I actually appreciated that. My father, on the other hand, did not do the same. He would beat a man with his fists in front of me to make sure I got the message: don’t fuck with my father. To be fair, if my father didn’t have all of his men present during such beatings, I doubt he would have left such an impression. His guards gave him a sense of security he hadn’t earned.
Although Dom would have me sit out on some meetings, what he apparently didn’t realize was I knew what was going on. Lorenzo (Geronimo) and Aria had pulled me into their small tight knit circle, and we had built our own unit. We met at minimum once a week for check-ins and to discuss any situations we wanted dealt with. Aria often brought up my sister, not only thecontinued flaunting of her flings, but also her eager wish to put my sister “in her place.” I’m not sure what she had in mind for my sister, but knowing Aria it probably included eventual death. I didn’t hate my sister enough for death, just her due karma.
As Dom and I continued to build a relationship between us, I became more open with him about my upbringing and relationships with my family. I finally even shared the voicemails my father and sister had been leaving me on my phone since I left the family home. There were about twenty or more between them. My father’s were about not “disgracing the family, but make sure your husband supports me when I need him to.” He already had plans for my father for the takeover which was fast approaching, so he was holding off on confronting him at the moment. He wanted to confront my sister now though, which I told him a few voicemails didn’t mean anything so she wasn’t worth the effort. He accepted this for my sake.
I did learn that Dom was not very close with his mother because she was “a nervous, anxious neurotic kind of woman.” His father had left them when he was young. The Don he took over for had witnessed him fighting off some thugs in a back alley. He got the shit beat out of him, but he got up and walked away. The Don offered him a position as a soldier in his clan, and eventually took Dom under his wing. Dom was unusual in that he had moved through the ranks and more than proved himself, not only to the Don, but to the clan as well. He said he would still visit his mother every few months and paid her bills for her. He said she thought he was a businessman. Well, not entirely a lie. He would introduce me to her after the takeover.
Our sex life was phenomenal. He made sure I enjoyed it as much as he did. He wanted to constantly try new things, things he saidhe had never been comfortable doing with other women because he felt that would give them the impression he wanted more from them. And he was often rubbing my stomach, and would say, “I can’t wait to put my baby in you.” I had not thought much on having children in my life. After all, why would I knowingly do that if I was going to be a toy to some mafia bound man who would probably be as brutal and disrespectful as my own father had been?
I also knew Aria’s father was the same way. Lorenzo had been somewhat sheltered in his family from that nonsense. His father did not lay hands on them nor had mistresses. But he had been negative and degrading towards Lorenzo and his mother for Lorenzo’s “lifestyle choices.” His father, Francesco, blamed his mother for Lorenzo being gay. How he figured that one, I will never know. Because of his sexuality, Lorenzo was generally ignored by his father, but adored by his mother who encouraged him in all areas. Including his computer skills. Thank goodness for that. Lorenzo was brilliant, though from what I heard, no one in the family knew except Aria, who would guard him with her life. Both figuratively and literally.
I was hanging out in the living room area one evening, watching one of the Real Housewives shows more for background noise than anything. Dom was due back from work anytime now so I was just wasting time. Then I heard a knock on the front door. The door opened, followed by muffled voices, then footsteps.
To be fair, I had never made any conditions to not allow her in the house, so I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise when my sister was escorted into the living room by one of the maids.
I tensed up immediately. She would have nothing good to say or any good reason to be here, so I needed to brace myself for whatever she had up her sleeve. I sat up straighter on the couchand leaned in as she approached. She was getting closer than she needed to be so I stood up, not wanting her standing over me. She already made me feel small throughout our childhood together, I would not let her do it anymore. She stopped no more than a couple of feet away, so I crossed my arms in a defensive stance. I didn’t trust her one bit. I wasn’t sure if Dom’s men would do anything to stop her if she decided to get physical with me, since most men, even in our world, didn’t like to put hands on women. It made them look weak, according to Aria, who then rolled her eyes at me. I understood. After all, what happened behind closed doors was another matter.
In an overly bright voice, Serena said, “Well, well, well, if it isn’t my slut of a sister.” She was dressed to the max as she usually was, all glitter and no class in her silky halter blouse that hung on her, showing way more skin than necessary. Her skirt at least covered her, but it was so tight I wasn’t sure how she was able to move in it. She had on glittery high heel stilettos, her hair styled to perfection. She looked like a glamour doll more than anything. Her makeup was bright and heavy, but it looked appropriate on her.
She had a smug expression. “I heard Dom is ready to dump your ass soon, and then I will take my rightful place. That you stole from me.”
In a calm, blank voice, “Serena, you need to be respectful and call him Dominic.” Serena’s eyes narrowed at me, her teeth gritting together. “Only people in his circle get to call him Dom. And that does not include you.”
Her glare tightened for a moment, then eased into a fake smile. “Oh, darling sister. He will be mine soon enough. I don’t know why Daddy gave you to him. He knew I was meant to be with him.” Her face started to morph into an ugly sneer. “Just hadto end things with Nico first, then we would have been fine, but no, you had to step in and take what was mine.” Her voice was starting to rise.
“I didn’t take anything from you, Serena. Father offered me to Dom because you weren’t available.” I emphasized ‘available’ to her, letting her know I knew what had been going on.
Her face continued to morph into anger. “You should have told him no, that he was meant for me.”
Still in a calm voice, “I did Serena. I told him you would be a better match for him.”
She screamed, “You should have tried harder, you fat, ugly bitch.”
She moved forward, hand raising, as I prepared myself for the slap that was coming, when a blur came up and grabbed her hand, pushed her back, and slapped her across the face. She stumbled back, but remained standing.
Dom roared out, “How fucking dare you try to touch my wife!”
I started to shake, realizing Dom had witnessed some, if not all, of what had gone on between my sister and me.
Serena’s eyes went wild, and she squealed out, “No Dom, she was trying to hit me first. I swear it.”
“Bullshit! I saw and heard the whole thing, you lying cunt. And don’t you dare fucking call me Dom. You have not, and will never, earn that right!” He was still yelling.
He waved his hand in the air, “Take her to Raphael’s, where she can be useful, for once.”
Serena’s eyes bugged out of her head, as she screamed, “No! You can’t do that to me! You have no right! My father will have your head if you do this!”
Dom’s men were already grabbing a hold of her and steering her out of the room.
Dom’s voice had calmed down a bit, but was still loud and commanding. “I’m coming for his fucking head next! How dare you treat Sophie like you had. And you’re going exactly to where you belong, you fucking whore.”
Raphael’s was a brothel in a bad side of town. All Dom had to do was ask Maximo to make Serena “pay her debt” and she would be locked in as a woman of the hour until her “debt” was paid. I was shocked by Dom’s decision.
“Now get that bitch out of here, and I don’t ever want to see her fucking face again. Is that clear?”
Muttered voices of “Yes Boss” came around the room.
I didn’t realize I had frozen in place until Dom was in front of me, lightly touching my cheek.
