BOOK ONE
Ashley Wilson
There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. That destiny is not our own, but I know better. Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it. Marrying a stranger wasn't the best decision I...
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I had my bets on Boston.
The fear of war is among us, people within our circles, within our families have made their guesses. Many believed The West would be the ones to begin taking more territory— others believed it would be The Italian Mafia, if it were, they'd do it through taking over the French Famille.
The New York Famille has business in France, with ties to the French mafia— it's our history, and our home away from the city. The South is where the business takes place, Blake visits now and again, if our father sent him there. Blake travels everywhere for our father, as the one who takes on foreign affairs. His main job, keeping us safe.
Yet, Blake is Blake, he has others to protect and now that Kian is our Capo, and I am his second, we have others who look over us. Men in the shadows that even I don't know, Kian's idea— he believed it would be better for me, if I didn't know. That way when I was younger and more reckless, I wouldn't have managed to slip away from my bodyguards.
"You're late," Luca comments, his eyes glued to the book in front of him. I quietly closed the glass door behind me as I take in the room. Luca believed it would be best if we met in his workplace. At the moment, we're waiting on Nathan, so technically I'm not the one whose late. "Sweet room, Garcia," Hunter smiles at me as he rounds Lucas desk.
Hunter is right, the wall behind Lucas desk is entirely glass. With him being CEO, this means we're on the tallest floor, along with having privacy of our own room to talk freely. "Sit," Luca closes his planner before leaning back on his desk chair. Luca never got to the top without working his hardest, hence why he is still here at midnight, Sunday now bleeding into Monday. But we all know Luca won't be the one to start war, if The West wanted to expand through war, Hunter would be the one to make that decision, not Luca.
"Sofia Lewis," Luca speaks slowly and calmly, my gaze flickers between him and Hunter. Both of their faces remain neutral, "and Aria Pazi," out of all the names Luca could have given, those two were never a thought. "Rumours are speculating that Aria Pazi will take over the Chicago Outfit, therefore making her the first female capo," I shouldn't smile, or feel an ounce of support, but I do.
Everyone knows that Giovanni Pazi was suppose to take over for his father, but with his death— which many still don't understand how it happened, it was an obvious that Giovanni wouldn't. Some believed that Aria would marry someone below her title but high enough to make her then husband capo of the Chicago Outfit. It doesn't surprise me that if it was a suggestion Aria would disapprove. After Winter Solstice ten years ago, Aria disappeared, this would just make her want to do it again.
"What does this have to do with Sofia?" Hunter asks, his voice never dares to give away his emotion towards her. It's obvious to me, and to her, that he's somewhat obsessed with the Italian princess. I don't know when or how the obsession started, but he's now intent on making her his wife, whether Andrew Lewis would allow it or not. "She might be closer than you'd like to believe," Luca states with a lazy smile. The two of them exchanges glances, a hidden message that only they understand.
