Mafia's Princess (Under Editing)

Chapter 10

Anastasia Rose

Everyone sat frozen, staring. More like.. staring at me.

"Oh my God..." The woman gasped softly and stood up abruptly.

"My baby... Anastasia..." Her voice broke. "Oh my God, I can't believe you're here. I don't think we'll even need a DNA test. These features—" she whispered, tears spilling over, "—they are too Romano."

Guilt pricked my chest. Maybe I shouldn't have delayed this for so long.

Still... I couldn't help but snort internally.

Do they not see my eyes? Hazel.

Yes, they were lenses—but still.

"I could be a doppelgänger too," I said lightly. At this point, I was definitely teasing.

Evil me.

"Well," an older man—probably in his early forties—spoke calmly from the corner but his eyes surely held swimming emotions that he was trying so hard to conceal as he gave me a look, "we'll find out soon enough."

I nodded and let my gaze wander around the room.

Five men—boys, really, though all older than me—sat across the sofas. Their faces were blank and guarded... but their eyes told everything. They were full of anxiety, hope and desperation.

They want me.

That realization brought an unexpected relief.
I didn't know why... but I wanted this acceptance more than I cared to admit.

I noticed then—every single one of them had steel-grey eyes, except the mother.. Just like mine.

A family trait I see..

And I could barely recall their faces from the old pictures I had seen of them so I was not sure who was who.

My gaze shifted to the man sitting on my left, on one of the sofas. And this time it was my turn to freeze. A small gasp slipped past my lips that was probably heard by him.

It felt like looking into a mirror—only older, sharper, more masculine. Same face structure. Same nose. Same eyes. We could've been twins.

He analysed me too. His gaze sharpened, studying me intently, as if dissecting every detail.

Wow.

"Come on, Ana. Have a seat," Federico said gently.

I hesitated, then nodded and sat down.

"We've already called the family doctor," the lady, probably our mother, said carefully, clearly worried about overwhelming me. "He'll be here soon for the test."

Already? I must've missed that while observing everyone.

I nodded quietly.

For someone who was never nervous... my hands suddenly felt stiff. I could feel their stares again. I sighed and looked up.

"Stop staring, please."

Instantly, they all looked away like guilty children caught red-handed.

"Lei è così carina..." one of them whispered loudly to his brother.
(She's so cute.)

I knew their names, but not who was who yet.

What they didn't know was that I loved learning new languages. Italian, especially, Papa had taught me since it was my mother tongue. I just never planned on telling them.

Might be useful later.

"Lo so bene. Voglio pizzicare quelle sue guance carine."
(I know, right? I want to pinch her cute cheeks.)

"And hai dimenticato che ha anche le fossette. Che carina..."
(And you forgot her dimples. So cute.)

I blinked. They remembered that... even though I had only spent two months with them as a baby.

They were whispering according to them but it was anything but whispering.

"Fermati anche tu. Potrebbe essere una spia," another voice snapped.
(Stop you two. She could be a spy)
"Hai dimenticato quello che ha detto? E se fosse una doppelgänger?"(You forgot what she said, what if she is a doppelgänger?)

Ah. So that was his problem.

"Quella faccia non mente Fabio," his twin argued softly. (That face doesn't lie)

All three turned to look at me, and I immediately plastered on a confused expression so it won't look like I was eavesdropping.

"What's wrong?" I asked innocently.

Oscar-worthy.

The woman smiled warmly. "Nothing, dear. These boys simply don't know when to shut up."

She shot them a warning glare.

"But Mom—" Fabio began.

"Abbastanza."(Enough)

The single word cut through the room like steel.

I turned sharply. The man who looked like me, umm.. more like I resembling him, the eldest—spoke calmly, his voice low and commanding. His presence radiated dominance.

Definitely the eldest.

Everyone fell silent as the tension thickened, and suddenly all eyes were on me again. I cleared my throat. Talking wasn't my strength, but the silence was worse.

"Um... I don't know your names," I said softly, "but you already know mine."

Mother(for now) chuckled lightly. "How silly of us."

She gestured warmly. "I'm Alessia. This is my husband, Alessandro. And these are our sons—Vincenzo, our eldest. Leonardo. Dante. Then the twins Riccardo and Fabio. And the youngest twins—you already know them."

She smiled through her tears. "After the DNA test... you'll be the baby of this family again."

Everyone smiled. Except Vincenzo—who simply nodded.

Does it hurt to let go of that no-nonsense expression?

You talk as if you don't do that.. my inner voice snorted and I just huffed in reply.

And then I looked at Fabio—who only glared in reply.

What is his problem?

You!! My inner voice retorted.

Shut up!!

The doctor arrived soon after, took my blood, and left, explaining the results would take at least a day.

A day?

It was too much and I couldn't just wait a whole day. I had work to attend to and I somehow wanted to be away from all of them to think properly about whatever went on today.

I stood up. "I should head back to uni."

I'd been here over an hour already. Everyone was kind—except Fabio, the resident menace—but I was overwhelmed.

"Ana..." Alessia said softly. "Would you like to stay for dinner? We could maybe try to know eachother more."

Her eyes pleaded.

"The university closes at ten," I replied gently. "And I still have assignments."

I smiled apologetically. "The twins can inform me tomorrow."

Disappointment flickered across their faces. I hated that—but I needed space.

I left quietly.

I knew the results would confirm it.I knew I wouldn't be rejected. But everything felt... too much. I didn't have Papa. I didn't have Eunha.

Still... maybe it was time to give them a chance.

After all, all these years of distance had only been for one reason. For them to finally have their daughter back.

Alive and Safe.

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