Before the Sun

Chapter Twenty Two- No Money In Heroics

Luis

Sofía Bianchi was my first friend.

I remember her dark coiled hair and round eyes. I remember the way she clung to her fathers leg on the first day of school and the way I caught her eye. I remember introducing myself to the girl, my mothers breath hitching out of fear. Her son had just inserted himself into the life of the Bianchi family- the family everyone stayed away from and nobody wished to cross. However, I also remember Adriano's smile and the way he dropped to our height, asking me to look after his little girl. That day I did exactly what he asked. I was there for her when she was too shy to raise her hand and too quiet to be heard. I was there for her when she needed someone louder, more confident. That day I met Sofia, my friend, not Adriano Bianchi's daughter, just Sofia. And that evening, I met her family. They awed me. The stories that were passed around the world could not have been further from the truth. The weren't cold nor harsh. They weren't brutally strict. They were normal. They were the warmest family I had ever met, and this is why the Bianchi family are so frightening.

I remained Sofia's only friend for three years, up until we were nine. It seemed no one else had the courage to near the youngest of the Bianchi's until Lucas came along. The young boy was American, a heavy accent making him stick out like a sore thumb. He was sickly pale, auburn hair and a slender frame. Even at just nine it was obvious to us that something was different about Lucas. He was the only child that would come into school with a new bruise each week and a story to justify it. He was the only child whose parents rarely showed their faces, excuses of work and their social lives getting in the way.

Lucas' family relocated to Italy after his fathers liquor business had an opportunity to expand into Europe. The family had tried to enrol Lucas at many schools prior to Sofia and I's private school, however Lucas was a rebellious child. He didn't bide well with the language barrier and snide remarks of those around him. He tried everywhere before coming to our school, it was an expensive last resort. The private school was multi-lingual, made specifically for people in tricky situations such as Sofia and Lucas. It was no secret the school was heavily funded by the Bianchi family, a ploy to allow a member of the family to enrol- much to the other parents dismay.

When Lucas started, he was the only person in the school who didn't have a clue who Sofia was, and she loved that about him. She loved that he didn't like her at first, that he had no idea about her family and their violent lifestyle. Lucas may not have known it at the time, but Sofia knew they were going to be friends for a long time. She knew it from the moment he told her to stop following him, to stop talking to him and to stop trying to befriend him. Now, at twenty years old, I wish Sofia had listened to him. I wish she had left him alone and never invited Lucas into her life. Because if Lucas never met Sofía Bianchi, he would have never met Adriano Bianchi, and maybe he would still be here. Maybe I wouldn't be grieving the boy I loved.

Sofía does not have many friends because those that get close to her inevitably get hurt. She's a sharpened blade, a promised wound. Sofia is her fathers daughter, a production of two people who are not suited for children. She lives in a world of torture and violence, loss and regret. A person who was created in a world like hers is bound to be a concoction of everything evil. A person with the last name Bianchi can't scathe the corruption that follows them. It is impossible.

Seven weeks have passed since Kenny was taken by Adriano Bianchi and his men. Seven weeks since the Bianchi family covered up their crimes by silencing the one person willing to out their viscousness. Seven weeks and I'm still no closer to finding Kenny and setting him free.

The elevator I stand in is filled with an awkward silence, the man beside me stoic and robotic. He keeps his eyes trained on the metal doors before us, arms crossed behind his back. I guess they've made a few changes to the security since I was last here. It's the first time I've been in the Bianchi building since before everything happened. Before Kenny began his plan to take down the notorious family. It's the first time I've felt brave enough to face Sofia.