CHAPTER 1
— Ricco, hide on the roof and promise that no matter what you see or hear, you won't leave.
— But, mamma, I'm scared.
— Promise me, Riccardo!
— I promise, mamma. I will not leave there, no matter what I see or hear.
— Molto Bene, Mio Figlio! You are a good boy, your father would be very proud of you. Now listen, as soon as it's safe, find a way to find your grandfather without anyone seeing him.
— Yes mom.
— No matter what happens, your grandfather will know what to do.
— And you, Mom, where are you going to be?
— I'll be fine if you're safe. Can you stay safe for me?
— Yes I Can. I'll be safe, I promise.
***
Again, another sleepless night. I've been living with the same nightmare for years, I can't say when I last slept a whole night if I ever did.
The sound of mamma's screams and the wail of pain, the ugly words, the thick, high-pitched voice that my mind failed to recognize or simply blocked, the memory of the boot that, through a crack in the roof, I saw the last blow that decimated my mother's life; it all fuelled my nightmare nights.
I remember that after meeting my grandfather, I was taken to the Commission to explain what had happened, and I told them everything I had seen and heard. I didn't know who that man was, but I knew he was there for me, and now, after 20 years, I'm ready to find out.
Nonno is the whole family I have, and I was forced to grow up away from it. I was just a boy when my mother was killed, and my grandfather sent me to Brazil to protect me.
My godparents, Jullius and Genna, raised me, and they never failed to prepare me to return to Italy and take what is rightfully mine.
***
My business in Brazil is not very different from that of the mafia: no weapons and no drugs, just the good old political game.
Men without balls and capable of anything to remain unharmed, corrupt policemen, members of the press, and businessmen, I have several of them in my hands.
I often say that if I were mugged, I would call the criminal faction and not the police who usually attend my parties.
Despite everything that the families went through, the traditions were maintained, "by blood and for blood" until death. So at sixteen, I became a man-made for families, I was ready to take my place on the committee. So, I returned to Vennidit for the initiation ceremony.
Killing a man and cutting my skin as part of the initiation. I didn't want to know what he had done or what his betrayal was so that the Commission would want him dead. I had seen people die, but not by my hands, and although that was something very difficult to assimilate, I didn't want to look weak, I wanted Grandpa to be proud of me; so, I killed him.
I knew that man was a traitor and that part of my legacy was to be the avenger and end his life, I was being prepared for that.
The initiation was a big step for my childhood friends and me, Aldo Rizzo — my best friend — and Jimmy D'Angelli with their red hair. Jimmy was supposed to clean an entire family, and even though He was terrified, he pulled the trigger so many times that there were no bullets left, and they all hit the target.
I confess that after killing that man I felt like I had betrayed my father, who wished that I wasn't part of this world.
According to mia mamma, my father wanted me to have clean hands and a free conscience, and I would have given him that; but there is a murderer out there who wants me dead, the same person who took my parents' lives, now threatens me and my grandfather.
All my friends feel the same way, none of us wanted that burden, we didn't want to follow in the footsteps of our parents and grandparents, but fate imposed it on us
In the ceremony that I became an heir, I proved my honour with blood, I proved with my courage and my fears that I was able to fulfil my destiny.
At the end of the initiation we were all destroyed; Aldo seemed to have been shot in the thigh, Jimmy's arm was also in no better condition, and I simply refused to account for the damage to my body. I knew that after the adrenaline rush was over, I wouldn't be able to walk anytime soon.
Jimmy had the cigars, and Aldo got up as He could and pointed at us.
— I don't know about you bastards, motherfuckers, but I'm going to have the biggest fuck of my life.
And that's how we ended up in the hospital, with no idea how many hours we were out.
The day after the worst hangover of my life, I answered my first call to the Commission, and in a private ceremony, I received my coin, my legacy. I always knew that day would come, but I was never able to prepare for it.
