LOGINMariella’s POVThe moment Antonio said the words, the entire house seemed to hold its breath. My mind seemed to stop working too as I watched my two children stand frozen with their hands on the staircase railing Someone died here, his words replayed in my mind. His small hand still clutched the staircase railing. Meanwhile, Elena seemed to have gotten herself back. “Elena, step back,” I said gently. She obeyed without question, retreating a few steps but keeping her eyes fixed on her brother.Antonio hadn’t moved.His gaze stayed locked on the polished wood beneath his fingers.“Antonio,” I said softly. He blinked. Then he looked up at me.“Mama… it’s loud.” he said, his voice trembling in fear. My heart skipped.“W-What’s loud?” I stuttered. He swallowed. “The hallway.”Now I knew something was wrong. The hallway was completely silent. I approached him carefully, speaking as I walked.“Baby, there's no sound in the hallway.” I said. But Antonio shook his head slowly.“No… not no
Mariella’s POVFive years ago, I didn’t even know how to hold a gun properly. And now, I was slowly getting used to what it felt like running a criminal empire. Once a nun and now a Donna…Life really was full of surprises. The De Luca mansion had always felt too big for me. Even now, after all these years, it still did. Endless hallways, tall ceilings, marble floors that echoed with every step. It was the kind of house that made you feel small if you let it.But the twins had changed that. Maybe it's just me, but kids had a way of filling spaces adults couldn't, probably due to all the ruckus they caused. And speaking of ruckus, right now the main hallway sounded like a battlefield.“RETREAT!”“NEVER!”I leaned against the doorway of the sitting room, arms folded, watching the chaos unfold.Antonio stood in the middle of the hallway, gripping his wooden sword like a warrior defending his fortress. And Elena stood across from him, holding a stuffed rabbit like it was a royal hostage
Luciano’s POVAs I opened the doors of the commission chamber, mindfully inhaling the smell of cigars and expensive whiskey, I could smell something. Something whose smell I had gotten really hooked on lately. Fear. This place hadn’t changed much since the old days. It was the same large round oak table. The same heavy curtains blocking the windows. The same portraits of dead high-ranking members of the Mafia staring down from the walls like they were disappointed at us.But the atmosphere certainly had changed a lot since I became head of the Commission.Five years ago, the thought of the Commission made me anxious – especially with the near fall of the De Luca family. I felt like everyone in the Mafia wanted to rip us apart. Could I blame them, though? It's a dog-eat-dog world. Commission meetings in the past used to be almost laughable. Just an occasion for grown men to shout at or even threaten each other. Back then, the Commission was like a group of hyenas simply agreeing to
Mariella’s POVPeace is a strange thing.You don’t notice it at first. Not when you’ve spent years living in chaos. When the gunfire finally stops, and the judgment fades, and the scars from a horrible past finally heal… your mind still waits for the next explosion. The next ill luck.Even when there isn’t one.Five years.It had been five whole years since the night the convent burned with gunfire and thunder, and the twins decided they didn’t care if the world was ending; they were coming out anyway.Five years since Luciano held my hand in the back of an armored SUV while I screamed my lungs out and Mother Superior barked instructions like a battlefield medic.Five years since the De Luca empire almost collapsed.And somehow…We survived.The garden behind the mansion stretched wide and green under the afternoon sun, roses climbing the old stone walls in thick red vines. A fountain murmured softly in the center, its water catching the light like scattered diamonds.Peaceful.Almost
Mariella’s POVMother Superior didn’t argue. For the first time since I had known her… she didn’t respond in her usual haughty manner. She simply nodded, then she grabbed my arm.“Come,” she said.Another contraction ripped through me before I could stand. It felt like my guts were being twisted with a fork. I cried out and bent forward, desperately clutching my stomach. Why now? Why now?Outside, there was so much gunfire that I was starting to find it difficult to tell the gunshots apart from the thunder. Meanwhile, Dante leaned against the wall behind us, breathing hard, his gun raised toward the hallway.He looked different now, nothing like the stoic killer everyone feared. He looked like a cornered, wounded animal, damn near feral. I looked at him, temporarily forgetting my pain and wondering if he'd be okay. “What are you doing? Get out of here!” He barked. Mother Superior pulled me up again, and this time, I forced my legs to move. I could barely hold my own weight, and sh
Mariella's POVThere was a massive storm outside. Bright lightning bolts and deafening thunder rattled the stained glass windows of the chapel, making the figures of the saints dance weirdly in the flickering candlelight. I was alone in the chapel now, and had been alone for almost an hour. I heard the bells for lights out and then looked out the window. I hadn't even realized how late it was. Saying my final prayers for the day, I stood up and left for my room.Getting to my room, I couldn't stop thinking about Luciano and what he told me. I looked at my bed and saw the book Luciano spoke about. It was a small, brown leather-bound book. I immediately opened the book and saw my father's beautiful handwriting. It looked like a letter, but I couldn't quite read it as the room was pretty dark. So I turned on a candle and sat on my bed to read it. “To my sweet little girl,” it started. The ink was somewhat faded, but the writing was still sharp enough to read. “If you've searched for me,







