by Serena Light
"I'm sorry," She gritted out.
"Bullshit," Her twin spat at her. "You don't even know what that means. Say that to me when you understand what 'sorry' means,"
"I can't even fucking get out of bed because of you," He stated in a collected tone, never raising his voice despite being pissed off at her. "If I can't get out of bed, I can't go to work, if I can't go to work, I can't try and find the people after you, if I can't do that, I might as well just kill you myself to save you from the torture they plan to put you through."
"That's your grievance?" Serafina demanded with wide eyes. "The fact that you aren't able to find the people after me?"
Salvatore looked at her as if though she had grown another head, his eyes holding clear disbelief.
"It's like you don't even know your own twin," Salvatore stated with a shake of his head. "I'm the one with the concussion, yet you're the one acting stupid."
"You're not mad about what I did to you?"
"Oh, I'm fucking pissed," He chortled. "My men would have shot you on the spot if you weren't my sister,"
"Why didn't you fight back?"
"Let me crack your head on my flooring and see how much you fight back," He spoke in exasperation, shaking his head at her. "I'm pissed about what you did to me because now I can't fucking work to find out who wants you dead,"
A silence descended over them as her twin brother shook his head in disappointment before wincing at the pain the action caused him.
"And here I thought I was the one who had anger management issues, while in actuality it's you who has them more," Salvatore exhaled heavily, running a hand through his hair, grimacing when he touched the tender wound across his scalp.
"Dad told me what happened on my wedding day,"
"Let me guess, you don't even believe him,"
"Initially I didn't,"
"Huge surprise,"
"But now that I think about it-"
"-The more it makes sense doesn't it?"
Swallowing thickly, she leaned back in her seat before nodding,
"I mean, while I was with him, there were days where he looked at me as if though he wanted to choke the life out of me," She informed with a shaky breath. "And then there were the guards Paolo had assigned to me, one of them seemed like he wanted to get into an accident with me, the other kept reaching for his gun every time I neared him, and I thought I was crazy to think that they meant me harm,"
"They did," Salvatore nodded. "I had noticed it too, that's why I had Alessio reassigned to you,"
"And then I drove him away,"
"At the worst moment possible,"
"At the worst moment possible," She agreed with her twin.
"He could have protected you,"
"He did,"
"While he was assigned to mom and dad," Salvatore pointed out. "Why else do you think his brother blames you? Because his job was protecting mom and dad, not you,"
A silence descended over the two once more as Serafina watched the top of the puppy's cropped ears at the other end of the bed before he pounced onto the bed, nuzzling into her twin's palm before licking his hand.
"So what do you want to do?" He sighed finally, the dog resting his head on his lap. "Do you want to go back to me being dead to you or are we going to settle this little feud of yours,"
"Settle it," Serafina swallowed thickly, running a hand over her arms. "I'm done hating you,"
"Mom and dad would be so happy to hear that," He spoke monotonously.
"They're mad at me,"
"Oh no doubt about that," Her twin scoffed. "You owe them the apology,"
"Yeah, I know,"
Another silence settled between them before Salvatore looked at her in confusion when she chuckled out of the blue.
"What?"
"It's just..." She trailed with a humorless chuckle, trying to formulate her thoughts. "For 7 years, Paolo and Gia made me feel like they wanted me. They kept up this façade of loving me for 7 years. All for what? Because they believed we killed Ricardo, which we didn't do," Serafina shrugged.
"Did we?" She asked her twin, noticing how his eyebrows creased with thought.
"No, we didn't kill Ricardo..." Salvatore trailed in thought, looking at his sister as if though she had something written on her forehead. "But she doesn't know that..."
"Who?" Serafina looked at him in confusion.
"How fucking stupid am I?" Her brother groaned suddenly, throwing his head back before struggling out of bed. "Help me to my closet," He told her, Serafina getting up to help him.
"What do you think you're doing?" She asked, still wrapping an arm around him and steading him as she walked them towards his closet.
Watching how her brother's face paled with every successive step, sweat beading his forehead. Salvatore was huffing and out of breath by the time they reached the doorway of his closet, releasing her, he leaned against the wooden doorway, heaving for breath.
"Serafina," He exhaled. "Go downstairs and find Tazio,"
"Tazio?"
"Yes, Tazio," Salvatore chocked out, looking sick and green. "Find Tazio and tell him to get Piero, Fransisco, Alberto, and Russo to my office,"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Serafina," He groaned, pulling away from the wooden panel. "Tell him...I ordered it, and I need Filipe too,"
"Okay," She nodded. "Okay,"
With that, Serafina left his room, rushing down one flight of stairs and then another before looking for Tazio, not finding him in his office. Catching sight of a maid, she grabbed her, the poor girl letting out a shriek of surprise.
"Where is Tazio?"
"Out back, madam," She stammered.
Releasing her, Serafina jogged down the marble pathway, taking a flight of stairs down before entering the gym, seeing a few men exercising, all of them stopping and bowing as they noticed her. Walking towards the glass wall, she pushed open the door and stepped out into the frigid January air, her teeth chattering as she struggled through the snow, finding Tazio, Alberto, Piero, Russo, and Fransisco all huddled into a group, smoking and laughing.
