Author's Obs~
This novel is in the 3rd person and the people's thoughts are always before or after they say something, and on the same paragraph.
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Bournville,
Birmingham, England
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CHIARA DI MATTEO WAS LIVING A NIGHTMARE.
It had been two months since her parents and her twin brother and sister were murdered by her sister's bitter ex-boyfriend, and she was sent to England to live with her father's so-called older brother, Kingsley Armstrong, whom she had never met before his death, since her father's family never wanted any contact with him after he married her mother, as they had something against Italians. Imagine if they knew her mom's family was a powerful mafia, there's no way they would ever get her there. Or maybe he would, and he knows, and he took her in out of pity, since she is his niece for good or bad.
Chiara didn't know, neither she cared. She was pissed that her parents had put her unknown uncle as her guardian in case something happened to her, when she would much better prefer to stay in Sicily with her mom's siblings. Beyond anything, Chiara was depressed and angrier than ever.
Scientifically speaking, she was half-British and half-Italian, since her dad was natural of Birmingham, England in the United Kingdom of Britain, whereas her mom was natural of Sicily, in Italy. But she considered her Italian rather than British, since she was born and raised there, and her habits were more Italian than anything. Yes, she's fluent in English since her father taught both triplets since they were babies, and they spoke a lot on their manor, but she still felt more comfortable with Italian.
Now, she would have to stay with her father's brother and his family because she's still a minor, and need a guardian, and the stranger was the chosen one by her parents for whatever reason. So, after two months grieving with her mom's family, and making them all swear that they wouldn't do anything about it and would let her take revenge on them, since it was her family that died, she had to go to England.
The only thing that weirded her out was that Kingsley sent her a package with a fake ID under the name Rebecca Serena Armstrong, that said she was born and raised in the outskirts of York, in England. There were countless of documents under that name too, and her plane tickets were also under that name, so she had to use them to go to the UK.
A tall guard was there with a plate under that name to get her, and she went with her, a resting bitch face on that said don't-fucking-dare-to-talk-to-me to anyone who looked at her, and she was still all in black. She's been using only black since the tragedy. "Miss Rebecca, I'm Phineas Peyton, one of your uncle's security guards, and here to take you to your uncle's home!"
"Oh mio Dio," [oh, my God] "really? I had no idea. I wouldn't have notice this merda with my name on it if you hadn't told me." She mocked sarcastically bitter, and dryly. Then she got inside the back of the car, "You know my real name isn't Rebecca Armstrong, right, coglione?" [Moron.]
I have no idea of what she just said, but it's Italian, and I feel like it's a curse of some kind, she seems rude. The man thought. "Yes, miss Rebecca, I am aware. Nevertheless, my boss told me and everyone else to call you Rebecca Serena Armstrong."
"That figlio di puttana," [son of a bitch] "why is he doing that?" She asked more to herself than to him. "He thinks I'm ashamed of my family. Because I'm not, porca puttana." [Fuck.] Or is it because my famiglia had roots on the mafia? But it's not like any of these British people would know that merda. [Shit.] Does he really know about mama's famiglia? [Mom's family.] "Fine. Do your job as you are told, otherwise you might get punished, if Kingsley is anything like papa was."
Was Mr. Rufus ruthless? "I'm sorry for your loss, Miss."
Chiara clenched her fists and jaw, "Are you though?"
"I lost my parents, so I understand your pain, and I've met your father before, and he was very kind. I'm genuinely sorry!"
I'm sure he doesn't understand my pain. "Hm."
I guess she doesn't want to talk. "Put the seatbelt, please."
"Don't worry about me, coglione, and drive!" It was an order.
Jesus, she sounds more intimidating than the boss. "Yes."
"How long will it take?"
He blinked, "From here to the boss' mansion?"
"No. From here to hell. Yes, coglione. From here to my zio's place. How long will it take?" Maybe I'll have some time before.
"Zio?" He asked confused.
