The world didn't end in a bang, or a whisper, but rather one scream at a time.

I jolt from my bed. The piercing scream in the night is enough to shake my sleepy haze. Outside, feet shuffle. Our men are ready. Ready and prepared. As am I.

Adrenaline pumps through my veins, but I don't let the excitement or fear inching my skin get the better of me. Dangerous situations call for a leveled head. And I need to keep it straight in case of anything.

My hand reaches under my pillow, searching for that cold, smooth pistol. My finger wraps around the grip as I plant my feet on the ground. I'm quick to slide on a pair of shoes and the bulletproof vest by my bedside. Never thought it'd come in handy this way.

But war springs up when we least expect it, especially direct attacks.

Another scream follows. Warnings, this time. I step closer to the door and press my ear to it. Nothing but footsteps still, luckily. My hand slides over the knob, turning and pulling it open.

Men in suits rush down the hall, but one stands by my door. Vincenzo glances over, his arms crossed over his chest as he pushes himself off the wall.

His hard gaze gives me the answers I need. The betrayers finally decided to come forward instead of hiding behind their fucking facades.

"Had a nice beauty rest, princess?" He mocks with a smirk.

"Call me a chick one more time and I'll shove the barrel of my gun so far up your ass and pull the trigger," I sneer, shoving my shoulder into him. "Have you seen them yet?"

"The fuckers? no."

I narrow my eyes at his response. Like I give a fuck about them right now. Bullets weren't flying around the house which meant we still have time before they break through our men on the lawn.

"Your mom's taking care of your sister, I assume."

And my job is to protect them. Their lives are in my hands. I trample past the men, heading in the opposite direction. Shoulders hit shoulders, and we step in each other's way, but they all know to get quickly move and steer clear of me.

If anyone ever comes for us, you get your mother and sister out of here first.

The path toward my sister's room clears and I scurry to open the door. My gaze drifts up to a man. His face is covered by a black mask.

"Sergio." My sister rushes to me, wrapping her arms around me and I hold her, pulling out my gun. But the man is faster.

A loud pop echoes through the room followed by my mother's piercing scream, "No!"

I hold my sister tight in my arms and pull the trigger. My eyes waver from the man once his body drops to the floor. I rock my sister back and forth and her face in my chest, covering her from the view in front of me; my mother, dead on the ground with a bullet to her head. A puddle of blood lays under her, inching its way toward us.

"We need to go," I say and turn, keeping her at my side.

Vincenzo stands in our way. His face is hard and his gaze drifts behind us. There's a slight hint of remorse in his eyes, but it quickly disappears. He knows better than I do that there's no room in this life for little things like guilt and regret. "We might have to take the—"

Vincenzo's sentence is cut off by flying bullets.

Shit.

He moves behind me and I grab my sister's hand, making sure she's standing between us. If anyone wanted to get to her, they'd go through us first. I hurry through the hall, ignoring the footsteps I hear coming from behind us along with the guns going off. My sister knows how to duck.

"Vinny!" She calls. I look back, watching him disappear as we turn a corner.

"He'll be fine." My grip tightens around her hand, pulling her faster. "I need to get you out of here, Mellie."

"What about, papa?"

"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine."

And fine he was, standing by the balcony door.

"Where's your mother?" He asks.

My gaze moves to the floor as we reach him. A knot forms in my throat. How could I tell him I failed to keep my word?

"Get down!" He pushes us both. Glass shatters behind us. "Merda."

Our father leads us out the doors and onto the balcony. "Go," he says. Ushering us to climb. "Take your sister and go!"

Another bullet rings out. My father places his hand on his chest. No.. no. No.

"Grab your sister," are the last words that he utters before another bullet pierces him, blowing him down.

"Sergio!"

My body turns at the sound of my sister's voice. I stand face to face with the man she once loved, holding the tip of his barrel to her head. "De Luca."

I lift my gun, aiming it at him. He chuckles.

"Be smart, Sergio. I move my finger and pop goes Carmeline's brains."

"Please," my sister begs. Tears stream down her face. "Don't do this."

He jerks her into his arms, whispering something before he smirks. His gaze moves back to me. "We both know this ends in blood."

"Then take mine, you fucking traitor."

"Traitor? Me." He laughs. "Never. I'm loyal to mine. To the De Luca name. And unlike the Accardi's we won't end here."

My eyes widen. The world slows down. His finger leaves the trigger and I rush toward my sister.

The world didn't end in a bang, or a whisper, but rather one scream at a time. Each one was louder than the other, more heartbreaking than the last.

It began with my mother's piercing screams, then my father's yell. And the last... my own.

The man my sister once loved lets her limp in his arms and drops her to the floor. My breath becomes shallow, tears form in my eyes. I promised my father I'd never let anyone see me cry, but I also never thought I'd be so careless as to... to...

I drop to my knees, tugging my sister's lifeless body onto my lap. My arms cradle around her.

The sound of his gun cocking rings in my ears, but I don't care. He'd taken everything. My parents, our home. The family we built.

A gun goes off, but my mind doesn't bother to register who or where it's coming from. I focus on my sister, rocking her in my arms, hoping she wakes up, praying to hear her voice.

A hand touches my shoulder and forces me to stand. My body is weak. My gaze stays on my sister's lifeless body no longer in my arms... she's lying dead on the ground. I swallow down every tear, every scream, and all the pain threatening to come out.

De Luca is going to pay. I'm going to make sure the traitor and anyone else on his side bleeds.

❤︎❤︎❤︎

A/N

words: 1195

Prologue is complete! This is my first attempt at mafia romance. I'd love some feedback as to how I'm doing. That ending left me a little emotional, I'm not gonna lie.

Thank you all so much for reading!

And to all the other ONC participants, best of luck. We got this! ❤︎