Chapter 16
LUCY
It’s really awkward meeting your “family” for the first time.
Especially ones that have faces almost identical to yours, and with two very different personalities.
I’m figuring out pretty quickly that Gia is the quiet, shy one, while Amara is the blunt and friendly one.
It’s like watching two ends of the spectrum, and I’m not sure where in the middle I fall.
Kida, however, has taken to Amara easily.
The two of them are chatting away, discussing hair stuff, with Amara running her hands through Kida’s hair, testing and pulling on strands as she does.
Gia and I sit and watch them while I finish getting Soren changed into a new outfit.
The little stinker just ruined the last one that resulted in him having to have another bath and tossing out the other clothes.
Thank God whoever went out bought a bunch of different outfits. Still, I slip him back into another onesie.
“He’s very proud of himself,” Gia remarks softly, giving me a small smile.
I smile back. “He probably is. I’ve been doing multiple loads of laundry a day for the last couple of weeks. We figured out it was the fish I was eating, and sometimes random things bother him, but it’s hard to pin down those specifically.”
She chuckles. “I can only imagine. I haven’t been around children much, so I don’t really know what you’d have to watch out for, but I have read that blowouts are a common thing with new babies.”
“Guess it’s better to get it out of him, but my laundry bill is going up a lot.
” I glance down at myself. The sling and my clothes were also destroyed and I had to have a quick shower with Soren to get us both clean and changed.
I’m now in a simple black t-shirt and another pair of comfy yoga pants.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be here to meet you when you got here,” Gia murmurs, glancing away when I look at her in confusion.
“Some…some things came to light and I didn’t handle them well.
I can’t imagine how scared you were. I’ve been on the receiving end of their abuse, so I know how sore you must be. ”
“Massimo said that you suffered abuse by all of them. How did you survive it? The two who said they’re my brothers were bad enough.
And the guy who says he’s my father is just ruthless and cold.
” She’s a bit smaller than me, though not by much, and her nature just seems more fragile.
I don’t know how she’s turned out the way she has.
How can anyone survive something like that and not turn dark or be broken?
Her smile turns sad. “When you don’t know anything else, I guess it just becomes your life and you have no choice.
I was privately tutored, my every move monitored, and they just liked to hurt me for their own sick version of fun.
I drowned myself in the books I was allowed to read and in my studies.
I tried to stay out of their way as much as possible.
It wasn’t until my father married his third wife that I finally got a small taste of freedom.
She didn’t like me around, and I got an apartment of my own.
It was still a prison, and I was only allowed to do certain, very limited things, but it gave me a bit of a breather. I’m sorry they hurt you.”
“Why do they hate me so much? Why do they hate you?” Those questions just keep rattling around in my head.
Gia winces. “If I tell you that it’s because we’re women, would you believe me?”
I blink. Wait, what? “So because we don’t have dicks, they hate us?”
“Pretty much. Our family prides themselves on always having boys. Very few girls have been born in our family throughout the past few generations. Or at least, none of them have been recorded or mentioned. Our grandfather had just our father and uncle, before that our great-grandfather had four sons, but only two survived, and I think before that, our great-great grandfather had ten sons, but that was back in Italy where I think most of them lived and worked. Out of all of that, I only think my great-grandfather had one daughter, and he married her off the minute he could.”
“That’s so fucking messed up. So they have a bunch of boys and they think that means we’re somehow defective?”
She nods, eyes sad. “Girls can’t do what they can.
They can’t grow their empire. They marry and bare children for another family.
Our only uses are marriage for alliances when they want them.
Our father never loved our mother, and the only reason she was around as long as she was was because she kept having boys. ”
I shake my head, baffled. “Again, that’s so messed up.
” I look at Soren. “I can’t imagine being unhappy that I had a daughter instead of a son.
I was just so happy to have a healthy baby.
” I give her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that and the rest of us got out. That’s not fair to you.”
Her lip trembles slightly. “Thanks. I just hope that you never have to face them again. Marco was the worst, but he’s decided to go against Father and Giovanni.”
“I remember them saying that name. They were talking about killing him though. Something about Sebastain and Mattaeo? I don’t understand though if they’re a family of men, wouldn’t they all want to stick together?”
“You’d think that but men crave power. They want to be the top dog, and they’re willing to get rid of anyone in their way.
Our family is no different. Giovanni was the younger brother to our father, so he was never going to be Don, even though he felt he should be.
Father liked to remind him of his place.
Father made major mistakes with Marco and gave him too much rope, letting him think he was better than he was.
And in this life, the son normally kills the father to take the seat.
Marco just tried to overthrow Father too early, and at the same time as Giovanni. ”
“This is all so confusing. I feel like we’re back in medieval times and not modern day New York City. Then again, they told me they were going to sell me, so I guess there’s not much difference. I know I’m full of milk right now but I’m not a fucking cow.”
Gia lets out a snorting laugh, drawing attention from Kida and Amara. “Wait, who’s a cow?” Amara demands.
“Jesus not this again,” Kida groans. “Seriously, sis, stop calling yourself that.”
