Deadly Nightshade by Sem Thornwood

Chapter 2

Alessio

I adjusted the collar of my shirt one last time. I always looked a little older than my age, but now I wanted to look even older. At thirteen, I didn’t look nearly as scary as my father. Since I was too little to know how the Cruel he was, I always wanted to be like him. I still wanted that. Even if I was not heir to his title as the Underboss of Chicago, I still wanted people to look at me and see Rafael Mazzoni.

I looked more like my father than my brother. Both of us had our father’s black hair, but his hazel eyes were all Mom’s. I didn’t remember Mom. She died when I was barely two. The only mom I knew was Pippa, and I was grateful for her. She was a great mom to Antonio and me. She never treated us differently than Mia. Even though she had to marry a man whose heart belonged to a dead woman, she never lost her hope for a happy family.

I often wished my father to love Pippa, but love was something found hard, especially in our world. Father found it once, and finding it again was almost impossible.

“Come on, pretty boy, we shouldn’t be late.”

I turned toward my bedroom door, finding my brother with a smirk on his face. He knew I hated him calling me that and did it on purpose. Yet, he was right about one thing. We really shouldn’t be late, so I made my steps toward him. “I have a right to be pretty; this is my celebration.”

Antonio joined me on the way downstairs. “It’s not a celebration, dumbass. Aunt Claretta wants to see us, so she is making things up.”

I smiled a little smile. “Still, she said it is my celebration.”

Aunt Claretta was the cousin of our stepmother, but more importantly, she was the wife of Giovanni Vasile, Capo of the Chicago Outfit. Having dinner invitations from Capo was a privilege. Even though our father was Underboss, we spent so much time at the Vasile mansion because of Pippa. Since we were all children, Pippa frequently visited her cousin and took us with her all the time.

I was initiated a week ago, and Aunt Claretta was eager to invite us for a celebration dinner. It was not tradition, but just like Antonio said, she liked to make up different reasons to invite us. Even though she never need any. Giovanni Vasile was ready to do almost anything for her lovely wife.

When we were finally downstairs, Mia was already waiting. She was wearing a yellow dress. Like always, she looked so cute. Even at thirteen, people called me the Cruel. They said my eyes held a different kind of craziness. My initiation was only the proof of that, but the sight of my little sister always made me soften. She was every bit the princess. Dad, Antonio, and I, all three of us, were wrapped around her finger, and none of us cared. She was the joy of the household. She was only nine yet, but I could see the terror in my father’s eyes grew every year. She was getting too beautiful. I knew my old man was thinking how hard it was going to be to protect her from all the hungry men. Well, good thing he had Antonio and me on his side for that.

When she spotted us, she twirled around, showing off her dress. “Do I look pretty?”

Antonio grabbed her from the floor easily and put a kiss on her cheek. My brother, who was almost as soulless as a statue, was so warm and fuzzy when it came to Mia. “You always look pretty, Mia.”

She giggled on Antonio’s hold, and when he put her down, she had a satisfied grin on her face. She turned to me. “What do you say, Alessio.”

“I think you are a bit too pretty. You go there almost every day; you don’t need to dress up.” That was true. Even when Pippa didn’t go to visit, Mia sometimes spent time at the Vasile mansion after school to see Bella. Bella was a class upper than her, but they were still close. Like Mia, Bella also spent time at our house. I was not able to spend time with them as much as I did when we were younger, but I was still glad for Bella’s presence.

I was pleased by Bella’s presence since I was four. She was… she was something else for me.

Because of my thoughts, I barely notice Mia’s blush. At that moment, I realized why she was all dressed up. “Who did you dress up for, Mia?”

Mia blushed a little more. “I dressed up for your celebration.”

I realized Antonio’s jaw tighten. He was always more tense than me. Both of us knew Mia had a crush on Salvatore Vasile. Even though Salvatore was our friend, it was still not very fun to know Mia having a crush. I was not very tense about it, though, since Salvatore was a fourteen-year-old Made Man, and Mia was just a child. It was a harmless crush. Much more harmless than mine anyway.

Finally, Dad and Pippa came downstairs as well so we can go. Mia went with them, but I wanted to go with Antonio. Since he was sixteen now, we no longer needed to steal Dad’s cars. Antonio had his own Lamborghini Huracán now. It was Dad’s birthday present to him. I couldn’t wait to get a car, but there were still three years for that. I found it very dumb, to be honest. I was able to kill some fucker brutally, but I was not allowed to drive.

When we got into the mansion, there was a loud scream, not one from fear but one from joy. Three-year-old twins Valerio and Verona were running around, and Valerio was very loud as usual. I really didn’t know how Bella and Salvatore managed to live with those little beasts.

Aunt Claretta grabbed her daughter from the ground in her arms. Valerio let out a loud, unsatisfied sound to her sister being taken away from him.

“Valerio enough!” One look from Giovanni was enough to make him stop. One look from Capo was enough to shut up many men, but one of them being his three-year-old son was actually impressive. Children were more challenging to maintain than enemies of the Outfit.

While our parents greeted each other, Salvatore shook my and Antonio’s hands. His expression was a perfect mask, but his eyes were filled with rage like always. Salvatore was filled with something straight from hell. He was like that since he was little. I never understood what made him so fiery, but I was not too curious to dig in. I just hoped that fire wouldn’t be the end of the Outfit.

After he greeted us, he made his way toward my sister. “Welcome, Mia.”

Mia couldn’t even look him in the eye, and she blushed even more. “Hello, Sal.”

I knew Antonio tensed, but I just tried my best to hold my smile. My eyes found Bella’s. She was doing the same. She looked different than the last time I saw her. Her chocolate-colored hair was definitely shorter now. She was wearing a white dress, and Valerio was hiding behind the skirt of her dress. She ignored her little bother and came up to me. This time she didn’t hold her smile. It was not a mocking one but a bright, warm smile.

She wrapped her arms around me tightly. I hugged her in return. “Welcome,” she said loudly. Then whispered into my ear. “I missed you.”

I didn’t answer. I always missed her. I didn’t even know why I missed her. I was Made Men now. I had a different life ahead of me. My father was planning to take me to a whorehouse soon. Even though there were only three years between us, I was a grown-up, and Bella was a child. She was no different than Mia. Yet she was.

There was a bond between us that I can never get rid of. I was not even sure I wanted to get rid of it.

Isabella Vasile was an unhealthy obsession for me since I was very little. I didn’t even know what I wanted from her. I think I basically just wanted her. All of her. I wanted her to be mine. Probably that was the reason I promised to marry her since forever.