Children of the Don

Harper walks into the room. Her uncle is standing in front of the room, and most of the crowd is male and older than Harper. But, she does not care as she knows she is the strongest person in that room.  "A female leader? Are you crazy? How can a female leader run the mighty Casella family?" One of the men shouts. He is an older Italian who does not understand that a woman can be more ruthless than any man.  "You want to challenge me, Don Agosti?" Harper asks. Her eyes are cold as spring water in the mountains after the first snow melts.  "No, Donna. I was just shocked," Agosti answers. He knows he does not stand a chance against the Casellas.  "Good, I do not want to kill you today. I will appreciate your loyalty to my family and me," Harper says. She turns around to her uncle, Jayden Casella, and nods. She is ready to take over from him. The bracelet on her arm catches the eyes of the men surrounding her. It is Katerina the Great's bracelet, and they know the Russian Mafia, primarily the Petrov family, are also behind Harper. No one is brave enough to challenge Harper. They have seen her strength today. Not even Don Agosti is willing to take on Harper. They can not blame him.  "Anyone else has any objections?" Jayden asks. No one answers, and Jayden looks at the stern faces. He knows many of them are unhappy, but he also knows they underestimate Harper. Harper is a strong woman. Jayden does not know what happened to Harper, but she has not dated anyone since high school. It looks like Harper does not believe in love, and Jayden wonders what has happened. Jack is standing next to Jayden. Cole, Carley and Carol are standing on one side next to Jason, Jayda, Tammy, Dante and Jennie. The rest of the family is not there, only the high-ranked family members. "Cole will be second in charge, and Carley and Carol will run LA. These are your new Don and Donnas. If you have a problem with it, you can speak up now," Jayden says. He is ready if anyone wants to take them on. Harper's eyes sweep over the crowd. Her eyes catch those of a young Don. Where has she seen him before? He looks familiar, but she can not place him. Dean Morretti looks at the new leader of the Casella family. He remembers her as a young teen standing in the room when she caught his stepsister and her boyfriend in bed. He smirks. Dean kept his father's surname even when his stepfather wanted to adopt him. Finally, his grandparents took him in, and he took over the Morretti family from his grandfather. The Morretti family is almost as strong as the Casellas. Dean knows that he can not take on the Casellas as they have a reputation, and he knows how ruthless they can be. His eyes keep Harper's eyes captive. He knows she is strong. He knows she would get the best training from the Casella family. He bet they had already trained her to take over the family from a young age. Her eyes are cold and heartless. Harper Casella is no one's playmate, but she is beautiful. Dean does not believe in love. It is better to have your enemies close, though, and he may make friends with Harper and the triplets, but Dean does know if he wants to be close to the Casellas. His mother, stepfather and stepsister do not know about his connection to the Italian Mafia, and he would like to keep it that way. One day, he will be the head of the Italian Mafia in the states, but first, he will have to bring down Harper and her family. Everyone in the Mafia knows the Casellas and their children. Everyone knows who Harper, Cole, Carol and Carley are. All of them thought Cole would take over as the new head of the family, but the Casellas has decided to go with Harper. Dean knows why. He can see she is strong and a born leader. Harper stares back into the almost black eyes of the young man staring at her. Dean is wearing a black suit today, not his usual t-shirt and jeans. He also has the Mafia hat on - a black hat with a white stripe. The Don's ring on his finger lets everyone know he is the Morretti family's head. The Morretti family is very traditional; therefore, Dean wears traditional Mafia clothing. Harper also wears a black suit with black pants, a black blazer, and a white blouse. However, Harper is not wearing a hat. Her long black hair is done up, and she looks the role of the head of the Casella family. Harper can not shake the feeling that she knows the young don from somewhere but can not pinpoint where she has seen him before. She can see the smirk on his face, and Harper finds the smirk annoying. Does the young Don think she can not run the Italian Mafia in the states? He makes a mistake if he thinks he can intimidate her with his intense stare. The older, more traditional Dons are not sure about a woman running the Mafia, but they can not go against the Casellas. Dean says nothing, as he and his family are also uncomfortable with Harper at the head of the Italian Mafia, but at the moment, there is nothing he can do about it. "Well, maybe Donna Harper will marry a strong Don," Dean's grandfather whispers to Dean. He is secretly hoping his grandson will consider pursuing the new Donna. "Forget about it, Grandpa," Dean says. When Dean was younger, he met Sienna. The granddaughter of Don Agosti, but Sienna was not planning to marry Dean. He was not a Don yet, and Sienna Agosti used Dean as a plaything while looking for the man she wanted to marry. Sienna is engaged to a wealthy man with no ties to the Mafia. Don Agosti was upset when Sienna did not want anything to do with Dean anymore, as he hoped to unite the Agosti and Morretti, families. They could have been stronger than the Casellas, but it did not work out, and Dean moved on. Dean was not heartbroken, but he