단편 Mafia 작품 & 소설

For twenty-two years, I had been the only daughter of the Falcones. Everyone in the family held me in their hands. Underboss Leon Marchetti took a bullet for me. Consigliere Enzo Ricci stormed into enemy territory just to pull me out. Vice Don Darius Lombardi even swore in front of the Don himself that no matter what happened, I would always be the first person he protected. They spoiled me rotten, made me willful, and convinced me of one thing. No matter who I eventually chose as my fiancé, the four of them would never leave my side. Until six months ago, when the real Falcone heiress, Bianca Falcone, came back to the family. Little by little, their time, their protection, all their care shifted to Bianca. I cried. I fought. I even swallowed my pride and asked them if there was something I wasn't doing right. All they said was for me to be reasonable. "Bianca spent twenty-two years out there. You've already lived her life for too long." "She's the true heir of the Falcones. Elena, know your place." I started to wonder what they once treasured, was it really me, or just the title of Falcone's daughter. I forced back my tears and knocked on Don Salvatore Falcone's study door. "Don. Tomorrow, I'm going back to my own family."

At eighteen, I defied my family and turned my back on an arranged marriage. I used every connection and every resource I had to install Corleone as a Mafia don. For the next ten years, I became his irreplaceable Donna. Through every vicious power struggle, we were the only people either of us could trust. I was certain there would never be betrayal between us. Until I went to the airport to pick up my stepsister, Bianca Rinaldi, who had just returned from abroad. After years apart, the moment she stepped out of the terminal, she threw herself straight into Corleone's arms. Watching them catch up like old friends, seeing that rare tenderness in Corleone's eyes, my heart sank. But when I confronted him, Corleone remained composed. "I've been working closely with overseas underground operations lately. Bianca spent years abroad and serves as the intermediary for this partnership. Our relationship is strictly business." That night, Corleone got a phone call and left me in the middle of the night, my clothes still disheveled. He didn't come home until morning. The next morning, I saw Bianca's latest social media post. Ten years, and you're still the one who drops everything and comes running the moment I call. In the photo, the hand clasping hers wore Corleone's signet ring. I pulled the divorce papers from the drawer, untouched for ten years. I slowly signed my full name on the dotted line: Donatella Valenti. Then I took out my phone and dialed the last number in my contacts. "Father, you win. I'll marry Alessandro Moretti."

When my husband Alessio learned I was pregnant, he didn't look happy at all. Instead, he set two abortion pills and a glass of water in front of me. His voice held no emotion. "Elena, the timing is wrong. Until I own Greyhaven Terminal outright, you can't give birth to my heir." The Costa Family still owned a thirty-percent stake in Greyhaven Terminal, the last obstacle between the Rossi Family and total control of the harbor's freight traffic. If I stayed pregnant, my father would use the baby as leverage to raise his price at the negotiating table. Alessio would never let anyone gain leverage over the Rossi Family, not his wife, not even his own unborn child. This time, I swallowed both pills without a fight. When the cramps folded me in half, something in his expression softened. He sat beside me on the bed and took my hand. "Someday, I'll repay you for everything you've sacrificed for me." He thought I had no idea. The day before, I'd seen a pregnancy announcement on my best friend Bianca's social media. In the photo of her positive test, I recognized the sleeve of my husband Alessio's shirt. The mysterious boyfriend Bianca had always refused to introduce was my husband. Looking at the guilt on his face, I spoke weakly. I said I needed his signature to sell a small block of shares in the import-export company he'd given me. I handed him a stack of papers. Guilt did the rest: he signed every page without reading a word. This time, though, I was building my exit. Buried in the stack was a postnuptial property agreement. Once the agreement was in force, I would be gone for good.

Everyone knew Salvatore Romano, head of the Romano crime family, had never shown any interest in women. During our three years of marriage, I was the one special exception. Until my sister Lucia showed up. He said he despised picky eaters because he'd nearly starved to death once. Yet the dishes Lucia didn't like disappeared from the table the very next day. He said blondes were shallow. So for three years, I dyed my golden hair black without fail. Lucia wore her blonde hair wild and radiant, and he presented her with a pale yellow diamond necklace. He declared that at every banquet hosted by the Romano Family, no one was allowed to wear the same jewelry as her. To coax a smile from Lucia, he filled the entire garden with lilies. He forgot that I was allergic to pollen. He told her, "If only I'd met you sooner." He told me, "Because of you, Lucia always feels so uncomfortable." I let out a cold laugh, turned, and walked away without looking back.

