by Fariah Zaidi
I stood up and fixed my suit, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a wedding to prepare for. Too bad you won’t be around to attend. I hope we have your blessings.”
With that, I took out my gun from its holster, aimed at the motherfucker and shot him straight between his eyes.
Bang!
Zara
I stood in front of Stefan’s office, staring stupidly at the door, as if by some magic it will answer all my questions.
At first, I did not know where to go. But when Ria told me the way, I found out that his office was right in front of my room and his bedroom was right next to mine. I almost rolled my eyes at the cliché of it.
“Great!” I murmured softly to myself, “Not only do I have to be in the same house as him, I also have him right next to my room. Just my luck.”
Just as I raised my hand to knock on the door, I heard Stefan’s deep voice, “You can come in, Zara.”
Okay, that was spooky.
I opened the door and walked through it, noticing Stefan seated behind a huge mahogany desk. Papers and files were neatly kept on each side and between was a Macbook. Stefan was typing away on it, seemingly oblivious to the world.
“How did you know it was me?” I ask, genuinely curious as I take a seat on the chair in front of him.
“Well,” he stops typing and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table and placing his chin on his hands, humor dancing in his eyes, “none of the people that I know of have a habit of talking to themselves.”
My face heats up in embarrassment.
Damn it.
I try to act all nonchalant and lean back in my seat, “Whatever.”
He hides an amused smirk, but the humor in his eyes gives him away, “So, I’m guessing you met everyone.”
I nod, a smile etching its way across my lips.
Those twenty minutes of breakfast were the most entertaining I’d had in a long time. The food, the aura, people talking and laughing, and Mama Bella yelling at the guys to eat like normal human being rather than stuffing their mouths with food like hooligans.
“Well,” I reply to Stefan, “they all seem great, especially Mama Bella.”
This time he actually smiles, “Yeah, she is one amazing woman.”
“Are Rafael, Enzo and Vincent your real brothers?”
Stefan contemplates my questions for a moment and then answers, “We are brothers, Zara. Not by blood, but by choice.”
His deep voice is so mesmerizing that I lean forward, eager to hear more.
“The people in this house are ones who have been through some really hard times in their lives. Fate has been cruel to them in ways you can’t even imagine. Here, they get the second chance they deserve.”
His voice is filled with such conviction it’s hard not to feel drawn.
“It is not blood that makes us a family Zara. It is the love, loyalty and respect that the members have for each other. That is what makes this family so strong.”
His eyes capture mine, hard and penetrating, “And you never, ever, betray family.”
Breaking the stare, he pulls open one of the drawers of his desk, and takes out a small, blue velvet box. I gasped in wonder when he opened it and showed me its contents.
Resting on a small, red pillow was a ring.
And not any normal ring. It was thick and looked heavy, made purely of platinum. In between, carved with diamonds, was the letter ‘E’.
“It’s beautiful.” I tell Stefan, my voice filled with awe.
He nods, taking a moment before speaking again.
“Have you heard of Omerta, Zara?”
I simply shook my head.
“Omerta is a code of honor followed by the Mafia. It states, that in case we are ever caught by the law enforcement during any activities, we are not to cooperate. Instead, we are to choose to stay in prison or rather die.”
I nod slightly, waiting for him to go on, “I told you before, loyalty is most important among us. Therefore, breaking Omerta is punishable by death.”
My eyes widen and I suck in a sharp breath.
“When you wear this ring, you promise your loyalty and respect to all the members of this family. You pledge never to betray or double cross us.”
A small part of my brain questions this and I blurt it out before I can even control it, “What if I don’t want it?”
He raises a questioning eyebrow and I continue, “What if I don’t want to be a part of all this? What if just want to go back home and continue life the way it was before?”
Stefan chuckles darkly, “Well, it’s a little too late for that now, don’t you think?”
“Why?” I press on, “We can forget all this ever happened and I can get back to my boring life.”
“You don’t understand, Zara.” Stefan shakes his head, “We still don’t know what prompted your father, Diego, to come after you again two years later. And until we figure that out, you are not going anywhere.”
