The Mafia's Hostage

Song: Blood Hands - Royal Blood E M E L I A N A I never watch when my Father beats and tortures his victims. I'm a sensitive person and I don't like seeing others in pain. The sounds of their helpless screams and cries haunt me, even in my sleep. I constantly think about how I could have helped them and prevented deaths, somehow. My Father, on the other hand, is a ruthless and merciless killer and always enjoys others' discomfort and suffering. What's most sickening is the fact that he can do all these things and still be classified as a human being. And more importantly... he gets away with it. He always refers to me as a 'weak disgrace' and always tells me that I am an embarrassment to the whole Family. I used to pretend to brush it off most of the time and make it seem like his words don't get to me, but they always do... I'm the Don's daughter and I'm expected to be just like my Father. Mean, ruthless, uncaring... A killer. But I can't do that or be the person he wants me to be because it's not who I am. Growing up, I was taught to fight and be able to defend myself against anyone. I was able to be strong and tough but at the same time be a good person. Just like my Mother. But all that has changed now. He wants me to watch this time and says that I have to witness what I will be doing in the near future or something like that. As he was explaining, I made the fatal mistake of zoning out which earned me a hard punch to my jaw for not listening. He always hits me whenever I 'misbehave' or sometimes when he just needs to let off some steam. I hate him. I hate him so much and I wish I had a real Father instead of him. My mother, as well as my 4 brothers, were murdered by a rival Family, so my Father tells me, as revenge for mistakes he made in the past. But he was always vague on the details; he didn't want me to know too much because he was afraid I would do something. Even if I did know the Family responsible for their deaths, what could I do? Oh, you’re probably wondering what all these terms mean... Well you see, our Family is... how do I put this subtly... Part of a criminal syndicate or... the Mafia. The Italian Mafia. We are the Delassaros and I'd say we are well known by most of Chicago. My Family is powerful and my Father made sure of it, but that's both a good thing and a bad thing. Not only because of the power going to Father’s head but, also the fact that the bigger you are the bigger the target on your back, and let’s just say my Father has made several enemies in his time as a Don... Our Family is part of something bigger; it is just a subdivision of the Italian mafia that resides in Illinois. Different divisions, stretched out across the entire country, from New York to California, Florida to Georgia and even Michigan. We were part of one giant Family, but that doesn't mean all of us got along... As far as I know, 10 Families dominate the entire state of Illinois, each of the Families running a particular region. Aside from my Family, there is also... Liacari, Pallione, DiMarco, Trepero, Florencio, Melair, Falcone, Genovese and Monteverdi. Some of these we are on good terms with and others... we are not. My Father educated me on this because since I am his only remaining heir, I will have to take over from him one day. But like I said before I don’t want any part of it. If it wasn’t for this lifestyle, my Mother and brothers would still be alive... Now, back to the present. My Father punches the man tied up in a chair again, this time in his stomach, as the man groans in agony. He is so bruised up and I can't bear to look at him without squinting my face in a grimace. "You see this Emeliana? That's how you do it." He snarls and punches the man again, this time right on his jaw. He laughs as if he's just heard the funniest thing on earth, and in this case, it must have been the sound of his fist connecting with the man's jaw. "I already told you what I know." The man croaks and sits up in his chair, spitting blood onto the floor. He has a swollen black eye and parts of his face are different shades of purple and red, blood leaking from his mouth and down his chin, onto his grey shirt which is partially ripped. My Father throws another punch his way and the man groans once his fist connects with the other side of his jaw, making me wince quietly and turn my head to the side. I can't let this continue. The man has had enough. So I build up the courage to defend him and stand up to my Father. "Dad, he said all he knows already." I try to reason with my Father but he simply glares at me. His glare slowly changes into a fake smile before he turns his head to look back at the man. "Perhaps my daughter is right. Maybe I'll show a little bit of mercy..." He lets out and looks at me briefly. He then turns to one of the 3 men standing by, the one holding something covered