1 CHAPTER 1

Pablo

My name is Pablo Dos Santos, I am thirty years old.

My story is much too long to be told in one click. I let you discover it through its lines.

It is six o'clock in the evening. Sitting in my car, I watch the sun go down over this mountain.

Next to me, on the passenger seat, is my travel bag.

Yes, I am traveling. I have waited many years to get to this day. This time, the time has come.

I sigh.

Me: Adriana, here we go. I'm going to make you see all the colors. I'm going to make you pay for all these years of suffering.

I smile and start the car. The engine hums with a thud.

Adriana

I'm overwhelmed by all this paperwork.

Out of breath, I sit down in my chair to sip a juice.

My name is Adriana Santos, widow of Carlo Santos. I am forty-five years old, but I don't look my age, I look thirty. My husband was the head of the Monte Carlo Mafia, a very powerful mafia. Since his death, I take care of all his affairs.

I've become a bit of an influential woman that everyone fears.

I have two fabulous children who make me proud: my eldest daughter Patricia and Felix. Patricia is twenty-eight years old and is studying to be a chartered accountant. As for Felix, he continues to have fun with my money.

Patricia: Mom!

She just walked into my office.

Me: Honey! Are you okay?

Patricia: Yes, I'm fine. You look tired, I've told you many times to take some time for yourself.

Me:I will darling, don't worry.

I watch her tell me about her day. She is so passionate about what she does. She's a real nugget.

We continue chatting for twenty minutes and she leaves my office.

I think about all these years, I think about all that I have built through sacrifice and effort and especially through mistakes. Yes, I have made some very serious mistakes but I try to console myself with all the positive things I have.

My handler has just entered my office. We are talking about the new recruit.

Me: Francis, are you sure of his efficiency?

Francis: Yes, ma'am.

Me: Okay.

He leaves and I go back to studying my documents.

Suddenly, the door of my office opens abruptly with a thud.

I startle while quickly putting my hand on my desk to take my weapon.

Felix: How is the most beautiful mother in the world?

I exhale as I try to regain my composure.

Me: How many times have I told you not to come into my office like that again?

Felix: Sorry, Mom.

He starts laughing loudly as he observes my gun in my hand.

Felix: Mrs. Santos in survival mode!

Me: Don't ever do that to me again.

He continues to laugh. We start talking about everything and nothing.

Felix is the complete opposite of my daughter Patricia. He's an absent-minded boy who only thinks about having fun and partying.

He is asking me for money right now.

Me: When are you going to decide to find something concrete to do?

Felix: But I already work here with you.

Me: I know, I also know that your father would have loved for you to succeed him, but you'd have to have a cover in the future. For example your sister...

He cuts me off.

Felix: Oh no, Mom, don't compare me to Patricia anymore. She is her and I am me.

Me: I'm not comparing you to your big sister, darling. I just want you to take charge of your life. In two days, you'll be twenty.

Felix: Yes, but we'll have this discussion later. See you later.

He gives me a kiss on the forehead.

Felix: I love you, Mom.

Me: I love you too, honey.

He walks out of my office.

I sigh.

Felix looks a lot like this child I had in my past.

I stand up and look out at the city through my bay window, a glass of wine in hand.

I was fifteen years old when I got pregnant. I was a very rebellious girl who could only see the tip of my nose. I never knew my parents, they were two young teenagers who were not responsible for anything. I lived with my uncle. He tried to abuse me. I ran away from home.

There was a rather nice man who promised me happiness and many wonders. I saw in him a way out. I didn't know that in this life, absolutely nothing is free, that everything has to be paid for.

He started by abusing me every night, making me believe that it was normal and that I loved him. I got pregnant.

As if that wasn't enough, this man wanted to sell me to his friends. He wanted me to sleep with them for a few worthless bucks.

That was the last straw. I didn't read the supporter. I ran away one rainy evening.

I wandered from low quarters to low quarters. I suffered the pain.

I finally gave birth a few months later. The pain was excruciating and stabbing.

Once the labor was over, I looked at this being who asked for nothing. This innocent child who had arrived in a world where all vices reigned.

I was fifteen years old, without a roof over my head, without money. I couldn't take care of myself, so what about a child? No, I couldn't.

I decided to separate myself from him.

The truth is that when I looked at him, I saw in him the relentless rape I suffered at the hands of someone I thought I could trust. He reminded me of all those moments of torture and crying.

I didn't think I would ever be able to give him the love he deserved.

