ARIANA’S POV~
Julius grabbed her hand before she could attempt another assault.
“Mama, stop!” I heard a voice say, I turned to see Serena coming out from the front door.
I smiled at her but she kept a very straight face, what the hell?
“It’s not worth it, she’s pregnant Mom, she’s like a ticking time bomb, we don’t want to be ruined like the Argentos,” she said.
I threw her a shocking look.
What the fuck is happening right now? Are we back to this?
“You are right, I mean look at what she did to you! I can’t believe you made her father ship her to Massimo’s you are a very wicked child Ariana!” she screamed again before Serena beckoned for her to relax.
Which she seldom did, after taking a short breath she continued.
“And now tomas! Sweet tomas is gone, taken! Because of your selfishness, I will make you regret the day you were born Ariana!, you have made an enemy out of me” she exclaimed before storming back inside.
“What the hell was that Serena are we back to this?” I inquired.
“Look, I can’t say much, it got to look like I hate you, you are a taboo in this family, so I’ve got to keep to the script, mama doesn’t understand much, she just does what Papa says, I’ll meet you later after you’ve gone in to see papa, there is something I need to tell you,” my sister said hurriedly before screaming at the top of her lungs.
“You are a plague on this family Ariana, a fucking plague! You made Father send me away! And now you are here to beg, aren’t you? Well fuck you Ariana fuck you!” she yelled before storming out herself.
It seems to me I’ve been vilified by Papa, and in a brief moment, I could imagine what Mateo had to deal with when he lived with us.
He had always been the prodigal child, he who must not be mentioned.
Serena and Luna steered clear of him and they had no contact, their mother made sure of that.
I looked up to where my father’s office was located and I saw him looking down at me, a proud look on his face.
He gestured for me to come upstairs.
Julius led the way and soon we were in his office.
“Step outside Julius, I want to speak to my daughter alone,” he said, picking up his cigar.
Julius threw me a look and I nodded in response.
“I’ll be right outside, call my name” he paused and looked up at my father, “in case of any trouble” he finished before turning to leave.
My father scoffed before lighting his cigar.
“You have grown, you have your dog threatening me now” he grinned.
I was quiet, he was an evil man and I feared him.
“You fucked up my plans Ariana” he started before taking a drag of the cigar.
He squeezed in his face as he inhaled.
I didnt reply and I could see that pleased him.
“Heard of Paul Asisi?” he asked, taking me unaware.
I didn’t know how to react, but I had to be calm.
“No papa,” I replied immediately.
“I heard you’ve taken over from Mateo, tell me how he is doing. We haven’t seen him out, the accident must have taken a toll on him” he mentioned.
“Just resting papa,” I replied shortly and from the way his face turned into disgust, I could tell that it irritated him.
“You are here for a reason Ariana, get to it” he said.
“What do you want, papa, for Becky?” I inquired.
He laughed loudly and then coughed before catching his breath.
Looks like someone needs his fresh dose of young blood.
“You are a stupid girl Ariana, really stupid, you should be begging me to rip her limb to limb, but instead you are here to negotiate the release of your husband’s woman” he laughed again.
“Pathetic” he grinned.
“Maybe, but she was here before me and you papa, you forced me to marry him in that chapel, so all this is your fault,” I said, boldly this time.
“I should have confined you to Massimo’s island instead of sending you to Malta,” he said regretfully.
“A very stupid girl!” he exclaimed.
“What do you want papa, because I know how you think and I know you didn’t take Becky just because of Tomas, there is deeper work at play so spill it!” I interjected.
I’ve had enough of his insults, In that moment I realized I was just as powerful as he was.
Thanks to my husband.
“Spending too much time with Mateo has made you a whole fucking smarter isn’t it?” he asked hypothetically.
I didn’t reply to him, I waited for his demands.
“Someone in the brotherhood is informing on me” he started.
“I don’t understand?” I muttered.
“A few nights ago I was at a brothel with Don Morretti, it was a good night, and then I left. By morning I heard he was killed during an attempt to arrest him, my contacts tell me I was named alongside him as an accomplice” he started.
Finally the truth, it seems Mateo had fed Officer Asissi some vital information before his memory loss.
“What does that have to do with me, Papa?” I inquired innocently.
“I have enemies Ariana, but very few would dare to challenge my wrath, and fewer than that have the guts to do something about it, and your husband falls in that category” he finished.
“I don’t know anything about this, how does this relate to your demands?” I asked again.
He smiled.
“You are truly the daughter of a Mafia King, smart” he smiled proudly.
“Out of all the runts that came out from my loins you have always shown much more potential” he mentioned before turning to where I sat.
He placed his palm on my shoulders and whispered his demands.
I shrieked back in fear.
“I can’t do that, he would find out and I won’t be able to explain myself” I exclaimed.
“Then you better start concocting explanations, you are good at that.
find the mole or I will make sure both you and your husband are buried in so much shit a life sentence will never be enough!”
I had much to think about as I left.
I knew who the mole was
But so did Serena, my father’s ignorance of this vital information meant I could trust her.
I looked for her around the house before I found her in Tomas’s room with her crying mother.
I never knew she was capable of affection.
She gestured for me to leave the doorway which I did, I couldn’t risk getting assaulted by a grieving mother again.
She came out and pulled me towards one of the empty rooms.
After giving her a rundown of what our father wanted she shook her head in protest.
“Papa is lying” she started.
“What’s going on Serena?” I asked.
“After I got back I overheard a conversation he was having with Luchi, apparently Officer Assisi got untraceable information about Papa, but what he didn’t tell you was that Papa informed Don Argento.” she paused.
I was shocked but not entirely surprised.
“It turns out that Papa wanted to cut him out of the Colombia deal, so he informed on him and the police raided Silvio’s shipment, causing them to lose a lot of money” She paused before looking towards the door.
“Don Argento found out, and in retaliation he took Tomas, but father is trying to drag Mateo by taking Becky, he believes Mateo had something to do with it, he is sure of it” she finished.
I started to think hard as the events of the past few weeks unfolded.
“Mateo confessed to something in the tunnels oh my God! Serena, We’ve been dragged into their bloody wars!”
“That’s not the bad news Ariana, because of his involvement in a crime, Interpol seized Papa’s foreign assets, and with all his investment tied up with it he has no choice but to marry Luna off to Colombian Drug King Eliano Jimenez”