His last statement is said with such finality, that I realize it would be useless to fight him over this. I sigh dejectedly, knowing whatever he said is true.
Stefan gets up from his desk and comes around to me. I stand up too, feeling a little short at his towering height. His masculine scent wafts to my nose and I take a fleeting moment to guess what cologne he used.
I watched as he took out the ring from the velvet box and held out his hand. I gingerly placed my hand in his, my breath hitching when he brushed his fingers lightly against my knuckles.
“Whether you like it or not, this is your real family, where you belong. You are the heir to one of the biggest mob families in the world. There are so many things that you don’t know yet, eventually you will. And you will realize this is your true destiny. You will learn to grow into it, Zara, you just have to give it a chance.”
I look at him, confused and frustrated. On one hand, I want to run away from all this, go back to Ivory Street and continue my boring life. But on the other hand, my heart and mind are somehow readily agreeing to accept this life, and all the dangers that follow.
“Even if I want to, Stefan, I don’t think I am cut out for this. I am weak and clearly it won’t work in my favor.”
“You are not weak, Zara.” Stefan shakes his head at me, “You have the blood of two major Families running through your veins. You are very strong; you just don’t believe it yet.”
I stood there, pondering over his words. And even though I still didn’t know much about it, I thought it was at least worth giving a shot.
With a determined smile, I look at Stefan and give him my confirmation, “I’ll do it.”
I watched in fascination as he slid the Family ring on my finger.
“Welcome to the family, Zara. You are now officially an Esposito.” he stated. I could hear the smile in his voice.
When I look up at him again, I can’t help but marvel yet again at the steel-grey eyes.
They were beautiful. The grey dotted by specks of blue. But there is no light in them, only darkness. Those orbs hold secrets, afraid to be spilled. He trusts people, but not enough to show them the storm of emotions raging within.
And I know this how? Because I felt the same way.
When you go through a tragic incident in your life, you get this uncanny ability to see other people’s pain.
Only difference between us was, Stefan shielded himself with a cold, hard exterior while I shielded myself with fake smiles and sarcasm. I could tell that beneath the glares and anger, was a man just waiting to be heard.
In the shift of a moment, I couldn’t help but wonder why his eyes seemed so familiar.
“Where have I seen you before?” I whisper, voicing my thoughts.
He was going to answer. I could tell by the way he took a deep breath and looked away, that it was not good.
However, we were interrupted by someone banging open the door.
We jumped apart and I removed my hand from his, realizing I had been holding it all this time. The warm
th emanating from his palm left me as we both turned to see who it was.
Rafael stood there, slightly out of breath, his iPad clutched tightly to his chest.
“Diego Romano is dead.”
“What?” Stefan and I spoke at the same time.
“We just got the news. He died this morning. Someone shot him.”
There was a moment of utter silence.
And then Stefan let out a huge roar, “FUCK!”
He slammed his fists on the table with all his might and I stumbled back, scared of the sight. I watched as he picked up his laptop and threw it against the wall, breaking it to pieces.
I stood there, frozen on the spot, not knowing what to do.
What the hell just happened?
Chapter 7: Past
Zara
“You need to leave.” Rafael grabbed my arm, “Now, before it gets ugly.”
With that he shoved me outside the door and shut it behind me. I stood in the hallway, hearing Stefan shout, curse and throw things around.
Diego Romano was dead. My biological father, the man who sent people to rape and kill me, was dead.
It took a couple of moments for that to sink in. I was feeling so many emotions right now, but sorrow for his death definitely wasn’t one of them. If he could be so heartless to do what he did to me, then he must have done worse things.
The bangs and shouts were still coming from inside. I jogged away from the room, not wanting to make Rafael angry when he opens the door to find out that I was still standing there.
After walking down the stairs, I headed towards the kitchen, hoping to find either Ria or Mama Bella. Since I was unable to talk to Stefan, they were now my best chance at getting some answers. And even if they couldn’t, I could at least talk to them and distract myself.
When I walked into the kitchen, I saw Mama Bella seated behind the counter. She had a coffee mug in her hand and was gazing out the window, looking lost in her thoughts. Upon hearing me enter, she turned around and smiled, gesturing me to take the seat next to hers.
