The Mafia's Babies by Kaycee Romano (little readers TXT) 📕

||Four years later...||

"How dare she disrespect me? Her own grandmother!" Abrianna Costello was beyond furious. Though in her early eighties and suffering from acute heart disease and arthritis, the woman had travelled all the way from Sicily to New York with her two sons and daughter-in-law to have a family dinner with the whole of her family. While her two grandsons were present, her granddaughter, Alessia, was missing. As always.

"Relax Mama, she must be busy with something." Luigi, her elder son, tried though he himself didn't believe his words.

Things had happened. Things that shouldn't have had happened and things he had warned the family against and they had lost their old happy and chirpy Alessia as a consequence. Now the woman had become a heartless assassin void of any emotion or compassion.

Leonardo, Luigi's son, glanced sideway at his cousin, Mateo, who looked like he couldn't be less interested in the drama. Mateo was once a blind follower of his grandmother but the same incident that occurred a few years ago had removed the blindfold wrapped around his young foolish eyes and now he was a true made man of the Mafia who supported his sister. Their father Alessio and mother Katrina were also supporting their daughter, but Alessia couldn't care less. They weren't there for her when she needed them and now, she didn't want them and their fake love and care.

"Alessio, I want your daughter in my villa in a week's time. Is that clear?" She glared at her younger son, Alessio Adesso, the Boss of the Sicilian Mafia.

By tradition, Luigi, had become the Boss of the Sicilian Mafia when he had come of age. Till then, for a brief period, Abrianna was in charge after the death of her husband. Luigi was a prosperous leader but in her late pregnancy, Leonardo's mother, Evelina, was shot. An emergency surgery saved the baby but the mother succumbed to the injuries and Luigi lost the love of his life and the very essence of his existence. So, he gave up his rank, but still staying in the Mafia as the Underboss while his younger brother took charge because he wasn't going to let his little Alessio deal with the big bad world alone.

And now in their sixties, the men still ruled the Mafia together while their sons made them proud and anxious as Capos.

"Mama, Sia isn't a child anymore. She makes her own decisions and choices." The Mafia Boss said firmly. Never was he ever going to impose another one of his decisions on his precious little princess.

Abrianna banged her fist on the table, her wrinkles scrunching up as her face contorted in pain as a shock surged from the point of contact to her shoulder.

"She is a woman of the Sicilian Mafia Family. She doesn't have the freedom to make decisions." She gritted each word out.

Mateo and Leonardo were ready to argue but by the laws of their family, they could not speak while the elders spoke so they gritted their teeth and clenched their fists as they controlled their urge to snap.

"Actually Mama, she does. Times have changed and so have some rules. You were Boss of the Sicilian Mafia for a brief time Mama. Let my daughter be the Boss of her own life."

.

.

.

"I was shocked to hear Zio (uncle) say what he did!" Leonardo exclaimed as Mateo and he walked down the stairs of the hotel. Mateo's car had been brought out by the valet. He was going back to his apartment while the rest of his family stayed in the hotel. They were taking early morning flights to Chicago where there was going to be a meeting to resolve some issues.

Thankfully, under the watchful eyes of Mateo Adesso, the situation in New York was peaceful and boring so he and his second in command, Adam Smith, were all it needed to take care of all the shipments, paper works and occasional disruptions.

Mateo bid his brother goodbye and set out to his home. Adam was out with a few of their men having drinks. Though he was very close to him, Mateo couldn't have Adam at the family dinner, not because he was thought less than a family but because his grandmother hated Adam because he was closer to her grandson than the many Italians in the Mafia. She was fucked up like that, though she herself had taken him in.

The traffic thinned down as he drove towards the more secluded and secure part of New York, where his posh penthouse apartment was. But at some point, he became aware of the black Sedan tailing him.

Mateo's lips curled down and forehead wrinkled in a grimace. It was past ten in the evening and after an exhausting day of paper works and another draining hour with his grandmother, all Mateo really wanted was to drive above the speed limit and somehow reach his apartment so that he could crash on the bed not bothering to take off his shoes or suit.

But she wanted to play. Because she had nothing better to do with her life.

His tail-lights blinked signaling Mona Petrov that she had been found out. The crazy woman rolled her eyes and smacked her driver across the head while directing him to close in on her conquest.

Mona Petrov. She was the younger sister of the Boss of the Russian Mafia, Sergey Petrov.

She had no interest in the Mafia at first and was happily living her life in the riches her brother had built with the blood and flesh of his innocent victims as the spoilt brat she was. But then one of her crazy parties was gate-crashed by Mateo and his gang. He was a stupid crazy newly made man of the Mafia then, impulsive and indecisive but to her, he was an Italian masterpiece and she fell in love with him at first sight and got obsessed with him and when she realized her desperate attempts couldn't win him over, she decided she was going to use power to bring him down on his knees in front of her. And hence, she joined the Mafia and haunted Mateo ever since.