>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O-> I looked at the time on the dashboard, it was currently 9:30 pm.

"How was the flight?" Jaime, my driver, asked me as I buckled myself in the passenger seat.

I joked, "As smooth as it can get. I bet if Rico decides on getting an actual flying license, he'd pass."

"Wasn't that Carlos?"

"I can't tell you. I don't know the difference between those two identical twins. Besides, isn't Carlos in France with his fiancé?"

"It's your employees." Jaime shrugged.

"As well as your workmates."

"If I learned anything in the seven years of working in the mafia is not to stick your nose in people's business, same familia or not." He explained.

I nodded my head in agreement. "There's some truth in that."

Jaime cleared his throat before changing the subject. "When your father told me to pick you up, he looked mad. Your sister must have done something big this time."

"You don't know either?"

Jaime shook his head. "All I know is that Serena is mad at your father for helping out a smaller gang who's in trouble with the Serpenti."

"Helping out?"

"Your father gave them 2.5 billion dollars worth of weapons."

"What was his motive?" I asked, surprised since this was the first time I was hearing this.

"To get a reason for the Serpenti to start a war."

"Outcome?"

"Shootout. None of our men were injured but some of the Serpenti ended up with bullets in their limbs. No one died yet."

"If the Serpenti were to fall, we'd have the West side. That'll be beneficial." I said after I thought about the reason for my father's generosity.

"I suppose so."

Even though it was a short ride, I still got to admire the streets of Milan. As we passed some sightseeing places filled with tourist, the thought of Ila came to my mind. I suddenly found myself listing all the places I would show her if she were to come here.

By no time, we arrived at the mansion that I grew up in. The light that shined to brighten up the stairs that led to the door showed my little sister's silhouette. She was there, waiting for me to arrive. I could tell that the greeting wouldn't be so welcoming. Her arms were crossed and her face was frowning as she watched me get out of the car.

Serena walked up to me and said, "I knew he'd call you."

"Hello, sorella," I said. "What did you do this time?"

"I was proving my point."

"Your point is always crazy."

"So you're taking dad's side?" Serena uncrossed her arms and set them on her hips.

"No, I don't even know what happened between you two."

"He started a war against the Serpenti."

"That I do know. If you also know, then you'd know that it's a great decision."

"Oh, so you are taking dad's side." She emphasized the word "are". "I mean I guess you have kiss father's ass in order to rule Il Bisbiglio."

"What's your problem?" I asked, confused as to why she was so aggressive towards me.

"I don't have a problem, but it would have been someone else's problem if they got shot and bleed out to death."

I raised my eyebrow, getting a hint of the true reason as to why she was mad. "Who?"

"Huh?" She asked, looking as if she had been caught red-handed.

"Who are you so worried about?"

My little sister looked nervous. "What do you mean?"

"It sounded like you were worried about a certain someone dying."

Serena got all angry again. "No one. I don't care if Ben gets himself killed. He can be fed dog shit and I wouldn't care."

"Ben? Benzino? From Serpenti?"

"No," She huffed, "I've never heard of him."

I rubbed my forehead. I was confused and my jet lag was worsening. I walked around her and said, "Let's go talk about this inside."

Serena jumped in front of my way, stopping me from getting a step closer to the house. "You shouldn't go inside."

"Why not?"

"Cazzo di merda!" Jaime yelled.

The sound of Jaime cursing caused us to look in his direction. He had already opened the front door of the mansion and was peering inside with a shocked look on his face.

I look back at Serena. She sighed, closed her eyes, and then bit her lip in regret. I quickly moved around her and walked to join Jaime.

From where I stood, beside Jaime, in the front doorway, people stared back at me from inside. They were unrecognizable, but the tattered clothes that they wore gave it away.

"Fucking shit," saying what Jaime cursed but in English. "What the hell, Serena? Why?"

From where I left her, Serena stayed. She pouted as she looked at the ground, looking like a child who was getting scolded.

"Dad gave me a bullshit answer after he helped that stupid, small gang. He said helping the people that have less is something we have to do to stay humble." Serena explained, "So I gathered around 300 homeless people around Milan to live in our house."

My mouth parted slightly at her childish excuse.

Serena walked her way beside me. "Besides, they are all nice." She waved at everyone inside, "Ciao."

"Ciao," They happily replied back.

"Get these people out," I said, rubbing my forehead. "Then pack your bags."

By midnight, Serena managed to get everyone out of the house. The place was back to being clean with the exception of the lingering odor that the poor men brought.

Serena and I sat at the dining table in the kitchen, eating our late dinner.

She yawned right before putting the fork of microwaved spaghetti into her mouth. Aware of the time, I asked, "Are you tired?"

"No, I usually don't go to sleep until 4 in the morning. Why? Are you?"

"No, it would be six in the evening in New York right now. Speaking of New York, have you packed yet?"

"No, I don't need to. I still have all my stuff there."

"We're leaving at 6 a.m.," I told her.

"Why so early?"

"I woke at six to come here, now you have to wake up at six to go back," I explained, prettily.

"Will I get to meet Ila?" She asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "How do you know about her?"

"Dad said you were busy kissing a girl's ass named Ila." She shrugged.

"So what if I am?" I asked, ready to get defensive.

"Nothing. I'm just happy for you if you're happy." I wasn't able to tell if she was telling the truth because she sounded rather sad.

