3 III.Contract Marriage

Keywords

Pakhan-Russian mafia boss

Capo-Italian mafia boss

Bratva-Russian organized crime

Cosa Nostra-Italian Mafia

Father and I weren't particularly close,our relationship consisted of greetings and me spending his money.He was almost always holed up in his study room doing paperwork or barking orders at his phone.

His study was large enough to be a studio apartment,the air in there smelt of old books,tobacco and ink.If my childhood memories with my father had a smell,it would have been that but the smell now seemed foreign to me,something that only existed twelve years ago because that was the last time I had stepped in there.

I didn't know what to feel when he asked me to see him,my thoughts jumbled up in assumptions,I wasn't worried,my father would never bring harm to me but the distraught look on his timeworn face and overgrown stubble was unlike him.

He was seated behind his large oak wood table in a dark blue suit,a sign that he hadn't been at home all day,it was a Sunday and I was still nursing a hangover due to a wild Saturday night.

The walls were a dark red wallpaper with gold details,my bare feet sank into the plushness of the maroon rug,the bright sun had peeked through the heavy curtains lighting up the otherwise dark room.

"Take a seat,Mirabella"He said voice stiff,i slid into the plush cushioned chair in front of him,his table was littered with stacked brown files except for a thin black one directly in front of him,he placed his hand down beside the framed picture of our family.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes"He spoke in that business voice of his,something he only used in public"Mirabella,you are aware of the infiltration?"

I perked up an ombré brow"Who isn't?"

His lips curled down and he leaned back into his chair,hands disappearing under the table"You know my role in it?"

"Yes.You were a spy"

He nodded"I'm the very reason the infiltration was successful in the first place"with a sigh he zeroed his eyes on mine"I'm a smart man Mirabella,in fact my intelligence is the reason for my sleepless nights.I'm a man that does what needs to be done."

My phone vibrated in my pocket but I ignored it

"But what I am not is a man of loyalty.I will always be on the winning team"

"What...what are you trying to say?"

"The Vitelli family wants to take back the city"I gasped my eyes widened on their own accord as the looming doom of this sentence cloaked me

"How do you know this?What does the Pakhan think of this?!"Hysterical I clutched the thick edges of the table and leaned closer

"The Pakhan doesn't know"He deadpanned

"Yet right?We need to inform them immediately"

"No,we don't"

What did he mean by we didn't?!

"But...but...we're Russians,they're Italians.You're-"

"A spy"

My head swirled as I gawked at him,denial fighting common sense"I know that...you're a Bratva spy"

He shook his head slowly like he was speaking to a two year old"No,I'm a spy"

"What are you trying to say dad?"

"The Vitelli family wants to take back the city and you know I might not be directly linked to the mob anymore but I'm still they're number enemy,I'm the reason our people had enough intel"

"The Vitelli family can try all they want."I spat clenching my fist"They won't-"

"On the contrary,they will.While the mob has lazily sunk in the hands of luxury the Cosa Nostra has been plotting for years.Half of the people close to the Pakhan are Italian spies, moy dorogoy"

"As a spy myself I could see this,this level ground infiltration and so I had risked my life and went to staten island-"

"Dad"I choked out,Staten Island was one of the boroughs controlled by The Cosa Nostra and it was where they stayed considering it was safer,any Russian that ventured there was meant to have his head blown off on sight.They had been able to take three boroughs which was queens,Brooklyn and Staten Island,why did they want more when we only had two?!

"-where I was able to strike a deal"He finished running his hands through his hair.

"What deal,papa?"My eyes flickered to the black file on the desk,it wasn't just blank,there were intricate designs on it,a gold V smack in the middle with vines wrapping around it like it was being worshipped"What deal,papa?"I repeated looking back at him

"A contract marriage"

I felt like I was hit by a truck,my eyes watered the air stripped out of me.It wasn't a foreign concept for people in our society to be involved in contract marriages and I had grown to expect it but not like this,not with the enemy.

"You want me to fraternize with the enemy,does mum know of this?!"I shot up from my sit,the chair screeched backwards

"Sit down,Mirabella"

"You're selling me off! You're giving me to the enemy!"

"Sit down!"Father yelled,his commandment loud and thick,his fist slammed on the table causing the wood to shiver,an audible gasp could be heard from behind the doors and I just knew mama and Elena were eavesdropping.

I grudgingly sat down,my muscles quivered in rage,father rarely yelled

"The enemy are going to win this war and I'm not going to fall!I will always put my family first and the only way I can secure our safety is by reuniting the family.After the victory,the Bratva cast me aside because I wanted to focus on you guys!Do you think it was easy building my way up when I had no respect?No fear?!I am the very reason for the success of the Barinov family!But what did Pakhan do?He tossed me aside with mere reward"

He was livid,his face red with rage,a vein on his neck engorged,his fist clenched and waving.

"You're twenty four,child.You're exposed by now you should have realised why this is so,why we are dealt different treatment..."He trailed off gesturing to our skin then he sighed a sign he didn't want to go deeper"The Vitelli family ensured our safety with this alliance,child"

"What are they gaining from us?"The Vitelli family wouldn't care about our safety unless there was something they could gain in return

"Information.You'd be surprised by the amount of information swirling in a members only club like mine and since they're restricted on our territory they need me"

He flipped through the contract,turned it and pushed it towards me"Sign here"He ordered tapping the second space at the bottom left for a signature.On the first was already a signature,bold and cursive taking up space.

I sighed clutching my hands together,it was already done,I was just a pawn that needed to pen down her signature to seal the deal and half of me knew that if I hadn't done it my dad would have hired someone to fake my signature.I stared at it blankly,I didn't know how many minutes I did,but my senses were suddenly muted,tears streaking down my heated cheeks.

My sides suddenly felt heated when my dad appeared by my side and placed a thumb print pad beside me,he picked up my limp thumb and pressed it,he then flipped the page and pressed it on a line.The other line had a large thumb print already,it's double whorl daunting me mockingly.

"Just sign,Mira"He said softly pressing a large hand on my shoulder"I promise you won't regret this"

And so i signed,i felt like i was signing my life away to the devil.When I was done my father shut it and returned to his seat where he let me recuperate for only God knew how long.

"You know,i never thought I would be one of those girls that wedded a man old enough to be their father"My voice came out dry and parched as I pressed the back of my hands to my cheek to dry it up.

My Father cocked his head with furrowed eyebrows"Mirabella,you're not getting married to the Capo,you're getting married to one of his sons and you're expected to move into his house before Wednesday"

"What?"My head shot up,I almost felt a crack,realization slammed into me and my lips parted in a gasp

Two out of the Capo's sons were already married,which left the youngest available.The same man that had threatened to slice my neck three months ago,the same man that had killed my boyfriend.

Luca Vitelli.