Dominating the Donna

| 2 | Monteverdi.

Aleia snaps out of her memory and opens her eyes, looking forward and realising that that is all it was. A very bad memory.

She sits down on her chair, holding her head in her hands as she takes them away from her face a deep breath. Why she found herself remembering such a vile memory, she’s not sure. Maybe it had to do with the fact that that incident that occurred that night is what made her who she is today. She is stronger. She is not the same weak 16-year-old girl she was 8 years ago when it happened.

Because of it, she will never let anyone put her in a position where she is the weak one. And to do that, she had to make sure people were afraid of her.

She is the Donna after all.

Her title demanded respect from everyone around her. They owe it to her as the Head of the Monteverdi Famiglia.

Donna Aleia Monteverdi.

As a Donna she always sought to follow a basic set of rules she made herself that aided her in everything she does and more importantly, it helped her be the leader she knows her Family needs.

Rule number one.

Be ruthless.

Do not show any mercy, because in her life she has seen that mercy is for the weak and she is anything but that. Not anymore at least. By this one rule, she has managed to make herself the most feared Mafiosa in all of Chicago. Men respected her but secretly lusted after her, women cowered before her but secretly wanted to be her. She was stunning after all, her beauty a unique one especially for one in the Mafia. She had chocolate skin, smooth with not a blemish on it and long dark hair, curtsey of her Caucasian Italian and Southern African heritage. Her 5’9 frame was intimidating and she made sure she used her assets to her advantage.

Be insensate.

She had no time to feel anything. All this time she has spent perfecting herself as a Donna, she has learned that she did not have time for emotions that distracted her. Emotions such as love. One major emotion she hasn’t felt... since...

These are the first two rules out of 10 rules; the 2 most important rules. And she will never forget them.

“Donna Aleia.” She hears someone call her, and she slowly looks away from her desk and faces the person calling her, her eyes landing on her second, her Underboss; Darius Belville. They met about 4 years ago, around the time she became the Donna. He was already part of the Monteverdi Family and knew all the ropes, how things are operated because he paid very close to his Father, Alan Belville Snr. Who was the previous underboss to Aleia’s father, Alario Monteverdi, before he stepped down. Aleia trusts Belville with her life. Over the years he has proven loyal to the Family and to the Donna, which is one the codes her Famiglia must follow.

Always be loyal to each other and especially to the Donna.

The most important rule of the Mafia. Followed by...

Always obey the Donna.

These are the basis of The Monteverdi Famiglia. Because if you are not loyal to each other, then why bother to call yourself a family? And without respecting your Donna, your place in the Family is a meaningless one.

“Yes.” The Donna answers as she takes a deep breath, trying to let her thoughts wander away from that horrible night, her red fingernails overlapping each other as she grasps her hands together, her elbows resting on the surface of her office table.

“You forgetting that we have somewhere to be today?” Belville lets out as he crosses his arms, his muscles flexing through the fabric of his black tailored suit. The Donna sighs lightly before she stands up from her seat and places her hands on her waist, stretching slightly, the black bandage dress she is wearing outlining her curves perfectly.

“Right, right... Where is Diomanté and Flavio? We can’t leave without them.” Donna Aleia says as she steps out from behind her desk and leans forward to close her laptop screen, not realising that it was open before. As she does, her cleavage is exposed partially, causing Belville to roll his eyes slight at his Donna who always insisted on dressing so seductively.

Another rule the Donna followed.

Be cunning.

In everything she did, she had to be sly. She could use her looks to her advantage and most of the time it worked because the problem with man is that they can be easily manipulated and can go from thinking with their head in one minute to thinking with the one dangling between their legs the next in a minute. She found it rather amusing and she thought of it as a game to play with their minds in such a way. After that night, she closed herself off to everyone, starved herself and refused to have cóntact with anyone. She was disgusted by herself and what those men did her, but with the help of her mother, she learned to love herself again and live for herself and no one else. Though she lost a part of her and what is left has been broken, she has to make sure that she fixes it, and she’ll never stop trying until she does.

“Why do you have to make everything look so s****l?” Belville shakes his head at her, causing her to smile lightly as she grabs her handbag off the floor and takes her coat from the chair.

“Why don’t you?” Donna Aleia replies with a smirk as she stands in front of him. “It’s a really good thing you’re gay because I don’t think you’ll be able to handle being my second.” She laughs lightly as Belville takes her purse and coat from her, rolling his eyes again, trying not to smile as he helps her put on her coat.

“Hm.” He huffs and shakes his hand before he hands her purse back to her once her coat is back on.

“Come on. Though I hate that idiota Palasios, he’s good for business. He benefits our companies and as much as I want to put a bullet in his head because of the way he runs things, I would hate to lose him. Without him, his place in the market will be overrun by vultures like Don Calvino and Don Ivo and I’d hate for that to happen.” She says as she begins to walk to the door of her office, her hips swaying as she holds her head high powerfully, her heels clicking the floor as she walks.

No one ever has to ask who she is.

They won’t even need to look twice to know that she is the Donna.

Another rule.

Be smart.

Though the Donna had enemies, these are the very people she does business with. Once they realise how beneficial they are to each other, there will be no need for War and it was her way of keeping the peace. They found solace in the exchange of goods and services, all because of the Donna. She didn’t care if they hate her in secret, all she cared about was how much dough their investments and tradings were bringing in. Being the most powerful Mafiosa in Chicago meant that she owned a lot of businesses and as the Donna, she is in charge of all of them. Clubs, hotels, a chain of restaurants and bars, the Monteverdi Family even owned an airport in Chicago.

She leaves the room with Belville following behind her and walks down the hallways of her mansion. It belonged to her family and they have owned it for more than 100 years. Her great, great grandfather had bought the property from a settler who was a companion of her ancestor, originally hailing from Italy. He started the criminal syndicate they know today and was one of the first people to introduce the way of the Cosa Nostra to the American people. Over the years, the mansion has been renovated and Donna Aleia has made sure it suited her taste and looked a lot more modern than when her father was in control of the Family.

“Boss.” She hears Stephania call her as she steps into the leaving room and approaches the front door. She comes into the Donna’s line of vision, dressed in all black as her light brown hair remains tied in a neat ponytail, her twin Glocks latched onto each one of her thighs. She was the best markswoman Donna Aleia has ever laid eyes on, making her a perfect hitwoman. She had a 100% success rate and never missed a target. If the Donna retold the tale of how the two of them met, one would wonder how they remained friends to this day. But as the Donna had said before, loyalty has to be earned and it works both ways, just like trust.

“Stephania, I thought you had left already...” The Donna answers her but doesn’t come to a stop, instead, she continues to walk forward, almost as if she doesn’t care about all else happening around her. She knew that Stephania has a security job to work today, no assassinations until the night time, but the Donna wondered why she had not gone yet.

“Plans have changed and I need to inform you about something...” At the sound of that, the Donna sighs and turns to look at Stephania, an annoyed expression forming on her face.

“What is it?” Donna Aleia questions impatiently, but soon notices the unsettled expression Stephania’s face.

“Stephania. Speak.” The Donna commands and Stephania takes a break, keeping her eyes on the floor for a moment before she finally looks at the Donna.

“It’s Palasios... he’s dead.”