"M-Marco?" I stuttered.

"Yeah, why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"I-I..." I couldn't manage to say anything.

I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. This guy's father was Marco. The person who murdered my mother in cold blood, the one who tried to kill my parents countless of times in the past, the one who made their lives a living hell. Who made my life a living hell... And now I have to work with his son. No- no. I can't work with him. I can't work with the son of a murder. I refuse to work with him! His father killed my mother and almost killed me, how am I supposed to trust his own son!? Marco's blood runs through his veins, Marco's son is right in front of me and I'm calm... H-how? How can an asshole, murderer, psycho, monster make such a beautiful son. I felt my eyes well up with tears again, I brought my hand to my mouth, in shock and shame and ran. I ran away from him. From Marco's son. I ran as fast as I could. I ran straight to my dad's office. He'll protect me, I know he will...

I swung my father's office door open to see Elias, Uncle Alessandro and my father talking. I ran in and ran behind my father, trying to catch my breath as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Lia, what's wrong?" my father asked.

"H-he's going to kill me..." I said, with a breaking voice as Matteo came running in after me.

"Who's going to kill you?" Matteo asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Lia, please calm down" my father said, as he placed his arms on my shoulders.

"Dad, you have to tell him to l-leave" I stuttered.

"Tell who to leave?" my dad asked me.

"M-Matteo" I stuttered.

"Lia, can you stop making such a big fuss about working with him! You're twenty for god's sake!" my dad yelled, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"N-no, you d-don't understand" I stuttered.

"What Lia!? What don't I understand!?" my father yelled.

"Matteo's father is Marco" I said.

"W-what?" my father stuttered.

"So, what? I never even met him! I told you that I never met him! I don't even know what he looks like" Matteo yelled.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" my dad yelled.

"But why?" Matteo asked.

"LEAVE!" my father yelled.

"Fine, I'll leave. It was nice meeting you Lia, and I really am sorry about your mother" he said, as he walked out.

"You told him about your mother!?" my father shouted.

"Because I didn't know his father was Marco at that time" I said.

"Lia, go to your room" my dad said.

"But-"

"Lia, go!" he yelled.

"O-okay" I stuttered.

