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sophiavmade · 3 years

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Made—Chapter One

Introductions

“Your sister?” Aria said from the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees. “I didn’t know you had a sister.” She was naked, but the sheet covered her body well. Luca was buttoning his shirt and cuffing the sleeves back routinely.

“My father forbid us to speak of her after he banished her to Italy. It’s not something I like to talk about,” He said firmly. But when he looked over at Aria, her golden hair spilling across her shoulders he walked over to sit on the side of the bed, putting a hand on the side of her neck. “I asked her to come home because it’s time. I never agreed with my father’s decision and this is my first action as Capo. To make my family whole again.”

Aria brought her hand up to grip his wrist, tears brimming her eyes. She nodded her head and said softly, “I understand. I’d do anything for my brother and sisters. And our father has been less than kind to us as you know.” Her eyes flitted down in a moment of shame. Luca placed his index finger under her chin and pulled it up to look at him.

“I won’t let him touch you ever again. You’re mine to protect.” Luca’s eyes were aflame and as Aria nodded her head slowly he leaned in and kissed her fiercely to seal his oath to her. “Her flight comes in this afternoon. I’m sure she’s going to be jet lagged as hell but I hoped we could all have dinner together.”

“Of course. I’ll make arrangements,” Aria said sweetly. He stood and then leaned down to kiss her softly.

“I’ll be back to get you this afternoon. Call me if you need anything.” He said in a low voice that made her shiver.

“I will.” Aria breathed. They’d been married only a few weeks but as she flopped back onto the bed as Luca closed the door behind him, she was thrilled at the progress they’d made. What a difference a short amount of time could make. Luca was kind and careful with her. When he kissed her, he meant it as a promise every time and when they made love she thought she’d spiral from the sensation that erupted throughout her entire body.

He was everything. In just three short weeks a feeling of admiration that pulsed with the promise of love started to grow in her. She just hoped that things would continue the way they had been.

As Sophia walked through JFK to baggage claim and pushed her luggage trolly in front of her, she took a slow deep breath. She had to admit, she was nervous. Despite Luca’s calm tone over the phone the other day, Sophia hadn’t seen her brother—now her Capo—in over five years. The last time they saw one another was….She quickly banished the thought that rose in her mind, and tried to wipe clean the blood that plagued her last memory of her oldest brother.

But he had said it. The words had come straight from his mouth.

“It’s time for you to come home.”

She could hardly believe it, but here she was. And as the bodies of other fervent New Yorkers and tourists alike bustled around her, Sophia knew that whatever lay ahead for her, she would handle it. Because what Luca didn’t know was that she wasn’t the same innocent 14-year-old girl who had left her family home. She was born anew, ripped from the pages of the Vitiello’s and tucked anew into the book of her beloved Gamorra family. And they had made her one of their own—well almost.

As she rounded the corner and exited the wide double doors to the general pick up area, she didn’t have to look long before her eyes fell on the towering figure of her brother Luca. Dressed in all black—a black sports coat, button down, and slacks—with his hair coifed and tucked neatly into place, his grey eyes scanning the crowd for any sign of recognition. Sophia’s heart clattered in her chest as she paused momentarily. A gruff Italian man pushed past her on the right, pardoning himself and jostling her shoulder but she paid him no mind as her eyes stayed glued to the man who wore a face of stone with just a hint of hope. Five years since she’d last seen her brother and still, his intimidating figure gave her some semblance of comfort. With another deep breath, Sophia pushed her trolly forward and when she was only ten feet away and the crowd thinned, Luca’s eyes fell on her.

“Sophia.” He said in a tone she wasn’t sure was happy or neutral.

“Hi, Lu—woah!” Sophia said as a petite blonde girl hurled her body at Sophia and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Oh my goodness!” the young woman said in a delighted voice. Sophia let out a soft laugh and blew some of the spun gold hair away from her mouth as she clasped her arms around the woman.

“You must be Aria,” Sophia said.

“My wife,” Luca confirmed with a tender look at the back of Aria’s head before looking back at Sophia.

Aria pulled out of Sophia’s arms and held her apart to look at her. Sophia stood a good five inches above Aria’s head at an easy 5’9” but still, the elated smile that Aria gave her sent a shot of warmth through her belly. This felt familiar, like home and that boded well.

“It’s so nice to meet you!” she said.

“Likewise,” Sophia said with a soft smile and nod. Her eyes rested back on Luca for a moment, unsure if he was also going to wrap her in a warm hug. Public affection was never Luca’s thing, but she still remembered his hand wrapped warmly around hers, tugging her through corridors at boring dinner parties her parents had thrown or pushing her in a hallway closet to avoid her father’s rampage. He had always protected her, but she didn’t need his protection now.

If anything, he needs me. Sophia thought to herself. After another awkward moment of silence, Aria whispered,

“Luca,” and nodded toward the trolley with Sophia’s piled on top.

“Let’s get back to the apartment,” Luca said matter-of-factly, his voice void of any warmth. Sophia nodded as he took the trolley from her and pushed it towards the door. Aria threaded her arm through hers as they walked behind him.

