Page 49 of Memento Mori
Antonio approached me, and I touched his cheek stained with blood. While he knew what needed to be done, Marianna was still his mother. I wouldn’t miss her, but I was sure a part of him would.
“I’m sorry, my love.”
A heavy sigh emanated from him. “The woman I loved died a long time ago,Bella. No need to be sorry. Let’s get this done.”
Without another word, he wrapped his arm around my waist, escorting me out of the dungeon. Next stop, Italy. It was time we ended this.
Chapter Nineteen
WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR
Antonio
Sicily
Memento Mori.
Those goddamn words would not leave my head. Its translation, the inevitably of death was very poetic, but that death would not come to the only woman I have ever loved. I will die before Aaliyah leaves this earth before me and whoever was threatening her would leave with me.
As soon as we touched down in Italy, a wave of dread and anger washed over me. This would be the day my mother took her last breath. There was no time to think about it. There was no time to waste. Aaliyah’s life depended on the information she had. Nothing would change. There was no way she could be saved.She killed my father. She helped whoever was trying to get back at my father, by attacking me and my family. There was no way she could live after all that she had done.
Memento Mori—her death was inevitable.
There was no love lost between Aaliyah and my mother. Although Aaliyah always gave my mother respect even when she didn’t deserve it, my mother refused to budge on her opinions on my relationship with my wife.
Working with the enemy to take my wife from me, to destroy me, she deserved everything that was coming to her. And if I didn’t give the go ahead for it to happen, I didn’t deserve to be Don of the RizzoFamiglia.And I for sure as hell didn’t deserve the title Boss of Bosses. My wife was my everything, and Marianna tried to destroy her. Now, I will destroy her.
The blacked-out Audi we were riding in came to a halt in front of one of the grand estates belonging to the Rizzo family in Sicily. It was the home we had banished Marianna to. A place where we hoped she would stay and never bother us again. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Luca opened the door, and I stepped out into the warm sunlight. I buttoned my suit blazer and looked up at the grand stone mansion that my father had constructed for Marianna before I was born.
The building’s grandeur and intricate details were reminiscent of the gothic architecture of old, adding an air of mystery andhistory. I wasn’t particularly fond of it, but my father absolutely loved it.
Aaliyah stood beside me, and I could feel the warmth of her hand as our fingers intertwined. I couldn’t help but be drawn to her, and with a longing glance, I leaned in and gently kissed her lips. I loved this woman so much and I’d be damned if anyone took her away from me.
Blood or not.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“I am.”
Luca and Franco came with us on the trip, and Alessandro stayed back in the States. There was no reason for him to be here for this. Even though he knew what needed to be done, he still had a soft spot for Marianna. I didn’t fault him for it. While I harbored nothing but hate for the woman she had become, he still held onto his love for her. Maybe this was the woman she had always been and as her kids, we had blinders on. Well, I knew I did until I saw how she treated my sister.
It took some convincing, but Alessandro agreed to stay behind and ensure that everything ran smoothly at home. The Feds were still breathing down our necks and while this trip would be quick because I didn’t think it would take long for Marianna to cave, someone needed to be there while I was here. And I trusted no one more than my brother.
When we made it to the large double doors, I didn’t waste any time, simply pushing them open without a second thought. The guards at the gate had already made a phone call to inform her of my arrival. And all the staff had been sent home on my orders.
As we entered the foyer, the sound of our shoes clicking on the marble floor echoed through the room. It looked so different from when I was a kid. The family portraits that used to line the creamed color walls in the foyer had been taking down, probably out of spite by my mother, and replaced by black and white photos of Italy’s countryside. Not only did it not look like home anymore, but it also didn’t feel like home anymore. It was cold and sterile. No life.
“Find her,” I said. “Bring her to the study.”
“Yes Don,” Luca and Franco said in unison, their footsteps echoing as they split up to search the house for my mother.
In silence, Aaliyah and I walked towards my father’s study, a sense of melancholy hanging in the air. My study.
It was on the first floor towards the back of the mansion. We passed the grand staircase. Our footsteps echoing off the marble floors were the only sounds throughout the house. Once again walls that used to be covered with family photos, pictures of generations of Rizzo’s were now replaced with generic photos of Italy’s landscapes.
There was a time when this house was filled with laughter, smells of food, songs of joy. Now it had none of that. All that joy definitely died when we grew up.
