Page 6 of A Beautiful Crime

I was forced with a choice. A choice that every member of The Fiore Famiglia was given.

But that choice stole everything I held dear. And it drained all the innocence I once had.

I now see the world the way it’s meant to be seen.

The very same way papa and Luca do.

Before I saw all the beauty in it but now I see how hideous mankind truly is. How it reeks of desperation and litters every corner. And for every good man I believed there was, I now know there are twice as many who are sinister.

In our Catholic Church I would listen to the priest talk of Heaven and Hell. How we are blessed that the angels are here to guide us. To protect us from the sins of the devil. To protect us from his demons.

He spoke of God in constant praise. He worshiped the all mighty in a way papa and Luca have never done. Father Frank spoke of God as thy King. And Father Frank saw himself as one of God’s precious soldiers. To spread the word of God to protect the people from sin and damnation. Reminding us all that in life we must have compassion. That there must be redemption for us all. Father Frank’s purpose was to protect us from an eternity in Hell.

If only Father Frank knew that Hell is already here and the devil walks amongst us and we lose ourselves to his temptation every day.

We fall deeper into sin until we’re cloaked with a darkness that can not see the light.

My mamma used to say to me that life is to be viewed as a rose. Captivating in its beauty but to always be aware of the thorns. For the rose will deceive you with its blinding bold vibrancy, but it’s the thorns that you neglect to see that will get you.

I wish I was ashamed to say that the thorns have gotten me.

But my rebirth took away my shame along with my innocence.

I am what I never wanted to become.

A villain.

But there is one thing that papa and Luca don’t know. One thing that might be the hiccup on their precious chess board that could ruin everything.

On the night of my rebirth I was also born with a resentment so deep and a hatred so strong that I have lost every other functioning emotion.

And that resentment and hatred didn’t only extend to my papa and my dear older brother, Luca. It also extends to the man who forced me to get pricked by the thorns. The one who forced my papa to snatch away the scope. The one who made me become a piece on the chess board for Luca to claim another victory to bestow to papa.

My deepest resentment and my strongest hatred lies with him.

Constantine Donati.

The king of the underworld who sits upon the throne my papa claims is his.

The infamous Don of The Donati Famiglia who has charmed the media and beguiled the hearts of women across the east coast while simultaneously ruling the underworld with an iron fist.

Everyone respects Constantine Donati out of fear. Some men are even afraid to whisper his name. Petrified they’ll conjure him up out of thin air to claim their souls.

Since my rebirth I’ve become well known of his name.

I’ve tasted it on my tongue a thousand times and I loathe the taste. It’s bitter with a pinch of sweetness that promises carnal wickedness.

It’s because of him, after all, that I’ve become the most important piece on Luca’s chess board.

I grit my teeth as I stand on the outskirts of the perfectly shined dark marbled floor. I’m half tempted to take my six inch Louis Vuitton black heels and scratch them along the pristine floor.

But if I have learned one thing from my papa it’s to not let your emotions control you. You are to remain indifferent at best but must always wear a smile to charm and deceive.

I am not the best at wearing a smile. Not when I have nothing to smile for. It feels wrong on my lips and my facial muscles always strain to keep it in place.

Since my rebirth I’ve adopted what has been known as resting bitch face.

Although I miss the bright smiles I once adorned, I can admit that this new face I’ve adopted has its perks.

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