The Ball

V A L E R I U S ' P O V :

The Mafia Ball comes around every year. It's a two day event. December nineteenth to the twentieth. The location and date change every year, but relatively, it's around the same time. This year I've chosen to host it, in the spirit of officially introducing my daughter into the mafia world.

If I could keep my Ellie out of this, I would. Though, some people have already caught on and suspicions started picking up. It's better for both of us if I come clean.

I wait for nonna to bring Ellie to me, I wait behind the two doors. The host to the ball is always the last to be announced along with their children or wife. So, I wait for my girl nervously.

I turn my head to the left when I hear heals clicking on the floor. Nonna comes into view and Ellie is holding her hand. My throat tightens with emotion, she looks so beautiful. The color of our mafia is black and occasionally blood red. Ellie wears an all black ball gown, glitter and beads line it all. Her hair is curled and half of it is gathered in a red ribbon.

I gather my jaw in awe. I hold back any tears that want to come to my eyes.

"She's all yours." Nonna smiles. I thank her and she walks off to go back into the ballroom.

I bend down to Ellie's level. "You look so beautiful, Ellie." I brush a piece of hair out of her face and she smiles at me. "'You're so perfect baby."

"Grazie, papà." Ellie grabs onto my hand. "You look beautiful too!" Her eyes crinkle with a smile.

I chuckle. "Thank you, baby." My face turns serious. "But remember, tonight papà will not be playful. Papà has to be serious. We're going to put on our brave faces, sì?"

"Sì!" Ellie salutes a nod.

"Let me see it."

Ellie knits her eyebrows together, making a pout. Her bottom lip juts out and I force back my smile.

"Braver than that." I hush to her. "Like this, your bravest face." I show her.

Ellie copies me and her face relaxes, she glares a little. She looks just like me. It's perfect.

"Like that?" Her face perks up.

"Perfect, Ellie. Good girl. Are you ready?" She nods sternly.

I bring her up to the door and we stand hand in hand. I hear my papà giving a short speech, getting ready to announce us.

"And it's my honor to be here in front of you all today to announce—"

"Papà." Ellie's voice wobbles, she tugs on my hand.

She's nervous.

I hold her cheek in my hand so she looks up to see me. "You got this baby. Brave face, sì? Don't look at anyone but me, piccolina. When we go in you'll look for your zii. Sì?" She doesn't answer at first. "Sì, Ellie?" I press on so she answers.

She hesitates before nodding. "Sì."

The doors start to open and I grab Ellie's hand and tug on it, letting her know I'm here for her. Over a hundred deep stares stand upon us. I kept my face cold and composed. A chandelier writes the mood, framing the darkness of tonight.

Ellie squeezes my hand harder and I make sure to rub her palm gently. So she knows I'm not going anywhere.

The lights focuses on us. Whispers sound but I don't care to look. A chill heightens in the room as we pass. When the doors close we're down the stairs and everyone is completely silent.

I bring Ellie up to the bottom of the stage and hand her off to my papà so I can switch him places. My hand squeezes Ellie's once more before she walks away with her nonno.

My feet echo off the marble stage as I walk to the podium. Eyes collect to me. I stare out to the crowd, identifying every other leader in the room. I'm not shocked but curious to how my mamma got into the event. She stays in the back, attempting to hide her unneeded presence.

Never ceases to learn her place.

"With my father's speech, I'm sure many of you are too curious to wonder how I have a child. I'm wondering the same." I kept my face blank with my humor but still a few laughs simmer out.

I don't have to be cold in the mafia. Not all are. Though, I use my carisma to reel people in and then I remind them who I actually am.

"She is none of your business, but what should be is: someone here or not. Someone thinks it will be easy to tear my mafia down. To rip the hierarchy of the Italian mafia is like ripping concrete apart with your bare hands. It's impossible." I pause to take in the faces in the crowd. "For the man who thought he could break my daughter and get to my family, you will have no mercy when I find you."

A few eyes follow to Ellie. Papà pushes her behind him and my brothers step up to crowd around her.

