The Mafia’s Revenge

| 6 | Aftermath.

Emeliana stands still in front of her full-body mirror, staring back at herself with a frown as she eyes her body. She feels… disgusted with herself, all because of one person only… Calvino…

He tried to r**e her, and Emeliana can’t shake away the feeling. If Adriano hadn’t saved her, who knows what exactly Calvino would’ve done to her…

“Emeliana…” Amethyst calls as she looks into the mirror to meets Emeliana’s gaze, standing closeby as she stares at her friend attentively and also a little worriedly.

“Come on, everyone’s waiting…” Amethyst reminds her and Emeliana sucks in a deep breath as she nods carefully.

“I’ll meet you downstairs, I need a minute…” She tells Amethyst and though Amethyst is reluctant to leave Emeliana on her own, she does exactly that and decides to leave the room as per Emeliana’s request. Once Amethyst is gone, Emeliana stares back into the mirror and eyes her clothing. Unlike Amethyst who just decided to wear a simple dark blue flared dress, Emeliana is dressed a little more professionally, having on a black sleeveless turtleneck and high waisted black jeans. On top of that, she is wearing a black denim jacket and black timberlands. At any other time, she would think she looks decent, but this time she can barely stand to look herself in the mirror…

She then sucks in a breath and runs a hand through her long dark hair, turning around and grabbing her phone before she proceeds to leave her room. It’s the morning after everything that transpired and there’s a tense atmosphere dwelling in the house. Emeliana hasn’t spoken to Luca since the last night, or anyone for that matter, except for Donna Aleia earlier on when she called to let Emeliana know she is on her way to the Delassaro Manor.

Emeliana is certain that by now, word has spread of Calvino’s death, and that she is the one responsible. She doesn’t know what that means now, and that’s exactly why she needs to talk with everyone, including Donna Aleia…

Emeliana makes her way through the hallway and down the staircase where she’d hear more distinct voices in the house. She takes a deep breath as she finally reaches the bottom of the stairs and carRies herself to the living room where the voices are becoming clearer and she knows exactly who they belong to. But before she gets to the living room, someone intercepts her path, someone coming from the entrance of the house. As soon as she sees him, her heart drops and she becomes nervous, but also, happy to see him.

“Luca…” She lets out just as he slows down his walking pace and stands beside her, his face relaxed and not as tense as it was the night before...

“Emeliana, morning…” He greets her as he eyes her from head to toe for a second.

“Morning…” She responds to him as she looks up at him, gulping slightly and biting her tongue to stop herself from saying any more than she needs to. He said he wants space, so she’ll give it to him…

After greeting him, she then brushes past him and continues to walk forward without saying another word, just as Luca watches her carefully, understanding that she is upset by him wanting a bit of space… But he’s upset as well, and he will need time to get over what has happened, doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss her though…

He watches as he walks away from him, sighing to himself before he follows after her, the both of them entering the living room where they would find the twins, Caesaro and Cartelli, Demetrio, Celestia, Amethyst and finally, Donna Aleia and a woman Emeliana hasn’t seen before, standing beside Donna Aleia, her bodyguard perhaps.

“Good morning everyone…” Emeliana greets them unanimously as she walks further into the room, their attention falling on her at once as they respond to her.

“Morning… you doing okay?” Demetrio asks her and she nods at him despite that being a complete lie, glancing between all of them before her eyes land on Donna Aleia who is smiling slightly at Emeliana, clearly pleased to see her again.

“Yeah, I’m alright…” Emeliana tries to convince him, turning her attention to the Donna as a small smile appears on her lips. “Donna Aleia, it’s good to see you again…” She tells her just as the Donna takes a step towards Emeliana and eyes her carefully, knowing that despite what Emeliana wants everyone to believe, she is far from okay.

“Indeed it is, though I wish it was under different circumstances…” Donna Aleia tells Emeliana, watching as Emeliana purses her lips together slightly and looks away from her for a second, exhaling softly through her nostrils.

“So I’m sure, everyone knows what I did by now…” Emeliana mutters to herself and Donna Aleia’s smile falters and is replaced by a concerned frown. She looks away from Emeliana and turns to look at Demetrio who is paying close attention to them, then at Luca who is standing close by with his arms crossed.

“Yes… the word has already spread about Calvino’s assassination…” Donna Aleia answers as she slowly turns to look back at Emeliana, watching as Emeliana lifts her head to face the Donna once again, feeling herself become nervous as she thinks about the repercussions Calvino’s death has caused.

“And, what are people saying…?” Emeliana asks warily as she slowly crosses her arms, that way she can stop them from fidgeting due to her nervousness.

