Chapter 1
On December 13, 1968,
The city of New York was drowning in the shadows of crime and gangs. Its streets were crowded with mafias, and people lived in constant fear. Yet, there was a pulse of life beating in the corners of this harsh city.
Vito Romano, a man of twenty-eight years, sat on a cracked wooden bench in front of an abandoned building. He smoked a cigarette slowly, the smoke rising into the cold air, caressing his tired face. Returning from the Vietnam War, his eyes still carried the burdens of battles left behind.
He was waiting for his sister Rosa, who would take him away from this neighborhood suffocating with memories. Life here wasn’t easy, but it was his home.
Rosa arrived in her Dodge Charger, stepping out at twenty years old, cigarette in hand. She shouted loudly, as if firing words like bullets:
“My big brother is back home, you bastards!”
She approached Vito and hugged him tenderly, as if trying to make up for her absence.
Vito smiled and said calmly:
“How are you, Rosa?”
Rosa took a deep breath from her cigarette, sighed bitterly, then said:
“You know, same atmosphere, same nightmare. The situation is bad… as if we’re trapped in hell.”
She took another drag and added,
“Come on, Mom’s waiting for you at home.”
Vito got into the driver’s seat, Rosa beside him, and the car drove off into the dark road, carrying memories of the past and dreams of tomorrow.
Car Scene:
The car sped through the crowded streets of New York, buildings towering around them like silent walls witnessing all the city’s weariness.
Vito sat silently, staring out the window, while Rosa drove with one hand and gripped her cigarette with the other, which was starting to fade in the cold air.
Breaking the silence with a tone full of pain, she said:
“The situation is very bad, Vito… I mean, after Dad passed — may God rest his soul — and your trip to the war…”
But Vito interrupted firmly yet quietly:
“I know the situation is bad. But tell me, what did you do to help Mom?”
Rosa bowed her head slightly, sighed slowly, and said without looking at him:
“She thinks I work as a waitress at some restaurant.”
Vito looked at her with suspicion:
“But where do you really work, Rosa?”
She smiled with a sad sarcasm, as if resigning to the inevitable:
“Oh, well… I work with Mac. We deal drugs.”
The words fell like a thunderclap in the car, and silence reigned for heavy seconds. Vito hadn’t expected the truth to be this bad. He had returned from the hell of war… only to find his sister drowning in another hell.
Vito sighed and turned his head toward his sister, then said quietly:
“You mean… Mac Kruger?”
Rosa blew a cloud of smoke from her lips and replied calmly:
“Yes, that’s him.”
Vito lowered his head, speaking with a tone mixing despair and disappointment:
“I can’t believe that, Rosie…”
Rosa shrugged carelessly and said bitterly sarcastic:
“Oh, come on… it’s not like there’s an honorable job waiting for me around the corner. This is me, Vito, and you’ve known that for a long time.”
She sighed heavily and added softly:
“Even Dad… he knew.”
Vito was silent for seconds as if trying to change the subject, then asked:
“What about Lisa?”
Rosa laughed mockingly and said:
“Oh, that independent bitch?”
Then looked at Vito with tired eyes and added:
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her in eight years. The last I heard, she was working with Graves.”
Vito raised his eyebrows in surprise:
“Graves? Her brother?”
Rosa nodded:
“Yes, Jack and Lisa… they’re working together now.”
Vito shook his head, as if something didn’t add up, and said:
“I thought they were at odds.”
Rosa answered coldly:
“That’s what everyone thought, Vito.”
At that moment, Vito fell completely silent. Her words shocked him; he hadn’t expected to hear Lisa’s name after all these years.
Lisa was his old lover, a girl he had known when he was twenty, a year younger than him. Now, at twenty-seven, she was a kind girl, different… or so he had thought.
Home Scene:
The Dodge stopped in front of the old house in the southern Brooklyn neighborhood. Night had begun to fall, and the dim lights cast pale shadows on the cracked walls.
Vito got out slowly, as if his feet were weighed down by years of war and childhood memories.
