It was a simpler time, a portion of my life when I was filled with innocence and happiness before I became tainted.
Grabbing the baby blanket, I pull it to my chest and hear the swoosh of something fluttering to the floor.
It’s an envelope.
My name is written in Dad’s fancy script.
Heart in my throat, I pick it up and tear it open.
The cursive script meets my gaze as I realize it’s a letter from Dad.
My Dear Cipriani,
If you’re reading this, it means I’m already dead, and it wasn’t from natural causes. A part of this is my own doing. I’ve allowed this lifestyle to become my identity. I wasn’t the nicest boss. I shed a lot of unnecessary blood, and I made more enemies than friends.
As stated in my will, the empire is yours. You are not only my daughter and first-born, but the only person I trust to carry it. You’re the only one with the spine and brains to outwit them all. This will be a dangerous game. You’ll have a lot more to prove being a female, but I know you can do it.
Don’t trust the men around you. Watch their actions. Listen to their words. Power makes snakes out of brothers and vipers out of sons. I know there is a traitor inside the family, maybe more than one, I don’t exactly know who. But if I can’t figure it out, within the next few weeks I’ll be gone.
There’s something else I have to tell you. Something I never told anyone. Something I should have confessed a long time ago.
The hit on the Marconi Family wasn’t business, it was personal. You were too young to remember the slaughter, but this act of revenge began when I was a teenager.
Before I was capo, before I met and married your mother, I was deeply in love. The woman was the youngest Marconi daughter, Francesca Marconi. We were young and believed we could change the world. We were going to marry, but our families hated each other and forbade our union.
We didn’t care. We were going to run away and get married. Our decision to leave became even more urgent after Francesca revealed to me she was pregnant with our child. None of our families knew about the pregnancy, but Francesca made the mistake of telling her older brother Aldo. He was next in line for the throne and wanted to keep the bloodline pure and the legacy untouched. Behind the family’s back, he put a hit on her. He killed her and my unborn child. He had the guards make the murder look like it came from the Capuano Family. For years the families were at each other’s throats.
I snapped and from that moment I plotted my revenge. Once I became in charge, I made it my mission to avenge Francesca’s death. I told everyone the Marconis had been working with the Feds and selling information about the families to the DA in exchange for immunity. It was a lie. A cover. That way no one would care when they were eliminated.
That fateful day finally came. During the wedding of Aldo’s daughter, my men ambushed them and killed everyone. I made that bloodline come to an end. Or at least I thought. These past few weeks have made me question everything. The newspapers said there were no survivors, but now I think one got away.
I wish I could undo everything. I wish I had never gotten involved with Francesca. I wish I could have kept her safe. But vengeance has a cost and you may be the one who has to pay for my wrongdoings. This is a war of strategy. They will come for you like they did for me. You’ll want to strike back, but if you go down the path I did, you’ll lose everything that makes you human.
All I ask is for you to be smarter than I was. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up lying next to me.
Find the killer before they find you.
Trust only Lucia, Gigi, your mother, and Nonna. No one else. These men lust after your throne and will do anything to take it. The only man worthy of your trust is Dominic. While I’m not happy with his decision to work with the FBI, I know he will never hurt you.
The queen protects the empire and I know that you will.
I love you always
-Dad
What the fuck!
The Marconis had a daughter. Pregnancy. Murder.
The letter trembles in my hands as my mind reels from the bombshell Dad has just launched at me.
Scrambling to my feet, I rush to the living room and sit down on the couch.
I knew Dad’s death wasn’t an accident.
Someone murdered him and did a damn good job of covering it up.
Someone from the Marconi family must have cheated death. They escaped that day and have waited decades to enact revenge.
