2- Eve

My Mother used to say that nothing was a coincidence, and honestly, I believed her. I understood luck, as silly as it sounded but there was nothing coincidental about the Vice Chairman of the New York Mafia being in Italy.

I do not want to care about this or think over it too much but it is impossible not to. I, more than anyone else, keep trying my hardest not to get into anything related with the Mafia and yet, somehow, I had the blood of one of their kind on my fingers. And a mad one at that.

The Hellhound, they called him. Even though he was important, he was known to go on certain missions with his underlings though those particular ones were usually very specific. Anyone who ever got a visit by the New York Mafia with him being there meant they had done something terrible and could not live to the next day.

I know how all of this sounds. Eve Bianchi, do you not want to stay away from all of this madness? I want to! But I also enjoy being informed, knowing my chances and how to keep myself safe. I also know that the only reason I hadn't recognized him was because anybody who ever saw his face never lived to have a picture or description of him in the public.

Except me. I'm alive.

I pause now to stare at the canvas in front of me. There is a lily on it, drawn by me with its pale petals bearing splatters of red in them. There is a tiny shade of gold glowing over it, just like how his hair shone the last time I saw it with water around it.

“A lily this time. I look at it and it reminds me of you.”

Don Bianchi's voice pulls me out of my thoughts as his hands rest over my shoulder. I immediately try to relax as I put back my paintbrush on my easel before I turn around to look at him. While I do so, he moves back a bit so I can get a good look of face as I smile brightly, crossing my legs now. “Really?”

My Father is old, reaching his… Golden years, but he still looks rakishly handsome. He is impeccably lean but there is a mild sharpness to his face that immediately demands respect and subservience.

His hair is silver and slicked back with a perfectly trimmed mustache cresting his face. He has on his horse riding attire even though he is a man with a bad leg, evident with the cane in his hand. He had always loved to ride and never planned on letting his weak bone that burned in pain every time he walked stop him.

That was who he was, Stevano Bianchi. A man who was ready to brave anything as long as he did what he enjoyed.

How unfortunate it is for him that I stole that exact attribute of his.

“A Lily represents innocence and purity, Sole,” His voice is characteristically soft, the man used to people doing as he ordered without yelling, especially now as he speaks to me. His face bears the gentlest of smiles now, a strange look to anyone if they saw him now as he continues, “Just like you.”

I didn't tell him that this flower did not represent any of those but Death yet I am a bit curious about what his reaction would be to claiming that his only child resembles such as I smile even brighter, rising up from my stool and heading towards him. “You shouldn't be standing, Padre. Especially not after your lessons, come.”

I begin to lead him towards the couch centered in the middle of the studio and he follows, not bothering to say a word till he sits and I join him. As this happens, he lets out a sigh of relief, perhaps from resting, while I begin to turn over tea from the coffee table in front of us into a mug then hand it to him.

For a Don, having a ritual of taking afternoon teas with your daughter would be comical to anyone who heard it but Stevano didn't care. Besides, this was his way of making sure he knew where I was always.

As he drinks the tea, my brain wracks itself on how to bring up the Lucille topic. If I let him know that the man came to the bakery at midnight, he would most certainly never let me out of his sight until he was dead which I didn't exactly care for but the last thing I needed was to be locked up. Again.

Yet, I didn't want to be left in the dark like this. I didn't quite enjoy surprises with me not aware of what was happening. Knowledge was good and safe. I wished for safety.

“Has there been another meeting with the other Mafias lately?” As I ask this, his eyes center on me in surprise. I usually never ask questions like this because I found them on my own or stole them from Adam somehow but my thoughts kept bothering me to ask now. “You look stressed out lately and I know Adam handles most of the work so this must be something important to have you so… Preoccupied.”

He stares in suspicion but sighs eventually. I smile innocently at him, making sure to blink repeatedly for good measure before he places his hand on mine, a movement that has all the alarms in my head ringing as he says in Italian, “I am growing older which means I can no longer protect you the way you deserve, so I must… Announce your engagement to Adam publicly. They know he is my Successor so there is nothing to worry about.”

My smile falters slightly though I try to hide it as I chuckle, “Will he not come over and bend the knee? We both know I would like a grand proposal.”

He smiles. He doesn't know that I am upset, that I know he truly doesn't care about my safety but his other Family that was more important than I was. And Adam. The idiot knows I would strangle him if he dared spring this on me without warning so he hides. Weakling.

I could tolerate him but he was also a coward to my Father and if the man ordered him to lock me up forever, he would. I can already imagine it. He'll make me a trophy wife and never let me see the light of day while I rust away in the background.

I could not let that happen. My thoughts go to the black card stored safely in the pockets of my favorite coat and I begin to smile.

Bingo.