, making her feel as if she was alone in a crowded room. Nevertheless, she kept a weak smile upon her lips and motioned to the direction of the dining room.  David took a seat beside his apparent beloved, giving a kind smile, while she stared at the empty plate before her. She was able to recall the last time she was in this room upon the night she left. The discovery ahe had made that night had forced her to question the integrity of her entire family, as well as her own strength. However, she was not even at the tip of the iceberg of the danger that would lie ahead.  "You still don't feed your staff?" Juliette finally spoke when noticing men dressed in full suits standing around the table as if they had been worried that the food held bad intentions.  "They indulge in anything they need, I can assure you." Her father commented, as the man of mystery marked by his strong gaze that lingered upon her without a spoken word had smirked at this comment. At this moment the first course was served before them as Juliette had become too nervous to eat. Instead, she used the prongs of her fork to slide the pasta within its sauce while her boyfriend spoke in a kind tone to her father while she begged God for a release from this dinner. But the torturous small talk had filled in the remainder of the dinner until Juliette was allowed to be excused with her boyfriend.  As they were shown their room, David removed the sweater from his shoulders and cascaded it over the back of her adolescent vanity chair and moved to the shower.  "You told me your father was intense..." his eyes grew large as he shook his head. "I felt as though I was speaking to the president..." As he spoke these words, his phone vibrated within his pocket and he proceeded to carry it into the bathroom with him, dismissing her entirely. For a moment, as she decided she would shower in the morning, she began to undress while thinking of the man from the passenger seat in the car. For some reason, the feeling of his gaze upon her had forced a blush upon her cheeks and a palpitating pulse that worsened as her imagination thought of his touch. Until this trip, she had fantasized of male lovers before, as the gaze of this forbidden stranger held more passion than an entire night of s*x with her current paramore. While laying beside her boyfriend that night and staring at the ceiling above her, Juliette couldn't help but think of the past. For eighteen years, she had lied in this bed, walked these grounds, and spoken to her brother and father above all else, and now she had returned for reasons she couldn't understand herself. The sound of muffled steps crossing beneath her door forced her to sit upright while she made her way towards the hall. Expecting her father to have a troop of guards at her door, she was surprised to see only one emotionless man standing present, giving her a slight analysis, before continuing to stand forward.  Allowed to walk freely in her childhood home, Juliette brought herself behind a silhouette, having followed the shadow until it came to a stop in a room set further in the home. The sound of a couple seemingly desperate for s****l release sounded before her as her lustful curiosity grew the best of her. Using the tips of her fingers, she set her focus upon the door, extending her touch, until the panel slid open. She became surprised at the sight of her brother in a compromising position with a young girl she had never seen before. Until this moment, she had a distant thought in the back of her mind that perhaps her brother held a homosexual desire. This solidified her incorrect judgement as she then grew uneasy in watching him bring her panties to her ankles.  Turning to move back to her own room, Juliette found herself face to face with the man who had caught her eye. She was now able to analyze him entirely, noting how he had stood a few inches over six feet with dark hair pulled back with gel as a few loose strands fell during a lowered head. His eyes were a light green that had come across as a hazel in some light, and a wicked smirk upon a set of plump lips.  "Desidera?" He spoke, a deep sultry tone that only added to the attraction to him. Juliette recognized this question in Italian as he asked if he could help her. But before she was able to form a response that wouldn't be a loose attempt to speak, Juliette heard the sound of David's grunts on the other end of the hall.  Focusing her attention upon the origin of the scuffle, she followed the noise into a room where the man of peerless looks had entered behind her, locking the door. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" She asked her father as he turned from a side profile to looking at her straight on. Her boyfriend had been somewhat beaten with his bodyweight being supported by the strength of two of her father's guards.  "You may not believe me if I say this, my dear," he began as he moved to a small table beneath a window before shuffling in a small box until turning to face her with a shiny weapon in his palm. "But I have always been watching for you." He spoke in English so David was able to understand each and every word. "Even the day you left with such anger and resentment-you are still my eldest, and still my only girl." "Are you going to threaten me with a weapon? Or my boyfriend to make me stay?" A look of heartlessness resided in the eyes of her father as she watched him bring the muzzle of the gun beneath David's chin. As she stepped forward, the sound of the gun having been c****d had silenced the entire room. In the time it took for Juliette to inhale, she wondered if perhaps this had been a horrible yet vivid dream. But reality would force her to its feet as the click of the gun forced David to wince and Juliette to lose all will to stand.  "I am not a monster, my daughter..." he spoke while setting the weapon upon the mantle of the nearby fireplace and turning to welcome Alessandro into the room. He scanned the area in a matter of seconds, putting together everything that had come into play in his absence. "But it appears that your beloved David has been lying to you." He spoke while pulling his phone to view. "And as I said before...whether you choose to believe me or not...I have always looked out for you." With this, he threw the phone to her direction, where she then saw an exchange of risque messages between David and a colleague of his. Her tearful gaze then looked to her boyfriend who was emotionally defeated by the entire ordeal.  "You want to prove to me that you can take the mantle of our name?" Alessandro and Juliette's father spoke before he handed the gun to his younger offspring. Alessandro swallowed hard before moving to retrieve the gun. "Many things are uncertain in this world...but family is inescapable, it is permanent, and it is noticed behind all things of the Diamonte family." With this, Alessandro took the weapon while Juliette attempted to rise from her feet and mine to him, until being held back by two of her father's men.  "He is a kid!" She begged her father. "He should be focusing on college and playing video games too long!" She continued to plead with him, but her father was unaffected by her words.  "Life continued after you decided you no longer needed this as your family. But your family is still here-keeping you from making mistakes..." with this, he then moved to David and pulled a black box from his pocket. Having dreamed of being proposed to for the last four years, her heart had now been broken and shattered at her feet when realizing it had been unveiled by force.  "You're a monster, and you always will be!" She accused him before her father focused his attention to Alessandro.  "The hardest thing you will ever do is pull that trigger for the first time. But knowing you are doing it for family eases the guilt...until eventually, you are numb to it." He spoke before the gun began to shake violently in his hand, as he attempted to squeeze the trigger.  "But of course...we should offer the victim a final word..." David looked up to Juliette, his cheeks stained with tears, as he pleaded with her to convince her father to spare his life. He spoke of how he loved her and how he was sorry for allowing his lust to cloud his heart. Her father then moved between his and Juliette's gaze.  "You allowed this lust to cloud your heart at least eight times...it seems to me as though you have a problem..." he spoke as Alessandro kept the weapon upon David, unable to pull the trigger. "I knew you were spineless." He spoke to his son before the gun went off, this time, striking David. For a moment, a look of pain was present upon his face before his expression lowered, and finally stilled. Even if she was hurt by his infidelity, she knew death was too harsh of a punishment.  "Consider your reinstatement into this family, your warning, and a favor." With this, her father threw the engagement ring across the floor as the guards released her so she could bring it to her palm. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at her father with the deep hatred she held behind her cobalt eyes in the last decade. She found herself present in the same situation that forced her to leave to begin with-only that one, she had come upon by accident, as well as the initiation of one of her father's guards. Sensing those in the room around her to have eased on tension, she slid her short and thin frame between two guards and through the home in an attempt to flee. Keeping the engagement ring clutched into her palm, she kept it in place for the sole reason of having a continued motive. Yet, the sound of several sets of feet chasing her and led for her adrenaline to boost to an almost dangerous high. Yet, she continued forward until making it towards the front of the house, opening the door, and hiding behind a nearby full suit of armor to mislead those moving after her. When she no longer heard any steps, she then moved towards the garden, planning to escape via a service road that had been at least three miles long.  She pushed apart the sliding doors that separated the interior of the house into the garden, and looked upon both ways, before extending her feet to the cobblestone path that led its way through the garden itself. But as fate would have it, one guard in particular had seen the knack she had for being clever, and so he had waited for the right moment to strike. However, a second figure seemed to grow impatient, using the butt of his gun to force her unconscious. Her body lied motionless as the man of mystery moved to her, speaking in a negative fashion to his colleague for having caused physical injury to the boss's daughter. Due to this, he lifted her within his arms as her head rested against his chest, and he brought her back into the house. He became enamored by the peaceful look upon her face as well as the damp nature of her tears that rested upon her cheeks. When lying her within a room that could be locked from the outside, he brought the pads of his thumbs to her soft skin, wiping away the tears, before taking a moment to analyze her.  "Buona notte, bellissima." He spoke in his native Italian tongue before disappearing from the moonlight and bringing up a nearby chair. Turning it so the back of the chair would be pressed against his chest, the impressive male figure then brought his eyes to focus upon her-not pulling away for a second. Guilt filled his entire silhouette as he apologized to her with his gaze and wished, even if only for a moment, to take that from her.