in a small white piece of cloth. My Father nods his head and the man steps forward and raises the hidden object to my Father. I watch the man curiously as he hands the object to my Father, where my Father begins to unwrap the object and as soon as it is revealed, I feel the air sucked out of my lungs. It's a pistol with a silencer fitted at its tip. "Dad you said mercy this time!" I find myself yelling at him and step in front of the bruised man protectively. I'm not going to let my Father kill anyone. Well to think about it, he's probably going to continue to kill people anyway, but he can't do it while I'm around. My Father’s expression changes completely, clear anger written on his face. "Emeliana, get the fúck away from that piece of trash." He curses at me and steps forward, forming fists with both hands as his eyebrows furrow in rage. I've always been afraid of him and what he might do, but this time I decided to idiotically challenge his authority. "Dad no! He told you everything he knows already! What more do you-." Before I can even finish my sentence, he strikes me across the face and I fall onto the floor, my face smacking the polished tiles. I whimper as tears well in my eyes, feeling my skin burn. Again. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm the Don, not you. Learn your place girl." He hisses. I don’t dare look up. Maybe I deserved it this time, why can't I just mind my own business. No. He made it my business. I wasn’t forced to be here... "I-I'm sorry." I choke and suppress a cry, even though I know I shouldn’t be apologizing, I did the right thing. I hold onto the chair where the man is tied up for support and have a glance at him before looking away. In the second I looked at him, I was surprised to say genuine concern. My Father didn’t tell me much about this interrogation, but all I know is that he is from a rival Family, so why would he be concerned about my wellbeing? "Fine. I won't kill him. But only this time Emeliana. Do not cross me again.” He warns me and as soon as I hear his voice again, I look up and keep eye contact with him. “Since you’re so concerned with this man, you can be in charge of getting him out of this house, he’s of no use to us. But if I see him, I will put a bullet in his skull myself.” My Father snarls at me and before he turns around to walk away. But just when I think of finally getting back onto my feet, he pauses and stares down at me. "You're a sorry excuse for a daughter." He lets out coldly, shaking his head in disappointment before he leaves with his men out of the dark room. Well, that was the icing on the cake. But, I’m used to it... "Hey um, Emi-Emelia..." He croaks trying to say my name, grabbing my attention. I can’t help but smile at him, but wince slightly when I feel my cheek burn as a result of it. "Emeliana," I correct him and sit up on my knees. His breathing is ragged and I can tell he's in so much pain... I need to get him some help. "Thank you for helping me." He speaks and gives me a forced smile just as I stand up and begin untying him. "You're welcome," I say, returning the smile despite the pain in my cheek. I need to get him to the Family doctor or else I'm afraid he won't last another 3 hours. I have to be smart and make sure my Father doesn't see him, cause as he said earlier, he is going to kill him... "Come on, let's go," I tell him and begin to help him up, making him wince quietly and groan as I do. He stands up on his feet, standing at least a foot taller than me even when he is slightly hunched over and leaning on me for support. At least he can walk; he is only injured mainly in his abdomen and head. "Where are you taking me?" He croaks out, holding onto me for support. "To a doctor." "Why are you helping him?" My own voice asks me. "Because I need to." I snap back at it. Stupid brain... making me question myself. "But your Father said-" "I don't care what he said. I'm getting you help, then I'll help you get out of this place." I help him out of the room and up the stairs, heading towards the doctor's office. I receive a lot of stares from different Family members when I pass by but I simply ignore them, like I usually do. As we the hallway that leads to the doctor’s office, 2 individuals, appear from nowhere and stand in front of me, blocking my path, making me sigh. Just what I need... "And where do you think you're going?" They ask simultaneously with curiosity. My Dad’s Capos; Cartelli and Caesaro. They are brothers, twins in fact, and are equally irritating. Despite this, they are still my best friends and I don’t know what I’d do without them. They are completely identical, the only thing telling them apart is that Cartelli has light blonde hair and Caesaro has a darker shade of blonde, both of them having crystal blue eyes. "Get out my way guys." I push past them as the man I'm holding up