Prologue
When people think about mafia, I imagine they think about gruesome murders, sleeping with the fishes, arranged marriages, horse heads, turf wars and such, but the truth is, they moved past that..for the most part. There weren’t as many ridiculous nicknames as before, but one cannot forget ‘Tommy Three Fingers’ and ‘Skinny Joe’, both named ironically, of course. Shady shit was still going down, so were murders, but they were done much more on the down low than before, women had freedom and they were all much more careful since mafia doesn’t own all of the law enforcement anymore.
The five families weren’t at war for years now. I guess they figured they stand a better chance if they offer a united front, but there was still a lack of trust. I imagined it as that picture where people shake hands, but hold a knife behind their back. Lots of businesses joined but there was a lot of mistrust and undercuts, lots of job stealing and fights, but for the most part everyone was civil, it’s just that no one trusted anyone, so they’re still not at their best, even united.
Or should I say we, considering I’m part of the one of the five families. But, like I said, it’s not all that bad being a woman in mafia anymore, once you look past all the shit. I had my freedom, went to university, had boyfriends (although none knew about my mafia connections), I have a job and unconditional love and protection from my family. I even had a few secrets of my own.
Luckily for me, my family was a bit more forward thinking than some others, my mother always fought for women’s rights and protection in the mafia, while my father worshiped the ground she walked on and supported her every decision. She did a lot of good for women in mafia and influenced me immensely, which makes what I did even that more surprising to my family.
