Chapter 1
His lips run along the curve of my exposed neck, feather-light to the touch. It’s a thrilling sensation that brings goosebumps to my arms and moisture between my legs. Kieran Provenza sure knows how to please a woman, and at just twenty-three years of age no less. It’s astonishing. His effect on me. As the youngest daughter of Rafi Bennett, it’s usually my job to be in control. My responsibility
One of his hands reaches for the scarf around my neck while the other cups my breasts through the strapless dress I have on, his fingers curling on the fabric, ready to pull it down. I stare at him through the mirror, “stop!” my protests fall flat. “I can’t be late to my own eighteenth birthday party.”
“No one will notice we’re missing,”
This warrants a laugh, “of course they’ll notice,”
He knows well if either one of us are missing for more than twenty minutes, an army of Sicilian mafia will be out looking for us. But I don’t bring it up. In fact, Kieran and I try our best to forget about our association with the two most powerful families in Northern Sicily. My father, also known as the “Boss” is exactly that, the boss.
My father always kept his world hidden from me, shielding details I could only piece together from a distance and occasionally through Kieran, whose father, Liam Provenza, serves as my dad’s consigliere. A few years ago, Kieran became one of the few people trusted enough to be around me. What began with polite ’hi’s and ’hello’s each morning soon turned into a quiet understanding between us, the kind of greeting that needed no words at all, if you know what I mean.
Kieran was nothing like my father or the men who I was surrounded by. He was soft-spoken, understanding, optimistic about a peaceful and simple future ahead. Characteristics that were similar to mine.
“Colletta! Darling, are you almost ready? Everyone’s waiting for you sweetheart,” my mother yells, knocking on the door
“Just a minute!” I yell back, trying to loosen Kieran’s grip around me, giving one last kiss on my shoulder he lets me go
I run my fingers through my chestnut hair, making sure there were no knots. Adjusting the yellow scarf around my neck making sure each length fell perfectly to my sides and straightened out any creases on my strapless long light yellow dress.
“You look breathtaking,” says Kieran, turning me around, nuzzling his nose into my neck, “Seriously, you need to control yourself,” I mumble out, letting out a groan, “with a view like this, it’s quite hard to,” he says making me chuckle
Our lips are millimeters away from touching when an earth-shattering scream erupts from downstairs. The lights start to flicker and burn out followed by gunfire.
Kieran takes out his gun, shielding me from the door, “Hide, don’t come out. Do you understand,” he says as he places a kiss on my lips, running out of the room. I stare at the half opened door, still in shock of what to do. I contemplated hiding but knowing my entire family is downstairs I couldn’t bring myself to stay put.
Booking it out of the door, I make it to the stairs, noticing a pool of blood at the end. Running down the stairs I see many of our men get shot down one by one. Glass was shattered everywhere, tumbling across the dead bodies I try to find my family, hoping they were somewhere safe.
I run when all of a sudden I felt someone’s hand clamp around my arm, “going somewhere?” a buff man snarled, before his fingers could dig any deeper, I twisted and drove my knee straight up between his legs. He let out a strangled grunt, his grip faltering. I ripped my arm free and without thinking, slammed my heel into his stomach with all the force I had. He stumbled back, cursing, but I wasn’t done. My hands closed on the first thing within reach, a heavy vase, and I swung it, letting it shatter against his skull with a sickening crack. His eyes rolled back as his body dropped like dead weight.
My hands trembled as the vase slipped from my hand, turning, I kept running until I reached my father’s study and almost retched at the sight in front of me. I staggered back against the door, my palm clamping over my mouth, fighting the bile rising in my throat. My sister lay sprawled on the hard wood floor, her throat cut, her face peppered with bullet holes that had stolen all softness from her features. Next to her, my mother was facedown in a pool of her own blood, her fingers outstretched as though she had been crawling towards me
“Ma” I yelp, rushing over to her, I drop to my knees, sliding through the slickness to gather her head onto my lap. Her hair was sticky and skin was already cold, “No, no, no, no,” I chant, rocking back and forth as tears streamed down my face. “Please- wake up- please!”
“C-Coletta…” the broken voice behind me made me freeze
I turned to see my father slumped against his desk, blood soaking his shirt. He stretched out a shaky hand towards me. I scrambled to him, nearly slipping, “Papa- no- it’s okay, we’ll get help, we’ll get out, we’ll-”
“N-No,” he coughed hard, blood bubbling at his lips. Even now, there was that faint familiar smile in his eyes when he looked at me. His bloody hand clutched at the chain around his neck and tore it free, pressing it into my palm.
“M-My love,” he rasps. “I don’t have… much time. They’ll… kill m-me. Keep this with you…”
“Boss!” One of our men stumbled into the room, his arm hanging limp from a bullet wound. He saw me and then my father
My father’s gaze shifted to him. “Take her,” he orders.
“No!” I clung to him, my fingers digging into his shirt. “I’m not leaving you, I’m not-”
He grips my face with blood-slick fingers, his voice breaking. “My love… I’ll always be with you. Now go!” His last word was a roar, filled with desperation and pain, as he shoved me toward the man.
“P-Please…” he whispers struggling to take his next breath
The man hauled me to my feet, dragging me towards the door as shouts echoed closer. We hid behind a wall as we saw three men enter the room, their laughter cold and bitter. “We got him. We got the bastard,” one of them sneered.