As soon as someone heard the engine stop, the house door opened quickly, and Maria Romano appeared, a woman in her late forties, with traces of fatigue on her face and tears hidden behind her eyes that had waited long to fall.
She shouted from the stairs, a voice mixing joy and longing:
“Vito…!”
She ran to him without waiting and hugged him tightly as if trying to make sure he wasn’t a ghost from her memory but her real son, flesh and blood.
Vito held her close and said in a low, trembling voice:
“I’m here, Mom… I finally came back.”
Maria cried silently, touching his face with her trembling hands, as if trying to recover the lost years.
She said:
“I swore every night that you would come back… and here you are.”
Rosa stood beside the car, smoking silently, watching them without approaching, as if watching a scene from an old movie she no longer believed in its endings.
The three sat around the dinner table, the food was simple, but the moment of reunion after a long absence was more precious than anything else.
Maria Romano stared deeply into her son’s face as if still trying to believe his return. Her eyes shifted between him and Rosa as if trying to fill the gap of the lost years.
She smiled warmly as she watched Vito eat:
“So, Vito… what’s your plan now?”
He answered quietly without lifting his eyes from his plate:
“I’ll look for a job. I want to start over… be independent.”
Maria chuckled lightly and said:
“Maybe Rosa can help. She can get you a waitress job with her.”
Vito suddenly stopped eating, lifted his head and looked at Rosa who was sitting silently, continuing to eat as if nothing had happened.
But his look was not ordinary… it held disappointment and pain. He knew the truth.
He said quietly with a hint of hidden rejection:
“No… I’ll look for a job that suits me, something I’m good at.”
Maria nodded gently and said:
“Of course, son… as you wish.”
Then added, her eyes suddenly shining with a tear she tried to hide:
“You know… if your father were alive, he’d be very proud of you.”
Rosa felt a tightness in her chest and lowered her eyes from the plate. The words hit her without mentioning her name.
Vito smiled tiredly and said:
“Thanks, Mom… I miss him too.”
Silence prevailed for a moment… not a silence of relief, but the kind that precedes small storms in the heart.
After Dinner,
Vito entered his old room as if time had stopped at its door. Everything was exactly as he left it: neatly arranged books, old photos on the walls, even the room’s smell carried some childhood memories.
He ran his hand over his wooden desk and stopped at a small photo in a simple frame. He slowly picked it up — it was a picture of him and Lisa, him holding her as she smiled with that smile he never forgot.
He smiled bitterly and whispered to himself:
“I wonder… what happened while I was gone?”
In Another Scene,
Maria and Rosa were washing dishes in the kitchen, silence reigning except for the sound of water and stacked plates.
Maria said in a motherly tone with a subtle hint of advice:
“You know, darling… maybe you should help Vito find a job. He needs someone to stand by him now.”
Rosa stopped for a moment, feeling silent discomfort. She didn’t hate Vito, she loved him sincerely, turning to him in her hardest moments… but she hated the constant comparison and that unspoken favoritism she felt all her life.
She said while resuming her work:
“Don’t worry, Mom. Vito’s a grown man… he knows how to handle himself.”
She finished washing the dishes silently, then quietly slipped away to her room. She threw herself on the bed, burying her face in the pillow, mixed emotions swirling inside her with no outlet.
After a while, Vito stood outside her door. He knocked softly, then opened it slightly and said:
“Do you have a minute?”
Rosa slowly lifted her head from the pillow and said hoarsely:
“Yes.”
She got up, lit a cigarette, filling the room with smoke.
Vito spoke calmly but firmly:
“I want to meet Lisa.”
Rosa raised her eyebrows in surprise:
“What?”
He repeated confidently:
“You heard me.”
Rosa laughed bitterly:
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen her for years, like I told you.”
Vito:
“You can find her, right?”
Rosa sighed slowly, then said:
“I mean… well, maybe I know where she is.”
She got up from bed and continued:
“I heard a rumor about a blonde woman with blue eyes in Little Italy. The gossip says she made a deal with some teenagers to sell a quantity of cocaine on Grand Street.”
