TAKING THE BOLD STEP

ARIANA'S POV~

Don Argento couldn't believe it, his son was before him, he ignored his wife and daughter, slowly he walked toward Silvio who welcomed him.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Silvio, but I should start by welcoming you back from the dead" I applauded his bravery, I didn't care if I was a one-man army right now.

"That deal should never have happened," he continued.

"No deal Silvio, I'm not selling my wife to you, I hate to break it to you but there's bad news my friend" Mateo stated.

My mind was made up after last night, there was no hope that he would ever change.

He is always going to remain a beast, and now Silvio is back, from the dead.

My hunch was right after all, and from the look on my proud father's face, I could tell he was in on this. 

"Mateo, im asking you nicely, I have you surrounded, you should not have touched what was mine, you knew it and you did it anyways" Silvio flared.

Mateo laughed, "she was never yours and she never will" Mateo boasted.

His haughtiness irritated me and my belly turned after witnessing all I did last night.

I can't stay with him any longer, I'm in danger, my life is in danger and so are the lives of my children.

Children he wants to kill out of spite and anger, I can't allow such to happen.

Silvio pointed his gun at Mateo and that was when Sophia, who had been glaring at me since I walked into the main hall screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Enough of this! Enough! I can't take it anymore just stop!" she cried.

Her father turned to her, and he slapped her hard across the face, "How dare you disrupt my son's return!"

"Because he is not your son!" everyone gasped in horror, "I can't let you do this Silvio, Ariana is your sister" she confessed.

What did she just say? Silvio is my brother? How?

Liana staggered backwards; fear seized her. She looked up at her husband, who had now turned to her fully. " What the hell is she talking about?" Don Argento roared.

The music has now stopped and everyone is wondering what was going on.

"Lies!" I heard my father thunder before he coughed, it seems with tomas gone he would eventually die and it pleased me.

"Lies from the pit of hell!" he continued, "and where did you hear this girl? Everyone knows you have this disgusting attraction to your brother! Lies won't lead you anywhere!" he was furious.

Sophia laughed manically. " There is no need to lie; Don Mateo here can confirm it," she snickered. I believe he has the tape, and everything that is in there is enough proof to imprison you for a long time," Sophia replied, her tone full of disgust.

"Vincenzo? What the hell is going on?" Don Argento questioned, he turned his attention to Mateo who smiled and took out a tape.

"I believe it time to hand it over" I heard Paul say before he emerged from the crowd, mateo placed the tape in his hands, "I can never bring your parents back, but ill damn sure make good on the promise I made to myself to seek out justice for them, they were friends of mine, whatever you heard on that tape is just a tip of the iceberg" he started.

"Paul! You backstabbing bastard!" I heard my father roar.

"Before you attack Silvio you must know, that Sophia is right, Ariana is your sister, and that fat bastard right there is your father" he continued.

Everyone gasped again in shock, and then murmurs started going around, "All my life I questioned it if im truly my father's son, why don't I look like him, why don't I..." he stopped mid-sentence and pulled out his gun.

"I came here for Ariana, I don't care about your lies," he said, his words heavy with the pain of his new reality.

I couldn't believe it either, I almost married my brother.

"Put your gun down Silvio, and tell your army to back the hell off, I have something I want to share with you children" he grinned.

We turned to him, "the real truth?" he started before glancing at Liana, who was shaking uncontrollably and My fidgeting father.

"Don't you dare!" my father thundered aggressively.

"We were much younger, Silvio was barely four or five, Mateo much younger when we overheard a plan, during the Spanish conquest, the old families gathered all of their wealth, into a large ship, they set out but the weight of the gold was too much that it sunk the ship" he paused before continuing.

"So we set out all six of us, myself, Vincenzo, Liana, Lorenzo, Isabella and..."

"Mario Saunders" we heard a voice say, but it was behind me, suddenly someone grabbed my neck and a knife was beneath my chin ready to slice me.

"Hello, bitch did you miss me?" I recognised that voice, Becky!

Silvio and Mateo pointed their guns at her, the women in the crowd started to disperse slowly, the men took cover, and some left because they understood this would turn into a blood bath.

"Let her go, Becky!" Mateo roared, "Finish your story!" she screamed.

I could feel her tears touch the back of her neck as Paul continued.

"Mario Saunders was Becky's father, he was a marine biologist in the navy and we contracted him to find the missing ship" his voice lowered.

"Then what happened? Finish it old man!" she yelled as she pulled me back slowly.

"He sent us all a message that he had made a map to its location, but before he could get to us, he was murdered, and the Donatellis somehow had gotten a hold of the map, hidden it" he paused again, "Becky...."

"I was just a baby when he died, a baby, my mom fell to crack addiction to soothe the pain, but she couldn't, she hung herself and I had to bring down her body at 16! Do you know what that does to a person? I had to join the triad as a means of survival because your father killed mine Mateo" she yelled behind me.

"The plan was perfect! Then you! You fucking bitch.... You..."

I heard a loud gunshot, my heart stopped, and I heard Becky gasp for air, I turned she had fallen to the ground bleeding...

Slowly her eyes closed, and she was dead.

I screamed, Mateo grabbed me and pulled me away from her, we heard footsteps and someone came in.

"Emiliano" Mateo cursed, "we meet again brother" he grinned before raising a piece of paper.

"This here is a written will by my father, would you like me to read it out loud?" he smiled.

He read out the content of the paper and I gasped in shock, "fuck!" I heard Mateo curse.

"How long have you been planning this? You sick fuck!" Mateo roared, before pointing his gun at him, Silvio kicked his gun away, "I can't let you do that," he said.

My father's hysterical laughter took over the entire room, before he stood beside Silvio, he patted him and Silvio shrugged his hand away, occasionally glancing at his confused father.

"And we know for a fact that it's been two years Mateo, and you still don't have an heir" he continued.

"Shit!" Mateo cursed, "he does" I defended, touching my belly, "Oh shut up Ariana, you know it didn't take much for your cousin to sell you off, a few thousand euros was just the right price, you should think about the friends you hang around" my father chuckled excitedly.

"That baby is not Mateo's biological child, but rather his friend Enzo and we can prove it" he smiled, pictures of Enzo and I were flung into the air and I never realised we were secretly watched.

"Step down Mateo, I have surpassed you I have an heir" he smiled before gesturing to the door where Estella hung, she looked sad.

"Surrender, or die right here" he continued.

I saw Mateo call for Julius as he stood there amid all his enemies, with no help in sight.

"Julius won't be coming, he knows what you've been doing to his wife"

Emiliano laughed hysterically, "You know what maybe I should do you the same courtesy, of killing you"

Silvio touched my hand lightly, "Come with me, Ariana"

I turned to look up at him, this is my chance to leave this world, it had nothing to offer me anymore.

I've humiliated Mateo and he could never forgive me.

Just then we heard the sound of gunshots, the lights went off and Silvio grabbed onto me.

"Come with me now!" he yelled, "Not without Estella, I'm not leaving her with that psychopath!" I replied.

We found Estella in the chaos of gunfire exchange and she was more than willing to go.

I placed my foot atop the helicopter and Silvio helped me in, as we ascended I saw Mateo running out, gun blazing as he screamed my name.

"Ariana! No! come back!"

not this time mateo..... this is goodbye my love.