Falling For The Mafia Underboss

CHAPTER 1: MEMORIAL

Kelsi Cervera was lying on her bed, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars she had stuck on her bedroom’s ceiling back when she was still a little girl. Some of the stars have apparently fallen off, leaving star-shaped indentations on the ceiling where they initially held on to. She smiled sadly. It may seem very childish to keep them on the ceiling, especially since she’ll be turning eighteen tomorrow, but she still liked the little stars and their little weak glows whenever she turned off the lights.

But what would have supposedly been a good day to celebrate her birthday, what Kelsi was feeling was very far from being happy. Her grandfather, who was taking care of her, had recently passed away.

At twelve years old, she lost her parents to a car accident while they were away on a business trip. She was then taken in under the care of her grandfather. He was a very reserved man, he was usually quiet and kept to himself, but Kelsi knew he loved her very much. He’s just the type of person that has a hard time expressing himself. She was well taken care of. Unfortunately, her grandfather was very old and one morning, he just didn’t wake up.

And now you’re alone again, Kelsi thought sadly to herself. She remembered how she felt when the police showed up five years ago at her parent’s house and told her the bad news. She remembered how it felt having everything crash down around her and realizing she was all on her own and that she would never see or talk to her parents ever again. She remembered how, on that same night, her grandfather, who was her father’s dad, suddenly came and reassured her that she wouldn’t be alone and that he was going to take her away from all the bad things and come live with him. She remembered how, after the next few days, her grandfather had always tried to make sure she had everything she needed and would always make sure she was well. And slowly, time did heal.

But now everything has been taken away from her once more. For a moment, she lost herself in her thoughts, reminiscing about the memories she had, the good and the bad.

There was a knock on the door. “Kelsi?” came the voice of her uncle from the other side of the door. “It’s starting.”

“I’ll be right there,” Kelsi responded as she got up. She heard her uncle’s footsteps moving away.

Today was the memorial service for her grandfather. She could hear a lot of people downstairs, carefully moving around, talking in hushed voices. Kelsi attempted to smooth out her white blouse which had wrinkled when she had been lying in her bed.

She looked in the mirror. Her face was a mess — her eyes were puffy and dark circles were visible under her olive-green eyes. Her plump lips were pale and chapped. She gathered her messy dark brown hair in a low ponytail in a weak attempt to at least look a bit presentable.

She nervously played with the tiny gold pendant on her necklace. This was given to her by her grandfather a long time ago, and she has never taken it off ever since.

Okay, Kelsi. You can do this. Just for a few hours, you can deal with other people. Then you can be safely back in your room once it’s all over, she thought. Alone once again with your gloomy thoughts.

She made her way downstairs to the big family room where her grandfather’s memorial service was being held. A lot of people offered their condolences, some patted her shoulder in a gesture to comfort her, but it just came off as awkward and unwelcome to her. She didn’t even know those people. Those were all strangers to her. Ever since she had lived in Salvadora with her grandfather, no one had ever come to their house to visit, or to invite them to something. It had always been just the two of them, and she was happy with it.

Now that he’s gone, you show up. She thought bitterly. People ignore you when you are alive but then make a show of sadness when you’re not here anymore. That’s just what this all is, a show.

She walked up to the big ornate memorial table near the middle of the room. Framed photos were placed artistically all over the table, decorated with white roses. Flower stands were scattered around the room.

Hi Papa, she thought. What am I going to do now? I’m all alone again. What’s going to happen now? I really miss you. The tears came again. But don’t worry, I’ll be okay. I promise.

“Kelsi,” a voice said from behind her, interrupting her thoughts.

She turned around and saw her uncle standing there with another man she didn’t recognize. This particular uncle was her father’s only brother. It was actually a surprise to see him there; she only knew that he was abroad and that he was not on good terms with his family. She had never seen him until now.

“Uncle Jack,” Kelsi said.

“Kelsi, How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“I’m really sorry about Dad. I know you were very close to him,” Jack said, “By the way, I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Joseph Burr. He is a very competent lawyer and also a good friend of mine.” He gestured to the professional-looking man standing beside him.

“Hello, Kelsi. I offer my deepest condolences. Is it okay to sit down and talk with you for a minute? Oh, and you can call me Joe,” he said.

“Umm… okay,” Kelsi said uncertainly.