Vito asked:
“Can you take me there?”
Rosa replied:
“I have an important job now, but you can use my car.”
Vito smiled and thanked her:
“Thank you.”
Rosa smiled lightly:
“Anything for you, big brother.”
Nightclub Scene:
In one of the streets of Little Italy, there was a nightclub called “Sally’s Club,” run by Sally Brice, a man in his mid-thirties.
The situation was as usual for most nightclubs: dancers, prostitution, and drugs.
In Brice’s office, the man was sitting in his big chair, sipping a glass while a prostitute was wrapping around him. Suddenly, the phone rang, he lifted his head and signaled the prostitute to get up and leave.
He answered calmly:
“Brice here.”
The caller’s voice was unknown:
“Romano here.”
Brice asked with surprise and mockery:
“Who… the girl? Man, she can’t do anything. She doesn’t even have an army.”
The caller replied seriously:
“Not the girl… the man.”
Brice jumped from his chair quickly, showing surprise and suspicion, then said darkly and hesitantly:
“Vito…”
Rosa’s Drug Lab Scene:
The next morning, Rosa entered her small drug lab wearing her usual revealing clothes. She greeted the people around her, who responded with mixed smiles.
She approached Mac Kruger’s desk, who was busy counting money. She looked at him sarcastically and said:
“By God, Kruger?”
He smiled:
“What? I’m just enjoying myself.”
At that moment, Rosa sat on a nearby chair, raised her worn-out foot onto the table, and slowly lit a cigarette saying:
“What’s new?”
Mac looked at Rosa with challenging and mocking eyes and said while fiddling his fingers on the table:
“New? Things are going as we want. The last deal? It was successful… customers keep increasing every day.”
Rosa looked at him with bright eyes, but her silence carried what words couldn’t say. She knew that success in this harsh world meant more risks.
She sighed, lit another cigarette, and said quietly:
“Money isn’t everything, Mac. The path we walk… might only lead us to the end.”
Mac smiled sarcastically and said:
“An end? This end for some is a new beginning. We live today, not tomorrow.”
Their eyes met briefly, then Mac turned to piles of papers and money as if nothing was happening around him.
Rosa said quietly but confidently:
“I’m not afraid of the end, Mac. But I’m afraid of losing myself on the way.”
Mac got up toward Rosa, placed his hand firmly on her shoulder and said in a tone both tender and confident:
“Darling, we’re in this road together.”
Rosa replied sharply and challengingly:
“To hell with that.”
Quickly, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward her, returning his kiss without hesitation, ready to immerse themselves in a moment of passion, forgetting the surrounding chaos.
Warehouse Scene:
Lisa moved away from Vito as she got up from the floor, but when she looked at him, she froze in place.
Their eyes met — a moment of silence suffocating words.
She whispered in surprise, with unclear emotions mixed in her voice:
“Vito…”
He answered calmly without looking away:
“Yes… it’s me.”
A confused smile appeared on her face, unknown if it was sarcasm or a sudden relief, and she said:
“I thought they would send your corpse… not your face.”
She stepped closer and added mysteriously:
“Yet, you’re still alive.”
Vito smiled bitterly:
“Just like you… a little criminal covered in some dirt, and — don’t forget — Jack Graves.”
Lisa raised an eyebrow and said sharply sarcastic:
“Oh, does working with my brother make me a bad person?”
Vito said sharply:
“You know who Jack is.”
She replied strongly:
“And you… don’t know who he really is, Vito. He’s my brother.”
Vito looked at her sharply like a sword:
“The brother who killed your parents?”
Silence prevailed. Her gaze broke for a moment, stepping back as if the truth slapped her hard.
Vito moved forward slightly and said quietly:
“So… is everything over between us?”
Lisa slowly turned her face, staring at him with eyes soaked in both sadness and anger, and said:
“Everything ended… when you left, Vito.”
Vito froze. He didn’t need more words. At that moment, he clearly realized… Lisa was no longer his lover, nor the girl she used to be.
