Chapter 17 Sweetener in our world

Chapter 17 Sweetener in our world
Sicily didn’t welcome me back with open arms as always.
The air smelled the same: salt, old stone, citrus trees bruised by heat. I knew the eyes on us. I could feel it in everything we did. I was sharp and alert.
Alyssa lifted a yawn beside me, and Gia is tapping away on her tablet.
“The car will be here any minute"
After 30 minutes. The car finally arrived. It was one of the drivers at the estate. He was late and gave an half hearted apology.
I didn't acknowledge him. The three of us just got into the car. The car drove slowly to the estate, and none said a single word. Immediately, he parked. When we finally got to the estate. I told the driver to come down from the car. Immediately, I brought out my gun and bag… I shot him in his calf
" I won't tolerate any disrespect. If I say be on time. I say be on time,” he screams, filling the air as the three of us walk into the estate.

After some announcements were made. It was finally time for the meeting I had scheduled to discuss my role as the new don, and that I won't tolerate any insolence.
I stood at the head of the long table in the estate’s underground hall, palms flat against the polished wood, eyes moving slowly over the men seated around me. Old blood. Old names. Older grudges.
They were waiting for me to show the slightest hesitation.
I didn’t.
“Let’s begin,” I said calmly.
A few exchanged glances. One of them, Salvatore, grey-haired and permanently unimpressed, leaned back in his chair.
“You’ve been gone a long time,” he said. “And you return making demands.”
“I return, taking responsibility,” I replied evenly. “Something this organisation has lacked for years.”

A scoff. “From a woman?”
The word landed exactly where he intended.
I smiled.
“From someone who buried her father, dismantled his enemies, and survived the ones who tried to kill her,” I said. “But if you’d like to test whether gender makes me less lethal, I can arrange that.”
The room shifted.
Not fear yet, but attention. They was outrage too.
Good.
By the end of that first week, the threats had begun.
Subtle ones. Delayed shipments. “Lost” funds. Men who nodded to my face and undermined me in back rooms. Every move was calculated to see how far they could push before I snapped.
I didn’t snap. But I was so close to doing so. These men, with their dick-measuring competitions, are always with me. My lack of physicality doesn't mean I have bigger balls than them.

On the tenth day, I called another meeting.
This time, I didn’t stand alone.
Two men who had been skimming profits were dragged in, bruised and shaking. I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t touch them.
I simply laid out dates, amounts, and locations.
Then I handed the room, no choice. I began. the torture lasted for 10 minuites before i got bored. The sound of their screams and the pleas, " We have families. please" Typical "I have family too, but you don't see me stealing from you"
I got bored and just shot them in the head. clean shots.
I was covered in blood, but I never felt more alive in my life. I missed this the most.

Word spread fast after that.
Jobs executed cleanly. Borders secured. Debts collected without bloodshed unless absolutely necessary. When violence was required, it was swift and precise.
They started calling me La Figlia di Ferro.
The Iron madness.
Respect came slowly. Suspicion lingered longer.
And the longer I stayed, the heavier it became.
Three weeks in, sleep was a luxury I no longer remembered how to afford.
Every night blurred into another negotiation, another threat, another fragile alliance that could shatter if I misstepped. My shoulder still ached when I overworked it. My temples throbbed constantly.
The only softness came from home.
From the girls.
They called every day…sometimes from their own phones, sometimes stealing Liam’s just to get us to talk to each other more.
“Mummy!” Lucia would shout. “Guess what happened today!”
And Lyla would correct her immediately. “You’re exaggerating. It was just an art class.”
I laughed more with them than I did with anyone here.
They tried very hard…to get us to talk.
“Daddy says hi,” Lucia would sing.
“He’s right here,” Lyla added pointedly.
And then there’d be a pause. A breath.
“Hi,” Liam would say.
“Hi,” I’d answer.
Still awkward. It was Still careful.
But it mattered.
By the third week, the cracks showed.
I missed home.
Missed the girls’ weight when they tackled me into hugs. Missed the way Liam filled a room without trying. Missed sleeping without a gun within reach.
One night bled into morning without warning.
It was past two a.m. when I finally sank into the chair in my office, rubbing my eyes. My phone buzzed.
A text from Liam.
Are you asleep?
Good night.
Ten minutes old.
My chest tightened.
I stared at the screen longer than I should have, thumb hovering. Calling would wake him. He had meetings. Responsibilities. A life that didn’t revolve around my chaos.
Another buzz.
Why aren’t you sleeping?
How does he know I wasn't sleeping? Before I could decide, my phone rang.
I answered immediately.
“Hi,” he said.
His voice was deeper at night. Rougher. It slid under my skin before I could stop it.
“Hi,” I breathed.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked again, softer this time.
“There was an issue,” I said quietly. “It took longer than expected.”
A pause.
“You sound exhausted.”
“I am.”
“You don’t have to do everything alone,” he said.
I smiled faintly. “You’re learning.”
He huffed a quiet laugh. “So are you.”
We talked like that,nothing dramatic. Nothing heavy. Just us breathing life together through a screen.
I don’t remember falling asleep.
Only the warmth of his voice lingering as everything faded.
—
The next morning, weight crashed onto my stomach.
“MUMMY!”
I gasped as two small bodies bounced on the bed, laughter ringing bright and real.
“Kisses attack!” Lucia declared, pressing her face to mine.
Lyla followed suit, giggling as she planted careful kisses on my cheeks.
“What are you guys doing here. Where is daddy"
“He is right behind us.." Lucia said in singsong manner
I laughed. Actually laughed… as I wrapped my arms around them, pulling them close.
“Can I kiss you?"