The drive from the airport was quiet, only punctuated with the occasional question from Aria about her flight, the weather in Italy, how her and Luca hoped to go on their honeymoon soon, and any other small talk she could muster to fill the quiet. Sophia responded kindly, already enjoying the company Aria provided, but every time she answered a question, Luca’s eyes would flicker to the rearview mirror and stare at her as if she was a ghost or some strange new creature he’d just discovered. It almost unsettled Sophia, but she stayed firmly planted in her seat and glanced out the window every now and again to get her bearings. The city never changed, but everything looked different to her now.

A new feeling of anxiety washed over Sophia as they pulled into the underground garage of the penthouse. The reality of her new life was beginning to set in and with that the expectations of the Famiglia’s way of life. And it wasn’t just the New York Famiglia who had expectations of her either. Her last conversation with Alessandro, current Capo of the Gamorra in Sicily, rang through her head.

“Make good on our investments.” He had nodded toward her in that moment and Sophia had swallowed hard. Otello had been sitting off to the side in his father’s study, watching the situation carefully. Their investments. Me. She thought. And they had invested in her. Now she just had to uphold her end of the deal.

As the elevator brought them quickly to the top floor, Sophia sucked in sharp breath, tucking a lock of dark brown-black hair behind her ear as she raised her eyes. The doors slid open silently to reveal the shining face of her brother Matteo and the eager grin he wore as he saw her lit up her heart.

“Matteo!” Sophia cried as she bolted toward him. She launched herself into his waiting arms and he hugged her so tightly she couldn’t breathe. He made a loud groan of happiness as he pulled her off the ground and swung her back and forth in his tight hug. When she pulled back he kissed her cheek roughly and set her down.

“Not so baby sister anymore,” he grinned that wide tooth grin and slung an arm around her shoulders to pull her in tightly to his chest for another hug. Sophia gripped the sides of his shirt and let out a choked sob into his chest. “Welcome home, piccolina,” he said softly into her hair and Sophia’s gripped his shirt tightly in her fists to hold herself together.

She stepped back quickly after a moment, reveling in the old nickname her mother had bestowed upon her—piccolina, little one. Sophia pushed the tears delicately off her cheeks with her slim fingers and smiled up at the mischievous face of her brother.

“It only took a dead man to bring me back,” Sophia joked. Matteo let out a laugh and threw his head back.

“If someone hadn’t done it now, Luca and I would have done it soon, trust me,” Matteo said.

“Matteo!” Luca said sharply. Sophia looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a sly smile.

“That’s betrayal, fratellone,” Sophia joked. Luca’s face was drawn into a hard line, but his arm was wrapped gently down around Aria’s back. She seemed totally comfortable in his grip and Sophia’s eyes flitted to the gentle look Aria gave him and it filled her with hope.

“Can we please just have a nice dinner?” Luca said nearly through gritted teeth, his low voice a growl.

“Yes, please, I’m starving,” Sophia said, turning back to Matteo. He held out his arm for her and she threaded hers through his as he led her the short distance to the open dining room that faced a wall of windows looking out over the city. With Matteo, Sophia felt like she had never left. But Luca still kept his distance. She couldn’t help but feel worried by that.

Over dinner, conversation came a little bit easier, but Luca remained pretty tight lipped.

“Luca’s started the preparations on having the floor below Matteo’s renovated so you will have your own space, but for now you’ll be staying in the guest room,” Aria said sweetly.

Sophia took another bite of her red wine risotto and nodded. “Bunking with newlyweds. Great,” she smiled and Matteo almost choked on his wine.

“They’re disgusting, trust me,” Matteo said, “We all thought Aria would run for the hills after the wedding but our dear brother has somehow convinced her to stay.”

“Convinced huh?”

“This is hardly appropriate conversation for our sister,” Luca chided. Sophia scoffed. If only he knew the things she had seen in the five years she’d been in Italy, he’d really be shocked. But Aria did look like the pure innocent type and that bounced well off of the darkness that echoed just below the surface in Luca.

“Well, convinced is a broad term. It’s not like she could actually run,” Matteo gibbed.

“Born in blood, sworn in blood. The only way out is death, right?” Sophia recited. Luca watched her carefully and Sophia swallowed hard. Not tonight. “Thank you for letting me stay. I promise to make myself scarce so you can still retain your newlywed glow for as long as humanly possible.” Sophia promised.

“Of course you’d stay here!” Aria proclaimed. “You’re family.”

“It will be nice for Aria to have someone else around other than just Romero. And for the time being, he’ll be your guard for both of you until I decide who to assign to you. Just don’t stray too far from the apartment with just Romero for the time being,” Luca said again in his cold matter-of-fact tone.

Oh right, a guard. Sophia internally cringed. She’d never needed a guard in Sicily, mostly because she had Otello, or god forbid, Ciro, with her and when she wasn’t with them, she was being trained. Maybe she could convince Luca that she didn’t actually need a guard given the circumstances. But that was too much for her first night back. For now, she’d allow him to control and watch her just like he did his wife.

