brotherly affection

FRANCESCA

THERE'S SOMETHING about this morning’s family breakfast that feels off. Dante isn’t buried in the newspaper. Costanzo is unusually quiet. Omero is gnawing on his lower lip with a more intense glare than usual.

And Antonio, well, he’s surprisingly relaxed, which is strange because he’s usually so serious. Does he think acting casual will lighten the mood? If anything, it just makes things more tense.

The brothers start whispering among themselves. I catch a few Italian words, but not enough to piece together what’s going on. Eventually, I decide to let it go. It’s not really my problem.

I choose to stay out of it until they need me. Acting normal might give them a sense of security, a sign that they’ve managed to protect their family so far.

I made breakfast this morning. When I told Carina to take the day off, she barely held back a glare. In the end, she left with a hundred-dollar bill I gave her as a silent apology.

“Did something happen?” Alessia asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Business problems,” I reply with a smile.

“Alessia,” Antonio calls out. She tenses beside me. “We need to talk.”

Her worried eyes meet mine before she looks back at him. “Okay,” she says timidly.

“And I want you to be there, Francesca,” he adds, turning to me.

I’m taken aback for a moment. “Of course.”

The brothers exchange a glance. Are they going to tell Alessia about Raffaello’s death? Or are they going to reveal the Family’s involvement in the Mafia?

It would make sense to leave out the mob part, but I feel like Alessia has earned our trust. When Antonio brought her here, he made sure to sever all her ties with her step-father, just in case.

Being her legal guardian, it wasn’t hard.

Once they’ve finished their breakfast, we gather in the large living room. Alessia sits on the couch across from Antonio and me.

He wraps a protective arm around me and pulls me closer. I rest my head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

Dante leans against the armrest instead of sitting next to me on the white three-seat couch. He crosses his arms, making him look more intimidating than usual.

“What’s wrong?” Alessia asks, her voice filled with worry.

Costanzo and Omero look to my husband. I stay still, watching her.

“It’s about Father,” Antonio begins.

Alessia visibly stiffens. “Is he coming here? I thought I wasn’t going to meet him until much later.”

Is Antonio really going to let Alessia meet that monster?

“Alessia, you won’t ever meet Father.” Antonio tries to soften his voice. Even Costanzo’s eyes widen as he struggles not to laugh, earning a glare from Dante.

It’s a good thing Costanzo and Omero are standing behind Alessia, otherwise they’d look incredibly insensitive.

Antonio is really not good at this, but I know that if I intervene, things will only get worse. It’s not my place to tell her. This is a matter for the siblings.

“Father’s dead,” Omero suddenly blurts out, his eyes dark.

I flinch and sit up in surprise. Antonio stiffens beside me before shooting a nasty glare at his younger brother.

Omero shrugs. “Stop beating around the bush, Toni. You’re terrible at it.”

“I gotta fucking agree with that,” Costanzo chimes in, grinning.

I immediately look at Alessia, who has gone pale with shock. I jump up and instinctively rush to her side. When I reach her, I take her hand and pull her into a hug.

She feels cold and her eyes are blank, but she manages to wrap her arms around me.

“H-how?” she finally stammers against my chest. “Just last week he sent me a diamond necklace and said he couldn’t wait to meet me!”

I suck in a sharp breath. Raffaello never met his daughter but he sent her gifts? I find it hard to believe that he loved her. If he did, he would’ve come to meet her a lot sooner.

Unless Antonio prevented it.

I feel Antonio’s familiar touch as he places his hand on my back. I glance up at him, Alessia still in my arms. He gently pulls her away from me and into his own embrace.

His hand strokes her blonde hair as he tightens his hold on her small frame. My heart clenches at the sight. It’s so tender and sweet.

Alessia tightens her arms around him as she sniffles softly. She’s not exactly crying because it’s clear she never met him. Maybe she had hopes for that man.

It breaks my heart to know that she’s mourning a vile man who’s better off dead and far away from her and our family. That bastard raped someone who was the same age as his own daughter.

Didn’t he ever think that the girl was someone’s daughter too? He didn’t deserve to know his daughter. Alessia deserved a better father.

Antonio pulls back slightly. I catch a glimpse of her face and the shock is clear in her eyes. I can’t tell if it’s because Antonio hugged her or because her father is dead.

“I-I…I need to go,” she stammers.

He nods and watches her leave.

Dante turns to me. “You should maybe talk to her later.”

I nod. “I will.”

“She isn’t fucking going to do anything stupid, is she?” Costanzo asks, a worried look on his face.

“I honestly can’t believe someone would do something stupid for that motherfucker,” Dante says, a grim look on his face.

“I hope Alessia doesn’t blab about this shit,” Costanzo says.

“She won’t,” Antonio assures us. “Alessia doesn’t know anything about us and I still don’t trust her with anything more than she already knows.”

“Did you hear about her finding a gun in the library?” Dante pipes up. “She’s already suspicious. What’s the worst that could happen if we clue her in?”

Costanzo rolls his eyes. “Her stepdad’s a cop, and a loyal one at that. If he starts sniffing around, it’ll be tough to keep the feds off our backs.

“We’ve got enough trouble with the local cops as it is.”

“The feds are handled,” Antonio assures.

“What about Magritte?” Omero suddenly turns to me.

I freeze. What has Sophia done now?

My husband just shrugs and sinks into the couch. “Nothing. They backed off.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. With Sophia out of the picture, a major problem in my life is solved.

“For now, at least,” Antonio adds. “I had Benny scare them off.”

Why do I get the feeling he didn’t do anything too drastic because of me?

I swallow hard as I make my exit. I’ve had enough eavesdropping for one day. I can only hope this won’t drag on much longer and Antonio or Vincent will call a truce.

I dash upstairs to Alessia’s room. I need to tell Antonio to either fill her in on what’s happening or send her somewhere safe where she can live a normal teenage life.

Alessia is innocent. She hasn’t done anything wrong. She hasn’t betrayed us. But where could we send her? Back to Italy? The moment she steps out from under Antonio’s protection, she’ll be promised to someone.

Antonio is wise. If he were to choose a boy for her, he wouldn’t pick a monster like his or my father.

I stiffen when I hear her sobbing. She’s crying over a bastard she’s never even met? I was right. Antonio was right. Alessia is too fragile to handle the mob life.

If a minor death has shaken her this much, how would she react to finding out we’re the mob? Telling her something like this would just pile on more problems for her and for us.

I lift my hand to knock on her door. She might need someone right now and I’m more than willing to be that person. Antonio dragged her into this life without thinking it through.

I’ll make sure she stays safe and sane. She deserves the normal life she had before.

But I stop, my hand halfway to the door, when I hear her speak. “I love you. I love you so much and going to school without you sucks, Matteo!”