Her uncle led them away from the other people, to a secluded corner with dark leather sofas facing each other. The two men sat down together on one sofa and Kelsi took the one opposite them. She wondered what this was about.

“Alright, let’s get down to business. Jack contacted me since I’m one of the best real estate lawyers around, and I am the best person to help with what needs to be done right now, following your grandfather’s passing,” Mr. Burr said. He took out a thick folder from his document bag and started laying out sheets of official-looking documents on the coffee table.

Kelsi frowned. “I’m sorry… to help with what?” she asked.

“With the division of his assets and property, of course! The only living relatives he had are his son, your uncle right here, and you. Since we couldn’t find a will, had your grandfather ever left one, we need to discuss the settlement of his estate under the rules of intestate succession. Whether the inheritance goes to you or your uncle,” he explained.

Kelsi was stunned. Settlement of the estate? Her grandfather had just died! And then this unknown man and this uncle, who had never shown himself before, suddenly show up and tell her this. The memorial wasn’t even over yet! They were supposed to pay their respects and honor the memory of her grandfather. She looked disbelievingly at the lawyer. Then she looked at her uncle. For a second she saw that he had a self-satisfied smirk, then seeming to realize what he was doing, swiftly changed his face to a solemn expression.

Her blood rushed to her face. She was upset. She was confused. Then she started getting angry.

“Uncle?” she turned angrily at Jack. “Are you seriously okay with this?!” Her voice was rising.

“Kelsi, keep your voice down,” Jack said firmly as he looked around to check if other people noticed. “I know Dad passed away but stop being so emotional!”

“Emotional?!” Kelsi exclaimed. She could not hold it back anymore. She stood up, not caring that she was shouting now. “You only come here just as soon as Papa died! But when he was alive did you even care to show up? Or call him or keep in touch? NO! You abandoned him, your own father! You abandoned your family! Papa and I… we only had each other, and we were fine with it. And now you suddenly come back out of the blue and talk about getting his assets and his house — this house! This house with so many good memories of Papa…” Her voice broke. It was very quiet. People were now looking at them with shocked expressions. Some were whispering to one another.

“Kels…” Jack began.

“Don’t you Kels me! I don’t even know you! You weren’t even there when my parents died! Huh, not even when they were alive!” She was getting hysterical now. She was slightly shaking with anger. She glared at the man in front of her who was supposed to be her uncle, her family. The man who was trying to take everything from her grandfather.

Jack’s eyes had narrowed to slits and his jaw was clenched. The lawyer beside him shifted uneasily as he started gathering the documents on the table.

“Kelsi, don’t start with me! I am his own son first of all—“ Jack started as he got up.

“But did you ever act like a son?!” Kelsi interrupted. “Now that I think of it, were you just waiting for him to die?! So you can come down like a vulture and take everything he left behind?! No! I’m not doing this!”

“Kelsi, that’s enough!” Jack yelled. He acted like he was about to grab her arm, but then stopped himself, realizing that many people were still there watching.

Kelsi took a deep breath, overcome with emotion. “How could you?” she said quietly. She felt the silence in the room as everyone hung on to her every word.

“The memorial isn’t even over yet!” Her voice broke again and her eyes started to well up with anger, disappointment, sadness—was it either or all? She didn’t know. She felt her heart was about to burst from so many emotions. She couldn’t breathe. She turned away. She saw all the other people who had supposedly come to pay their respects to her grandfather, all frozen in place and staring at her.

They are all the same, she thought sadly. She started walking fast, away from all this, while averting her eyes. She went up the stairs, entered her bedroom, locked the door, and plopped on the bed face down.

Papa, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe this happened. They didn’t even respect you, she thought. Now the anger was slowly dissipating away, and in its place, sadness overcame her. Now she felt more alone than ever. She did not understand how things went worse. Kelsi realized she had lived in a bubble—she existed in a bubble where she only knew her parents and her grandfather. She was secure in that bubble. They had all made her feel safe and protected while they were still alive. They would not let anything bad happen to her. And to discover that something could just come up and pop that bubble so suddenly, made Kelsi feel so disheartened and scared.

I guess I’m finally all alone. No one to save you now, Kels.

She was now breathing rapidly as she clutched her chest, trying to ease the aching in her heart.

Mom? Dad? Papa? What am I going to do now?

Kelsi let go. She cried.

And cried.

Until she fell asleep on her damp pillow.