On the way back home, I received a message from Aldo inviting me to a night of drinks and girls, and I accepted because I knew that difficult days would still be; after all, I am officially a member of Titolari di Segreti.
Jimmy, Aldo, and the naughty Fabrizio, another member of the committee, and also my friend, were already at the bar when I arrived, but it was only with her entrance, Irina Matteo, that the night really started.
Like me, Irina's childhood was marked by losses. She was left in the care of the Rizzo logos family after her parents were caught in an ambush and have since been protected from Giacomo Rizzo.
Although Bella ragazza has been around for years, I never looked at her with interest, because I believed that Aldo had a crush on her; but as he — Who always boasted of his achievements — never said anything about Irina, I started to look at her more closely. The girl was a redhead with flowing hair, with a deliciously fleshy mouth, and always painted with bright red lipstick.
From the moment Irina entered the bar, I couldn't take my eyes off her, which was impressive. After flirting, provocations, and a lot of alcohol we ended the night with a crazy round of sex, a fact that put me in a bad mood with Giacomo Rizzo, who caught me leaving Irina's room in the morning.
If old Rizzo was looking for a scapegoat, I was trapped in some hammock, because my grandfather made me accept her as a wife. Even so, I was firm in my purpose and said that the wedding would only happen after I found my parents' killer and no one dared to disagree.
Not long after, my duty to the Commission spoke louder, and I had to get away from everyone so, I could learn my trade, learn about the five families, about the Bearers and the secrets that all the coins carried.
Everyone was extremely strict with me and, with each slip, I received severe punishment, so I was happy when they locked me up alone in the security room of an Umbria bank with several huge files.
For weeks on end, I had many papers with me that should be decorated. All my time was spent studying documents that contained facts, secrets, names, and faces that I was to memorize and then destroy.
I had in hand the file of each member of the Titolari di Segreti and their families until I memorized the name of their first pets. Now men and women, old and young, not even the oldest could hide their secrets from me.
In the end, all the secrets of the holders were under my power, but that would not make me the happiest man in the world, but it would make me a dead man because there was someone who was killing important family members to find the holder of the coin that was now spinning. Between my fingers.
Left isolated from the world learning about currency, I realized that my legacy was a very heavy burden that I couldn't share with anyone, not even my grandfather, and that was the hardest part.
After my period of seclusion, which thanks to my ability to memorize were much shorter than expected, I was ready to return to Vennidit and repeat the dose with Irina Matteo.
After several days in prison, locked in a cell with nothing but documents, I ate a hot meal and slept in a decent bed. I would spend my last night in Umbria with my grandfather, in one of his summer houses. However, we were surprised by a phone call.
— Misery nut! Grandpa shouted, banging his fists on the table. — Irina suffered an attack, son. She was marked. Our enemy left us one more message.
I may not be in love with Irina, but she was mine, I was given to look after, and that son of a bitch marked her, touched what was not his to touch.
When I arrived at the hospital, I was quickly directed to Irina's room. As soon as I entered, I saw his beautiful bruised face and my eyes roamed over his body, stopping at the exposed wound on his right wrist.
— Cover the mark! I don't want to hear a word about it, capisce? He said to those present, and all those present nodded, including the older ones.
— Don't worry baby, I'll get it out of there. He won't hurt you any more, I promise.
I saw her cry in silence, I don't know if she was relieved or disbelieving, but if it were the second option I was ready to prove the opposite.
She looked sadly at the door the moment Aldo entered the room. He was also fucked up by what happened, one eye was swollen and his left arm was in a cast.
— I'll take them with me, — he said to everyone in the room. — That was a message for me, and with him around I can't risk losing it by leaving it here until the wedding.
— Son, she is yours to take care and protect, you have my blessing to take her. — said Giacomo kissing me three times and then kissing Irina's forehead.
For years the commission investigated without being able to contain the advances of the killer who always seemed to be one step ahead, and now I needed to take my place in that war.
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