The Mafia's Woman

Chapter 2

-Marcello-

Three years ago , (almost) everyone was ready for a different life. (Almost) everyone wanted to stop and get out. We all knew no better than life surrounded by women, drugs, violence, money and weapons.

Until my brothers all fell in love, according to them they found 'the love of their lives'. Then the life we all had was no longer worth the struggle. The hatchet was buried, new friendships were made and that started with the marriage of my sister Valentina and her husband Vincenzo.

Four years ago I thought I had a sister, Valentina, then we all learned very quickly that she was not my biological sister, but that my parents had adopted her. An even bigger shock was that she was the biological daughter of a sworn enemy of my father and to top it all off, she became pregnant with one of our other rivals.

These developments made our families work together instead of fighting. A close friendship developed in a short time and when my brother Riccardo found his wife in Vivian and my brother Christiano could finally win Grace's heart, my brothers hung their hats. they picked up their bags and left.

My parents did not hesitate for a moment, with their (adopted) daughter pregnant with twins, the chance of a quiet and 'normal' existence, made them move with the family.

Ricco and Chris wanted to give it to me, I didn't want it. Never wanted either. I'm not the type of leader. I was always the quiet one, the least noticeable or maybe because of that more noticeable.

Ricco has always been the wild one, wild, big mouth, not afraid of anyone and strict, very strict. Chris always the gentle, friendly and cheerful of the two.

Then I came. Am I less bad than my two brothers? Certainly not.

Have I done as many bad things as my brothers? Maybe even more. But I did this in silence. If Ricco had stabbed someone, he would tell everyone. Chris was into talking, he once stabbed someone and shot once, but I think his antics in that area can be counted on two hands.

When I did something like that, I was quiet.

My family knew immediately when they saw the body that it was me.

I saw my father's proud look every time I finished.

Their lives have changed completely. Ricco has set up a financial company together with dad, Ferrante Finance. Now three years later it is a great success and everyone knows Riccardo Ferrante. He is less wild, because he has his wife now and can no longer be beaten away from her. His whole world revolves around her and his sons Lucas and Terry. Just like the life of my brother Chris. His whole world revolves around Grace, her children and the children they have together. It didn't take long, but once she moved to Cliffs, Grace was almost due to their first son together, a year later daughter Marlin came and not so long ago their son Cooper came. Grace says she's done with it, but when I hear Chris, I won't be surprised if Grace says she'll be pregnant again soon.

My sister Valentina got her twins Frank and Donni, then came son Emilio and not so long ago the twins Liona and Valeri came into the world. I always tease the men, that their lives became to easy and boring, that’s the reason all those kids come into the world.

AND ME?

I'm still alone. I spent some time at the Ranch with Chris and Grace, but when Grace daughter Lizz walked into the wrong room and came back with a box full of knives, I moved to my new home earlier. It wasn't finished at the time, but I couldn't stay there anymore.

My family knows that I haven't been able to say goodbye to the old life completely. I still get too much of a kick out of it.

My mother is worried, but the boys all think when I meet the one, that I can stop. But I wonder if there is a woman in the world walking around for me.

One that can deal with my silence, with my need for peace, and at the same time deal with my craziness and my need to control. I wonder. Women bore me easily. There hasn't been one that has interested me as a bed warmer for longer.

My brothers all know that I sometimes go on a 'business trip', as we call it.

Vincenzo, my sister's husband, knows it too. He may have shared it with his brothers, maybe Enrico, my sister's biological oldest brother, knows too.

He, Vincenzo and Riccardo see each other regularly, with their children. Sometimes I laugh at how bourgeois their lives have become. The only thing that can still be seen is the large amount of money and the fast cars. For everything else, they have all become good brothers. Good fathers, nothing bad to say about them.

With the retirement of my brothers and Vincenzo and Enrico, my field of work became smaller and I had to leave more often. I didn't have to do it, but the kick is too big, so I do it. Vincenzo and I had fun together for a little over a week with the men who had kidnapped my sister, his wife. The only difference is that Vincenzo enjoys the pain he is inflicting on someone else. I enjoy the result. The quiet in my head when I do it.

I also focused on something else, something I'm good at, architecture. I got my degrees, opened an office here in Cliffs, but it didn't give me enough distraction and not enough satisfaction. So I opened my own tattoo shop, believe it or not, but it wasn't there yet. For this, people went to Dallas, an hour and a half's drive away. Both are doing well. I have people employed by both companies and that meant that it started to itch again for me. The women in my family are all convinced that if I find her, that the shop and the office are enough, that one woman will take away the jitters and the unrest. I'll never tell them out loud, but I'm jealous of what they've found. Even Valerio has found someone. Everyone has found someone, I am the only one who is still alone.

I walk into Ricco's office building. The receptionist nods at me.

"I'll call that you're there." She smiles kindly. I nod and take the elevator. The fifteenth floor, I don't do that with the stairs.

The elevator pings and I walk down the long corridor, at the end of the corridor is his personal assistant Adrian. He consciously chose a man, because he never wanted his wife Vivian to doubt if he had to stay longer at work why that would be. Adrian greets me and I knock on the door and walk inside.

"Ow Jesus!" I yell and shake my head.

"Can you leave!" Ricco snarls and while laughing I go back into the hallway and close the door. Adrian looks up in amazement.

"They put their clothes back on." I smile and Adrian rolls his eyes.

"You would think after two children that he can leave her alone for a while." He walks away from the desk and Ricco opens the door. I pat his shoulder and kiss Vivian's cheek.

"Open a window, it smells like s*x." I laugh. Vivian blushes and Ricco shakes his head and ignores my comments. "But seriously, you have a very big house, a babysitter, our parents and you have to do it here?" I ask. Vivian blushes harder.

"I'm going home, I'll see you tonight." She kisses Riccardo and he has to grab her extra nauseously before he lets her go.

When the door closes, he looks at me seriously.

"You're going to New York I heard?" he asks it as a question, but he knows the answer to this. I nod. "Why?" he asks, and he crosses his arms.

"Luca needs answers." I shrug my shoulders.

Ricco smirks. Luca and Ricco were always inseparable. Ricco has given everything to him and Luca, our cousin, takes care of everything in New York. He is at the top of the chain, together with Paulo Lamberti. The two together are fearless and once in a while, they call me for a job. They know that Ricco hates it when I do it anyway, I think that's why they ask me less and less.

"You're just jealous." I joke. He shakes his head and sighs.

"What if it comes out?" he asks and I shrug my shoulders.

"I'm already getting there, what's it like, for twelve years? I'm careful and if they catch me then so be it." I'm light-hearted about it, but if they catch me for one, it's not hard to link all the others to me and then I can hope for life if I don't get the death penalty.

He shakes his head again.

"Are you coming home right away?" he asks. He knows my way of working.

"No, I'll stay there for a while, Megan invited me to dinner, Stefano will come too, maybe just go into the club."

Megan is Luca's wife and Stefano is my cousin, a brother of Luca.

Ricco sighs. "Vivian wants to invite you to dinner on Wednesday." He starts and I shake my head. "Nope, I'm not going to do it."

"She wants it so badly." He complains.

"Who invited she this time. You don't have to help me find a woman. I do that myself." I answer. Done with this conversation, I get up.

"I'll see you when I get back." I answer.

"Marce!!" Ricco roars, but I am immune to his outbursts of anger and without stopping I walk away. Going home, packing my things and taking the private plane that Luca has arranged, I fly to New York.