“Wait, you call yourself a cow?” Amara’s eyes are huge as they stare at me.
I flush. “It’s kind of a self-depricating joke. I’m full of milk, hence, cow.”
Amara and Kida share a look. “She’s got a weird sense of humor. She used to tell us that she was a chicken because she laid an egg once a month when we were teenagers to freak the guys at school out.”
“They were creeps.”
“They were teenage boys that didn’t understand about periods and you probably scarred them for life,” Kida scoffs.
I shrug. “We all took the same sex-ed classes, they should have known from that alone I was being sarcastic. Not my fault that half of them actually believed me. Blame the education system.”
“I blame you for being an idiot.” I flip her off, which she returns, and we grin at each other.
“You guys are close,” Amara remarks, an almost wistful sound to her voice. I glance at her and then Gia, who has a similar look in her eyes.
“It was just us two growing up. Our parents wanted more kids, but Kida was their only biological one, and they adopted me after becoming my foster parents. Mama told me that they tried for years for a child before I came into their lives. Kida came along two years later, but that was it.” My grin widens further.
“And I still say that they found her on the side of the road in a box and took pity on how ugly she looked.” Kida rolls her eyes.
“But growing up we fought a lot. It’s only now that we’re older that we’ve found our rhythm. ”
“Joey helped a lot with that,” Kida adds with a sad glint in her eyes.
“Joey was your husband?” Gia asks gently.
I nod, looking down at Soren who is looking around, his feet kicking and arms moving jerkily.
It’s been not quite a year since Joey died, and while the grief still lingers, it’s not as fresh.
More of a shadow in the dark that’s right outside of your view.
Present, but not constantly with you. “Yes. We met back home, but he got a job here and I packed up everything to move with him. He was a construction worker for a big company, and he fell off the ladder at one of his jobs. It was a forty-five foot drop, so he died instantly.”
“Oh my God!” Gia gasps. Amara looks stricken.
“It was hard. At first I was sure it was a cruel joke, that they were lying, but I had to go to the coroners to identify him and it really hit. They said that his safety line broke and when he was moving around he lost his balance and just fell. The company was fined severely, but I’m still waiting on the insurance company to deal with everything.
They haven’t given me any of his life insurance yet because there is still some sort of open court case and possibly legal charges pending against the owner of the company. It’s all a big mess.”
“I can’t even imagine,” Amara whispers, shaking her head. “That’s horrible.” She looks at Kida. “Did you move up here then?”
She shakes her head. “She wouldn’t let me. We all came up, but she insisted that she’d be fine. I finally forced my way up when she was about seven months pregnant. I wasn’t about to let her live here and try to handle a baby on her own.”
“And you didn’t want to go back home?” Gia asks gently.
A common question. “We built a life here, and I like my job. Also, without the money from the insurance, we can’t afford to move right now.
The hospital bills are insane, so until I can pay those off, we stay here.
” And I don’t know that I can stand to go back now.
I miss my family, but I’ve always been independent.
There’s a quick knock on the door before it opens and in walks Sienna, Rori, and Hades. Rori’s expression is blank, but her eyes are detached. Sienna looks subdued as well, but when she sees us, she smiles and stops by the bed. She looks down at Soren. “How’s the little guy?” she asks.
“He’s good now but dear God can he stink up the place and ruin clothes,” Amara snickers. “I almost had the guard get Lazaro so he could bust open the windows.”
Sienna laughs. “I bet you feel much better now, don’t you?” she coos at Soren, reaching her hand down to let him grip her finger. He lets out a soft cooing sound, watching her.
Hades lets out a soft whine as he inches closer to the bed, his head coming up to rest on it and stare longingly at my son.
I glance at Rori, but she just moves over toward the window, glancing out. I glance at Sienna and then the others, and see a silent communication pass between her, Gia, and Amara. A small pang hits me in the chest. Will I ever be part of that group?
No one says anything to Rori, just talking amongst themselves, and Amara continues giving hair advice to Kida and eventually Gia.
Soren starts to fuss, hungry again, and I pick him up, looking around to find a spot to feed him.
I don’t see one private enough—because I’m not comfortable enough yet to feed him in front of everyone—so I get up and carry him into the walk-in closet, sitting on the ottoman to get comfortable.
I can hear their muted voices outside the room, but the silence in here is calming. Soothing almost. As Soren feeds, I try to process everything Gia told me, blending it in with what Massimo, Rori, and Sofia all told me.
A family struggling for power.
A family that only values a set of cock and balls.
Abuse. Deceit. Maliciousness.
I’ve never been so grateful to be away free. Who knows what would have happened if I grew up there. Would I have been in the same boat as Gia? Probably.
On the other hand, I’m facing the opposite here.
A group of people that care about each other and enjoy being around each other.
Powerful men that aren’t battling it out to be top dog.
Or is that what they want me to believe? Is all this a ruse to make me relax and let down my guard?
Whatever it is, I’m not going to let them get the better of me. Of us. I just need to bide my time, keep my eyes open, and get ready to run the minute I can.