Chapter 78 IN FIRE.
\~~~ RAINA.
I stared at Alessia, my mouth going dry as her words sank in. “W… wait. That can't be possible,” I stammered, my voice shaking. “I asked him, and he said it was him. He agreed to killing him.”
Alessia chuckled lightly, leaning back to grab her cup of tea. “Of course, he’d say that. He would rather die than let the world know that it was me and not him.”
I shook my head, breathing out slowly. How was that possible? My mind spun with confusion. Luciano had confessed it to me himself, his voice was steady like it was just another fact of his life.
But now this? “But… first, why are you telling me this?” I asked, leaning forward.
“You’re family now,” she said simply. “You are married to my brother and a little bit part of our mess. And besides, I like you.” She shrugged, sipping her tea.
“You? Like me?” I laughed, surprised. It came out nervous, but genuine.
“Of course,” she replied. “I just needed to… test you? Yes, but you’re different from the others who only fake it all the time. So, yeah, I like you.”
I nodded, still trying to process all of this. My head felt full, like too much information was pouring in at once. Before I could say anything else, Alessia continued. This time, she was picking at her fingers and not looking at me directly. Her voice dropped lower, and heavier.
“My father was abusive with me. No, he hated me to the core. I guess he hated the fact that I was a woman, the most. He was a patriarch. A misogynist patriarch. He believed women should be locked in the house while men should dominate and shit, you get me?”
I nodded my head, my throat tight. I could feel the anger building in my chest already.
“Our mother was the only daughter of the bratva in Italy then, but… she made a mistake. She got pregnant with me. Actually, he is not my father. Rafael and I only share the same mother.”
My lips parted wide. Just when I thought I had heard it all, this hit me like a slap.
Not his daughter? That explained some of the hatred, but it made the abuse even more twisted.
“But, my mother was arranged to him, and he agreed. The benefits were high so he didn’t mind that she was a single mother. So, they married, and she gave birth to my brother, Luciano Rafael a year after. But, that was just the beginning. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been abused by him. He’d lock me in cages meant for dogs, and basements… name it. He’d even give his men the orders to beat me.”
Alessia laughed then, a bitter sound, and picked up her snack. How could she stomach anything right now? My own appetite had vanished the moment she started talking.
“When I was fifteen, our mother died, and that worsened everything. I saw hell, Talia. I wanted to die every day. No one could stand up to our father, of course. Whenever he was drunk, he would… touch me. He said I reminded him of my mother.”
I gasped, tears escaping my eyes without warning. The image of a young girl, alone and violated, made my stomach churn. How could a father do that?
“There were times Luciano would try to intervene, but father would threaten to hurt him too, so he just kept mute. It went on for years. But, one day, he…” Alessia swallowed hard, her voice cracking for the first time. “He wanted to go beyond touching. He… he wanted more. When I refused, he beat me till I almost died. But, I couldn’t let him have his way. There was the kitchen knife on the table, I had been peeling an apple before he came to me. So, I grabbed it, and I… stabbed him. Luciano’s lessons paid off, I guess.” She laughed again, but it was hollow.
“Luciano taught me everything I know, you know? How to dismantle and arrange a gun. How to shoot, and to stab to kill or paralyze.”
“God! I am so sorry!” I cried profusely, my hands covering my mouth as sobs shook me.
“Just then, Luciano entered,” Alessia continued regardless, like she had to get it all out. “He said he heard my father’s scream, so it was a matter of time before his men knew and came for me. So, he… R… Rafael snatched the knife from me. Wiped the blood on himself, and then forced me into hiding. So, everyone thought it was him. Turns out my 18-year-old brother had been planning a coup to overthrow our father.”
She paused to drink her tea again, her hand steady despite everything. “He succeeded, and then took over the Milan mafia ring, then merged it with our father’s. Talia, if Luciano never did that, everyone would have made sure I died that day. I was a mere girl, a bastard, and I had killed their lord, of course, no one would have spared me. Luciano… He gave me this life now…” Alessia then broke a tear, her tough facade cracking. “If it hadn’t been him…”
I couldn't hold it together anymore. I hurriedly stood from my seat and rushed to hug the woman, weeping openly. My chair tipped slightly behind me, but I didn't care. The cafe noise around us turned into a distant hum as I wrapped my arms around Alessia. She froze for a second, like she wasn't sure what to do, but then her body softened against mine. I pulled her close, my hands pressing into her back, feeling the rise and fall of her breaths. She was warm, real, and in that moment, so fragile. I buried my face in her shoulder, my tears wetting her sweater. “Shh, it's okay,” I whispered, even though I was the one crying harder. One hand stroked her hair gently, the soft strands slipping through my fingers. She smelled like tea and faint perfume, mixed with the sharp tang of unshed tears. I held her tight, rocking us a little, like I was trying to shield her from all the pain she'd just relived.
We stayed like that, locked in the hug, for what felt like minutes but was probably less. My heart pounded in my ears, a mix of sorrow and rage.
How much injustice was this? A father who hated a child for being born a girl, and for not fitting his twisted view of the world. Locking her in dog cages, beating her, and touching her in the worst ways was pure evil. And Alessia, just a kid, fighting back with a kitchen knife because no one else would. She shouldn't have had to do that. No one should. The mafia world was brutal, but this?
This was personal cruelty, hidden behind power and tradition. Their mother, trapped in an arranged marriage, had paid for her past with her life and her daughter's suffering. And the brother… Luciano taught her to defend herself, and planned a takeover not for greed, but to save her.
Luciano taking the blame, and wiping that blood on his clothes like it was his own sin. An eighteen-year-old boy sacrificing his reputation, and maybe his freedom to protect his sister… It broke me.
I had been so wrong about everything I thought I knew about my husband and his family.
When I first met Luciano, the rumors painted him as a cold killer, someone who murdered his father to grab the throne.
Even he had nodded when I asked, his eyes distant, like it was a weight he carried alone. I saw him as ruthless, shaped by the violence of their world. Nights when he came home with tension in his shoulders, I wondered if he was just like his father, dominating, controlling. I judged the family as a nest of vipers, full of betrayals and power grabs. Alessia seemed distant, maybe untrustworthy. But now? Luciano was a guardian, weaving lies to build walls around his loved ones. He merged mafias not for glory, but to create safety.
Marrying into this, I thought I was stepping into danger, but it was a family forged in fire, loyal to the bone.
Pulling back slightly, I cupped Alessia's face in my hands, wiping her tears with my thumb. Her eyes met mine, red but steady. “You didn't deserve any of that,” I said softly. “None of you did. And Luciano... he's incredible. You both are.”
She nodded, a small smile breaking through. “Yeah. He is.”
“Want to talk more?” I asked, squeezing her hand.
She shook her head. “Oh, I would love to! But, I fear your husband will gather a search party soon!”
She exclaimed and we both laughed.
I smiled, the tears drying on my cheeks. “Oh, please.”
“I am not kidding, my phone has been buzzing non stop in my bag, and I know it is him. I don’t even need to check,” she said, and we laughed again.”