by Serena Light
"No! I do! Of course, I do!" Ellie stated. "It's just...I've never been away from Arsenio..."
"Come on, it's just for a few hours. What can possibly go wrong?" Arcangelo asked with a childish grin, "You can call and check in on us too."
"Oh! Okay! Fine," Ellie relented with an uncertain smile. "Fine, you can look after him tonight."
"You hear that, bud." Arcangelo grinned at his nephew, who was blubbering in his lap. "It's going to be a boy's day in."
***
A small smile made its way across 28-year-old Arcangelo's lips at the memory. He recalled how long it had taken for him to reassure Ellie that he would be alright with her son and nothing bad would happen.
However, Ellie wasn't satisfied and instead of getting dressed, she made a list of all the 'dos and donts' of taking care of Arsenio. She even made a step-by-step guide on how to prepare his milk. It was infuriating beyond comprehension at that time, however, her uneasiness was well understood. Since that was the first time she was going to be separated from her son, separation anxiety wasn't too uncommon.
And now, as Arcangelo looked back on the memory, he realized how much he actually missed the relentless banter between him and his elder brother, or the way Ellie constantly mixed up the two, or the way they would all sit down at the table for a delicious meal prepared by his mother.
The memories causing an ache in his chest as he rubbed at the place, trying to calm down
***
"For the love of God, Ellie!" Onofrio exclaimed from the bottom of the stairs. "Let's go!"
"Coming!" Ellie exclaimed as she turned back to Arcangelo who was holding her son. "I've written everything in that notebook, the instruction of how to prepare his cereal is on the box. He likes to be rocked when he's going to sleep. You need to hold his head properly when you're showering him and don't-- under any circumstances--allow him near the T.V."
"I got it, El." Arcangelo laughed at her as she fidgeted nervously. "We'll be good."
"Oh, maybe I shouldn't go."
"Ellie?" Antonio called from the bottom of the stairs as her fidgeting got worse.
"Go! Ellie, go!" Arcangelo urged as he led her down the stairs. "Everything will be alright, here. You have my phone number, so just call whenever you feel like it. Just go and enjoy yourself!"
Ellie hesitated a moment before cupping her son's face in her hands as she peppered him with kisses. "Don't worry, baby, mommy will be back soon. Bye Bye."
"Bye-bye." Arsenio waved to his mother as she smiled at him, placing another kiss on his forehead as she interlinked her arm with her husband. He waved to their son before giving an appreciative nod to his brother and stepping out the door.
"Be good you two," Helen warned lightheartedly as she placed a kiss on Arcangelo's cheek, patting his shoulder as she stared at him adoringly for a moment before heading out as well.
"Thank you for doing this." Antonio stopped, turning towards Arcangelo who looked at him impassively. "I appreciate it."
"I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for my brother." Arcangelo growled lowly at the man before him. "You can go fuck yourself for all I care, you lying, cheating, bastard."
Antonio stared at him impassively for a moment before turning on his heel and making his way out the door as Arcangelo closed it behind them, watching the two cars pull away from the window.
Inhaling deeply, he calmed himself before looking at his nephew with a smile.
"So, buddy. What should we do?"
Arcangelo played with Arsenio in the beginning as Ellie called a couple of times on her way to the auction. They weren't allowed cellular devices inside the hall, so she tried to do as much checking up as she could before she had to leave her phone behind.
Repeatedly, Arcangelo had assured that they were alright, and eventually she had to hang up because they were going into the auction hall.
"Tell him I love him." She exclaimed before her dial tone rung from the device.
"Mama loves you, buddy," Arcangelo told Arsenio as he was playing on the floor, babbling something as Arcangelo settled before him.
While Arsenio was being fed cereal, Arcangelo enjoyed a pizza, both of them settled on the floor and just eating calmly. That is until Arcangelo's phone rung.
"Yeah?"
"Sir, everything is set to go." The man on the other line informed him.
"Good." A devious smirk made its way across his lips as he glanced at the playing and unconcerned Arsenio before him. "I want Antonio Regnante dead by the end of the night, is that clear? Separate him from the rest of the crowd and put a bullet through his head."
"Yes, sir."
With that, Arcangelo hung up the phone as both he and Arsenio finished their dinner.
The two played for a while until Arsenio started to yawn tiredly, Arcangelo feeling just as lethargic as his nephew. Quietly, the little baby lay down on the carpet, drowsily playing with his car as his uncle chuckled at his stubbornness. Lying down beside him, he brushed away a few strands of the baby's hair, his wide blue eyes staring up at him.
"Sleep, buddy," Arcangelo instructed as the child stopped playing, his eyes dropping to the close, instantly falling asleep with Arcangelo following close behind.
Banging on the door awoke Arcangelo as he gave a startled jump. Looking at his surroundings in confusion and wondering why things were changing from blue to red. He blinked away the bleariness as he heard the knocking on the door.
It took him a moment to realize that the blue and red were police sirens, and that's when his senses jolted awake.
He looked to his side, relieved to see Arsenio still asleep.
Jumping to his feet, he opened the door, staring at the officer before him who had his cap held to his midriff, looking at Arcangelo sympathetically.