“When you walked into the kitchen this morning, it looked like I’d seen a ghost.” she said, smiling sadly, “You look so much like Sofia. So beautiful.”
“Tell me about her.” I urged, wanting to know about the woman who gave birth to me.
“She was amazing. Such a beautiful soul, kind and generous.” she said with a small laugh, “She was the mischievous one of us. Always cracking jokes, pulling pranks on the boys. We were the best of friends- me, Sofia and Stefan’s mother Valerie.”
My eyebrows furrowed, at the mention of Stefan’s mother.
“Stefan didn’t mention his mother to me.” I told Mama Bella.
“He doesn’t like to talk about her.” she shook her head, “It’s hard for him.”
“Why?”
“It’s a long story, sweetheart.” she turned away, “But what you should know is that she died. She died along with your mother.”
There was complete silence for the next few seconds. And something told me that Diego was involved in all of this.
I gently put my hand on Mama Bella’s arm, “Will you please tell me?”
When she didn’t reply, I spoke up again, “I told Stefan that I would give this life a chance. But I can’t do that if I don’t know everything about it- my family, my parents, everything. So I’m begging you, please tell me all that I need to know.”
She must have sensed the desperation in my tone, because she nodded and turned my way again.
“Where do I start from?” she asked, more to herself than to me.
“How about from the time Diego met my mother?” I prompted.
“When Stefan’s parents, Valerie and Alessandro got married, they had a huge wedding, where mobsters from all over the world were invited. It was there when Diego first set his eyes on Sofia.”
She looks into the distance, remembering the old memories.
“He wooed her with every romantic gesture possible- flowers, dinner dates and long walks. He was a charming man. She soon fell hopelessly in love with him. However, since she was the sole heir of the Lombardi Family, she needed the approval of her father to get married.”
She sighed deeply.
“Her father eventually agreed, seeing as he loved his daughter more than anything and that Diego was the successor of the Romano Family.”
But then her eyes lost their shine, replaced with a grim expression.
“Almost five years had passed until Valerie got a call from Sofia, asking her to meet urgently. She sounded afraid and panicked so Valerie and I left immediately. That day Sofia told us everything. We found out that Diego had married Sofia only for her family money and once married, he would have full access to it. The claims of love, the sweet nothings- they were all part of the game.”
I gasped.
“Diego had started abusing her- he used to rape her and beat her and he kept her locked in a room. Valerie and I often wondered why she’d started seeing us less, but we’d shrugged it off, saying she was enjoying her marital bliss. But little did we know that instead of bliss, it was pure hell.”
My eyes welled up with tears, my heart aching.
“We returned home that day with a heavy heart. The image of her bruises was fresh in our minds and we blamed ourselves for not seeing the signs of abuse early. We sat Alessandro down and asked him for his help.”
“Alessandro formed a plan to rescue Sofia and bring her back to the Esposito Mansion, where she could be safe and made Silvio, his underboss, the in-charge of it. Due to such trauma, Sofia’s emotional state was worsening. She was fearful of going against Diego, afraid of what he might do if he found out.”
“But we were determined to get her out of there, so we worked harder. Secret meetings were set up between Silvio and Sofia so she could provide him with details. It took months, collecting information about Diego’s whereabouts, his schedule, the mansion’s alarm systems, cameras and everything. After all the extensive research, a plan was finally formed.”
I was lost in the story, unable to draw my attention away from her.
“It was a day when Diego and most of his men had gone out of the country that the plan was executed. It was a clean and swift operation. They gunned down a couple of people, took Sofia and brought her back to the estate.”
I let out a relieved sigh.
“That day we all rejoiced and had a huge celebration. It was Stefan’s birthday too.” she smiled again, adrift in her memories, while I was lost in her voice, “In the months when Sofia and Silvio were meeting and plotting, they’d ended up falling in love. And a couple of weeks after she came home, Sofia found out that she was two months pregnant with you.”
“Everyone in the house was so happy.” the crestfallen expression on her face returned, “Little did we know that it was going to be short-lived.”