GINEVRA
When I was bought and brought to be groomed as a part of Dario Rodriguez’s family, my life had immediately taken a turn for the worst.It was a hassle, growing up in his Godforsaken estate. The house was so beautiful and eye catching on the outside but on the inside, the people who dwelt in it made it a hell hole.Dario Rodriguez’s children loathed me, especially his eldest and only son—Gustavo.The boy detested me so much and wouldn’t hold himself back from physically harming me whenever he had the opportunity to, and whenever he set his eyes upon me.One day, whilst I was being tortured by my brother dearest, the door had swung open and the most beautiful middle aged woman I had ever seen swaggered in with a huge smile.And when he eyes landed on my tiny figure curled up into a ball on the floor, her smile had dropped at the speed of lightening.She came close, held my hand, picked me up and held me to herself. She soothed me. And for the first time since I joined the Rodriguez famiglia, I found comfort in someone. I cried my pain into her shoulder and all she did was love me.She loved me up until the day she breathed her last.Julia Rodriguez.A wonderful woman she was.Julia did not die of natural causes. She was murdered and the crime was committed by none other than Gustavo Rodriguez.Why would he do a wicked thing as such to his father’s sister? He held a grudge against her.A stupid grudge that pushed him to a point where he had tampered with her brakes.He killed my Julia and he didn’t care to conceal the fact. He wore his crimes with pride and every single member of his fucked up family stood by the side and applauded him.Including his father. Julia’s brother.Dario Rodriguez had been planning Julia’s assassination way before Gustavo swept in and stole the show.My whole world came to an abrupt stop when I made this dsicovery.Dario was really a fucked up man, so fucked up that he shook the hand of his son, praising him for planning and executing the assasination of his own sister.It was the world we lived in. Loyalty was nonexistent.I mourned Julia for as long as I was permitted to, and when I was barred from attending her funeral, I lost every ounce of humanity in me. So I made a promise to her, I promised her that I’d ruin that family.I would do whatever it took to break them apart and burn them little by little until they became nothing but dust and ashes.My plans were beginning to fall into place.I was named the head of my famiglia and all that was left was power.The power to sustain my reign.Ghost was offering me an opportunity, a chance to achieve my goals and I would be a fool if I refused such offer.I did it, I accepted his offer.When he had mentioned Viktor Nikolai Advik, my interest piqued. I wanted to know more. It wasn’t just a want, it was a need.With a shrug of his shoulders, he muttered a simple, “kill his daughter.” As though it was the easiest task to perform.Viktor Nikolai Advik—Don Viktor—was the most powerful man in Russia if not the world. Rumor had it that he was a good man, kind, gentle, thoughtful even.But the intensity at which he was good was the same intensity at which he was wicked.His answer to everything was murder and he couldn’t care less if he needed to murder his own blood to get the job done.He had his head in the game for years and he wasn’t stopping anytime soon.He had a daughter, Ariana Advik. Quite the reputation she had.Ariana was a young lady whose fame had gone beyond her, for her beauty, for her grace, for her hardened heart and for her addiction to whoring around.She was everything a mob boss needed, and yet, she was unrelenting when it came down to ruining her and her family’s reputation.Rumor had it that Don Viktor had a first wife who had given him a daughter but when tragedy struck his home, he lost his wife to the cold hands of death and his daughter somehow vanished without a trace.And now, all Don Viktor had was Ariana. So, my hesitation, perhaps fear when the exquisite young man suggested that we took away Don Viktor’s only heir was expected.“And why would I want to kill her?” I had asked, watching as Ghost lit up his cigar, placing the thick stick between his lips before dragging in a smoke.With a huff, he answered. “You need The Pakhan’s attention and he’d never give it to a woman. Except a woman who earns it. If you play your cards right, maybe, just maybe he’d give you an opportunity to prove yourself to him.”“His attention might very well cost my life.” I chirped.Ghost chuckled. “Like I said, play your cards right.”I was too stunned to speak, too conflicted to accept—but my desperation and greed were stronger than my self control.So, I nodded once at Ghost’s proposal and in the back of my mind, I knew I was finished.. . .About seven days ago, when I had accepted Ghost’s offer, he had given me details of how the mission was to be carried out.It took me about two days and numerous refusals before we were able to reach an agreement. And when he had asked me a simple question, I hadn’t given it a long thought before answering.I always knew whom I’d give up for my quest.