"How may I help you, officer?" Arcangelo asked, rubbing away the sleep from his eyes.
"I am sorry to inform, Mr. Regnante." The officer spoke gently as Arcangelo didn't understand why the officer was being like this. "There was an attack on the King's Auction tonight. No one survived."
Arcangelo blinked at the man before him, wondering if he heard wrong.
"I'm sorry." He spoke in a daze. "Did you just say no one survived?"
"My condolences, sir. Your father, mother, brother and sister-in-law were all killed tonight."
***
Apparently, no one ever understood when he said 'he killed his family'. They all assumed he blamed himself because he urged them to go. Whereas, in reality, he was the one who had ordered the attack. But he just wanted Antonio Regnante dead, no one else was meant to be harmed in any way.
However, the orders got mixed up, and everyone was killed.
Not only Antonio.
And it was his fault.
Now all those memories came flooding back not because of their death anniversary drawing near.
All those memories were resurfacing because he was staring down at a black and gold envelope. The same one his father and brother had received four years ago.
But this one was addressed to one Mr. Arcangelo Regnante.
Chapter XXI: King’s Auction
The sound of the shower running infiltrated the washroom. The steam rising and dispersing throughout the space before the sound came to a sudden stop.
Stepping out of the shower cabin, Arcangelo grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before walking towards the fogged up mirror. Swiping his hand over the surface, he stared at his reflection for a moment before picking up his beard trimmer and setting to work.
Washing away the excess hair, he stepped out and towards the bedroom.
Picking up the suit carry, he unzipped it before taking out the black tux. Laying it across the covers, he momentarily stared at it, being reminded of how his brother had been overjoyed to attend this auction, and here Arcangelo stood in a towel, contemplating if it was worth the effort. But after a moment of silent thought, he decided to go since he had nothing better to do than sit in his hotel r
oom until he bored himself to sleep.
After having adorned the suit he fixed his cufflinks and grabbed his polished dress shoes, pulling them on. Wearing his dinner jacket, he fixed the bow tie around his neck, followed by the overcoat. Finally, he sprayed on some cologne and strapped his watch into place. Grabbing his phone and checkbook, he placed them into his pockets after which he grabbed the invitation and set out.
It had come to his attention that the Serbian Heirloom would be on auction tonight.
Initially, he had thought of missing the event but when he caught wind of this piece of information, he knew he had to get it. If he wanted to render the Serbian Mafia in the dust, he needed that heirloom and nothing would be getting in his way of crushing his enemies.
As per protocol, Arcangelo had to be blindfolded when the car came to pick him up.
The drive was silent and filled with numerous twists and turns. Finally, when the blindfold was taken off, Arcangelo had to blink away the bleariness as he stared up at the illuminated building before him.
It reminded him of a royal gathering as he saw the lavishly dressed men and women step out of their expensive cars and their jewelry shining in the bright light as they handed their invitations to the men at the double doors.
Stepping out of the car, Arcangelo fixed his jacket before walking up the marble staircase, taking in the regality of this event.
Handing his invitation to the man before him, he was ushered in with a broad smile.
The moment he crossed the threshold, Arcangelo couldn't deny the fact that he was bedazzled by the luxury of it all. Rows after row, tables after table, and cases after cases, all filled with precious artifacts that cost a lot more than what the people here had bargained for. The sound of light-hearted and professional chatter infiltrated the air with various perfumes and colognes wafting through the room, the fragrances mingling with that of the artifacts and the bubbling champagne being passed around.
The amount of luxury in the room would be intimidating to any normal person, but to Arcangelo, this was his life. His home turf.
Putting his game face on, he grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the treys before immersing himself in the crowd, striking up meaningless and light-hearted chatter with the guests as he inspected the auction display.
"Good evening." A sultry and smooth voice spoke from beside him as he turned his gaze away from the heirloom to glance at the Baroness before him.
She had flowing blonde hair with emerald green eyes. Her hair falling in elegant waves behind her back as her ruby red lips parted into a flirtatious smile. Taking a glance at her entire posture, he noticed that she was wearing a skin-tight red dress that hugged her torso before flowing down her waist in a single layer, exposing one leg from the slit on the side.
"Good evening." Arcangelo greeted in response as he took a sip of his drink, acting nonchalant because honestly, he had no interest in her. She wasn't his type.
"I'm sorry to bother." She apologized with a sultry smile as she stepped closer. "But I couldn't help but notice that you are alone here."
"Yes." Arcangelo nodded. "And?"
"And...well, I was curious if you would like to spend some time with me."
Before he could respond to her offer, the host announced the bidding to begin. While the woman before him was distracted by the announcement, Arcangelo slipped off and went to find his seat. Settled and holding a bidding card, Arcangelo awaited the event to start.
"Hello again." Her voice spoke from his side as Arcangelo had to hold back an eye roll. "Well fancy that, we both are sitting next to each other."
"Yes. Fancy that." He drawled in a bored manner as the first item was brought out.
A painting by Monet.
As the bidding went around him, Arcangelo zoned out everything before finally an item of interest arrived in the middle of the night.