Ugh, those people who only speak one language irritate me the most. She sighed deeply annoyed, "Zio means uncle in Italian, coglione. Now, answer me!"
Through the mirror, he could see her deadly glare, and that spread goosebumps down his spine, "Two hours given the traffic today, Miss Rebecca. It's a mansion almost out of Birmingham, so it is quite far from the airport. Shall I stop in any restaurant on the way, for you to eat something?"
"That will not be necessary, coglione."
He gathered courage again, "What does that mean?"
Chiara closed her eyes for a second. "It means moron in your language. You've been acting like one. Anything else?" She shot daggers at him with her eyes.
Jesus, I'm genuinely scared. "No, Miss. I'm sorry."
She scoffed, "you say that a lot. It loses its meaning," it was all she said before closing the black window that separate the driver seat from the back. Chiara took her two computers from her backpack and her iPad pro max, then she put up the portable table for it on her seat over her lap and connected it to the mobile internet of her phone.
Her father, Rufus Armstrong, was a tech genius and a skilled hacker, and while her twin siblings never liked any of that neither the gruesome side of her mom's family, she loved it all. Thus, her father taught her how to hack when she was still a little child, and she's more of a prodigy at it than he was. Going by the nickname Black Mamba online and being looked up by many notable hackers.
Chiara hadn't looked over her uncle yet, not just because she was never interested in it, but because she also had no time or mind to do that after her family's tragedy. Having other priorities of greater importance. So, she decided to use these two hours to get something on him just to be prepared. Her parents always taught her that she had to be prepared before anything.
And so, she gathered as much info as she could.
Kingsley Joshua Armstrong. 52 years old. Firstborn son of Blair Rickard and Garrett Armstrong, 5 years older than Rufus Jason Armstrong was. No sisters. Married at 21 to Millie Sabrina Newman, an epic fantasy writer, who also acts as a magazine model. Became a father at 27 of a boy, and two years later of a girl. Kevin Mason Armstrong and Khloe Marie Armstrong. Chairman of the Armstrong Group since he was 18, after their parents died, and he got responsible for Rufus, who was 13, for 5 years until he reached adulthood.
As a prodigy, went to Oxford at 14 and managed to graduate at 17 in Business and Management. Worked as a model for magazines when younger as well, and that's how he met his wife. His oldest son is 22 and graduate from Business school in Oxford a year ago and is his heir. His daughter is 19 and is a famous media influencer, singer, and actress in the UK.
Kingsley owns a hockey team, a wine factory, a model label, and many properties. Nevertheless, his net worth combine with his wife is about 678 million pounds.
Hah! Mama and papa were richer. Our famiglia's net worth alone was 5 billion euros, and it'll all be mine the instant I turn 18. Though his money seems to have come in a clean manner, whereas a good part of ours we got through… mafia ways. Chiara grinned to herself and kept gathering all she needed to be prepared to face her father's older brother. And she did it while Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift, her sister's favorite song, played on her air pods, and she drank the vodka she brought in her bottle, as if it was water.
Kevin dates a runaway model called Nairi Parseghian, a 21-year-old woman natural from Armenia, who is one of the faces of Versace and Victoria's Secret in the UK, and they got together little after he came back from Oxford. Khloe, otherwise, dates Everett Lowe, one of the rising actors from the new HBO show that exploded worldwide, who's also a singer, original from London, and 20 years old. Both of Kingsley's kids still live on his mansion but they have properties for themselves, as they aren't always in Birmingham.
Well, they are both still young, either way. It's normal for that to happen in Italy, especially in big families that have a lot of power. Many leave only when they get married, like mom did. Chiara took another sip of the vodka.
And that's how she passed the two hours until Phineas told her they were arriving, and she put all of her equipment back in her backpack and acted as if nothing happened, wishing she had her silenced gun with her to feel safer in the new environment, but glad that she managed to bring it in the middle of her clothes in the bag that came down on the plane.