“If it came down to framing someone for the death of the Pakhan’s daughter, who’d you chose?” Ghost had asked.It only took a hot minute before I breathed, “Gustavo.”Ghost nodded, seemingly aware of what my choice would be before he even asked the question. But he wasn’t completely satisfied with my answer. “There has to be two culprits. You have to play both the hero and the villain in this case. Your brother cannot go like that, else, rebellion will be stirred up and a division will happen. . .you can’t afford that trouble right now. Chose someone else.”I chuckled, finding reason with him. And with one sharp intake of breath, I declared, “Maxwell.”Ghost raised an amused brow as he leaned forward, lips stretched into a grin and eyes narrowed at me. “Maxwell? Why him?” He asked.I simply shrugged my shoulders in response. “He’s been a pain in my ass since taking his father’s place in the parliament. I can’t stand him anymore.”“Good.” Ghost proclaimed. “Maxwell it is.”We had an agreement. And by the end of the seventh day, Ariana Viktor Advik was murdered at the party of sinners.For some odd reason, I had cried for her whilst I watched her get murdered. Tears had slid down my face and my body trembled. I felt pity. I felt guilty. And I felt regret.And Ghost, I could feel the heat of anger radiating out of him whilst we both sat in that car. He held my hand when I trembled, he held my hand to soothe me but it was him who needed to be soothed.He was more angry than I was at the turn of events, and I almost swore that he had a score to settle with Ariana, which was why he made a plan to abduct her and kill her himself.But my stupid brother once again stole the show.How fucked up.The good news was, I had secured extensively every evidence needed to frame my brother and his dearest friend for the crime I had orchestrated.With the evidence that implicated my brother, I planned on using it to blackmail my father into doing my bidding.And as for the evidence gathered against Maxwell, there was no going back—it was all meant to lead to his death.I was sated. After all many years of suffering under the Rodriguez’s, I was finally beginning to see my victory.I was winning.RICARDO Ariana Viktor Advik was dead.I was to be happy. I was supposed to be extremely happy, ecstatic, elated, grateful—but I wasn’t. Why? Her death was too easy.She wasn’t supposed to die such a peaceful death after wrecking havoc in my own life.She didn’t deserve a simple death.For me, there was always a fine line between hating a person and just not liking them. But when it came to that conniving bitch, Ariana, I hated her with all that I was.I loathed her existence to a point where I began fantasizing her death.She had taken something from me, something of great value, and I couldn’t ever forgive it.God, I desired to be her punisher. I desired to be the one who watched her breathe her last, but I had to be careful.She was the daughter of a man whom I’d never make a mistake of crossing. The Godfather of Russia—Viktor Nikolai Advik.They were only a few people whom I feared, and that dreadful man was on the top of that list. I had to be careful with him no matter what I di
GINEVRA Sometimes, I wondered how many raptures I had missed. I’d sit in my room and hear about all the massacres, the genocides, volcanic eruptions, suicides, homosides, and every natural and unatural causes of death—and I’d ask myself, was it rapture for the victims?Rapture had after all been painted that way in my head—a few would be taken, and those undeserving would be left behind.Why was I always left behind?365 days in a year, millions out of billions of people would cross over to the other side, they’d get their rapture—but me, was I unrapturable? Had I done something wrong? What was it about me that had death spitting me out? I asked these questions because at the end of the day, I desired to be raptured.I wanted to be raptured.Why was I still breathing? The thought had popped into my head as my eyes shot open. The thought popped into my head in between the pain and muscle spasms I felt.Through the strong odor of alcohol swabs. Everything was a little blurry, but I c
GINEVRA My hair in a messy bun, an all black two piece sweat pant and shirt was all I adorned myself by. Today was not an official day, today was the day I would feast on blood, today was the day I was going to let the monster that had relentlessly clawed at my soul have a taste of what it had been yearning for.Today was the day I was going to leave my mark, and gain myself a lasting reputation and respect in both my clan and all of the crime families in Cosa Nostra.In the world of crime, women were almost never taken seriously—young, vibrant women like myself especially. We were bred to become wives and mothers, we were used as tools to initiate peace treaties between rival families.We were regarded as nothing but princesses with pretty faces, nice bodies, and a good pussy.But I wanted nothing to do with that absurd arrangement. I wanted more. I had always desired to be more than a princess.And when I was declared and sworn in as the head of my clan, a lot of Capo’s expressed