"Tazio!" Serafina exclaimed, out of breath and a few feet away from him. She watched all the men turn their gaze towards her, looking at her in concern as she braced herself on her knees, her clothes getting wet due to the snow. "Salvatore wants you all in his office, and he says bring Filipe too,"
"Salvatore?" Piero asked in confusion. "Isn't he on bed-rest?"
"You try telling him that," She exhaled, resting her hands on her hips.
Instantly all the men dropped their cigarettes, all of them rushing inside and leaving her to stand alone as she groaned, and waddling after them. Closing the glass door, she gave the men a two-fingered salute as they all looked at her in confusion before she walked inside. She had just reached the ground floor landing when Alberto's face popped before her, forcing a scream out of her.
"What the hell are you doing?" He hissed at her, grabbing hold of her arm. "Boss is waiting for you!"
"For me?" She asked in confusion before running to keep pace with her cousin's strides as he led her towards her brother's office whose doors swung open as they neared.
Salvatore stood before everyone in dark grey slacks and a black button-up, his face ashen and a fine sheen of sweat covering him as he braced himself against the table, clearly overexerting himself whereas he should have been resting.
"I know who's after you," Salvatore choked out, blindly pointing at Serafina, looking like he was resting the urge to throw up.
"You do?" She asked, taking a step towards him.
"It's Gia,"
"Gia Costa?" Piero confirmed.
"Gia Costa," Salvatore nodded. "Just like her son, she must also have believed that we killed Ricardo, otherwise she wouldn't have let Paolo pull through with his plan. Now she must have learned that I had Paolo killed and wants revenge for killing her son and husband,"
"But we didn't kill Ricardo," Alberto stated.
"It doesn't matter," S
alvatore shook his head. "We killed her son and that's all the motive she needs." He choked out before grabbing the dustbin beside his leg, retching into it and emptying the contents of his stomach as Tazio and Piero went over to him.
Coughing, Salvatore wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, heaving and unsteady on his feet. Serafina watched them lower her brother into his chair as he clutched at his head if though it was hurting.
"She'll have proof," He groaned through the haze of stabbing pain. "She would want to go after Niccolo, I need you to oversee that the Romano's are safe. Alessio isn't well enough to be moved out of the hospital yet, so ensure that it is just our most loyal men assigned to guard them,"
"It will be done," Piero nodded before walking out and going to carry out the order given to him.
"Alberto and Fransisco, you two find out where Gia is, find out what she's been doing since her son died,"
The dark-skinned man nodded and left with Alberto hot at his heel, Salvatore leaning forward as he still clutched at his head, gentle tremors going through him.
"Salvatore, you should be-" Serafina began to insist before he cut her off.
"-Serafina, I need you to go back to the Costa household,"
"What?" She stepped back in shock.
"You're the only one of us who knows that household like I know this one, I need you to find the guards who trust you or would easily come under your persuasion in order to find out what's been going on there," He grunted. "The Mafia is mine now, but the men are still Costa's. Tazio and Russo will go with you,"
"Are you sure?" She asked her twin, kneeling beside his hunched figure.
"I wouldn't suggest it if I had any other choice," He groaned, shakily getting to his feet as Russo steadied him. "Have Filipe trace Gia's movements."
"Yes, sir," Tazio nodded, both him and Serafina watching Russo help him back to his room.
Chapter XXXIV: Nostalgia
Serafina hadn't been to this estate since her wedding day, and even looking at it now, a wave of nostalgia hit her.
It was a beautiful mansion with cream walls and Greek columns, windows on almost every side, and was generally surrounded by well-kept lush green grass and flowers, but given the snowfall, it was surrounded by fields of white. Unlike Salvatore's estate, it was much smaller and had only two floors with a single basement. Being rectangular in shape, it wasn't divided into wings, but there were certain rooms which had been kept closed off to the public when the Costa's resided here.
She knew this mansion like the back of her hand and could very easily make her way around with her eyes closed and knew every single secret this house had to offer. Having lived here for almost 5 years, she was well acquainted with not only the architecture but also the people.
When she had lived here, Serafina divided the household's staff in three, those who adored her, those who despised her, and those who were indifferent to her existence.
Now she had to wonder how many people remained, and how many of them would be willing to talk to her.
Inhaling deeply, she stepped out of the car, her ankle-length boots crunching the snow beneath her feet as she was flagged by Russo, Tazio, and three bodyguards: two of them were her brother's personal henchmen and the third his contracted assassin. The more dangerous people she was surrounded with, the safer she would be, was her brother's thought, but Serafina knew that no amount of fear would help her in this situation.
Russo pushed open the wooden door and Serafina inhaling sharply once she entered.
It was no longer how she remembered it.
All the pictures, painting, furniture, electronics, upholstery, everything. Gone. The walls barren and the floor devoid beside a long table where various men sat and all chattered together, a cacophony of sounds infiltrating the interior as Serafina couldn't even remember ever there having been so much noise in the interior.