I made my way back to my room in silence, with only my sniffling and sobbing to be heard. I opened my bedroom door and walked inside quietly. I made my way to my closet and changed into my pyjamas and quickly went to sleep.

~~~

"Tu me manques maman..." I said, as I placed a single red rose on her grave. (I miss you mum)

"Can I ask you something about my father?" a voice asked.

I froze as I recognized the voice that had just spoken to me. It was Matteo. Maybe, just maybe if I made a run for it, I might make it to my car and drive back home into the safety of my father. No! I'm Lia Romano, I'm going to be taking over the most powerful mafia in a year, I can't be afraid of my enemy! I have to face him and fight him if it comes to that! I can't run like a coward, running killed my mother and I won't repeat her mistake. I won't die by the son of my mother's murderer. I slowly turned around and faced him. He looked so clueless, he had no clue of what his father did, he knew nothing of it. And I'm blaming him and fearing him like he was Marco himself.

"What do you want to know?" I asked, trying to maintain the shaking in my voice.

"What did he do?" he asked, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Please don't pull out a knife and stab me" I said, taking a step away from him.

"W-what? Why would I do that? I came here for answers about my father, and that only" he said, taking a step towards me.

"R-right" I said, crossing my arms to keep myself warm, despite the amount of layers I had on already.

"Your father was a complete monster" I said, turning around and facing my mother's grave.

"Why?" he asked, stepping beside me.

"He was the one... who murdered her- who murdered my mother" I said.

"W-what?" he asked as his eyes widened in shock.

"He was the one who made my life a living hell, who tormented my parents' life. Who gave everything for his stupid promise. He would have went to the ends of the earth to fulfill his sick promise" I said, as my eyes started burning with the tears again.

"What promise?" he asked.

"My father- Dante killed Marco's parents because Marco's father killed my mother's mother-my grandmother, so Marco made a promise to my father, he promised that he would kill the person my father would come to love the most, because my father had killed the two most people Marco loved. My parents tried to tell him that his father abused and raped my mum's mother in cold blood. But he didn't believe them obviously. He tried to kill me when I was only three. He grabbed me and held me at gun point, that's why my father told my mother to leave, so he could protect us from him. But my mother made the mistake of coming back, she got herself killed because of me. He killed her although she did nothing to him, she never shown hatred towards him, she never tried to hurt him, but he had a twisted mind, and he shot her right in front of me. She fell to her knees, and I was horrified at the scene, she did everything to protect me, she let herself get killed so I could run away and get away safely..." I said, with a broken voice as tears rolled down my cheeks again. I couldn't stop them, I never could. I felt broken and useless without her.

"My father was so cruel" he said.

I looked at him from the corner of my eyes and saw his eyes filled with tears, but he never let them fall. He never wanted to feel weak and vulnerable.

"He took her away from me. She never did anything wrong; she lived her life as best she could, she put others before herself, she loved with her whole heart and soul. She was my role-model. She was supposed to be here for me, she was supposed to tell me that everything was okay, that I'll figure it all out, that she could be proud of me when I took over the mafia. That she could have been there for me when I told her that I got my fist boyfriend, when I had my first heartbreak, when I was walking down the aisle, when I gave birth, she should have been there holding my hand as I cried when I held my first new-born baby. When I went through hard parts in life and when I went through good parts in my life... But now I could never have those things with her because he k-killed her...." I stuttered.

Suddenly he pulled me into a tight hug. That's when I let go and broke down crying, right there and then, in his chest, in a cemetery right next to my mother's grave.

"I'm so sorry for what my father did" he said.

"I just want her b-back" I said, with a broken voice.

"I know you might hate me because of my father, but I'm nothing like him, I promise. I only stole because I needed the money to live and I only killed criminals, I have never killed an innocent person, and never will and that I swear" he said.

"Thank you" I said, pulling away and drying my tears.

"For what?" he asked.

"For listening and caring" I said.

"Yeah, well I know what it's like to lose your mother" he said, as we looked at my mother's grave.

"Do you still want to work with me?" I asked.

"Of course, if you would want me to that is" he said.

"Be at my house at eight tomorrow, I'll explain everything to my father" I said, making my way to the car.

"See you there, Bellissima"

* * * *

"Dad, we need to talk" I said, entering his office.

"Not now Lia, I'm busy" he said, not even glancing my way.

"But it's important" I said.

"I'm sure it is, but my work is more important at the moment" my dad said.

"Sure, your work is obviously more important than your own daughter" I said, running out of his office.

"LIA-!" I heard him yell, as I ran away.

I ran down to the main lounge, to find it full of men, drinking and talking about. I turned around and ran to the garden, I was mad, mad at my father. It's like ever since mum died, he stopped caring about everything and everyone. I don't even know what to do sometimes, and he just ends up drinking his sorrows away every time, even though I tell him not to, he stills does it.

I collected myself for a few minutes in the garden and ran to Elias's room. I knocked three times and I heard his voice for me to come in. I slowly walked in and stood in the doorway for a couple of seconds before he called my name again for the third time.

"LIA!" he yelled.

"W-what?" I asked, shaking my head, and blinking to snap myself back to reality.

"What do you want!?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Do you want to go out and buy ice cream?" I asked.

"I can't, I'm going out with a girl, sorry cous" he said, walking by past me.

Great, the only friend I have doesn't even want to hang out with me. Am I that lonely? I walked out of his room and closed his room and walked back to my room. The mansion was full of laughter and shouting, it made my headache even worse. They were having so much fun and I- I have no one to talk to. I'm as alone as I was when my mother and I left dad. With no one to talk to, to play with. My childhood was ruined because of some asshole.

I closed the door to my bedroom and fell to my knees crying again. I hugged my knees to my chest and cried into the palms of my hands.

M-mum, come back please... I need you...

Suddenly my phone started ringing, I dried my tears and picked up my phone.

"H-hello?" I asked.

"Hey,I heard you wanted to go out for ice cream?" the person said.