My body is fizzing with fury, chills bring on goosebumps. I'm ready to rip Ivan Moscow apart, limb from limb.

"I expect if you know anything, your confession should come by the end of tomorrow or you will suffer." Blunt but it needs to be. "Osa ferire la famiglia, pagherai il prezzo." I stand a little straighter. "Have a merciful night."

I walk off stage and they clap because it's what you're meant to do. A few people nod in respect for me as I walk down. I ignore it all and walk towards my Ellie.

My brothers part the way and I find Ellie sitting down at our reserved table. Her feet swing and she almost smiles when she looks at me but she hesitates. Her features morph into a much more angry one, making sure to keep her brave face on for me.

"Good job papà!" She whispers, eyebrows scrunched like she's mad.

"Thank you, Ellie."

• • •

"You've done well, Val. She's beautiful." Marco Martinez nods to me and I thank him. "I think one day she'll be just as powerful as her papà."

"I'll have to agree." My papà comes up from behind me. "She's becoming more and more like him everyday. I'm not sure how long it'll take until she's fully compromised." Him and papà let out a short, heavy laugh.

I catch Ellie walking over with Savino as the conversation carries on.

"And there she is, the topic of the hour." Marco smiles warmly and Ellie. Ellie spares him a glance but immediately darts over to me.

Ellie nervously grabs my hand and starts to huddle behind my leg.

"Is something wrong?" I ask Savino.

"No. Not that I know of. She just didn't want to be without you any longer."

I nod and caress Ellie's back as she smushes her body next to mine. I think the nerves are starting to get to her.

"Your dress is beautiful, miss. I hope your first Ball has been good." Marco speaks to Ellie and she looks at him. Choking on her inaudible words, Ellie presses her head into my side and nods.

I might have to take her outside for a moment to breathe. She's overwhelmed.

"She's not usually this shy." Papà speaks up. "You should see her when it's time to argue over bedtime." He jokes.

They all start making conversation, Savino, Marco and papà.

I pull Ellie away from hiding behind my leg. My thumb goes under her chin while my hands cup her face, making her turn up to look at me. Tears bellow in her eyes, she's breathing heavily.

"You're doing good, Ellie." I tell her in Italian. "Respirare." Breathe. I tell her softly. Ellie's eyes close and her chest heaves deeply once then I have her do it again. "Good girl." Her body seems to relax again when she breathes in for the third and final time.

With my eyes lock on her bright blues, a tear falls down her cheek. I wipe it with my thumb.

"Brave face." She says, sniffling. I give her a curt nod.

"Sì. Brave face."

• • •

Day one was a success for the most part. Ellie got better throughout the night, her brave face stuck true.. except when it came an hour past past her bedtime.

None of us spoke to my mamma but we all knew she was there. I'm sure some sensed tension but I didn't care.

"She's back."

My thoughts are evaporated by Fabio taking his place next to me. He's talking about our mamma.

"Who could miss the only woman wearing the blood of her despairs." I sip on my whiskey.

Fabio is tempted to snort at me. He doesn't though.

Today mamma is back, pretending like her sons aren't in the same room. She wears a blood red dress, velvet. How she got the money for it, I'm not sure. My papà pulled her assets last month. She looks hysterical trying to pretend nothing is wrong.

I catch Ellie walking up to me unattended and alarms start stomping in my head. I walk faster to meet her but I'm stopped by Oisin Walsh, the Irish mafia leader.

"Mr. Armani. I'm glad to have caught you. I've been hopeful to talk to you about some of our relations in our weaponry." Oisin says.

Go away, go away, go away. I'd like to smash your face in right now. I don't like you, your stupid face is annoying me.

"Yes, give me a moment."

I walk past him just a step before I reach Ellie. She shifts on her feet and looks to me nervously.

"What is it?" My entire attention is on her. Glazing over her body, I find nothing visibly wrong.

"Papà.. I have to go to the bathroom." She whispers to me. I look back to the table to see Marcello who is sitting, deep in conversation with someone while he's supposed to be watching Ellie. "I can't hold it no more." She whispers even quieter like she's scared someone will hear her.

