THE DEAL

Three

Ashanti sat on the floor in her room, typing her report for her Psychology assignment when a maid walked in. "I'm sorry for disturbing you but your father wishes to see everyone in the living room now," the maid said.

"I'll be right down," Ashanti told her and the maid nodded before walking out. Ashanti sighed and hibernates her laptop before standing up and dusting her shorts. "My do I feel anxious about this meeting?" She asked herself as she walked out of her room.

The house was too quiet for her liking. "There's no operation today, what's with the silence?" She asked nobody in particular as she went down the stairs into the living room.

Her father and mother were seated on the couch while her other siblings were seated on the other couch.

"Good afternoon," she greeted as she went to sit on the armchair at the far end. "Good afternoon, sweetheart. I hope I didn't disturb you," her father said. "It's okay," she said to him.

"You called for us," Makayla said and he nodded.

"First of all, honestly, I didn't expect my two mischievous daughters to come home to spend the holiday. I'm beyond happy," Christopher said and his daughters flashed him a grin. "There's something I want to say," Mabel said. Her parents frowned while her siblings looked unaffected.

Mabel stood up and went to meet her parents. Her father frowned as he stood up. "What's that?" He asked. Mabel chuckled and placed her hand on her stomach. "I'm six weeks pregnant," she announced and his eyes widened as a gasp left her mother's lips.

"You're joking, aren't you? Today ain't April Fool's day," Christopher said, making his children laugh at him. "I'm serious right now, dad. I'm pregnant," Mabel said to him. "I'm going to be a grandfather. I never knew it would be this fast," he said and she laughed as he pulled her in a hug.

Her mother also hugged her. "Does Henry know?" She asked and Mabel shook her head. "Not yet."

After Mabel went back to her seat, their father cleared his throat.

"The Bianchi invited us to have dinner with them tonight," he said and Ashanti snorted. Her father raised a brow at her, "Anything wrong?"

"Can I skip this thing?" she asked. He knew she would think of something like that. "No one is excluded from this dinner. We're leaving here by seven in the evening sharp and you all know I hate tardiness," he told them and Ashanti rolled her eyes.

"Leonardo is an ally of mine and I do not want any problems to arise during the dinner," he said and turned this you gest daughter who was playing with her braids. "No rudeness to anybody. No threatening anyone and no sarcastic comments," he said making her look at him.

"Seriously? What if they step on my toes?" She questioned. "You know that the Italians are better than us, you'll have to maintain good terms with them," Christopher answered.

Ashanti was about to talk but the eyes her siblings gave her shut her up. Then, she huffed. "Fine."

"That's good. Dress well and we'll meet by seven. You're all dismissed except for Mabel, you're coming with us to the study," Christopher said and they all stood up.

____

"I hate this," Ashanti grumbled as she got into one of the black SUVs. Makayla was in the same car with her and Kode.

Kode chuckled as he started the car. Makayla sat at the front seat with him. "You need to loosen up," he said to Ashanti. "I don't like them, they're disgusting," she said and Makayla rolled her eyes.

"Just because they kill doesn't mean they're as bad as you think," she said. "They're not bad, they're horrible," her sister said and Kode let out a laugh. He liked her for her sense of humor.

"You girls should calm down," he said to them. "If any of them steps on my toes, I'm going to gut them down," the younger girl said.  "Don't do something irrational," Kode warned her and she sighed.

"I don't even want to go anywhere," Makayla mumbled making him look at her. "You wanted to stay home?" Kode asked her teasingly making her blush and look away. Ashanti rolled her eyes at their romance. "Just get married already," she said making him laugh. They all knew that it wasn't that easy. Love in Mafia wasn't easy.

After a few more minutes, they drove through the gates of the Bianchi mansion. Ashanti felt nauseous as she got out of the car. She never liked the Italians because of how ruthless and heartless they were.

"Remember to behave," Abigail said to her kids, especially to her youngest daughter. Ashanti rolled her eyes at that. "If anything raises, be prepared," her father said to Kode, who nodded and went back to the car while the family approached the front door.

Two guards stood by the front door, guarding it. "Welcome," they said and opened the door for them. Ashanti caught one of them checking her out which made her glare at him.

Mabel noticed it and pinched her. "Calm down," she said. They walked into the living room where a beautiful woman waited for them. She was a little bit tall with beautiful green eyes and sleek black hair. She looked like a model.

A smile formed on her lips as Abigail went to hug her. "Lena, it's so nice to see you again," Ashanti's mother said. "You've become more beautiful. Your skin is even glowing," Lena said to her and her friend laughed. Lena turned to face the rest of the family.

"Good evening, Chris. I'm glad you all could make it," she said and Ashanti's father smiled. "Thank you for inviting us," he said. "Let's go to the dining room. Right this was," Lens led them to the dining room.

They all got seated. Ashanti sat in the middle of her sisters, opposite the boy and girl that looked around the age of twenty four while David sat beside his mother who sat beside Christopher.

Leonardo sat at the head of the table with his wife beside him and Christopher across him.

Then, the dinner began. "How far are you liking America?" Abigail asked Lena. "As long as I don't have to stress about where to go, I think I'm doing fine," Lena replied and they chuckled. The men proceeded to talking about their work while the younger females ate their food.

Ashanti studied the two people across her. With the way they looked so alike, she wanted to ask if they were twins.

Then, get father cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "I have something to announce to you all," he said. Ashanti listened while she continued to eat her chicken. She was a goner whenever it came to chicken.

"We're all ears," she mumbled as she chewed her food. Then he looked at her in the eyes, "Ashanti is getting married."