Chapter 45 (Marco)


    I have never been a fair man, by any part of the word. While my brother was getting groomed to be a


    businessman and the future of the Famiglia, I was serving my country in the Navy.


    I joined the Shadows, after my second tour. A few years in, I handled only certain cases. I used my free


    time and got aw degree under my father’s nose.


    Knowledge is a good investment. My time I took to secure a safe future for my family was well worth it


    in the end.


    I was never behind on any abovew dealings. My hands always kept just above tidy, hiding the blood


    that it soaked in. Until 6 years ago.


    Do you know when you think of that moment that really changed your life, the exact time when you


    changed? For me it was not just a moment, it was the one I shared that moment with.


    The day I heard one word spoken to me, “Daddy,” and those little hands wrapping around my neck, and


    that goofy smile. Mischa has been my driving force in obtaining the highest member of power. When


    she was a baby, Deno and I promised her protection, a silent right we did for a cousin who was


    shamed. I kept her close to my heart raising her as my own, so she never wants for anything.


    Cami put Mischa in jeopardy more times I could count. She was a woman I knew and grew into


    caring very deeply for. I loved her and I knew her actions came from her heart.


    "But you fell in love with her. She loved you too, she told me." Aliyana says it like it is the simplest


    answer to everything. If only she knew the whole story and the part, she has yed in this whole fuck


    up.


    I throw the brandy in the fire.


    It crackles and I say nothing to her little noise when she bumps her leg on my coffee table in fright. She


    should be frightened.


    "I am a made-man. I don''t love, not like that. It''s a weakness. "


    "But you loved her.” She insists.


    I walk toward Aliyana, and I tug her by the belt of her waistcoat until she is flush against me.


    “Give me what belongs to me Aliyana,” I tell her.


    Her eyes are burning, a mirror of the fire just behind us reflects in the iris of her gaze.


    She''s so still, I wonder if she will give me what I want.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    I need her to say the words.


    She moves a step back, out of my arms, and stares at me, "You are Marco Catelli, Capo Dei Capi, The


    Boss of all Bosses."


    She opens the belt of her coat I just held in my hands, dropping it to the floor as her knowledge adds to


    the moment.


    “And I, Aliyana Capello will never belong to you.”


    “You already do.”


    “Can you love me if I was responsible for Cami’s death?”


    “No, I can never love you Aliyana, but in a month from now, I will make you my wife. Now I need you to


    get dressed, if you want a lift, I will be happy to oblige, if not, please just get out of my house.”