A single gunshot cracked like thunder as I screamed, placing my hands over my ears. My eyes squeezed shut as the echo of the shot rang in my skull.
“We need to go,” says the man next to me, dragging me along, but I stop him, “Kieran!” I screamed, trying to run back, but he held onto me, “Everyone’s dead! Everyone’s dead! We need to leave now,” he whisper yells, holding me back as I cried, “No, he didn’t die. He can’t die!” I say, clinging onto him, “We need to get out of here, come on,” he pleads with me again as we both started to run towards the cars, another man ushered us to get in, soon we were gone, driving away from what was supposed to be the happiest day of my life but ended up being far worse.
*FOUR YEARS LATER*
“Bye, Miss Hofferman!” one of my students called out, waving before running toward the building door. I glance around my now-empty classroom and let out a long sigh- the day is finally over. As I head toward my desk, a knock sounds at the door.
“Hello, Ms. Isabel,” says Sandy, singing the last bit of my name, a fellow teacher here at Villa Grimani Elementary, tucked in the heart of Venice, Italy.
“Ready to go home,” she asks, leaning on the door, “very much,” I reply, stretching my arms with relief.
“All set for parent-teacher conference day tomorrow?” she teases.
I groan. “Not even close.” I start stacking a few papers into a neat pile before slipping my laptop and other belongings into my handbag.
“I feel you,” she says as we step out together walking outside to the parking lot, sharing our bye’s we walk our separate ways to our cars.
Four years have passed since the attack on my family. Four years of hiding, living under a name that isn’t truly mine, far from the people who wanted me dead. After the attack I moved in with my maternal grandparents who made the ultimate decision to give me this new identity so I don’t live out of fear and for another reason entirely
My daughter, Madelyn.
Against the wishes of my grandparents, I went through with the pregnancy, not wanting to lose the one thing that reminded me of him, Kieran. She had the same pair of sea-green eyes, mischievous smile and quirkiness, I fell in love with all those years ago. Now she is four and a little bundle of joy.
Parking in the garage, I head up to my apartment. The moment I open the door, I’m met with the sight of toys scattered everywhere and the sound of laughter echoing from the bathroom. Dropping my bag on the counter, I follow the giggles until I find Madelyn splashing water at Sylvia.
“Maddie,” Sylvia groans, holding her little hands before breaking into a tickle attack.
“Looks like a party in here,” I say with a laugh, leaning against the doorframe
“Mommy!” Madelyn squeals, splashing again.
Laughing, I scoop her up, “My baby girl, how was your day?”
“It was fun! I did Auntie’s hair!” she beams. I glance at Sylvia and stifle a chuckle at the sight of her hair covered in glitter and random clips.
“I see,” I mouth a quick ‘sorry’ to Sylvia, but she just waves it off with a laugh. Wrapping Madelyn in a towel, I carry her back into her room to get her dressed. Sylvia steps out, letting me know she’s heading home, I nod as I see her head out of the room and into the living room.
I met Sylvia back when Madelyn was born. She was interning at the hospital while I was in labor. Even though she nearly passed out, watching me give birth and almost threw up at the sight of Madelyn. We still managed to hit it off and become best friends and somewhere along the way she became family.
And before anyone asks- no, she did not become a doctor. She went on to change majors and now is studying computer science for obvious reasons
Grabbing another towel, I gently dry Madelyn’s hair as she hugs me, resting her head against my stomach. Laughing softly, I unwrap her little arms and head to the closet to pull out a one-piece outfit.
“Mommy, can I have candy?” she asks, bouncing on the bed.
“No.”
“Please? Pwease? Pleaaaase?” she begs, her voice raising with every plea.
“Still no,” I reply, emerging from the closet with her clothes. She crosses her arms dramatically.
“No to the puppy face, too,” I add.
She pouts even harder as I pull the towel from her and start dressing her.
“Fine. Just one.”
Her face lights up with a triumphant smile as she hops off the bed and runs to the kitchen. Shaking my head, I change into my night clothes before joining her.
Madelyn is on her tiptoes, struggling to reach the candy jar. I help her, and she grabs the last KitKat.
“How was your day, Mommy?” she asks as I pull my hair into a bun.
“It was good,” I tell her.
“Mrs. Natalie said I was the smartest in class today! She gave me a sticker!” she says proudly.
I smile, kissing her forehead. “That’s wonderful. What do you want for dinner, Maddie?”
She pauses to think, then grins. “Mac and cheese.”
“Mac and cheese coming right up, my lady,” I reply, planting a kiss on her cheek.
Candy in hand, she darts off to her room. I turn back to the kitchen and start cooking. Half an hour later, steaming bowls of mac and cheese sit on the table. I call out, and seconds later Madelyn comes running in.
“Dinner is ready, baby,” I say, lifting her into her chair.
We eat- well, I eat while she chatters about unicorns and why she wants to become one in her next life. After dinner, we curl up together and watch her favorite shows until her eyelids droop.
Turning off the TV, I carry her to her room. She yawns, whispering, “Goodnight, Mommy,” as she rolls over, already half-asleep.
I stroke her soft cheek before slipping out, leaving the door cracked just enough to let in a sliver of light.
Back in the kitchen, I wash the dishes in silence, staring out the window above the sink. The street outside is dim and almost empty, a few streetlights flickering in the distance. It feels like a reflection of me; quiet and hollow. The only thing that keeps me moving, the only reason any of this matters, is her. Madelyn. Without her, I don’t know what I’d be living for.