"Okay..," I look quickly to Oisin who stands behind me. I look back to Ellie. "I'll take you—"

"I'll take her." Fabio says. "I have to go anyways."

I nod. "Okay, go." Ellie locks hands with Fabio and they start walking off quickly. "Fabio!" He turns around for a moment. "Don't let her out of your sight! She stays with you."

He nods. "I know."

As they run away to the bathrooms, I turn to Oisin. He smiles an annoying, too happy smile. The Irish are always too goddamn happy.

• • •

The lights flicker, for a moment I think I'm the only one who catches it. Until I lock eyes with papà from the other side of the room to see him giving me an understanding look.

My first immediate thought. Where is Ellie?

They haven't come back from the bathrooms yet, it's only been a minute or two.

I excuse myself from my conversation with Oisin and dart for the bathrooms when the room turns dark. Pitch black. No one screams because we're trained not to. Though, currently I'm in an open ballroom available for anyone to target me. I only care about Ellie now.

I continue to move, hopefully muscle memory comes into place. I halt when the lights flick on after the bang of a gunshot.

Fuck.

I whip around to the noise and in the center of the room, on the cold marble floor is a woman's body lays dead.

From where I stand I can see the gun in her hand and the blood puddling the floor. I catch my papà's eyes and he nods to me. Confirmation that he'll get the situation under control. I run off to the bathrooms to find Ellie and Fabio.

"Ellie!" I shout as I make it back. Subtle crying can be heard from behind the door. I slam open the men's bathroom door. "Ellie." I breathe out and rush the to floor when I see her in hysterics on the floor.

Tears are streaming down her cheeks. Ellie doesn't stop trying to breathe, her chest heaves with her air intake. Her hand is on her right arm and there's blood streaming down the lengths of it. I have her take her grip off only to make her grip it back when blood comes pouring out of the cut. Someone sliced her arm open.

Someone wants to die today.

I'd like to know how she knows to keep pressure on her wound but I don't think that I'll like that answer.

I hush her while someone bangs through the door.

"You need to get out there, Val." I recognize Marcello's voice. "People are starting to get angry they can't leave."

"Go get Carlo, Mar." My voice comes out strained.

Mar is about to give me a snotty remark but he halts when he gazes over my shoulder. He leaves quickly.

"It's gonna be okay. I know it hurts." I wipe her wet cheeks.

Ellie's eyes squeeze tight. I kiss the crown of her forehead, running over her hair. Her face is shoved into my chest so deeply, I barely hear her whisper of words.

"Mamma."

At first I think I'm going crazy. "What, Ellie? What was that?"

"Mamma!" She cries into my chest. "Mamma!" She sobs over and over again. Words start to become whispers buried beneath her cries.

My heart sinks. My stomach plummets. My throat constricts.

What?

A vision of Katrina pops into my head. I feel crazy.

"Ellie.. I don't understand." My slacked open jaw doesn't justify my shock. I hold Ellie tighter to my chest. "It's papà, baby. Mamma isn't here."

But relentlessly, she repeats it again. Over and over.

The door slams open and I know it's Mar and Carlo. They get to work quickly. Mar is helping Fabio up from his loss of consciousness and Carlo kneels next to me, taking in Ellie's condition.

Every parental part of me is yelling at me to stay but every business aspect of me is yelling at me to get back in that room and take ahold of the situation. I need to find out what happened, now is the best time to do. I need to put on my brave face for Ellie and figure out how separate from her to kill the person who did this.

"Hi, miss Ellie!" Carlo smiles at her.

"I have to go baby. You're going to be so brave, okay?" I nod to her but Ellie shakes her her no.

"No, no, no! No papà! Papà!" She cries for me to stay.

"I know baby." It feels like I'm suffocating. "Carlo will take care of you. Papà will be as quick as he can be." I go to slide out of her grip. She keeps shaking her head no. My heart breaks even further.

"Mamma..," she chokes out, barely audible.

"I need you to slide your arm out of your dress, okay Ellie." Carlo interrupts.

I manage to get out of Ellie's death grip and leave the bathroom. My heart heavy.

• • •