"The next item is the Serbian Heirloom." The host's voice boomed through the speakers as instantly Arcangelo perked. "The Serbian Princess's tiara. The bid starts at five hundred thousand dollars. Do I hear six hundred thousand?"
Arcangelo raised his bidding card as another man followed. The host announcing the increase in price before it was sold to him for one million dollars.
"Sold, to the gentlemen in the center!" He grinned while the others clapped in congratulations.
The Mafia boss wasn't very interested in auctions and had planned to leave once the heirloom was secure in his possession, but the next item seemed to grab his attention.
"The next item is the very first red diamond necklace." Instantly murmurs broke out as they stared at the red and white necklace. "The beginning bid starts at $75,000. Do I hear a 76?"
A woman raised her bidding card, followed by a man and then another gentleman, the price has risen to ninety thousand as the woman seemed to be the winner of the necklace.
"Ninety thousand going once." The host announced loud and clear. "Ninety thousand going twice."
"Two hundred thousand," Arcangelo spoke up as collective gasps rung out through the hall and everyone turned to stare at him in shock. "I'll pay two hundred thousand dollars for that necklace."
"Two hundred thousand going once." The host stammered as the woman glared at Arcangelo.
"Three hundred thousand dollars!" She announced.
"Five hundred thousand." Arcangelo countered with a smirk as he glanced at the flabbergasted expression on the woman's face.
"One million!"
A laugh burst through Arcangelo as he stared at the determination across the woman's face, her smirk as big as her ego as it would bring him immense pleasure to bring her down from her high pedestal.
"Bitch, please." He cackled under his breath before turning his attention to the announcer who was waiting for his bid. "Three million dollars."
Instantly the entire hall fell into dead silence as everyone stared at him in awe as he sat with his knees crossed, laid back with a glass of bubbling champagne as if though he just hadn't offered three million dollars for a necklace.
The woman glared at him from across the room as the sound of wood against wood echoed through the room followed by the booming "sold" of the host and the deafening applause of the audience.
The exquisite red and white diamond necklace was now his for three million U.S dollars.
After seeing the angered expression of the woman, Arcangelo realized he enjoyed doing this.
Not flaunting his money, particularly, rather putting egotistical people into their place.
So as the night went on, Arcangelo got more and more involved in the auction, buying more and more for the event.
He ended up buying jewelry and gems and artifacts. Paintings, and antiques. Watches and cars. Everything and anything that captured his attention. In the end, he bought a simple necklace which had a 14 karat gold chain with a solitaire sapphire pendant. Even from where he sat, Arcangelo could see that the blue of the stone was the exact blue of her eyes.
"The starting bid is of five thousand dollars."
"Ten thousand," Arcangelo announced as either gasps or groans filled the hall.
"Sold to Mr. Regnante." The host grinned with a chuckle since Arcangelo bought the most items and spent the most money.
A few more items were brought before the auction finally came to a close.
At the end of the night, people went around congratulating each other and paying their respects before they finally went to retrieve their bought items.
Arcangelo filled in a cheque of the total amount before handing it over to the host as he had another car to load up everything. They would be taking all of this to the airport, where they will load this up in his jet.
"Wait." He stopped the loader as they moved to the side.
Stepping closer Arcangelo picked up the necklace box before going to settle in his car. The door closed behind him as they pulled away from the auction house and towards his hotel.
Once in his room, the first thing he did was light a cigaret
te.
As he inhaled away at the poison, he removed the jacket and bow tie before walking to the exquisite Washington view he had.
He was meant to stay here for another week or so, some matters a fellow Mafia boss wanted to discuss in private. But Arcangelo wanted nothing more than to go home.
Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he popped open the box as he stared at the beautiful necklace before him.
The blue of the sapphire glinting in the light as a sense of familiarity hit him.
Even if their relationship is not meant to progress any further, he can for a certainty, say that he enjoyed their time together. Particularly all the time they spent alone. Or the way she smiles and laughed. The way she wasn't remotely terrified of him, or the way she cared for him like he was a human being. He liked the way she treated him...
Actually, he grew quite fond of her in the little time they spent with each other. And to think it all started because she was marked.
He would miss it, there was no doubt.
But most of all...
He'd miss her.
Chapter XXII: Confessions
For the last week, Arcangelo had been doing nothing more than meeting with various Mafia bosses, attending various functions and dealing with all the calls from Vincent. He hardly slept 3 hours every night and he was completely drained. His head hurt, he felt lethargic and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. However, that wasn't a possibility, given the fact that it was his last few hours and before leaving he had to go to a brunch with Gambino before he would be heading off to the airport.
The brunch was filled with chatter on Gambino's part, constantly telling his son what it means to be a Mafia boss and giving Arcangelo as a prime example. Although, he noticed that the kid was terrified. By simply sitting in Arcangelo's general vicinity, the 15-year-old boy was shaking.
As the time drew on and they talked business for a while before Arcangelo decided it was time for him to leave.
"If you'll excuse me, gentlemen," Arcangelo spoke while standing up. "But I'm afraid it's time for me to be heading out, my jet is awaiting my arrival."