I was the Castell family's designated heir in Rosewick, Delmaris, and my older sister Sabrina had been adopted into the family. So she was overprotective of me. She reminded me constantly, "Avery, you're the family's only heir. It's not safe for you to be out in public." Even my dates with Julian Vescari, the Don of the most powerful family in Rosewick, were things she attended in my place. When the grapes ripened at the estate, Sabrina said the crowds made it unsafe. So she went with Julian to pick grapes instead of me. At family banquets, she said there were too many cameras and it made an assassination too easy. So she linked arms with Julian and gave the speeches in my place. Every time she came back, Sabrina told me gently, "As long as I'm standing in front of you, you can inherit everything safely." I always believed she did it for my sake. Until the day before my engagement to Julian. Sabrina was sitting in the dressing room in the gown I'd had made for myself. As I passed the doorway, I happened to see Julian feed her a peeled grape. Sabrina complained sweetly, "I run around handling everything for the two of you and never get a moment to myself, and one grape is supposed to settle it?" Julian answered easily, "You've worked hard. Ask me for anything you want." Sabrina looked him up and down, and then she smiled. The intimacy between them froze me where I stood and sent a sharp pain through my chest. In that moment I finally understood. This boundary-crossing game they called protection had to end.

In the third year of their secret marriage, Matteo, the newly appointed head of the Moretti Family, requested a Black Rose Ring at the Dowager's seventieth birthday banquet. He stood at the center of the hotel ballroom, a gentle smile on his face. "There's a woman who stood by me through my darkest days and even saved my life during that assassination attempt. I want her to wear the Moretti Family's highest ring of protection. She's here tonight." The room erupted in whispers. Everyone knew Matteo was composed and restrained, never discussing his personal life in public. A few of the old bosses allied with the Moretti Family were the first to egg him on, urging him to bring the woman forward. My heart gave a small flutter. Matteo had never told me about this. Back then, he had been the most overlooked heir in the Moretti Family. I used the shipping company my mother left me to move cargo and funnel funds for him, and I dragged him out of a warehouse filled with toxic gas. It left my heart permanently damaged and half my face scarred. Matteo took the Black Rose Ring from the Dowager's hand and, under everyone's gaze, stepped down from the stage. The ballroom fell silent. The black diamond flashed in the cold light as Matteo crossed toward the far end of the women's tables. I alone felt ice flooding through my veins. He wasn't coming toward me. Matteo stopped in front of my half-sister, Lydia. He slipped the ring onto her right hand, his voice tender. "Lydia was born out of wedlock. She's spent her whole life being looked down on, and what she needs most is a status no one can sneer at. Elena, you're the legitimate Rossi daughter. You own ports, and you're my lawful wife. You've always been generous. You wouldn't begrudge her one empty title." I swallowed the taste of blood rising in my throat, turned away, and snapped the last vial of antidote—the dose he would desperately need the following month.

After we'd ordered our wedding rings, Andre opened the car door for me like the perfect gentleman. "Darling, I've already put a ring on your finger. I won't be going to the wedding." I turned to look at him as if he were a stranger. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "The girl the Cardona Family sent over is their precious princess. I can't exactly make her the other woman." "While you were in the hospital, we already went through with the marriage." "I'm another woman's husband now. Having a wedding with you wouldn't be appropriate." I stepped back and didn't get in the car. Six months ago, I'd set out to permanently silence everyone who refused to recognize Andre as the next Don. I moved as fast as I could, launching a purge. In the firefight, I took a bullet to the chest, broke six ribs, and fractured my shinbone. I spent six months in the hospital. I even missed Andre's installation as Don. My wounds still hadn't fully healed. A dull ache lingered. I looked at Andre. "What do you take me for?" He sounded apologetic, almost innocent. "It's just an arranged marriage, Ash. You'll always be the love of my life." "If you're really upset, I'll give you the three busiest bars in the East District and the smuggling rights along the harbor." "Go buy yourself some clothes, bags, jewelry, whatever you like." He tossed me a black credit card. "Buy whatever you want. Don't deny yourself anything." I didn't reach for it. The card dropped to the ground. As I turned to leave, I texted Durand: "I've made up my mind. I'm willing to come back. Get me on the next available flight." Andre was right about one thing. I was done denying myself.

Morrison Lehman had made tabloid headlines with yet another woman for the thirty-third time, and I was busy picking out his suit for the gathering. The fellow officer who brought me the news warned me, "Morrison Lehman might actually be serious this time. He chewed out everyone who disrespected the girl and even said he was bringing her to the Four Families' gathering." My attention slipped, and the brooch pin pierced my fingertip. The Family gathering was held once a year. Besides each family's key members, only women recognized by the family were eligible to attend. For the past three years, I had been the one accompanying Morrison. This year, he had promised that spot to another woman. My colleague gave me a pitying look. "Celine, your undercover assignment has been stalled for a long time. Now that Morrison has fallen for someone else, your handler wants you to leave the Lehman Family. "We'll set you up with a new identity and a new assignment." I put the brooch away and shook my head firmly. "Give me a little more time. Luca has been in hiding for years, but we finally have a lead. He'll be at the Family gathering in seven days. Once I get his fingerprints, my assignment is over." And with it, everything between Morrison and me would end for good.