GINEVRAFear had erupted deep in my soul.With every click of my heels against the floor, came fear.With every rattle of chains, came fear.With every strained whimper, came fear.I trembled tremendously as I walked through the tunnel-like structure leading into the holding cell where Maxwell was held captive.Cold shivers coursed through my bloodstreams as I had a recollection of about a week ago, when I was in the same situation as Maxwell. I was held hostage by the same man, I was familiar with that evil smirk plastered across his lips, I was familiar with the stench of blood and human feces, I was familiar with the smoke from his burning cigar, I was familiar with those chains, and I was familiar with the fear in Maxwell’s eyes.But I wasn’t familiar with the way my heart almost leaped with joy at the suffering of another.I was unfamiliar with the way my adrenaline pumped.A few hours ago when Maxwell was delivered to the Pakhan during the procession of his daughter’s funeral, t
GINEVRA When I told my father that helping his son escape Don Viktor’s wrath came with a price, he had imagined that price to be money.It was after all what the average human pined after—money.But for me, money was not an issue. Julia left me a shit ton.So, when I had demanded that ownership of the Rodriguez group of companies be passed down to me, it caused a stir of trouble in the Rodriguez home.Gustavo came at me, Sophia Rodriguez—my mamá—came at me, and my eldest sister came at me.Selfish.Insensitive.Greedy.Fool.Wicked.They had all called me names, slapped me across the face even. And all I did was wear a smile. I wore a smile with pride and sat there until their ranting died down.Mio padre knew, he knew there was no way out of the mess his son had caused him. So, when his extremely loud family had the decency to keep their tongue at bay, he simply got the documents ready and his companies were transferred under my name.It took hours, but I waited. I had no issue wait
GINEVRA The day of the hijack.“Padre Nostro, che sei nei cieli, sia santificato il tuo nome.”My shoulders slumped. “Venga il tuo regno, sia fatta la tua volontá.”My knees burnt against the ground as I had been kneeling for too long. “Come in cielo, così in terra.”The metal rosary dug into my palm, drawing blood. “Dacci oggi il nostro pane quotidiano.”I shook. “E rimetti a noi i nostri debiti.”I quaked. “Come noi li rimettiamo ai nostri debitori.”I feared the unforeseen. “E non ci indurre in tentazione.”I murmured to myself. “Ma liberaci dal male.”I begged for redemption—a chance to be saved. A chance to walk away from this unscathed. “Amen.”I rose to my full height, swallowing the lump in my throat, firmly holding on to my last string of courage.Walking out of my room, energy surged through me, adrenaline pumped, I became more resolved—more determined to emerge a winner in my conquest.Seven days had rolled by quicker than I had anticipated, and today, after so many
RICARDO Twelve days before the hijack.I was born with a purpose.During the days of my mother, as related to how the story was told, women were looked down upon.There weren’t allowed to be involved in the business that concerned the men—those businesses included running the family, and bringing honor to their name. Sometimes, because of the strong affiliation to crime, drug trafficking and every other thing that had a connection to criminal activities were also handled by the men. Murder included.But my mother was a woman who was born different. She wanted different. She craved different. She was rebellious, too rebellious to be regarded a woman.Unfortunately for her, her father wasn’t a very flexible man. He needed her disciplined, he needed to tame her. And his idea of taming his daughter was marrying her off to a man she barely knew. My father.Their marriage wasn’t born out of love, but out of a business alliance.My mama’s world had shattered, and she began to desperately se
GINEVRA By my dressing table was a huge mirror, and by that mirror, I stood. Confused out of my mind, tears brimming my eyes, my body trembling, and an emotion that had no explanation surging through my veins. For hours, I had been standing in front of that mirror. Unable to move, unable to blink, and unable to properly function. Tears brimmed my eyes some more, stinging at the corners, wanting to slip out. I blinked rapidly, holding the tears in.What had I gotten myself into?What was I doing wrong?I had desperately sought after power all my life, and now, I had that power, I had gained myself quite the reputation—I was something. And yet, I was miserable.With great power, came great pain. The power I had achieved was my undoing.I blinked again, taking in the reflection of me as repeated flashbacks of when I pulled open the back doors of the truck came afresh in my memory, disorienting my conscious state.The many pairs of eyes belonging to women and children that had fearfull