Vittoria Bianchi was born a bastard child to the Capo Famiglia's mistress.
Honed to be the perfect secret weapon.
When someone threatens the Bianchi's territory she's the one to snuff them out.
But what happens when the threat comes with an offer...
The leather of the couch squeaks underneath me as I shift uncomfortably. The plate of biscuits Bea had prepared sits in front of me untouched. I check the clock on the wall. It's been 20 minutes where is Milana?
I chose the couch cushion as far away from Rafael as humanly possible. His sister appraises me, distrust painted on her face. I can't blame her. If the Vasquez kid's upbringing was at all like the Bianchi kid's then her distrust is well-earned. "So what are your intentions with my brother?" She says.
I smile, though the look my lips are pulled into is professional, cold, and detached. "I don't have intentions. It's professional. We're friends. " I say.
Bea's eyes slide over to Rafael who sits back in his chair without a care in the world. She laughs at him. His face falls. Her hand comes over her belly as she leans back and laughs some more.
"Idiota, vas detrás de la única mujer que no te quiere." she laughs again. She looks at me. "Good. This one needs to be humbled." She says between sharp laughs.
"Hey!" Rafael says, sounding like a kid.
"No es mi culpa que te comportes como un..... what do the kids say.... ah si... un SIMP!" She uses the palms of her hands to blot away tears that have escaped. She sighs.
"Well, Vittoria, it is so nice to meet you. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time."
I small smile graces my lips. I nod. The front door pushes open to Rafael's niece hand in hand with Milana. Her eyebrows raise when she sees me. I stand up.
"Tori, I wasn't expecting to see you here."
My chest squeezes with the rejection but an empty smile remains planted on my face. I remind myself that Milana and I aren't actually that close. We had that one night together where I got to see the real her. Before that it was single sentences shared between her school and my training. Or us just passing each other in the hall. Or me noticing how bored and aloof she looked at family gathering.
"Can we talk?"
Milana notices my serious tone. Her eyebrows raise with worry and she nods fervently. She steps forward. "Outside." I say gesturing to the backyard with my head.
"Yeah, sure." she says. She follows me out the sliding doors.
The Vasquez's backyard is the perfect place for a couple of kids to run wild. It has a small area with patio furniture and a mini playground complete with a swing set.
"I think if we had a swing set in our backyard it would've made up for all the psychological damage." Her face is so serious that for a moment I'm certain she's not joking. Then the corner of her lip turns upward. I laugh. A loud and shocked laugh.
"Sorry," Milana says "I'm nervous."
I press my lips together and nod. "Nothing happened. Everyone's okay." I say. She visibly deflates with a sigh and collapses into one of the patio chairs. I sit across from her.
I lean over the table and my hands fold over each other. Her eyes follow the movement. "That man in there-"
"Rafael?" Milana asks.
I nod "We-"
"have a plan to 'overthrow' Leopoldo."
My brows pinch together in confusion. "Right."
"And you want to know if I'll do my part given that Leopoldo uses his children in order to maintain control."
I give her an impressed nod of my head. "And?"
"I'll do it. But I'm scared. I'll only do it if all the sibling agree," There's a pause "Well except Stella and Enzo." She says with a tilt of her head. She punctuates her sentence with an "obviously."
"Paola would never agree to this." I say pointedly.
"You'd be surprised what Paola would agree to." Milana says.
I raise a brow. "You know about the busboy." I say.
Milana smiles conspiratorially. "And the valet."
"The valet?" I say.
"It was before the marriage, before the betrothal even." Milana says.
I narrow my eyes at her. "How do you know so much?"
Milana looks at the floor. Her good mood floats away in the night breeze. "It's easy to disappear in a big family. No one cares what you overhear when they think you're inconsequential. "
I frown and look at the stars. "You were never inconsequential, Milana." She remains quiet next to me so I continue. "Not to any of us." And it dawns on me that the reason that she didn't tell me she was in town might've been because she thought I wouldn't care. So I add "Next time let me know when you're in town, I would've invited you to coffee."
She smiles at me. Her teeth look like pearls under the soft patio lights. "That would be great. And Tori, I see you too." she says. I nod a gentle warmth grows between us.
"I love you, Milana," I say. "I love you too." She replies.
*** Author's Note
Short Chapter today...
Today is the FULL MOON IN SCORPIO!!
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Time for mysteries and sex and..... feelings (ewww)
I hope everyone is doing A-OKAY!
Y'all are amazing for being here MWAH MWAH MWAH
and I hope we're all enjoying our stays in Sinner Nation... I hope it's not too hot for y'all
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