Final test
I'm in the living room waiting for Lorenzo, Nicco, and Dante to arrive.
Matteo arrived fifteen minutes ago and went to take a shower after his shift at the mafia hospital.
My cousins are traveling in two days; they need to sort some things out in other parts of the country, and I have a decision to make.
My birthday was last week; I still miss that night, and if I could, I would relive that day many times.
The front door opens and I smile at the boys.
They have no idea why I asked for the family reunion, but this idea has been on my mind for weeks.
Matteo joins us and, finally, we're all in the living room.
"What's the reunion about?" Lorenzo asks.
"I turned sixteen last week and, a few months ago, Nonno proposed to me," I reply seriously.
I see the blood drain from the boys' faces.
“Well, I’ve made my decision,” I tell them without lowering my tone or losing confidence. “I’m going to start my training with the mafia, specifically in three areas.”
“Three?” Luca asks, surprised.
“Yes, since I want to take over the leadership of the American mafia,” I say, looking at Lorenzo, who doesn’t seem surprised. “I know it’s dangerous, so, without further ado, I’ve decided.”
The boys exchange glances, trying to decide.
“Which areas?” Nonno asks professionally.
“Leadership with Matteo, Nicco, Lorenzo, and Dante,” I say, pointing to them. “Strategy with Vicente, and finally, interrogation with the twins.”
“This will take time,” Lorenzo says, without completely dismissing my idea.
“I know it will, so I’ll start immediately,” I say firmly. “You needed someone to take command of the American mafia without weakening the other areas of our mafia.”
“But what about your involvement with the Russian mafia?” Nonna asks me, and this is a taboo subject around here.
Everyone knows I’m dating Dominic, but they insist on ignoring that fact.
“We have a right to the American mafia, and putting someone from outside the family in charge would be foolish,” I say, leaning forward and interlacing my hands. “The marriage alliance is almost as important as blood ties; having access to three mafias will make us invincible.”
“Yes, but that will make us an even bigger target,” Vicente admits.
“We already have a huge target on our backs; the Italian and Russian mafias are the biggest there are, the American one was a bonus,” I tell the truth. “Well, I’m offering a solution, but one thing is already decided: my training starts next week.”
One year later:
“Come on, sister, you’re the one who said you wanted to join the mafia,” Giorgio says as we get out of the car.
“Nobody told me that training and torture were the same thing,” I complain, pain coursing through my body.
Today is the day of my final test.
It’s been an intense year. For the first two months, I shadowed Vicente, who taught me to hone my perception and reasoning.
Then, I was assigned to Sandro, who taught me to shoot with mastery, to calculate the trajectory of a bullet from kilometers away.
Then, when I completed six months of training, they sent me to the base in another city with Bruno, Luca, Vitório, Leonardo, and the twins.
I divided my days with each of them.
Bruno, Luca, and Vitório would play with me whenever the twins were away.
The twins are interrogators; they would create hypothetical situations and use me or one of the boys as an example. After that, the other three, who like to play games, would come in; they would drag you into their world, manipulating your ambition and your momentary needs.
And that's how they destroy people.
I went through this several times until I finally broke, until I realized what was real and what wasn't, until I managed to make them fall into their own traps.
For the last month, I've only been with Leonardo.
He took me to an isolated mountain, taught me to hunt, to kill without feeling guilt, to fight to survive.
He showed me the limits we can and cannot cross, and how far we can go without becoming monsters.
Now I'm returning from a trip; the others arrived earlier, and I stayed with Leonardo and Giorgio to travel with me.
"You're ready," Leonardo assures me.
Spending a year training has matured me, transformed that scared and traumatized girl into a strong woman.
Not to mention who I'm going to take over the American mafia when all this is over.
"I know I am, I'm just tired," I say, glaring at him. "Or have you forgotten that you haven't let me sleep or eat for the last forty-eight hours?"
Giorgio shoots an irritated look at Leonardo.
"She's strong," he assures me, defending himself.
Stretching my aching muscles, I tie my hair in a ponytail.
"Before you go in, I need to give you some rules," Giorgio says seriously. "You can only use the weapons you're given, you can't ask any of us for help, and lastly, if you give up, you're out."
"Okay, I only have one question," I say, snapping my fingers.
"Yes?" says Giorgio, pulling a blindfold from his pants pocket.
"How will I know when it's over?" I ask, having no idea what I'll be doing in there.
“You’ll find out,” Giorgio says before blindfolding me.
He also handcuffs my hands, and I try to control my breathing.
“We’re not going to go easy on Elena, none of us,” Leonardo says coldly.
I hear the warehouse door open and, minutes later, I’m sitting in a chair.
The blindfold is removed from my eyes without warning, and I have to adjust to the bright light on my face.
Lorenzo is sitting across from me; I see some papers on the table between us.
“You have ten minutes to analyze them and give me an answer,” he says coldly.
I look at all the papers and feel like a confusing puzzle is before me.
Hunger is making me sluggish.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath for a minute to clear my mind.
When I go back to reading the papers, it’s easier to understand. This is a merger where the company that buys the business will go bankrupt within a year if it keeps the same board of directors and management.
But if they change the main board and reduce production costs for a few months, it will be enough to keep the company afloat, and in two years they will be at the top of the market.
I explain this to Lorenzo, who just listens, then gathers the papers and leaves the room without giving me any answer.
I roll my eyes and feel my arms starting to ache.
The door opens again and the twins enter; from their looks, I realize they've come to work.
Well, I have my own tricks.
"Remember I said you can quit? We'll still love you the same way," says Giorgio, sitting down across from me.
Giovanni remains in the corner of the room.
"And what am I going to get out of it? A pat on the back?" I ask ironically. "Come on, guys, we've played this game before."
Giovanni laughs at me.
“It won’t be the same, Elena,” he says, then analyzes me. “Look around, notice where you are.”
I know where I am; I know they’ve recreated the room where Edgar tortured me.
I realized this the moment my ankles were fastened to the chair.
Then I enter the reenactment.