“You’ll like Romero,” Aria said, a soft look of apology on her face as if she understood what being guarded meant. Still, she fit very well into Luca’s life it seemed. From across the table, Sophia watched as Luca made sure to touch Aria or sling his arm across the back of her chair and rub her shoulder. He was gentle with her—a side Sophia had rarely seen in their home together when their father was around. Luca was the vise for a reason. Sophia shuddered as the memory flashed before her briefly, replacing the calm and seemingly gentle Luca with the crazed eyes of her brother at just 18, his hands tightening around the throat of the man who came to kill her in her bedroom. The blood spilled from the assailants eyes and the dark broad figure of her brother went in and out of focus as the scream rang through her ears—her scream.

“What do you think, Sophia?” Aria concluded suddenly snapping Sophia out of her reverie.

“I’m sorry,” Sophia said with a blush coming to her cheeks. There was that intense look again from Luca—the one that burned to ask a question, the one that didn’t know what to make of the woman in front of him that had left a child.

“Oh! It’s alright, you must be so jetlagged,” Aria said, her face flush with sudden embarrassment. Sophia realized her lapse in manners too late and Aria stood to gather the plates. Luca’s face was hard again and Sophia looked to Matteo for help.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know where you shop,” Matteo said around a mouthful of risotto. Shopping. Aria had asked her to go shopping. Sophia had been so lost in her last moment with her brother that she had completely tuned Aria out. She stood quickly and gathered her plate, snatching Matteo’s as well to a cry of “Hey! I wasn’t finished!” before walking over to the kitchen where Aria was rinsing the plates off. Sophia set her plates down on the counter.

“Do you think Romero will let us go to this old place on the lower east side I used to go to?” Sophia tried. “There’s some old shops over there that I want to check and see are still there and also a great brunch place, I remember.” Aria turned around, eyes shining anew. She wasn’t one to hold a grudge clearly and for that Sophia was thankful.

“I’m sure we could do that.” Aria smiled.

“Do what?” Luca came up behind Sophia who quickly pushed herself against the counter to avoid his arm brushing hers as he made himself a quick cappuccino and tucked Aria back into his side.

“Go to some shops on the lower east side that Sophia remembers,” Aria confirmed, threading her fingers over his that rested on her waist. Luca gave a grunt of consideration and then turned to Aria.

“Maybe. We should head to bed. Sophia is probably tired,” he nodded in her direction but his eyes stayed cast down onto his wife.

“Yes! Let me show you your room,” Aria said quickly as she pulled out of Luca’s grasp and clasped Sophia’s hand pulling her back toward the living room.

“Good night!” Matteo called after them. Luca watched as they descended the stairs with a hard gaze.

Sophia pushed her arm through the sleeve of the dark hoodie and quickly tied up her sneakers. She carefully opened her bedroom door and tiptoed her way down the staircase in the dark and quiet penthouse to the elevator. It was just past 2 in the morning as she punched in the code she watched Luca enter. When the elevator deposited her in the lobby, she quickly made her exit through a side door before the concierge behind the desk could spot her.

Now, on the cool and dark New York streets, Sophia breathed fresh air. She looked up at the towering skyline above her before darting off down the street to the subway entrance.

Ten minutes later, she walked down a cobbled sidewalk with tightly fitted brownstones lining the streets. She checked the note in her pocket and rounded the corner to find a softly lit cafe with gentle jazz music filtering out of the open front door. She slipped in and made her way to the bar, running a hand through her tossled hair.

Perched on the barstool, she nodded to the bartender and raised her fingers before ordering a glass of white wine.

“The night isn’t exactly young, Miss Vitiello,” the man beside her grumbled in Italian. Sophia smiled and shot him a sidelong look.

“Luca keeps weird hours and I had to wait until he was asleep to get over here.” Sophia smiled and thanked the bartender who set the glass of wine before her and took a sip.

The man slid her a manilla envelope with a short, “Your effects.” Sophia peaked inside and quickly took in the set of house keys, gun, and cell phone within.

“Gratzi,” she replied as she tucked the envelope under her thigh on the barstool.

“He’s very tall,” The man continued and Sophia laughed.

“He is,” she replied, “Only a little taller than Ciro, no?” she confirmed. The man grunted in affirmation.

“When will you tell them?” Sophia sighed at this. When would she tell them? Who knows. When it seemed that they would be alright with it? When it seemed like they would welcome her into the fold rather than put her on a shelf as a thing to be guarded.

“Soon,” she responded finally after a long drink, “I’ll start getting information tomorrow. Learn the state of things and go from there. Maybe cleaning up a mess will help them accept me first.” She looked questioningly to the man on her left, he was older, late forties, with salt and pepper hair and a shadow of a scruff. His face looked tired but his eyes were alert, seemingly taking in every part of his surroundings at once. Sophia could make out the outline of his beretta beneath his shirt. “Don’t worry, cicerone,” she whispered, “I’ll make it work.”

“Is there any other option?” He said firmly before downing his drink and standing to leave. “Don’t forget to check in. I’ll let Ciro know.” He said offhandedly, to which Sophia rolled her eyes.

“Don’t bother. I’ll text Otello on my way back.”

The man didn’t listen as he turned and placed the phone to his ear walking toward the door. Sophia could only make out the words “Safe” as it swung shut behind him.

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