She did not know whether to feel sad that the place she had made her home was now no more, or whether she should be glad that it ceased to exist given her fiancé's ulterior motive.
Suddenly the noise died down as the scraping of chairs filled the room, all the men standing and greeting her with bowed heads as they knew she was the sister of the man who had taken over the Costa mafia without so much as a fight, and they were a force to be reckoned with.
"Who is the head of the staff?" Serafina's voice rang clear through the interior as the men remained silent.
"That would be me, madam," A man with dark oak skin came walking down the stairs in a two-piece black suit and grey undershirt, beady black eyes with a bald head that seemed to shine in the lighting.
"This is Silvio Gonzales, your brother had him brought from Tbilisi to overlook his operations here," Tazio whispered into her ear as the man approached.
"Brought?" Serafina questioned in confusion.
"Transferred," Russo murmured to her left.
"How may I be of assistance, Ms. Regnante?" Silvio inquired, bowing to her as Serafina felt as if though she could see her reflection in his bald head.
"Is there a private place we could talk, Mr. Gonzales?"
"Of course, please, this way,"
She was led down the stairs and towards a room in the basement which had been a lounge for the guards under Paolo's reign but now had been converted into a conference room. Tazio and Russo followed her inside as the three guards remained standing outside when the door closed.
"Mr. Gonzales, I have been sent here on behalf of my brother and I would like to see a list with all the staff's names."
"Of course, ma'am," He nodded without a question, leaving the three as he went to get a list.
"Why a list?" Russo asked, swiveling in his chair. "Why not just go up to the men upstairs and ask what's been going on?"
"Well, because when I lived here, there were people who liked me, who hated me, and who didn't care if I existed or not." Serafina fiddled with the pendant around her neck. "Now, I need to know how many of each category are currently here so I can just talk to the people who would be willing to help me."
"Makes sense," Tazio piped just as Silvio re-entered with a thick pamphlet of names.
Placing it before her, Serafina picked up a highlighter form the pencil holder on the table and began highlighting those she recognized, both men and women whom she had interacted with and was on good terms with them.
After an hour, she asked Silvio which of the highlighted names was on duty and marked them each in turn before Serafina asked to be taken to each person one by one.
"Who's first?" Russo inquired, following her up the stairs.
"A guy names Claudius,"
She was taken into a room where only a handful of men were peering over computer monitors, so engrossed in the work that they never noticed Silvio, nor Serafina.
"Claudius?" Serafina called to the pale toothpick of a man in a slim fit suit and shaggy hair, a pair of glasses falling off the bridge of his nose as he looked up at the sound of his name.
At the sight of her, his eyes widened and he stumbled back, a small smile making its way across his lips as he shook his head.
"Come, walk with me," She instructed, gesturing to the door and walking out, not turning to see whether he was following or not.
Stepping into the snowy pasture before her, Claudius was hot at her heels before coming to walk beside her, Russo and Tazio having been told to stay at the door.
"How are you, Claudius?"
"I'm good, finally got to do something related to computers,"
"Finally,"
"What about you? How are you holding up? I haven't seen nor heard of you since that day,"
"I've had bad days, and then I've had good days, I can never know what to expect,"
"I'm sorry for your loss," He halted her by grabbing her elbow, Serafina stopping to look into his dark brown eyes, seeing the sincerity behind them.
"Me too," She nodded with a sigh. "Claudius, I need to ask something of you,"
"What would that be?"
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"I need you to tell me what's been going on here,"
"Here? At the mansion, you mean?"
"Yes,"
Claudius thought for a moment, wondering where to begin.
"Well, as you've seen, we have a new administration-"
"-I mean what's going on here in regards to those loyal to the Costas'? Is anything fishy going around? Whispering behind corners or conspirators in the dark? Something like that?"
"No..." His eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Not that I am aware of,"
"Oh," Serafina took a step back. "I see,"
"Why? Do you think something might be going on here?"
She looked at him, wondering if she should tell me, maybe he could be of help to her. And just as she was about to open her mouth to reveal her intentions, her father's words came back to her "never tell anyone more than necessary, especially not a life-threatening situation unless you trust them with the life of your children". Thinking back on it, Serafina realized, despite liking Claudius, she knew, he would not be able to protect her hypothetical children.
"No, just curious," She shrugged and walked him back inside.
After Claudius, she talked to a few more men, all of them just as oblivious as the one prior to what she might want, what she needs to hear. With every successive member, she grew more and more frustrated, wondering how her brother and father handled such situations without tearing out their hair at the lack of progress despite all the effort.
"Is Alessandro on duty?" Serafina asked Silvio with a sigh, rubbing a hand over her forehead.
"He has the night shift, ma'am,"
"Patrol officer?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow, her ex-fiancé's bodyguard reduced to a patrol officer. What a notion.
"Before we continue with our investigation," Tazio spoke in, handing her a brown paper bag. "You might want to eat something,"
Serafina nodded him a silent thanks before biting into the sandwich, relishing the crunch of the bread and the juices of the meat combined with the delicious tang of the cheese and the freshness of the vegetables. Looking around her, she noticed that all the men that had come with her were eating in silence.