"I will uphold my oath as my way of testifying to the truth of my appointment, that I Mia Nicolette Lombardi, will yield to hear the voice of my Consigliere, my advisor Dimitri Emmanuel Vazclav as he guides me in my uncertainty just as he has vowed to hear my voice in his uncertainty as well. I vow to allow him to silence my voice when I have or am about to make a choice that could cost us more than a just cause calls for and I will show him the reverence that someone of his wisdom and knowledge is be shown. As well I grant you a seat at the table of my family to my right hand to signify the importance of the station you hold. If you except this invitation to my table as well as the station I have granted you speak and take your seat starting to my right." Before I could look to meet his face there was an answer.
"I accept both the station and a seat at your table as long as you will have me there." Dimitri said calmly then took a seat to my right.
"I now move forward to ask Alexander Joesph Lombardi, my brother, the only living male of the age to claim right to the Lombardi organization to hold his claim to his right of succession for only the one named in the papers that Deacon holds in his hand. Only if you feel as though the aforementioned could lead in confidence with the Omertà we sign here tonight staying intact. You will have the seat to my immediate left not only because you were born to one day lead yourself, but as well as to show the authority you hold, as my second in command. You will be in charge of ensuring the men and women are content and any problems they have will be brought to you. Only when you cannot find a solution will those problems be brought before me. If you accept this seat and station speak and take your seat to my right."
"I accept with pleasure my dear sister. My claim to succession will be held as long as the name on those papers lives." He smiled as he sat quietly next to Dimitri, shaking his hand as he sat.
"I stand before you as a capable individual who knows that I cannot be everywhere nor can I do everything myself, to Nicco Juan Perez, head of my own personal security, to Eric Preston Platon, Head of Security and Head Training Supervisor and to Chelsea Elizabath Perez, head of security for all children. I ask you not to take my silence when you speak as though it is falling on deaf ears, for your words never will. I do not expect the unobtainable from you. Protect those that you are to protect. As the children are the most important persons in this home, you will be granted a passcode Chelsea, that will open, shut, and securely lock any of the safe rooms in this house. You will stay with the children until either you are ushered out by another person or you are able to get them safely out of harms way. You do not stop until they are all safe from harm.
Nicco, you will be granted a passcode as well to lock and unlock these rooms. Though as my part of my personal security do not assume I will yield to you, and hide when there is danger. You must remember who I am as well as I must remember that of you and we will have to find the middle to survive together so that we are able to return to those we love.
Eric, you will be granted the ability to lock us all down if that kind of danger arises, when we travel you will travel with us along with those you choose to accompany you. You have seen enough to know the level of training and the level of security we need to keep. I grant each of you a seat at my family table Eric you to my right leaving one open seat beside Dimitri as he may wish to add his spouse one day in the future. Nicco and Chelsea to my left leaving an open seat beside Alex. If you all accept this seat at my family table as well as the station speak and take your seats.
"I accept with pleasure and humble thanks." Eric answered.
"I accept with the pleasure of knowing my station is with one who gave me a chance to continue to live my life." Nicco smiled.
"I accept with pleasure while saying thank you for this station." Chelsea answered.
They took their seats, I noticed that Nicco and left and open seat beside Eric for Trisha to sit. It warmed my heart slightly seeing such a small act of consideration during such a serious moment.
"Tyler 'Axel' Edward Decker, Computer and Electronics Specialist, you've proven to worth your weight in gold. You will be given access you all my coding files to add to your own as well as the ability to pick your own new tech specialists to work with. Also you are granted a seat at my table to my right leaving one seat open to the right of Eric. If you accept this seat and this station speak now and take your seat."
"I accept humbly, also proudly to finally be an official part of this family." He answered.
"To Rose Tiffany Decker as well as Trisha Harmony Platon, your offices are next door to this room, just through the doors on the right-hand side of this room. You will both have access to sensitive information about the whereabouts, schedules, as well the complete database naming every member of this organization, their spouses, children, family along with any and all information that if deemed to be required. As well you be handling both small and large details for gatherings and so forth. This gives you access to personal information about myself and also the entirety of my family. You have both proven to be worthy of this station. Just please remember that you will hold everyone's safety in your hands as you will have access to information that could be used as a deliberate advantage against both this family as well as yourself.
