Lonely Together

39

MARIAH

I gripped Valentino's hand tightly as my other rested on the hem of my hoodie, toying with the fabric nervously. Valentino's jaw was clenched as he drove towards the hospital, his eyes focused intensely on the road although I could tell his mind was teeming with thoughts.

At the hospital, we rushed out of the car and up to the receptionist who immediately seemed to recognize who he was.

"He's in the same room as last time," she spoke, her eyes dancing between he and I as Valentino grabbed my hand and led me over to an elevator.

The same room as last time? How often was his family at the hospital? Even though it was his father who had been shot, I couldn't help but to wonder about if it had been Valentino instead. He promised me that we were safe and we always had guards with us—even in Hawaii surprisingly—but I'm sure his father had guards too, yet here we were in the hospital.

When we reached our level, we rushed out of the elevator hand-in-hand, the sound of crying immediately filling my senses. We turned a corner and entered a waiting room where a doctor was standing with the family, a sad look on her face as Valentino's mother sobbed like I had never seen before.

"He's gone," Adriano muttered, his eyes locked with his brother, not an ounce of emotion between his empty eyes.

Worried about Valentino, I turned to face him to see that his face was blank as well as he watched his mother, clearly shocked by the news. I knew he didn't have a healthy relationship with his father—it couldn't even really be called a relationship—but this was bound to still affect him.

***
VALENTINO

He's gone

The words echoed in my head it seemed as my mother sobbed across the room, her shoulders shaking as she did so. As much as I wanted to comfort her, I couldn't move. I couldn't even turn my head to look at Mariah even though I knew she was watching me.

My father's death meant more than just...death. One of my brothers—Adriano—would be put in place as the new capo, starting a new era for the family. Knowing him, I would be forced to do something I forbade myself from ever doing—taking someone's life.

"You should sit down," Mariah said softly from beside me, rubbing a hand along my back as she moved me to take a seat beside my mother.

Snapping to my senses, I wrapped my mother in my embrace as she cried, trying my hardest not to scowl at my brothers and their wives who did absolutely nothing to help her. I knew Adriano and Emilio had a close relationship with him, so I expected them to be shaken up, but to just leave our mother to cry by herself was hateful. But then again, I expected nothing less of them.

"Momma, mi dispiace. Mi dispiace tanto. Mom, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," was all I could manage out as I held her. I'm sure that if my father and I actually loved each other, I would have more words to comfort her. But I had nothing more to say.

Still, as much as I despised the man at times, I knew my life would be much different without him. We had enjoyed some good times together—my college graduation, some poker games that he had invited me to—but they always seemed to he tainted. They were still times when he felt somewhat like a father.

I felt as Mariah placed a hand on my shoulder, rubbing it soothingly as she stared down at her feet. I was honestly glad to have her here with me, it was becoming hard to handle my family without her being there. I knew it would only get worse.

"Luciano just alerted the other families. The bosses are flying in to meet when the new capo is announced," Emilio spoke, his wife clinging onto him as Adriano nodded at his words. He knew he would have to attend that meeting on his own as the new boss, which I'm sure terrified him. He wasn't as headstrong as he presented. Still, he couldn't acknowledge himself as the new boss officially until my father's will was read.

"Hi Mariah, darling," my mother spoke once she had calmed down a bit, reaching out a hand to Mariah who grabbed it and gave her a small smile. I could tell my mom liked Mariah a lot so far—much better than her actual daughters-in-law.

"Good evening, Santoris," Mr. Alessi spoke, walking into the private waiting room for only those we allowed up here. He was the man who read the wills for all members of the mafia when they died.

"Good evening," we all muttered, preparing for the will to be read.

"I will say, Mr. Santori was very prepared in case anything ever happened to him. From the time each of his children and grandchildren was born, he made sure to add them to his will with whatever he wanted them to have, updating it often. I will also let you know that each year of his children's lives, he has written them a letter in case that was the year of his death. Just two weeks ago, he sent me the letters for this year. After reading the will, I will hand out his most recent letters to you all."

I sucked in a breath as he opened the will, wondering if my father had even left me anything. Of course, I had my own wealth and success, but it would be a slap in the face if he didn't leave me a single thing.

"I, Vincenzo Santori, leave all of my own homes, vehicles, and other personal possessions to my wife Ximena Santori. I also leave her with any remaining balances in my American accounts," Mr. Alessi read as my mother nodded in understanding, wiping her eyes.

"To my grandson, I leave ten million dollars that he will not have access to until the day of his eighteenth birthday."

"To my first born, Adriano," Mr. Alessi started as Adriano sat up straighter in his seat, waiting to hear what he had received. "I leave all of my money stored in European accounts—a total of 257 million. I also leave to him all businesses of mine owned in Europe."

I couldn't ignore the smirk that grew on Ashley's face as she heard what her husband and son would be getting, clearly satisfied with the sums of money. I knew she was a gold digger from the beginning.

"To my second son, Emilio, I leave all money in my Asian and Australian accounts, a total of 250 million. I also leave all restaurants that I own to him and any businesses on those two continents."

As we waited for him to reach my name, I watched as my brothers seemingly grew smirks on their faces, waiting for what they knew would be mostly nothing compared to what they got. Already, it seemed I had gotten the short end of the stick.

"For my youngest son, Valentino, I leave all of my money stored in African accounts, as well as all businesses in Africa and all real estate in the United States," the man spoke, making me let out a small gasp. He hadn't given me the short end of the stick at all—his American real estate was where he made the most money outside of the organization. "The value of the African accounts will remain undisclosed until his thirtieth birthday when he will be able to access them."

Beside me, I watched as Mariah's eyes grew wide at the whole process. I knew she hadn't been expecting this at all—especially not with the gargantuan amounts of my money being thrown around.

"With my title as the leader of the Rossi Crime Family—the name given to this organization by my grandfather—I leave it  to my son..."

Adriano's smile grew on his face, as did his wife's and Emilio's while that of my mother's remained stoic as she waited for it to be announced.

"Valentino Salvatore Santori."