16 YEARS AGO

We were watching my favorite movie when the first gunshot rang out.

My brother leapt to his feet, his wide eyes matching mine. The clock on the wall ticked away the seconds like some sort of sick countdown.

One.

Two.

Three.

A scream split the air, the sound more horrific than my eleven-year-old mind ever imagined possible.

Mamma. Papà.

Matteo lurched forward, body poised to run towards the danger, but I panicked and grabbed his hand, holding tight.

Four.

Five.

Six.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized the decision my brother had made in that moment. If I hadn’t been there, he might have had time to save at least one of them. But I took his hand, silently begging him with my touch not to leave me alone. And he didn’t.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Each second ticked by, impossibly fast and incredibly slow at the same time.

Ten.

Eleven.

Twelve.

He pulled me towards the hidden door at the back of the house. The tunnels Papà had made me run through alone for hours, even though I was scared of the dark, until I knew how to get out by myself.

Thirteen.

Fourteen.

Fifteen.

The sound of the second gunshot echoed in my ears long after we escaped into the dark.

We barely made it out alive. My traitor uncle, the one responsible for the bullets that stole my parents, took over my father’s empire while Matteo and I descended into two years of hell. I’d lost Mamma, Papà, our home…and my brother. Because even though Matteo was alive, he was never the same. The tenderness and playfulness he’d brought into my life were snuffed out by those bullets. In their wake stood Matteo Rossi, Don of the Italian Mafia, head of the Five Families in New York City. While he carried with him the sharp guilt that he hadn’t suspected anything when our uncle came over that evening, I knew the truth: it was my fault our parents were murdered. The seconds between those two gunshots haunted me. If I hadn’t stopped Matteo, could he have saved them?

The years that followed were cold and lonely while Matteo fought to win back his empire from our uncle. I learned to be self-sufficient. To never be a burden.

I was determined that I would never again be the weak link.

Some content on the website is uploaded by users. If it infringes on your rights, please contact us.