Rose you are granted a seat at my table to my left, right by your husband's side and Trisha you are granted a seat at my table to my right by your husband's side as well. If you accept this seat and station speak now and take your seats.
"I accept with the utmost pleasure." Trisha smiled, taking the seat next to Eric that Nicco had left open for her.
"I accept." Rose answered, taking a seat next Axel.
"To Cassandra Marie Lombardi, once you are able to be more active and available. We have decided that your college degree should be used to everyone's full advantage. When you are ready there will be a room prepared for you, as a classroom, not only for the children who are old enough, but also to any of our members who wish to finish high school with their G.E.D. or whether they want to continue their education farther than that. There will also be a library put in for your use. You are also granted a seat at my table to my left beside your husband. If you accept this seat and this station speak and take your seat."
"I accept with absolute joy." She smiled as she walked over taking a seat on Alex's lap.
Deacon removed the paper from my hand as he turned me to face him again. "And now my dear it's your turn to receive a gift."
Deacon's POV
"First, these belong to you." I said as I held the envelope of papers out to her. As she accepted them I stopped her from taking her hands away from mine. I took a slow look around the room, holding my breath. Meeting the waiting eyes of my father, as well as Alex, both urging me to continue. While both still looking nervous for her reaction to what was about to happen. Alex only knowing the one he just agreed to had no idea about this one.
Never before that we had ever heard of in any family let alone in our own, the leadership was going to be split equally between two people. Mia was not just my wife after all, she was my equal in everyway there could possibly be. She was loved all of my men and their families as well as my own.
"To you Mia Nicolette Lombardi, before I let you open the envelope in your hand, there's something you need to hear, so please listen before you open that."
My father stepped forward meeting us in the center where we stood. "There is always going to be a time when we grow as individuals, as families, and as couples. But we often forget that is that we also have grow with the times, advancing as time passes. Sometimes this means opening our arms and trusting those we once thought of as an enemy, as we all did recently. In return we all gained an ally wise beyond his years, new family members and the ability to see the chance for growth. This growth will change us for decades to come, but it will also strengthen us starting today. Change doesn't come easily in situations such as ours, it takes more than one person to decide to go along with the change, but it takes everyone to commit to the change in order for it to take root.
Mia, when Deacon first introduced us there was something about you I couldn't quite put my finger on that made you unforgettable, I won't deny that. Though it was my fear of change and closed mindedness that kept me from loving you as my son did from the beginning. And for that I will be forever apologetic. I judged before I knew you, which was something that I had tried to teach my son's not to do. I am so grateful that my son learned that lesson and did not follow in my example, for we would not be who or where we are today without you here with us. You have proven yourself to be so much more than I could have even began to imagine and I cannot wait to see what the years have in store for as you grow, as you both change everything that was once set in stone, because I have no doubt that it will be amazing.
At first, I didn't put much stock into what Deacon said about you, your kindness, strength, the way that you could see past the walls he had built up and look into his heart to see what he needed. There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't tell me something about you that seemed impossible to believe.
For generations the way to rise to leadership was to marry and gain the further allegiance of one of our strongest allies with a daughter of age for marriage. I did try to push this antiquated tradition onto my son, thinking that after it was over, he'd be happier for it, that we'd be stronger for it and that in the end it would grant us more of a foothold in the world outside what we see everyday.
Then something happened that allowed me to see how wrong I had been. For the first time in his entire life my son rebelled against my wishes, refused to go along with my outdated and ridiculous demand, instead he chased after the forbidden fruit.
I was irate, I thought of every possible punishment for his actions finding nothing that fit properly for no explainable reason. Then to learn that my youngest son had been the entire reason that you were brought into each other's lives to begin with.
