Making a decision

Chapter 1

Aurora's POV

Uncle Lorenzo heaved a sigh as I asked him the question again.

"What happened to my parents, uncle?"

The question had always been in my mind and I'd asked him several times before, but while I headed back home after work that evening, I overheard some men talking about one of the former underboss who worked for the Camorra.

On hearing them talk about Edoardo Mancini, I hid behind a block to listen to what they had to say about him. There could only be one Edoardo and that was my late father who died when I was a few months old.

"Why are you so interested in their death, Honey? You will only reopen old wounds." He argued but I shook my head, determined not to listen to anything he'd say to me.

I was old enough to know the truth about my parents death, no matter how it happened and he'd leave me with no choice but to find out about the truth from other people.

"I'm twenty three, uncle. Don't I have the right to know what happened?" I asked, my voice laced with bitter emotions.

He stood up from the couch in the living room and paced around, palming his forehead in frustration. It was hard to talk about death, but I was ready for it.

"Alright, I'll tell you. But promise me to be calm after I explain everything to you." His said with his eyes pleading that I do according to what he said.

My lips twitched but I didn't say anything. If he was that reluctant to tell me about it, then it would be hard for me to make any promise.

"Just tell me, uncle, then let me be the one to decide."

He shook his head and sank onto the couch, snatching the glass of rum on the stool beside him which he took in one gulp.

"Your father, Edoardo Mancini and Aldo Moretti were long time enemies. But the hatred doubled when Lucia, your mother came into the picture."

I swallowed slowly, hoping that the feud wasn't fueled because of a woman.

He continued, "Aldo saw her for the first time at a party and liked her, but she couldn't reciprocate the feelings because of his wicked reputation. No one wanted to be with someone like him. Her parents loved her and gave her the liberty to be with whoever she loved which was against our traditions. It still stands till now and women are not allowed to choose their husbands except if they do it secretly or elope. The consequence of such action is death if they are caught."

I scowled at his explanation. How on earth could they force us to marry someone we never loved just because we were women?

"Whoever made that tradition needs to have his brain checked. We should be given the opportunity to be with who we want irrespective of our gender." I debated angrily.

"It's unfortunate that your father is dead, but it serves you better because he wouldn't have smiled at the nonsense you just spilled." He scolded me and I looked away.

People knew me to be cold and nonchalant so I didn't care about the crazy traditions that were formulated to suit their desires and wants.

"I'm sorry for saying that." I apologised so he could continue the story. "Can you continue? I promise I won't interrupt you anymore." I pleaded softly.

Silence overwhelmed the room as the clock on the wall ticked loudly.

"One faithful day, a man came to visit our father together with his son. Lucia, who was hot-headed and barely listened to anyone, came to the study where the visitors were and liked your father instantly. He was already a Made man and was working his way to becoming an underboss after his father retired."

"Love at first sight, huh?" I asked sarcastically and he shrugged.

"Yea. It turned out that your grandfather together with your father came to ask for her hand in marriage. And when she was told about the impending union, she agreed to it immediately. They got married and Lucia was ecstatic and happily in love. Only that it was short lived." His face dropped as his countenance changed.

I could see the flashes of pain mixed with regret in his eyes.

"What happened, uncle?" I asked, walking away from the wine counter to the couch where he sat.

"Aldo visited them one night while they were having dinner with his men. He was the Capo of the Outfit and he could have sent his men to do the job, but he wanted to humiliate the Camorra…" He paused and poured out some rum for himself, raising the bottle and gesturing that I drank with him.

I shook my head as I wondered what the humiliation was about. "How did Aldo's presence in the Camorra feel like a humiliation?"

"Well, every Made man has pride and it becomes higher when you become a Capo or a man of great position in the mob business. We took it as an insult that Aldo could come into our territory without fear and kill an underboss."

I still didn't understand what he meant clearly, but I nodded so he could continue the story.

"I can't tell you what happened there because I wasn't with them when it happened, but then, he sent us a message. After taking pictures of their corpses, he sent it to us with a caption 'it's over now.'"

My eyes watered as he said that. As I thought of how I'd have enjoyed the love of my parents, my eyes turned misty.

Though my uncle had been my guardian and a great source of help, he still acted like my uncle and not my parents. Since I was born, I'd never had the love of a mother and the adoration of a father.

"Why didn't he kill me too, huh?" I growled as the a tear dropped to my cheek. I wiped it off immediately as I didn't want to cry over spilt milk.

"You were lucky, principessa. The guards were asked to search the house and kill any living being they found. The Gardner, Cook and housekeeper were killed when they were found, but the guard who saw you, taped your mouth so that you wouldn't make more noise. If he didn't do that, you would have screamed the house down and maybe alerted Aldo."

"Oh god!" I shook, raking my fingers through my hair.

That lunatic would have killed me for free if not for the guard. "Did he bring me to you?"

"Yes. We both know each other so he called me at the expense of his life and handed me over to you."

"At the expense of his life?" I squinted my eyes while trying to wrap my head around his revelation.

I saw the same flashes of regret as he fixed his gaze on me, I felt that he was angry for revealing the truth to me.

"He was gruesomely murdered for betraying the Outfit by saving you and even handing you over to the enemy which was me. Aldo was angry that your mother didn't marry him so he would have kept you alive but made sure you suffered till he was ready to kill you." He said and stood up slowly as I shuddered.

He was done talking.

"Honey, I know that you are bitter right now and several things will be running through your mind. But please, don't do anything stupid. You're the only one who reminds me about my sister, your mother. If anything happens to you like it did after your mother's death, I won't forgive myself." He implored and squatted beside me so our eyes would be at the same level.

I looked away, uncertain of what my next action would be. I couldn't promise him that I'd be calm because that was the last thing I wanted to be.

The next morning, I rushed up to his room with a single decision in my head. I would take revenge for my parents death.

"What do you mean by having revenge?" He asked, looking bewildered.

"I can't think of anything else to do, Uncle."

"You can't have any revenge and you won't. This isn't the right time."

"No! Uncle. There is no way I'm going to let the death of my parents slide. Those people made me orphans and even though they aren't alive to face the consequences as I'd have wanted, their sons will pay for it." I spat, my fingers clenching into fists as my face turned red.

My uncle, Lorenzo, had told me the truth about the death of my parents yesterday and I couldn't just stay still. Anger boiled in me as I remembered the story he told me, and I wanted nothing more than to kill them myself.

It wasn't possible as Aldo Moretti was dead and so was his wife.

"No, principessa. You are a woman and you should concern yourself with getting married, raising kids and pleasing your husband. Not going on some revenge mission like your life depends on it." He snapped, getting frustrated at my resolve to get revenge.

"Unfortunately, my life depends on what I'm about to do. There's no way I can live like a normal human knowing that my innocent parents are still stirring restlessly in their graves. My decision is final and I'm leaving for New York next week." I concluded, with my jaw ticking in absolute resolve.

There was nothing he could do to change my mind.