Page 4 of A Beautiful Crime

Foolish of me, I’m aware but I had hoped to hear something to relinquish my fears. It only confirms what I have known all along.

Savio Fiore is only a shell of a man.

There’s no remorse.

No forgiveness.

He’s brutal and merciless.

Savio Fiore stopped being a man long ago and became something else instead.

Worse than even a villain.

And now he wants me to become just like him.

“Papa-”

“If you are about to defend him once more then you will join him,” he threatens me in that cool tone. I snap my mouth shut and bite down hard on my tongue. I will not make another mistake. Not when I have done so many in such a short period of time. “Your elder brother is right, Carina. You are a part of The Fiore Famiglia. Now you must do what is necessary to prove your loyalty to your Don.”

Luca.

My papa’s most trusted confidant. His underboss. His most proud achievement. The only time a shimmer of light enters papa’s eyes is when Luca bestows upon him another victory.

Luca is my papa’s most important piece on the chess board. Without him the rest will crumble.

But for Luca to want me involved with The Fiore Famiglia means he has another victory to claim. And to claim that victory he needs me on the chess board as a piece to move.

“But you’re my papa.” My heart is bleeding. The last of my innocence pouring out of me.

His fingers dig in my skin and I bite harder on my tongue to not wince. “I am your Don first and your papa second. This is an order from your Don, Carina. You will prove to me your loyalty or you will join him. Do not make me waste a precious bullet.”

Lifting his hand from my shoulder he then trails it down my arm. His hand grasps mine, the one with the gun shaking like a leaf in the wind in my hand. He raises my hand, working me like his very own marionette, and steadies my hand. Continuing being a marionettist he raises my opposite arm and places my hand around the cold metal, gripping my fingers on the handle, placing my finger gently on the trigger. As his final act he sets me up for the perfect shot. Aiming center on Elio’s forehead.

The crinkle of plastic returns as he takes a step away from me.

It’s abundantly clear what he’s doing.

He’s making this my choice.

To be reborn again or die.

Is there really a choice?

As I stare at my fratello with despair in my eyes and my heart down to its last drop of blood I can tell he knows.

And I don’t know what is worse, accepting the darkness or giving up.

Either way my choice has been made.

“I’m sorry,” I mumble the words so low that only I can hear. And I hope one day that Elio can forgive me. I hope one day that God, the one I believed in before tonight can forgive me.

I close my eyes as I pull the trigger.

The bang reverberates long after it’s done.

As I open my eyes my mouth falls open in a silent scream.

The haunted image of my fratello with his head blown open and his brain matter mixed with the brightest of crimson behind him will forever stay with me.

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