winces at my sudden movement. "I'm sorry." I apologize quickly, earning a small nod from him. I continue to the doc's office but the twins are still following behind us like pestering bugs and it’s getting annoying, to say the least. "Don't tell me you've found a new boy toy already, and you already got him beaten up," Cartelli says with mock sadness. I roll my eyes at his sly comment, not saying a word. "Oh come on Emi, let's go have some fun. You know just you and me..." He says and I can already picture him wiggling his eyebrows with a stupid smirk plastered on his face. Do these two even notice the injured man I am trying to help out or are they that oblivious? "What did I tell you today, huh? I called dibs." Caesaro interrupts his brother pushing his shoulder roughly as they now walk beside us. "Si arriva a decidere che non si." (She gets to decide that not you.) Cartelli responds angrily in Italian. They then start an argument, over me... as usual. "Guys, I don't know if you can see, but I'm kind of trying to help this guy out so if you're not going to help me then please get out of my way." I hiss at the both of them. "Vedete, ora hai fatto arrabbiare. " (You see, now you made her angry.) Cartelli slaps the back of his brother's head and with that, they continue with their argument, ignoring me completely as I sneak away with the man. We finally get to a corner and I stop for a moment. "Hey sorry about that," I tell the man sincerely, feeling sort of embarrassed that that had to happen in front of him. "It's fine, let's just get to the doctor." He winces and I nod as we begin to walk down the wide hallway. We finally reach the office and I knock with my free hand before opening the door. Dr. Shaw is sitting by her desk looking through some paperwork before she finally notices me. "Dear God, what happened?" She asks, her voice filled with worry and concern as she walks up to us and helps the man I am holding, immediately leading us into another room with a lot more medical equipment. "My Father," I say plainly and she gives me a look of pity. "Can you fix him?" I ask her as we set the man on the hospital bed. "I will try. He looks like he might have a few broken bones." She examines him and touches his abdomen. He winces sharply and Dr. Shaw is immediately able to tell that’s where most of the pain is. "My Father cannot know he's here. Got it?" I tell her and she nods without looking at me. She continues to examine the man and places her hands on his face lightly. When she touches his nose he winces once again and turns his head away in pain. "He also has a dislocation in his nose so we have to set it back in place. Also, I'll need to do an X-ray scan on him to see how much damage there is internally." She speaks and raises his head to examine his nose. "I'm going to set it now." She says and he nods slowly, sucking in a deep breath. She holds his nose is a strange position and starts her countdown. "1, 2-," She surprises him and sets it quickly before she can reach 3. He grunts and winces again... his nose still being red but it should be getting better now. "3." She says finally, trying to crack a joke but neither of us found that funny. "There, now I'll be back shortly." She tells us and excuses herself. I look up at the man, staring at him curiously to find that he isn't that old. In fact, he looks about my age or maybe a little older. I turn 20 this year and he looks like he is maybe 21 or 22 or something. He has dark brown hair and light green eyes and aside from all the bruises, he looks very handsome. "What's your name?" I ask him as he gets more comfortable on the bed. "Adriano." He replies slowly. "Why did you help me?" He asks and I furrow my eyebrows. "I didn't want to see you get hurt anymore or worse..." I speak truthfully to him, causing him to raise his eyebrows in surprise. "You don't even know who I am and you risked your own life." "Yeah..." I trail off, what's done is done. "You could have hurt yourself, and you already did." He says, probably referring to the large hand mark on my left cheek, making me move my dark hair in front of my face to try and hide the mark. "It doesn't matter; I'm used to it," I say, shrugging as I look down at my palms and after a moment I feel him grab my hand softly. "You know, for a Don's daughter, you are very sweet. I know I said it already before, but thank you Emeliana." He says, smiling at me, making me blush as he calls me sweet. Before I can say anything more, Dr. Shaw comes back in with a few papers and a wheelchair and instructs Adriano to sit on it. I help him stand up and place him in the wheelchair slowly. "I'll be back later to check on you," I tell him as he gives me a small goodbye smile. Dr. Shaw pulls him out of the room and I leave afterward to go clean up a bit since I probably look like a hot mess. I climb up the stairs and