Back to Rosa Scene:
After that intimate moment, Rosa and Mac lay on the couch, passionately tangled in a mix of violence and romance.
The silence in the room was heavy, broken only by shallow breaths and the faint glow of the fireplace.
Rosa slowly got up, pushing strands of hair from her face, and approached the table to pour herself a drink.
Mac, looking exhausted, said while breathing deeply:
“Ah, God… I don’t think I can do that again.”
Rosa smiled, then turned to him lightly sarcastic:
“Come on… don’t be a baby.”
She lit a cigarette and took a long drag.
Suddenly Mac said, in a more serious tone:
“Hey… did you hear about Vito?”
Rosa froze for a moment, then replied firmly:
“Oh, really? What about him?”
Mac looked at the ceiling and answered:
“He’s back… and you know well what it means having a former soldier among drug dealers, Romano.”
Rosa took a drag from her cigarette and muttered as if talking to herself:
“As if I don’t know that…”
Mac got up slowly putting on his pants and said without looking at her:
“Brice knows too.”
Rosa’s breath quickened, and she turned sharply to him:
“Brice?!”
Mac nodded:
“Yes. Things will change, Rosa… soon.”
A heavy silence fell as Rosa slowly exhaled smoke, thinking about what might happen next.
Then she said firmly but with inner pain:
“What do we have to do? Don’t expect me to stand against my brother, Mac.”
Mac approached her, looking coldly in her eyes:
“No… I don’t expect that. But tell me… do you expect Vito to stand by you when he finds out who you work for?”
She was silent, her eyes staring at him with suppressed anger, then said coldly:
“I’ll handle it… myself.”
In a Street Scene:
In one of the back alleys of Little Italy, two young men stood at a narrow street corner, exchanging small bags for cash. Passersby ignored them as if they didn’t exist, as if this corner had become part of the usual scene.
Suddenly, a luxury black car stopped a few meters away. Its paint gleamed under the lights, and the air seemed to change as a man got out.
Sally Brice stepped out with a wide smile revealing his golden teeth shining like a warning.
He confidently strode toward the two men, hands in pockets, his voice mocking:
“What do we have here?”
One of the men, tall and thin, replied defiantly:
“And what do you want, you idiot?”
Brice laughed quietly and stepped closer:
“Take it easy, boys… no need for violence.”
He stopped directly in front of them, looking around as if assessing the place, then asked quietly but menacingly:
“Tell me… which area do you think you’re standing in?”
One smiled sarcastically and said:
“We stand where no one owns… the street belongs to everyone.”
Brice raised an eyebrow and stepped closer until his breath was heard, saying sharply:
“Wrong. This street is mine. Every grain of dust here passes under my watch.”
The two exchanged tense glances, the first showing the first signs of fear, the other tried to hold it and said:
“We only sell a little. No problem, right?”
Brice chuckled shortly then suddenly went silent. He slowly pulled a golden lighter from his pocket, lit his cigar, and blew the smoke in one man’s face saying:
“The problem isn’t the selling… but who you pay.”
He tilted his head slightly and asked:
“Do you work for Kruger? Or Jack Graves?”
The second stammered:
“We… take orders from a man named Steve, we don’t know who’s above him.”
Brice looked at one of his men near the car and nodded slightly.
In a moment, the man stepped forward, grabbed one of the youths, and slapped him hard against the wall.
The other shouted:
“Hey! We’re not part of your war!”
Brice approached and whispered quietly but deadly:
“Anyone selling in my area is part of it… and if you don’t pay me, you’re the enemy.”
He pulled out a small card, placed it in the second youth’s pocket, and said:
“Tell whoever is above you that Sally Brice wants his share… or he’ll take it himself.”
He turned and returned to his car, leaving the youths staring at him with fear and confusion.
The car drove quietly but its impact shook the street like a silent earthquake.
Vito and lisa again:
Lisa had taken a few steps away, her back turned to Vito, arms crossed over her chest. She didn’t speak; her gaze was lost in the darkness, as if trying to hide a vulnerability she was unaccustomed to showing.