I decided to separate myself from him.

It was an evening when the sky was darker than ever.

I tiptoed to drop him off in front of this orphanage I had spotted for several days.

Wrapped in a huge sheet, I watched him. He was sleeping with his eyes closed.

I stood in the shadows, behind a bush for nearly thirty minutes.

He began to cry. His cries alerted the sisters from the orphanage who came to pick him up.

They were offended about who had left the child there. They were visibly indignant.

It is easy to judge others when you are not in their shoes and in the same conditions as they are.

It is very easy to make accusations about people. But what would we have done in their place? What decisions would we have made?

A year later, I met Carlo Santos, my late husband.

He was a benefactor to me. He was proof that the world is full of bad people, but that there are also good people in it.

We started a relationship very quickly.

At first, I was just looking for a way out, a way to escape the poverty I was living in.

But Carlo was a charming man, he knew how to value women and give them the place they deserve.

Carlo could have treated me badly because I didn't come from a wealthy family or wasn't rich myself, but he treated me like a real princess.

His good heart and kindness made me fall in love with the man he was. I learned to build myself up with him and to become the woman that everyone fears today.

Without a doubt, Carlo made me the woman I am today.

Without a doubt, Carlo made me the woman I am today.

He didn't want to wait, he immediately made me his wife. At sixteen, I was married.

Everything was going well in my marriage. I was pampered and lived the life of a princess. I had managed to forget the bad memories of my past.

Six months, a year into my marriage, I still couldn't get pregnant. I was lonely in that big castle I lived in. My husband was always on a mission and busy. He was busy building this great empire that I now rule over. He sacrificed a lot. He put his heart and soul into it.

I needed a child.

In consultation with my husband, we decided to adopt Patricia.

Patricia is an adopted child, but nobody knows that. But I love her even more than if I had only carried her in my belly. The only people who know about this are Carlo and me. Carlo is dead so I am the only one who knows about this heavy secret. A secret that I intend to take to my grave.

Felix is the child that Carlo and I had.

I tried so hard to get pregnant that this pregnancy happened when I least expected it and when I had lost hope.

The age difference between Patricia and Felix is eight years, which is a perfect example of how long I have been waiting.

Of course, I think of this child that I had in the darkest moments of my life but I don't know what keeps me from going to look for him, from trying to put the pieces back together.

I sigh and sit down in my chair.

I think back to that day when I lost my husband, my confidant, my rock. The one I relied on. The one I loved more than anything.

It's been a year since he died. The pain is still present but I live with it. I feel the children down and sad because of his absence but I try to cheer them up as much as possible. I try to be both their father and their mother. Patricia is holding on: she is a strong girl. But I am afraid for Felix, I am afraid that he will drown in alcohol to mop up the pain.

I do my best but sometimes I feel helpless in certain situations.

I read the sales reports. The numbers are good. My husband would be very proud of me.

I have armed myself with the courage and determination to do my best so that all his sacrifices have not been in vain.

I am even more proud of the woman I have become today. I am no longer that little girl who was abused and spent her time crying.

Today, I am Mrs. Santos, the one who rules the Monte Carlo Mafia.

Pablo

I just parked in front of this architecture. It is located in this remote corner of the countryside.

I give my identity to the guards who watch the house.

I drive down the driveway in my car.

Once the car is parked, they come to help me unload my belongings.

I am eager and very excited.

I was put in my room, like all the employees of the house.

I would have liked to meet my boss on the spot but I am told that she is busy.

I take my pain in patience and eat the food which is served to me.

I take a shower and fall asleep.

The next day, I get ready.

There is a meeting to welcome the new recruits. From what I could hear, there are three of us: two men and a girl.

I go downstairs to have my breakfast when we are informed that the boss would like to meet us but separately.

We hardly had time to get to know each other but I know that the second boy is called Anthony and the girl Marita.

I don't know for what reason exactly but I was the last one to get to know my boss.

I climb the stairs with a confident step.

I knock on her desk and enter.

I see a lady who doesn't look her age at all. I thought she must be forty-five but I'll give her twenty-nine. She is very beautiful with her blond hair caught in a bun.

She has a hard and strict look.

Adriana: Welcome among us, I'm Adriana Santos, I'm the one who recruited you for our business, Mr. ....?

Me: Pablo, Pablo Rivera.... Nice to meet you, ma'am. I am happy to work with you.

I smile and shake the hand she holds out to me.