enter my bedroom whilst locking the door behind me. With all the men in the house, I find privacy very important. There are hardly any girls my age, mostly wives of the men in the house and relatives. There are other females too, but my Father says I shouldn't talk to people of such 'low class'. Our house isn't a house at all. In fact, it's a mansion, about 4 floors, over 30 rooms plus, a game room, gyms, gardens, pools… you name it. I decide to take a quick shower and try and ease the pain on my cheek. After about 15 minutes of showering, I grab a face towel and dab it with hot water before proceeding to massage my cheek with it. Thankfully the pain goes away after a while and I feel a lot better, so I decide to leave the bathroom. I get dressed and tie my long dark brown hair into a low ponytail before heading down the stairs to go look for Demetrio. He too is my best friend in the house and the only person I really hung out with, him and Cartelli and Caesaro when they aren't being so irritating. I find Demetrio in the passageway that connects to the parlour and he seems to be looking at something on his phone. I take this opportunity to surprise him by creeping up to him and hugging him from behind, giving him a small squeeze. He is startled at first but then he relaxes when he realises it's me. "Demetrio," I say and lay my head on his back. He is tall; I think a foot taller than me. "Hey, you." He says and turns to face me before embracing me. I hug him back and once we pull away he lifts my chin slightly and kisses my forehead. I smile softly at him but instead, he frowns at me before looking at my cheek. Oh right, my bruise... I thought it wouldn’t be so visible by now... "Again?" He asks and I nod my head. Demetrio is my Father's Underboss or his second in command in the Family. Okay so he’s more of just a best friend... he and I have a very... complicated relationship. We used to be a thing... more than a thing, but that's all in the past now. "What happened?” He questions and motions for me to follow him into the parlour. "I tried helping someone he was interrogating. His name is Adriano and my Dad almost beat him to death." Demetrio sighs as we sit down on the couch, but it's like realisation hits him and he looks back to me, this time with a frown. "Did you say, Adriano?" He questions and I nod in response. He pauses for a moment, looking down at his laps before he speaks up again. "Emeliana, you could get yourself killed for messing with the Don. You know how he gets so you should know better." He begins talking. He's right. Of course, my Father could kill me; he's almost done it countless times. But what do you expect from a psychotic maniac? "I know Demetrio; I just needed to help him. You know how I feel when others get hurt. Or just the mere sight of them in such a state gets me worked up and a bit ill. It's like-," We are interrupted by the sound of loud gunshots firing, making me scream at the sudden loud sound. Demetrio is immediately on alert and jolts to his feet, pulling out his gun as well as me off the couch, getting to the corner of the parlour for safety. There is a lot of commotion and lots of shots are being fired as well as men yelling and shouting in Italian. Demetrio pulls me towards a large table and pulls out a spare gun from one of the drawers. "Here take this and stay close." He instructs and I nod quickly. To say I am terrified would be an understatement. My hands are shaking and I am trembling in fear. I've had near-death experiences before but nothing as bad as this. I mean we have never been attacked before. Anyone in their right mind would know that you do not mess with the Delassaro Family. And besides, who would have managed to get through with all the protezioni (guards) outside? We peep to the side of the corner and see men lying on the floor in pools of their blood. I cover my mouth to prevent myself from screaming, or vomiting, or hyperventilating or crying. Who could be doing all this and why? "Demetrio..." I whisper as tears well in my eyes. I can't hold it anymore. I've never seen so much blood in one place and it is ripping me apart. He turns to face me, genuinely concerned. "Don't worry, we'll get out of here. I'll protect you no matter what. Okay?" He says as he holds my cheek with his free hand. "Okay," I reply to him, nodding my head. He kisses my forehead for about 3 seconds before nodding at me. "Now let's go." He says and motions for me to follow him. I grimace as I see more and more dead bodies on the floor. Some are left without a face or head... Due to the number of times they had been shot. It's a gruesome sight. I stop in my tracks as I see another body lying on the floor with bullet holes in its head and 3 in its chest. His eyes are still open and he held onto a gun. More tears well in my eyes as I realise who the person is. "Dad...?"