Vito sat on the ground and let out a long sigh, then spoke in a soft voice:
Vito: “So… you went back to Graves simply because you found no other place, isn’t that right?”
Lisa turned to him with suppressed anger:
Lisa: “I lost my pride, Vito… I no longer know who I am.”
Vito: “When I left you, you were eighteen… young, yes, but you were smart. You could have studied, worked, built a life like any girl.”
Lisa laughed bitterly, then shouted:
Lisa: “Yeah, sure! Just study, work, and be a normal person… life is bright and easy, right?! Do you know what I suffered? The days I went hungry? The men who thought my body was the price of my survival?!”
Vito tried to control himself:
Vito: “I wasn’t playing in a resort, Lisa… I was at war. I saw blood, death, and the dead who move inside you even after you come back.”
Lisa: “Yeah… but you chose to see that blood. I didn’t choose anything.”
Vito: “It wasn’t easy for me.”
Lisa: “Nor was it easy for me.”
They fell silent. A heavy silence settled between them.
Then Lisa suddenly said:
Lisa: “What about your sister? Isn’t she working in this filth too?”
Vito closed his eyes for a moment, then said:
Vito: “Do you think I’m happy about that? Do you think I didn’t feel shame when I heard?”
Lisa, with quiet sarcasm:
Lisa: “I don’t care, Vito… We’re done.”
Another moment of silence.
Vito: “I will end this. Everything…”
Lisa laughed sarcastically, her eyes shining:
Lisa: “You don’t know Jack.”
Vito: “And you don’t know me.”
He stood up quietly and turned towards the door.
Before leaving, Lisa said softly:
Lisa: “If only you had come back five years earlier… maybe everything would have been different.”
He said nothing.
He opened the warehouse door and disappeared into the darkness.
Scene: The Romano House
Vito returned home after a series of overwhelming events weighing on his chest.
He quietly opened the door and stepped inside with tired steps, as if his body bore the burdens of many years.
He found his mother sleeping on the couch, her face peaceful as if unaware of the world’s noise.
He approached her, kissed her forehead gently, and pulled the blanket over her weary body.
Then he climbed the stairs to his room, carrying inside him a mix of guilt and anger, as if fires were burning in his chest.
He opened the door to his room… and found Rosa sitting on the bed, smoking, the dim light reflecting on her face.
Rosa: “Hey.”
Vito frowned, pointing at the cigarette in her hand:
Vito: “You should quit that filthy habit.”
Rosa smiled sarcastically:
Rosa: “Well… I like filth.”
Vito sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes lost in emptiness:
Vito: “What do you want?”
Rosa: “The car keys.”
Vito stretched out his hand and gave her the keys without looking at her.
Vito: “Don’t worry, I didn’t scratch it.”
Rosa: “And there’s something else…”
Vito raised his eyes to her.
Rosa, in a sudden and direct tone:
Rosa: “Krueger doesn’t manufacture our drugs… he imports them from someone else.”
Vito: “Rosa, I don’t care about that filth…”
Rosa interrupted him abruptly, with a shocking tone:
Rosa: “We work for Stenig.”
Vito froze in place. As if the ground beneath his feet stopped, as if time broke.
His eyes trembled, and his heartbeat accelerated. He couldn’t believe what he heard.
Vito: “What…?”
Rosa: “You heard me.”
Vito was silent. Not a word. Shock took everything.
Rosa, in a low voice full of regret:
Rosa: “I’m sorry, Vito.”
Vito remained motionless like a statue.
Rosa: “Anyway… I can’t get out of this. I’m working with the mafia now, Vito.”
Vito looked at her with a mix of disappointment and despair, the look of a man watching his loved one drown before him and unable to save her.
Rosa: “Stay out of my way, Vito. Live your life… but don’t drag me with you.”
Then she stood up and left the room, tears silently streaming as if afraid the world would hear them.
As for Vito, he stayed frozen in place, as if an explosion had struck his head. Nothing sane remained in him.
