Chapter 3: Cuore

“Cuore, you are the under-boss of this family. Do you know what that means? You will take over once I pass.” The Padrino of Cosa Nostra fumed in Italian. “I am already 59. My time is almost over.”

I crossed my arms across my chest and sighed, “Yes I know Dad. Please stop reminding me. I’m just trying to say that the family won’t accept me. Firstly I am a woman, and secondly, other mafia rivals will see us as weak.”

“This family will accept you! They voted for you to be my under-boss, why won’t they stand by you once I pass? Rivals will always be rivals. Anger them more, let them underestimate us and try to start a war. They will lose, then that’s one less enemy.”

“It’s clear I’m not ready to take over. I didn’t even see it as an advantage.” I groaned and jerked my hand upwards as if to hit my own face. I then walked over to my Dad and took his hands in mine, “I’m not ready to live on without you.”

He gave me a smile then started coughing. The Padrino had been suffering from emphysema for a while now. It caused a shortness of breath and a mixture of blood and mucus was coughed up. The doctors had said that there was no cure, and the medicine would have just helped ease the symptoms. He was predicted to have a maximum of 5 years left, that was 2 years ago. Then Covid-19 hit and he was infected, it was a miracle he had survived but now the condition of his lungs were worse.

“Do you know why I call you Cuore? It means heart. You are my heart, and I will always be here with you. I believe you will make the best decisions for this family and keep our name honoured.” The Padrino replied and lay back down on his pillow to rest. His heavy breathing filled the room and important members of the family entered. They greeted me then said their goodbyes to the Padrino.

I moved to a corner of the room and gave everyone time to talk to my Dad before he passed. I closed my eyes and thought over the 21 years of my life. He was always there for me and he taught me everything I know. His most important quote flooded my thoughts. In a world full of laws, only the outlaws will evolve.

I didn’t even fully understand what it meant but he always said it.

I looked over to the mirror. An olive tanned complexion, chocolate brown eyes and black hair stared back at me. I always felt I appeared plain, but at least the mustard yellow jumpsuit I wore was a contrast. It showed off my cleavage quite well and had a fun frill from my right sleeve down to my waistline. The white purse I chose matched my wedges, and I had my hair in a side braid.

I need a cappuccino, but it was already after lunchtime so coffee was my only option. It’s an unspoken rule okay. No cappuccino after lunch.

“Cuore?” A deep voice asked which broke my train of thought. I looked at the person in front of me, it was the consigliere. He was my Dads adviser.

“Sorry to disturb you. I just want to let you know that the family has decided the elections will happen tomorrow. We want to have a vote as soon as possible so that the Padrino also has a say.” He explained then nodded and walked away.

That was a good idea, at least then my Dad will see who is left in charge of the family. I hoped the consigliere would remain as my consigliere. He was wise and my Dad trusted him, therefore so did I. The new under-boss would be someone entirely new, many members qualified so it could literally be anyone. Everyone left, so I walked over to my Dad.

“What is the date today?” He asked as I sat on the bed next to him.

“12 May,” I replied after quickly checking my phone.

“Uh perfect. Tomorrow will be 10 years since your mom passed, and the first day of your journey to becoming the most feared Padrino. You know, every day you look more and more like her Cuore.”

Mom. She was beautiful. I was 11 when she was killed by a rival mafia family, she had protected both of us. We went to a cinema to watch marvels Thor (which was epic by the way) and afterwards, a gang had cornered us by the car. Both the driver and bodyguard were killed, and my mom threw herself at the last attacker as he shot a bullet in my Dads direction. If she didn’t stop him then I too would have died that day.

“I hope she is proud of me,” I whispered and felt his hand cup my face.

“I must rest now. I’ll see you tomorrow okay.” He added. I nodded, grabbed my purse and left the room.

I took the Ray-Ban wayfarer sunglasses out of my purse and put them on before I stepped out of my father's manor. My personal bodyguard/driver stood waiting by my car; I owned a light blue 812 GTS Ferrari.

“Ma’am.” He greeted and opened the door for me.

“Alexio please take me to the nearest Starbucks. I need a coffee.” I stated in English while climbing into the car.

“Of course.” He laughed, closed my door then climbed into the driver's seat.

“The attempt to convince my Dad was a complete fail.” I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. Alexio had been my protector since I was 18. We were very close, he basically acted like my lover. We had the whole friends with benefits thing going on, but there wasn’t anything between us that developed into more than that. Plus most men would want to be with me just for my families power. None of them could be trusted, so at least I had Alexio around to feed my desires.

He was gorgeous! The whole strong gentleman thing was literally his vibe. I often asked him why he didn’t find a wife and settle down already. He was 25, tall and had these green-brown eyes. The colours could be separately seen which made his eyes extremely rare.

“You are the only woman I am loyal to.” Was always his reply. Who would say no to that?