I looked at my little sister. Serena's black hair looked oily, her eyes had dark circles under them, and she looked like she was in pain. It was really unlike her. The Serena I knew wouldn't let herself be seen like that, even if it was me.

However, what surprised me the most was that she wasn't putting up a fight. Usually, when my father calls me to get Serena to go back to New York for a while, she'll make me struggle. There was this one time I had to chloroform her. It was as if, this time, she really wanted to go. In my mind, I felt like I already knew why.

"So.. Benzino?"

"Dad didn't want to attack Serpenti because he wanted the west side. He did it because he figured out I was seeing Ben." She explained.

"He's doing it to protect you. For being the most feared man, he has always had a soft spot for you."

"You don't understand. Dad lets you sleep with whoever you want and lets you do whatever you want. I feel like I'm stuck in a prison here."

I rolled my eyes. She was being dramatic. "You know you can come to New York. If you're not up for the city, you can always go to the other mafia spots we own around the globe."

"It's a worldwide prison, okay?"

<-I-L-A-<<< "Guys, get out!" I begged.

Giovanni and Aiden were taking up all of my bed.

"But we're bored!" Aiden whined.

"We usually hang out in Matteo' room but when he's away, no one is allowed to go in there," Gio said.

"You guys can stay here but you'll have to get off my bed. I want to lay down."

"Honey, there's still room," Giovanni winked as he scooted over and patted the small space he had provided.

I heard footsteps from behind me. Before I could turn around and see who had also joined the unwanted party in my room, I was pushed aside.

"Dibs!" Marcella said as she jumped onto the bed, beside Giovanni.

I sighed and walked over to my desk and grabbed my chair. Since it had wheels, I rolled it to my bed so I was able to at least rest my feet. Just as I sat down with my laptop on my lap, my phone rang. Unfortunately, I placed it on my desk right before I moved my chair.

I got up, set the laptop on my chair, and picked up my phone. It was my brother.

"Emmet?"

"I've been ringing your doorbell for five minutes straight, open your door so I can finally surprise you."

My jaw dropped in shock. "What? Are you in New York? At my place?"

"Did you move out of grandma's apartment?"

I can't exactly tell him that I was staying at the mafia house.

"No, no," I said. "I'm currently over at a friend's house. I'll be right there. You should have told me that you were coming so I'd be ready."

Ready with a good excuse.

"I wanted to surprise you. You know, like a superhero out of nowhere to help get your license back." Emmet laughed, "Emmet the super lawyer!"

"Haha." I forced a dry chuckle. "I'll be there in a bit, don't move."

I ended the call. Dang it, Mom. Her timing to meddle with my life wasn't on point. I took a deep breath and pushed my panic away.

"What happened?" Marcella asked, sitting up on the bed.

"Can I borrow your car?" I asked.

<•••>

"So your brother is a lawyer and he wants to take your whole doctor situation to court?" Marcella asked behind the wheel.

"Yes."

"You do know that you are in organized crime, right?"

"I know, I know," I said, stressing out.

The thought of taking my case to court during my current situation was crazy. I would be involved with law enforcement and law enforcement and organized crime is a big no-no.

"I mean... they're not going to find out. I.. I haven't literally done anything illegal."

"Being a getaway driver after a mafia shootout sounds pretty illegal to me."

"It was just one time. Maybe I can get away with a warning?"

"That's not how it works," Marcella said, squashing my hope.

We got into the city in a solid 1 hour and 30 minutes. I sent Emmet frequent texts apologizing about traffic and making sure he was still in front of my apartment door and not in Mrs. Kim's office. If she was to spill the beans of me going on a trip with a handsome man named Matthew Castro, Emmet would flip.

"Not bad," Marcella said, pulling into my parking spot in the garage of the building. "This place looks nice."

We walked into the building and I walked up the stairs. I turned around to see if Marcella was behind me. She wasn't.

"Marcella?"

"Hell, no." I heard her from the ground floor. "I'm taking the elevator."

"It's only the fir-"

"Oh, look, that's me," Marcella said, indicating that the elevator doors had open and she had already excused herself. She didn't even let me finish telling her what floor I lived on.

I worked my way up the stairs to the first floor. In front of my door, I saw my brother with all his luggage. Seeing Emmet, who I haven't seen in a long time, my panic was swept away with a moment of happiness. I ran up to attack him with a hug.

Emmet tensed up, dropped his luggage, and yelped in surprise. Then, he recognized that it was me and relaxed, hugging me back.

"Are you moving in?" I joked as I pulled away.

Emmet smiled, "The trail can take months." My happiness was short lived when he reminded me of-of the reason as to why he was here. "What took you so long?"

"The traffic in New York is really bad. How was your flight?" I asked.

"I sat in first class but I'm still tired."

"First class? The lawyer life must be treating you well."

"I still get jet lag." Emmet joked. "So are we going to go in or?"

"Hold on," I told him. "I'm waiting for a friend."

I pulled out my phone and texted Marcella.

Me: 1st room, 1st floor.

Marcella: omw, on the 21st floor.

Me: why 21st?

Marcella: Hot guy came in and pushed the 21st button.

I shook my head at her wild spirit.

I turn off my phone and looked at my brother who was still waiting.

"Let's go in before her."

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