Loving a Killer | 18+

0.6 - Fool

| Norah |

I rejected Maddox's offered arm and walked around him towards the door. He turned around and followed, opening the door for me. I stepped out of the room and into the hallway.

We walked down the hall and I could hear voices from the foyer as we neared the staircase. I grabbed Maddox's shoulder and stopped him before we got to them.

Maddox looked at me, almost surprised I had stopped him so abruptly.

"How many of the guests are my family?" I asked quietly.

"Most of them. Some of the Greeks are here, but only the ones that are close friends of your father's," Maddox answered me smoothly. I nodded my head and looked over to the balcony only a few feet away. We were barely hidden behind the wall.

"Don't be scared of them. No one here wants to hurt you, so you should be fine," Maddox continued, obviously noticing my face pale the more I thought about being the only outsider here.

"Should," I scoffed under my breath, trying to play off my nerves.

We walked out and I could see the foyer filled with men and women dressed as elegantly as I was. A lump formed in my throat as one man noticed me, then another...

Soon the voices grew to a murmur and then everyone went silent. I saw Adriano smile at me as Maddox nudged me and we started descending down the staircase. I held my head high even though I was growing nauseous with fear. I wondered which of the crowd were my family and which weren't.

"Norah, nice for you to finally join us," Adriano broke the silence, meeting Maddox and me at the bottom of the staircase. I gave him a small smile in return. Now everyone got the confirmation they needed. Adriano's words confirmed that I was who they all had suspected I was.

"You look stunning," He complimented a seemingly genuine look of happiness on his face. I blushed as I felt everyone's eyes on me and looked down at my feet, trying to shake off the anxiety. I pushed my hair behind my ear and thanked him quietly.

"Why don't you get acquainted with everyone, dinner will be starting soon," Adriano suggested, I nodded and muttered an 'okay.'

"Stay with her," Adriano instructed Maddox. I didn't protest, not particularly wanting to be left alone in this crowd.

Maddox nodded to his boss. Adriano smiled and was interrupted by a man, who quickly got a conversation started.

Everyone began to talk again, and I stood feeling out of place. Suddenly, a woman came up to me and held out her hand.

"It's so lovely to finally meet you, Norah. I'm Bianca -" Her voice soon droned out as she introduced herself and her husband. As did the rest of the people who greeted me and told me the stories they had of my father and mother.

Some said they had met me when I was a baby, while others said they were meant to meet me before the whole, "incident," as they called it.

I smiled and nodded politely as multiple people spoke to me and told me of my relation to them.

Bianca, Adriano's only sibling, and her husband, Stefano. Beatrice, Stefano and Bianca's only child - my first cousin - and her husband Ezio, brother of Xander, who is head of the Greek mafia. I found out that the link between the Italian and Greek mobs was Beatrice and Ezio's marriage.