Chapter 3
Aurora~
In public, I behaved accordingly and never questioned my Boss or Underboss when they issued an order.
Privately, I acted however I wanted, my father and brothers expecting nothing less.
Still, whenever I was summoned by my father in an official capacity, I treated him with all the respect that he was owed.
Walking into his private home office, he wasn’t sitting at his desk like he usually was. Instead, he was at the bar, and judging by the opened bottle of brandy, I was immediately worried. After all, my father didn’t indulge in vices that stole his control like alcohol, gambling, or drugs could do.
“Papa,” I greeted as I shut the door behind me, leaving us in complete privacy.
“Alba,” he greeted back, and that’s when I knew that something serious was up.
My parents had chosen to name me Aurora because it meant dawn, and my father had felt and still felt that daughters were like the start of a new day, every day.
However, he only called me that in Italian when we were having a father/daughter moment.
“What’s going on?” I asked, figuring that I might as well cut to the chase.
Setting his tumbler of brandy down on the bar, he turned to face me fully. “As you know, there’s been a bit of noise with the Chinese and Germans.”
I did know that. Being as vigilant as we were where our enemies were concerned, we kept an eye and ear out regarding whatever they might be up to, and with the Chinese and Germans sharing the same territory stretch, we’d always paid extra special attention to them.
As the territories were divided, we controlled the northern part of the state, the Russians owned the eastern part of the state, and the Romanians were in charge of the western part of the state, though we all operated out of St. Morgan.
The only oddity was how the Chinese and Germans shared the southern part of the state, which was an odd love affair to say the least. However, it was rumored that the Germans had owned the territory first, and for whatever reason, they had reached an amicable understanding with the Chinese, and their businesses co-existed fairly peacefully from what I understood.
“I’m aware,” I said before getting comfortable on one of the empty barstools that matched the free-standing bar in his office. “Last I heard, they were playing with increasing their drug production.”
Papa gave me a simple nod of confirmation. “Well, we’ve just learned that they are in discussions with the Romanians to increase more than just their drug profits.”
My back immediately straightened at that.
Now, while we outnumbered all of them in organization size, if the Romanians, Chinese, and Germans were to get into bed together, that could cause lots of problems that we weren’t quite equipped to deal with...
at least, not without a significant number of losses.
Though small in numbers, each syndicate was just as ruthless and bloodthirsty as we were.
“Has it been confirmed?” I asked, my heart pounding a bit.
“Not quite, but close enough to cause some concern,” he answered truthfully, and that was one thing that our family never did; we never bullshitted each other, no matter the topic of conversation.
“Okay, so...so, what’s the plan?”
The look in his eyes was one that I hadn’t ever seen before, and it really had the hairs on the back of my neck warning me that this was a lot more serious than his even tone was suggesting. Granted, my father wasn’t known for losing his cool often, but still.
“The rumors are substantial enough that I had a meeting with Aleksei Korolev last week,” he announced, and I could only stare at him as he said the last thing that I’d ever expected him to say.
“He’s also very aware of how their alliance and growth in power would affect them, should the Romanians, Germans, and Chinese be able to pull it off. ”
“And?” I asked. “What came of the meeting with the Russian Pakhan?”
“With the facts being what they are, we agreed that the only way to ensure that the others remain in their rightful places was to establish an alliance of our own,” he answered, making the pit of my stomach ache painfully.
“The numbers do not lie, Alba. Even if the Romanians, Chinese, and Germans were to form an alliance, if we aligned ourselves with the Russians, we’d outnumber them significantly enough for them to no longer be a threat of any kind. ”
“So, you’re telling me that we’re getting into bed with the Russians?” I asked, needing to hear the words clearly from his mouth.
He gave me another terse nod before saying, “Specifically, you.”
No way.
No fucking way.
My chest felt tight as I did a quick inventory of everything that I knew, and with Santino and Stefano already married with families, that left only me as a potential sacrificial lamb.
I also knew that both Viktor and Kasimir Korolev were single, and so Aleksei had two sacrificial lambs that he could choose from in order to secure this alliance.
“I see,” I replied quietly.
“The marriage between my only daughter and Aleksei Korolev’s heir would send a message that cannot be ignored by even the most ambitious,” he remarked evenly and unnecessarily.
Viktor Korolev.
Eyeing my father, I asked, “Do I have a choice?”
His back immediately straightened at that. “Of course,” he replied smoothly, though I knew that I had offended him. “I’d never make you do anything that you do not want to do, Alba.”
While that’s exactly what a devoted father would say, we both knew what this was.
If I said no, then I’d be responsible for the potential loss of lives, possibly including both of my brothers.
We’d go to war to prevent the Chinese, Germans, and Romanians from taking over, and that wasn’t supposition.
I knew that to be a fact, and I had the power to prevent it all by just saying yes.
I also couldn’t help but think about all the times that I’d wanted to be the Marchetti Don and believed that I’d be good at it.
However, as I looked at my father, it was hard not to wonder if I’d have the fortitude the sacrifice my only daughter for the greater good.
In this moment, I finally realized what it meant to be in charge of an organization such as ours.
There was also the pride factor to consider.
Ever since I could remember, I’d been telling people how I would be a phenomenal Mafia leader, and so how could I say no now?
I had the chance to prove that I really would do whatever necessary to preserve the Marchetti legacy, and that mattered to me more than my own happiness.
Call it stubbornness or just plain craziness, but I could see the honor in this sacrifice, though I could only imagine what it’d be like to live in the enemy’s camp.
I also knew that it was nothing personal.
As the cards fell, it just so happened that both of my brothers were already married and that Aleksei Kovolev had no daughters.
My father and Aleksei hadn’t conspired against me or anything sinister like that.
Plus, my father was giving me a choice, making it clear that he was willing to go to war if I wasn’t willing to make this sacrifice.
“And what of the details?” I finally asked. “Would I still be working for the family?”
“While I’d love to say yes, that is something that will need to be discussed between you and Viktor Korolev,” he answered honestly. “After all, if you agree to this, he will become your husband, Alba.”
Though he was wise enough not to say it out loud, I was good at reading between the lines. Despite the Russians being the enemy, us Italians took marriage very seriously, and as my husband, Viktor Korolev would have a tremendous amount of power over me and my life.
“And if I agree, when will the ceremony take place?” I asked, though I’d already made up my mind.
“A week from Saturday,” he replied before reaching over to drain the tumbler of brandy. “It will be a church ceremony with only you, Stefano, Viktor, and Kasimir Korolev in attendance.”
While his words sounded cold as hell, I understood why he wouldn’t be able to be there. If the others were conspiring together, then it’d be too tempting not to try to kill both the Marchetti Don and the Korolev Pakhan at the same time.
“And both Santino and Stefano are aware?”
My father gave me another terse nod, almost as if this conversation was too painful for him. “They do,” he confirmed.
“And?”
“And they do not like it,” he replied evenly. “They have both chosen to go to war.”
Which was why I had to say yes.
It also wasn’t lost on me how all of their lives would go on as normal.
My life would be the only one that would change, but that was the whole point of a sacrifice, wasn’t it?
The Marchettis and Korolevs would go on to conduct business as usual, and I’d be lucky to see my family during the holidays.
“Well, it’s a good thing that they won’t have to,” I finally said, and my father’s eyes flashed with a regret that I’d never seen before.
“You can say no, Alba,” he reminded me.
No, I couldn’t.
“I know, Papa,” I lied.