The Mafia's Heir

Chapter 45

Life isn't all about perfection, love, the happy things. It's got to have it's downfall: mistakes, hate, the unhappy things. You can't expect to get what you want whenever you want. It takes time to get where you have to in the future. Rushing through life has done nobody any good. The past will continue to repeat itself until you learn your lesson.

Mariano and Elias didn't think things could get any worse than they had when they'd left for France. How wrong they were. When speaking to Cynthia, they noticed she was more closed off and didn't want anything to do with them anymore. Her brothers were reluctant to say anything to her and the atmosphere in the mansion was very strained. It was as if everyone were walking on thin ice.

What had happened during the week they'd been gone? Did Alessandre get caught? Maybe someone got the footage back and they're afraid everyone involved is going to be killed. Don Russo would understand. Wouldn't he? They were his most loyal undercover capos. He knew they did everything for the good of the mafia. No one would believe they were making a bad decision.

Mariano left his brother to go figure out what happened while they were away. What he found out wasn't as shocking as what Elias found out. They found themselves sucked into the depression everyone seemed to be swimming in. Cynthia wasn't worried about Youngmin anymore. They found him in his room grieving over the loss of his aunt and uncle. No one was feeling great enough to make things right. Everything was falling apart.

Zachary found himself finally settling down to talk with Cynthia. She wasn't much of a talker since finding out that her grandfather had died in his sleep. She hadn't been able to say goodbye to him. She hadn't asked for his forgiveness and asked why she wasn't part of the mafia's future. There was so much she was guilty for. She's lost her son and now her grandfather. She didn't know what to do with her life anymore.

"...Should we just call a meeting?" Elias asked. "The representatives are getting restless. Don Russo's funeral isn't too far away."

"What are we going to say? No one's in the mood to be around each other anymore." Mariano sighed and pulled Lucio to his chest.

"It just seems...like the right thing to do right now. It'll calm some people down. Maybe Cynthia will actually gain some strength and people will start looking at her as a leader again."

"I thought we didn't want her as our queen."

"We don't, but don't you think Ren wants some challenging competition? Who wants to be the next comare knowing their opponent was depressed?"

Elias was right. Ren and Cynthia were supposed to fight for their birthrights. Depression and loss wasn't doing them all any good. There had to be more good news somewhere. Giving Cynthia back her child was a start. Trying to fix what could be fixed was a start.

"I can't believe we didn't get a chance to explain everything to Don Russo." Elias hung his head. "I feel that emptiness. Fooling around and not doing what we needed to is piling on the guilt that's already there."

"...We can't worry about that now, fratello," Mariano said. "As long as we put things back as they should, we'll be alright."

"Shall we go?"

"...Might as well."

When you learn that both the parents of your enemy and your grandfather have died, it's both a blessing and a curse. You both are empty now. Broken. Vulnerable. The struggle to hang on to the life you're living is a constant reminder of what you can't have. It hurts, but you have to push through. You never know what's in store for you.

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Death is an impending fate no one can escape from. The misery it brings to a person or a place isn't the best feeling in the world. The pain people have to live through by themselves can never be eased. It's always there. Resting in the bosom of the weak and hurt. Poised over the strong, ready to strike a man down. The slightest remnant of this sudden hurt brings the daily reminder of what you once had is now gone.