did not trust women at all. One can say he hates women and thinks no one can trust them. His mother disappointed him when she married so quickly after his father's death. He felt his mother would never love another, as his father and mother were deeply in love. "One woman did you bad. But, it does not mean all women are bad," Dean's grandpa says. Dean smiles at his grandfather. The old Don wanted to be here today. Filippo Morretti loves his grandson Dean. He would do anything for his grandson. Filippo was heartbroken when his son died but felt blessed to have Dean by his side. Filippo knew his son did not want anything to do with the Mafia, and he only lived for his little family. So, when Alonso died, he took his grandson under his wing and trained him to take over from him one day. Dean felt rejected by his mother, who spent more time with his stepsister than with him. His mother always wanted a daughter, and although she loved Dean, she never understood him. She was angry when he refused his stepdad to adopt him. Dean does not care anymore. He went to university and got his degree. Then Dean went to stay with his grandparents. He would only go home when his mother needed him. "I feel nothing for Sienna, grandfather. You know me. I never loved her," Dean laughs. Filippo frowns. He knows his grandson, and he knows his grandson has never lost his heart to a woman. He sees his grandson staring at Harper. Filippo smiles. He is a wise man and keeps quiet. Filippo thinks his grandson lost his heart but has not realised it yet. So he will keep quiet and let things play out how they are meant to. Harper Casella is not Sienna Agosti. Harper is a strong woman that will make a man respect and trust her if she must. Filippo can feel the tension between Harper and Dean. He knows from experience that the tension is caused by feelings they have never felt before, and both Harper and Dean do not know what to do with that feeling. "Yeah, I know. I can see it," Filippo says. Dean frowns and looks at his grandfather. What does his grandpa mean by that? Sienna is there with her father. Don Agosti hopes she and Dean will pick up where they left off. Sienna broke off her engagement to the wealthy young man when Agosti showed her photos of the last meeting of the Dons, and she saw Dean again. "Why can't I be the head of our family? Then, maybe Dean will look at me again," Sienna asks her grandfather. She has no respect for the elders and does not show her grandfather any respect. Her father, who wants the Don's ring, is not impressed with his daughter and glares at Sienna. "Because a woman belongs in the kitchen and should raise children, not run a Mafia family," Don Agosti says. He says it loud enough for everyone to hear, and Harper smiles. "I am glad someone shares his honest opinion of women with everyone. But, Don Agosti, if you want to challenge me, I dare you! I am not a meek little woman like your granddaughter. I can handle anything that comes my way. Your opinion of women is old-fashioned. I do not have to prove anything to you or the rest of the Dons. My family trust me, and that is all I need, but if you have a problem, come for me, and we will see who swims, you or me!" Harper says. Her smile is more a smirk than a smile. She looks around the room, and the Dons dare not look her in the eyes. Only one Don dares to stare back at Harper. Dean does not feel intimidated by Harper, and he shows it. "I did not mean to disrespect you, Donna Casella. I was just stating a fact. My granddaughter will become the next head of my family to show my support for you and your opinions about women. You are right. I am old-fashioned, and it is time I changed. I am behind you, Donna Casella, not against you," Don Agosti says. Sienna and her father look at the head of the Agosti family and wonder if he has gone crazy. He would never agree to give the family to Sienna. Harper nods and wonders what Agosti is up to. She does not trust him or his family. "You better get Dean or Cole as your husband," Don Agosti says to Sienna as they walk out of the room. "Cole and Dean are big fish, but father, are you willing to let the Agosti name go down?" Sienna's father asks. "What is the use of keeping this name? You only have a daughter and no son to carry the Agosti name in the future. We might as well marry her into one of the bigger families," Don Agosti says. However, he still blames his son for not having a son. "So I do not get to be the next Don Agosti because I have no son?" Sienna's father asks her grandfather. "Who cares? It is the season for women in the Mafia, and in the end, it will come down to who marries the most influential man in the Mafia," Don Agosti says. Harper stands halfway in the dark and hears Don Agosti's words. She turns to Cole, who is standing next to her. "Don't worry. Sienna is not my type. Unfortunately for them, the Agostis are not marrying into the Casella family soon," Cole laughs. "Good," Harper says. The first meeting she attended was over. Dean smiles as he also hears old Don Agosti's words. "Sienna is also not becoming a Moretti soon," Dean thinks. He can not handle weak people, and his wife will have to be strong one day. For one, Dean will not love her as he does not believe in love, and two, her sole purpose will be to give him a son. Dean knows it is cold of him to think of women that way, but he can not help it as he does not trust any woman with his heart. Dean has seen how much his father loved his mother, and she married another man without even thinking twice about his father. Dean is bitter and can not believe in love. His mother's love for his father died with his father, so what does a woman's love mean? Nothing!