That was how I found out that about the relationship the two of you had started in secrecy. Only two people in this room knew anything about you and they both refused to reveal it, even if it meant that they would be going against myself. It had been a mere four months of secret rendezvous outside of the city where no one would see, nights spent together where no one was able to find either of you. And even then the purity of the love you held for each stood true.
I had only met you once, before the day Deacon brought you here introducing you to everyone as his wife, and seeing the light that started to shine from so many that had long been dimmed.
Looking back on the events that transpired shortly after that day now make me see how much of a fool that I truly was.
When you were taken, and the word made it to those that had taken an instant liking to you they were devastated, many thinking that they were going to be reliving events that had taken us many years to recover before. I remember vividly the night that both my sons as well as Axel went out in a final desperate attempt to find you and bring you back again.
After days of silence, and they had returned home without you. To say Deacon was discouraged isn't saying enough, he thought that you had run so he couldn't find you, that you had realized that this wasn't the life that you wanted and that he was not the man that you wanted. All the while his closest confidants reassured constantly that there was no way that that had truly been the case, reminding him of the way that you looked at him the morning that you got married at the courthouse with only two witnesses. He blamed me, and he had had every right to do so. If I had understood that the way he felt about, the loss and heartache that he was feeling was the same as when I lost my Annabella, I would like to think that I would have handled things differently in his absence.
I had been unwilling to listen, I wanted tradition, and I had been unwilling to grow. When the word from my men came that they had found your car, crashed and totaled over an embankment he demanded to be the first person to go to the car.
I realize now, looking back why that was. If he was going to be met with your loss he wanted to do so alone, he wanted to be the one that held you last, but most of all he wanted the chance to tell you good-bye without so many eyes on him, which would allow him his moment of mourn you the way you would have deserved, with his heart pouring tears from his eyes." Stopping momentarily, he looked between us.
Mia looked at me as I was trying to ignore those memories as best as I could. "Is that why...why you reacted the way you did when you saw me again?"
"Yes. After not finding you in the car, I thought you ran somewhere you'd never be found. That you didn't want to ever see me again." I answered. "And I swore that even if I did see you, I wouldn't allow myself to ruin your life any farther, or allow my life to cause you further heartache. It was always about your happiness, even from the beginning. Even if that meant that your happiness was with someone else, somewhere else, as hard as it would have been to know that you were out there, that you were loving someone else that wasn't me, if it would have meant your happiness I would have let you go, but I would have always been waiting in the wing to pick you up if you needed it."
My father looked at us again, he looked saddened at the memory. "I didn't know what to do for or with my son after that. He was a shell of who he had grown to be. It was the not knowing that was worse for him. Death was something that he had become accustomed to, loss can be mourned.
When he saw the photo of you that Roman had his men send to us. It didn't take long for him to get a few people together and rush to you. Did he know that it had been a trap to lore him out, I'm sure he did. Did he care? At that moment my dear, he cared about nothing more than you being alive and being unharmed.
I should have been quicker to send reinforcements behind him when he sped off. Those hours of which I kept them here and the difference that they would have made when they had arrived would have saved you both so much suffering.
I didn't expect the sight I walked into when we arrived. My son, sitting on the ground holding you, while he made every attempt to open your eyes again. He begged for my help to save you. My sweet girl, I truly held no hope of you surviving that.
Even so, we brought you back here even with my doubt, but my boy, he wouldn't leave your bedside. He swore when you woke up, he would be the first person you saw. He was exactly that, the first person you saw, but also the first person to realize the damage that took your voice as well.
Which brings us to today, standing before me here you are and the I thank you dearly for the changes you have made and the gifts that you've given to all of us. My dear you are a blessing to us all.
So tonight, we are giving you a gift, one that shows how much you have given to us, and I can only pray that it is enough to show you how much we owe you as a whole and how much and how grateful I am that somehow despite all the distractions and all the people that had come and gone from our lives that it was you who stole my son's heart. I could ask for anyone better to call my daughter."
"You can open the envelope now Mia." I said with a smile.