Narratives in the City

2. His Find (Sweet)

⚠️TW: Abuse⚠️
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Antonio Ricci is a world-renown billionaire, but what most people don't know is he's also the underground king. He has the whole country eating out of his hand and he loved it. When he wanted something it was there with a snap of his finger. He was a man of his word and wouldn't hurt anyone unless they did wrong by him. Nobody could escape from Antonio Ricci.

Although, it's not always as great as it seems. The only family he has left is his niece, Isabella. She is his brother's daughter and the only other person who survived their family's attack. It happened ten years prior over dinner, a couple of weeks after Antonio killed a Mafia don over stolen drugs. Isabella was only eight at the time and Antonio was twenty-four. He never expected his actions to result in his family's death.

He was naive to think he could get away with killing a person so much higher ranked than him. It was such a petty reason, too. It took him years of therapy to realize he didn't kill his family. Even though his actions resulted in their death, he didn't pull the trigger. Some days, Isabella still has to remind him it wasn't his fault.

After the tragic incident, he worked his ass off to find the murderer and in the process made his way to the top. The person who led the attack was tortured brutally for months before being shot in the head. Antonio still thinks he was let off easy.

Since then, Antonio has become the overprotective father figure Isabella lost. She was a senior in high school and would soon be graduating. She had already been accepted into her dream college, a prestigious university only a couple of hours drive away from home. She was hardworking, smart, and very resourceful when need be. Isabella wanted to make her deceased parents proud.

Waiting for his niece, Antonio lit a cigarette in her school parking lot. He surveyed the students who started to come out and lightly smiled to himself. It had been sixteen years since his graduation, thinking about it made him feel old. His reminiscing was cut short when a scene in front of the school gates caught his eye.

A short girl with shoulder-length black hair was kicking a boy in the stomach as he cried out in pain. The boy was then forced to give her his wallet. At first, it seemed like she was bullying him and Antonio went to step in but was surprised when she gave the money to a scrawnier boy who looked just as frightened as the one on the ground.

Antonio was surprised that she was able to fight the boy under her foot especially because he looked to be much bigger. It was interesting that a girl who looked as tough as she did was helping innocent people and not the one hurting them. Even with her rough exterior, you could see the softness of her face. She looked like she had stepped out of a cartoon with her wide green eyes and full, pouting lips.

"Hey!" Isabella broke him out of his staring with her bubbly greeting.

"Hey, Kiddo. Ready to go?" He asked her.

"Yup!" She said before heading into the car. He stood outside for a second longer, contemplating whether or not to ask the question.

"Um, do you know who that girl over there is?" He asked motioning his head to the direction she was still standing in.

"That's Georgia. She's also a senior and super scary, nobody wants to be on her bad side." Isabella explained. He could tell she was right by the one encounter that was witnessed. Antonio drove off as Isabella attached the aux cord and selected one of her many playlists.

"Why did you ask?" Isabella said after a couple of minutes. She seemed to be amused by his inquiry.

"I was just wondering. I saw her fighting a boy while I was waiting. At first, I thought she was bullying him but then I realized she was helping someone else." he said.