It had been almost 2 years since Aria had lived in this secluded orphanage. Mrs. Dias, the headmistress of this orphanage had tried several times to ask Aria about her origins.
But when Aria gave away nothing except her fake name, she had eventually given up.
Kahlil, on the other hand, had not. He had never once left Aria’s side these two years and followed her almost everywhere, even when the other kids had announced her rude and refused to even look in her direction.
“Is this what you want then?” Kahlil asked as Aria’s hand froze midway through her fun pebble-throwing activity.
His question pricked her heart. She had never gotten over her mother’s death, she would still lay down with the photo frame every night as nightmares would haunt her every passing second.
Sleep was an unachievable feat to her.
She would get scared every time she looked at herself in the mirror. The chocolate brown eyes reflected in the mirror made her shiver. The whole scene of her mother dying all over again would swim in front of her eyes.
“It’s quiet, serene and humble. I cannot ask for anything more” Aria replied. It was a fact that the two kids were way too mature for their age.
At this point it was just a daily occurrence when they would talk to each other as if they were grown adults, the others had even stopped pointing it out.
“So your goal. .” Kahlil sighed as he threw a rock at full force, the pebble bounced against the water surface and landed on the other side “. . is to live and die peacefully?”
Aria nodded, still amazed by the pebble now sitting on the other side of the pond. She picked up a pebble again and tried the same trick, but hers just sank down, before it even started its journey.
“You’d fail,” Kahlil remarked, making her head snap at him “You’ll never find peace”
Aria gritted her teeth in bubbling rage. Kahlil would often find her crying and sobbing in the middle of the night, so he had a vague idea about her trauma.
Aria tried again. The pebble sank just like the other one.
“You’d never succeed this way sis” he pushed again.
“Shut up” Aria barked before gathering her few books laying on the grass and walking away.
She was frustrated too, but what could she even do? The police and government didn’t care who died in the crossfire of the mafia wars; and; the American mafia is not even an option worth considering.
She had heard that a peace pact had been formed between the two, to cease the possibilities of future attacks. They didn’t care who died in the past.
Aria’s small legs came to a halt as she saw Mrs. Dias and the gardener discussing something among themselves. She couldn’t hear them properly, so her gaze traveled to the freshly planted sunflowers.
Her heart stopped.
The scene of her mother smiling genuinely for the last time when she had received the flowers resurfaced.
A primal urge of revenge bubbled in her heart.
The face of the killer of her mom and his subordinates were engraved in her mind, along with his name.
Salvador Paulo.
Aria wasn’t a fool, she knew who he was. He belonged to the main mafia family in Spain, she didn’t know about his relations but she knew about his origins.
Watching news channels once in a while teaches you a thing or two.
Plans after plans started formulating in the 12-year-old’s mind. And Aria had chosen a practical approach.
She knew she couldn’t kill him using physical power, no matter how hard she trained. She needed proper planning and a reason to get close enough to kill him.
“Aria, Kahlil?” Mrs. Dias called as Aria’s concentration broke and her gaze snapped to Kahlil glued to her side, again.
“Did you two need something?” the kind old woman voiced as Aria nodded instantly.
Mrs. Dias’s brows rose up in shock. 2 years had passed and the child had never asked for a thing, so her sudden interest made Mrs. Dias smile contently.
“What is it Aria?” she asked as Kahlil gave her a skeptical gaze.
Aria walked up to Mrs. Dias and held onto her apron “I want to learn piano”
Aria had once seen an event on television where a woman in mesmerizing sequin dress played piano expertly. Many powerful businessmen attended it, and, it was rumored that many Mafia’s had also made their presence.
It was an annual thing according to the reporters where only famed and successful musicians were allowed to perform.
“Piano?” Mrs. Dias enquired as Aria nodded again. Mrs. Dias’s gaze traveled to Kahlil to question her sudden change in attitude, but when he shrugged his shoulders; she sighed.
“Please?” Aria insisted as her arms wrapped around the old lady’s legs in affection.
Mrs. Dias’s heart squeezed in love, she was an affectionate old lady and just a little gesture was enough to melt her.
Aria took full advantage of it.
“Ok,” the old lady sighed as Aria jumped once in joy.
“And self-defense” Aria added as Mrs. Dias sighed and nodded again.
“Whatever you say milady” Mrs. Dias bent down to kiss her cheeks as Aria gave out a small smile.
“You want to learn something too Kahlil?” Mrs. Dias asked as Kahlil shook his head.
“I’ll just watch over sis”
The lady laughed at his answer and affectionately ruffled his hair.
Years had passed, and now Aria stood in front of a VIP section of a high-end restaurant in Spain.
After years of rigorous practice and a little bit of luck, Aria had become fairly successful in America.
She had applied for training under a professional pianist here in Spain and luckily she had made it after 2 years of continued effort.
At 20 years old, she had the opportunity to perform at an intimate event that included criminals.
Of course, Salvador Paulo would make an appearance.
Aria was relieved that Silverio Paulo, his older brother had not attended it. She had heard that he liked to be away from all the glamour and preferred personal space.
It was a good opportunity for her because she had heard that the older brother was cunning compared to his thick-skulled younger brother. The younger brother, Salvador Paulo, only excelled in drinks and women.
Her gut squeezed in her stomach as she realized she had brought this upon herself. It was her most awaited opportunity.
Even though, Salvador Paulo didn’t stay long enough at the main hall for her performance and had no idea that she was Aria Leighton; she had managed to pull at his heart when gave him a seductive look and smiled flirtatiously. After which he had retired to the VIP quarter making Aria worry for a bit.
But one of his bodyguards with an invitation to his VIP quarters didn’t take long.
Her rage and her need for revenge were at war. She had suppressed the urge to shoot him right away, promising herself to fulfill that promise at a later date with more planning and execution.
Moreover, she had to find his other subordinates who were as guilty as him.
Aria had covered her whole body with a dark-colored burqa. Only her eyes with blue contacts were visible. Aria knew that showing her face around too much to Salvador and his bodyguards might come back bite her.
She had also managed to entice Salvador in a secluded area where his bodyguards were almost nowhere to be seen.
“Sis everything is set, be sure to make it quick. Stretching it long might get dangerous”
Kahlil’s voice filtered through the tiny earpiece in her ear as she mumbled a small yes.
Kahlil’s habit of following her around did not change even when they grew up. Aria now considered Kahlil as her own brother and one day she had finally opened up her heart to him and told him everything about her past.
After turning 18, when Aria was busy preparing for getting a chance to work in Spain; Kahlil had researched everything about the Spanish mafia and the Paulo brothers.
The both of them had spent 2 years planning and plotting their attack.
Their father had died almost a decade ago, so Silverio Paulo, the older brother, was the head. While Salvador Paulo, Aria’s main target, was the head of security.
But everyone knew the younger brother was no good.
So when she had finally gotten a chance to train in Spain at 20 years old, Kahlil at 18, had followed her.
The sliding door opened, revealing an almost drunk Salvador Paulo splayed on the couch with a bottle of vodka in his hand.
His eyebrows furrowed when he saw a woman in a dark burqa standing in front of him.
“Who the fuck are you and where is the girl with huge tits I called?” he spoke brashly as Aria’s blood boiled at his voice, her trauma from years ago resurfaced and her mother’s crying face became a little too clear in her mind.
But she held it in. Calm down, she reminded herself as she clenched and unclenched her fist.
She lifted the dark veil covering her face as she mustered up a seductive face. Her blue eyes clashed with his drunken dark ones as his eyes widened.
“Oh” he muttered, a small smirk playing on his face “You are her”