Alexander's POV
I stand in front of the mirror, looking at myself. Just looking. I stare at the scars that decorate my body, the foundation of my existence. I stare at the branded Trinity Knot on my left wrist, how it is so neatly burnt into my skin, scarring to become a part of me. I stare at my icy blue eyes, one that resembled my mother's.
My mother.
I feel a pang in my chest. I clearly see my reflection grimace at the thought. I remember something from when I was smaller.
I see shock appear in her irises while she holds her packed luggage in one hand and holds my hand with the other as she sees in the surveillance cameras a Jaguar F-type pull into the garage. I can feel her shaking as her eyes grow frantic, scurrying to find a place to hide.
"Hide here, my child," She says as she kisses the top of my head and makes sure I stay low.
The door flies open and hits the wall, making the paint crumble off.
"Oh, what do we have here," my mother's boss says, "Running away so soon."
He slaps her. I look away, breathing heavily.
My mother recovers, standing up tall. The only thing that shows her weakness is the wet tears rolling down her face.
"I am leaving, master, I can no longer serve you. I am taking my child-"
Bang!
My mother is thrown across the room, being slammed against the wall. A brooding man looms over her, laughing maniacally. I shiver in my spot behind the couches, hoping that my mother will wake up. I seem to be grasping tightly to something soft – my teddy bear… I hold on tighter. Tears stream down my face.
"Please wake up, mommy, please wake up," I whisper under my shaky breath.
Breathe in and breathe out. I try to remain calm.
"Mommy will be okay."
I see the man pick her up and tries to squash her throat till she is guttering and choking.
"You will not take my child, Elizabeth. What happened to being a respectable housewife?"
He lets go of her and she falls to the floor once again. She tries to steady her breathing and wipes off the tears in an attempt to show her strength.
"You don't treat me like a wife anymore," Her voice is coarse as she screams at him.
My hands cover my ears but this attempt to drown them out is futile as I can still hear them clearly.
He slaps her across the face again. This time my mother stands up and she pushes him with all the force that she can muster inside of her. Unlike the other mafia boss's wives, she was not allowed to be trained for self-defence and I fear it is for this reason my mother's boss never wanted her to learn. My mother is unfortunately weak compared to her boss so he barely moves back in his drunken state but somehow even in his state, he seems to have more strength than usual. He pushes her back and she falls to the floor. I scream as I see blood slowly dribble down her face.
My father looks to me.
"Come out, son," he orders me.
"No, leave him out of this," my mother is sobbing pathetically, "Leave him alone!"
He comes up to me and picks me up. I am shaking in his hands as I start crying seeing how hurt my mother is. I throw my hands at him repeatedly and I start kicking my legs furiously. He leaves me down after some time and he slaps me across the face. My head flies to the other side as I try to support myself.
"Please don't harm my child, I am begging you," my mother pleads with him. She goes on her knees, " Please!"
He calls me to stand by his side and I do so obediently. He motions me to stand in front of him and all I can see is my mother crying.
I don't want mommy to suffer anymore. Nobody should be dragged down to this low level, not even for a child.
Suddenly my mother flies backwards as a loud ringing sound echoes through my ears as I crawl to mommy. She isn't moving. Why is she not moving? I stare back at him with disgust. There is a hole in mommy's head and there is blood gushing out of her. I put my tiny hands on top of it to make sure the blood does not flow out. Now, I am the one sobbing.
What happened to mommy?
"Mommy wake up," I tell her, " Mommy, I need you."
At least she never suffered anymore.
I comb my raven-black, dishevelled hair and watch as it bounces back to its natural state. I sigh as I drag my fingers into hair gel and I smoothen my hair out.
I am dressed in my fitted all-black attire as my consigliere knocks on the door.
"Can I come in, sir?" Delilah asks.
"Come in," I respond.
She is also fitted in her all-black attire. Her auburn hair is combed into a slick ponytail and her eyes are accompanied by silver eyeshadow and a wicked flick of eyeliner.
"Hi sir," She says as she leaves a peck on my lips.
I smile gently as I pick her up and spin her around. She laughs and that is like music to my ears. It makes my heart become full of warmth and makes me feel like a kid who has a crush on somebody. She is my home but a home that must be kept hidden.
Because there is one thing that I have learned since being a part of the mafia:
Love is A Weakness.
It is something that will be used against you by your enemies to get you to surrender. It is a tool forged from the depths of innocence and slays your unexpecting heart, driving you to insanity. I am not afraid to love but I am afraid it will be ripped away from me and I do not wish to feel as pathetic as my mother once this.
We walk to the kitchen where the rest of my inner circle is.
Cooped up by the island there is Kieran and Mason both highly engrossed in a chess match. Kieran's curly hair flops with his every movement as he intensely watches as Mason, my driver, make a move. Kieran is the hacker in the group and a very good hacker, I have to say. On the other side of the island is Isabella, drowning herself in what seems to Coco Pops. Isabella is the brains of this group. You might call her the strategist or the risk taker but we prefer "The-Know-It-All." Isabella is joined by Delilah and they start talking. I go to the cupboard and I get myself a box of Lindt. I slowly unwrap the delicious chocolate and pop it in my mouth. I crush the Lindt in my mouth and savour the deliciousness of that sauce in my mouth.
"You know for somebody so obsessed with fitness, I would have never imagined you having a box of Lindt everyday," Mason says, trying to snatch one of my delicious pleasures from me.
"What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," I wave him off.
My head soldier walks in on us.
"We are ready to move boss," He says, walking away.
We all follow him and the
We all follow him to the foyer of the mansion. I have picked a handful of soldiers to ride with us today. They are all dressed in black as well and they are holding their firearms, ready to set the plan in motion. The firearms do not contain real bullets but rather something that will leave a lasting sting on the other side.
I don't plan on using them. I do not intend on harming anyone. I am just going to get what I want and then I am going to get out.
Everybody files into their respective vehicles. My inner circle takes the cobalt blue McLaren 720s.
"Since I called shotgun," Kieran says, "I get to choose the music."
I can see the mischief in his eyes and he connects to the Bluetooth.
The radio blasts, "I am a Barbie girl…"
We all death stare him.
Is he serious?
"I AM A BARBIE GIRL," Mason starts singing loudly.
I can't help but smile. So we drive to our destination while we all sing the chorus.
I decrease the volume of the radio as we surpass we enter the Maristella.
I motion my soldiers to take their positions. My inner circle disperses to different corners, taking soldiers with them. We pull our masks down and we enter just as mafia boss, Karthika Cadman, walks down the stairs.
"Put your weapons and your hands up," I have one of my guys point a sniper at her body, "Or she gets it."