“Most are saying Calvino had it coming, but some Families aren’t exactly pleased to hear this news…” Donna Aleia answers Emeliana.

“Families like…?” Emeliana questions, a frown forming on her brows as she tries to think of which other Families she needs to be wary of.

“The Falcones… Florencios… Melairs, and of course, Bonavelli…” Donna Aleia answers and Emeliana nods and sighs to herself, stepping away for a second as if she is falling deep into thought.

“Right…” She mutters as she keeps her eyes on the ground.

“But Bonavelli is the one you need to worry about now…” Donna Aleia reminds them and Emeliana comes to a stop as she looks back at the Donna.

“Now that Calvino is out of the way, what does that mean for Luca and Adriano…” Emeliana asks, hesitantly glancing over at Luca to find him staring at him before he slowly looks away and pays attention to Donna Aleia instead, sighing at taking a step forward.

“I can go back and reclaim my position as the Head of the Family… it was never Calvino’s place, and I wish my Father saw that sooner…” Luca explains as he drops his arms, capturing the attention of everyone in the room.

“And the members of the Family… how will the feel about that… where does their loyalty lie?” Donna Aleia asks curiously, squinting her eyes at Luca and wanting to ensure that his so-called Family will not turn against him when he decides to return to them.

“We’ll just have to find out…” Luca answers and Donna Aleia doesn’t like the idea of Luca winging it. These are the same people that came after him and Emeliana when they were on the run. They might decide to turn against him instead of welcome him when he and Adriano return to the Manor.

“You must be careful, Mariano…” Donna Aleia warns Luca. “Don’t forget that you still have a target on your back…” She tells him and Luca sighs to him and nods briefly at the Donna.

“I know…” He answers her and Donna Aleia sighs to herself before she continues to speak.

“With Calvino gone, someone will need to take his place on the Table…” She reminds him and as she speaks, Emeliana keeps her eyes on the Donna, remembering the congregation known as the Table. As far as she knows, 5 Families are present on the Table, the Monteverdies, the Falcones, the Melairs, The Genoveses and the Palasios’… but now with Calvino gone, Luca will need to represent his Family now…

“I figured…” Luca tells him but from the looks of it, he doesn’t really seem to care about it, perhaps it’s because two parties of the Table were allies of Calvino’s/

“The Table’s next meeting is in 3 days… I trust I’ll see you there…” Donna Aleia sighs and Luca looks back at her and nods, understanding that despite what he might think of them, this is a responsibility he simply has to take.

“You will, me and Adriano…” Luca confirms and at the mention of Adriano, Emeliana, gulps quietly and faces the ground, trying all she can not to let her guilt eat her up again…

“How is he…” Cartelli is the one to speak up, being as equally worried as Emeliana.

“No updates, I’m going to see him after this…” Luca answers Cartelli, understanding his concern for Adriano since they have grown fond of each other and have begun a new relationship.

“Well, I wish him a quick recovery…” Donna Aleia lets out, feeling empathetic towards the lot of them and noticing how Adriano’s current condition has affected all of them.

“What about Mattia… you never mentioned him last night, did your plan pull through…” Caesaro speaks up and at the mention of Mattia, Emeliana feels her heart drop in her chest and it makes her glance at Luca, finding him looking at Caesaro as he clenches his jaw, almost as if he is stopping himself from looking back at Emeliana.

“Yeah, it did…” He forces out and Emeliana wishes Luca could see that what she did was for the good of the plan and it didn’t mean anything at all.

“Well, where is he now…” Demetrio asks Luca.

“A safe place, for now…” Luca responds casually.

“Well, I hope it was worth it…” Demetrio retorts and everyone goes silent as they look back at him for his choice of words…

“Careful,” Luca warns Demetrio, his tone low and his gaze piercing into Demetrio’s eyes. However, Demetrio chooses not to heed his warning and instead continues to fan the flame…

“I’m just saying that this wouldn’t have happened if we went with a different plan, your brother wouldn’t be in a hospital right now…” Demetrio lets out and Donna Aleia watches them carefully, noticing how tense the situation is becoming and if Demetrio doesn’t stop talking, he might end up losing a few teeth…

“Then why didn’t you come up with one?” Luca asks Demetrio and Demetrio remains silent for a few seconds, looking away from Luca as if he is formulating an answer until he finally looks back at Luca…

“If I did, it certainly wouldn’t have led to one of us getting killed…” Demetrio answers and Emeliana frowns at how inconsiderate his answer his, shaking her head at him as she takes a step forward.

“Demetrio-…” She is about to scold him, but before she can say anything more, Luca steps forward and swings at Demetrio’s face in the blink of an eye, punching him square in the jaw, causing Demetrio’s head to whip to the side due to the impact…