《Selena Arabella Calos》

"We need to talk," Daniel says from across the table and I raise an eyebrow, an amused smile on my face.

"That sounds like a break up line," I retort but his face remains impassive and my smile drops.

So, he is breaking up with me. I just think that is odd because I didn't realise that we had something to break up. We have only been on one date and even though we have already told said 'I love you' to each other, there's no proper relationship between us to break up. He never asked me to be his girlfriend and I never asked him to be my boyfriend. It didn't seem right because he means more to me than a word such as 'boyfriend' can convey.

"Before this..." he pauses to gesture between him and I. "... can go any further..." So he isn't breaking up with me? That's oddly relieving. "... there is something about me that you need to know."

Despite the seriousness of his tone, I laugh at how mysterious he sounds. "What? Are you going to tell me that you're some kind of serial killer?"

"Not exactly, serial killers have a certain pattern of killing- I don't."

I roll my eyes. "Stop messing around. Tell me what-"

"I'm not messing around," he says, looking into my eyes. His eyes hold nothing but sincerity.

My lord, he's telling the truth.

"What?" I manage to say despite my shock.

"I'm not a serial killer but... Jesus," he mutters, rubbing his forehead. "This is harder than I thought it would be."

"I-"

"Fuck, okay," he cuts in before I can continue. "I'm going to tell you something. I'll start from the beginning but you are not allowed to speak in between. If you have any questions leave them for the end. Is that clear?"

I blink at his stern tone. He sounds more like a professor than whatever he is to me right now and I'm tempted to reply with a 'yes, sir' but I restrain myself, knowing that it would only serve to anger him. "Um, okay."

He sighs and closes his eyes, as if he's in pain. "When Francis and I were two, our sister Amara Alaia Castello, was born. Everyone who met her would fall in love with within seconds- she was perfect. Teresa looks and acts like Amara."

"A few days before her sixteenth birthday, Amara snuck out of the house to go to a party even though Francis and I told her not to. She got annoyed at us for trying to tell her what to do and being the stubborn girl that she was, she still went. And that was the last time I saw her alive. She went missing at the party and no one, absolutely no one knew where she went. A few days, on her birthday, we got a call from the police telling us that they had found a body that matched Amara's description. It was her."

"According to the autopsy report she had been physically and sexually abused before she died. All the biological evidence had degraded so the police could not find who did it. I used all my resources, as did my Nonno but we didn't get anywhere. Eventually, I found out who... killed her." He looked at me as I tried to blink the tears away. I couldn't imagine what his pain no matter how much I tried to. Even hearing him tell me what happened scared me to death. "And I killed them."

My heart starts hammering, not expecting him to say that.

"I didn't trust the police or justice system to do their job. Because of how powerful my family is, they would have, but still not properly. They would not have suffered so much if they were handed over to them."

He killed people. I don't know how many but he did. I know his reasoning for doing so and as much as I feel for him, I can't condone that- can't justify his actions. If I choose to stay with him after this, I don't know what that says about my integrity. Do I really want to be with someone who has taken another person's life?

I know, not long ago, I didn't judge Alessandro when he told me he did the same, but this is different. No one was forcing Daniel to kill anyone. That was his choice. But if it had been me, if anyone had killed Jax, and I had to power to hurt them, kill them, would I do any different?

"Say something."

I don't say anything. I just continue staring at him, wide-eyed. I don't even know what to say or think. 

He sighs. "I'm leaving for a business trip in a while and I'll be back in a few weeks. Take that time to decide if you still want to know me. If you decide that you do not, I will never come into your life again. Is that clear?"

I still don't respond.

"I asked you a question and I don't like repeating myself."

"Did you hurt anyone else? Did you... kill anyone who did not have anything to do with your sister's death?"

"No," he replies without hesitation, but for some reason I don't think that he is telling the truth.

Without saying another word, he gets up and turns to leave. I jump up and grab his arm. He doesn't look at me.

"When are you leaving?"

"Right now."

"Look at me."

"No. I don't want to remember you like this. I don't want to remember you looking at me with such disdain."

I step in front of him, hook my arm behind his neck and kiss him. I know this is a mistake but I can't control myself.

"Just in case this is our last goodbye," I whisper, then pull away from him and leave the room without looking back.

-

It's been a little more than two weeks since Daniel left and since I moved back to my parents' house. I haven't left my room since then. Nothing feels real. I changed so much because of all that happened that the experience of walking into the house, into my room felt different- surreal. I felt like I belong here anymore- but maybe, I've always felt that, but I didn't realise it until I saw just how little my parents really care for me. My room doesn't feel mine anymore, neither does my life. I feel like an intruder- am imposter. I don't know if I want to live this life again. But I also know I don't have a choice.

I haven't seen anyone other than Alessandro, Jax, Francis and the occasional maid since I confined myself to this room.

I think this would not have been this bad had I not had that conversation with Daniel. Not only am I dealing with everything that happened but I also have to decide whether or not I want to stay with the person I love despite him being a murderer. I haven't told anyone about Daniel, even though I'm pretty sure Jax and Francis already know. I haven't had the courage to talk about him. Every time I think about him, think about leaving him, I start crying uncontrollably.

"Will you be okay?" Jax asks me, standing by the door to my room.

I nod numbly. He stares at me for a second before reluctantly leaving. He's going back to Themiu. I told him that I would be fine and that he shouldn't worry about me but obviously he didn't believe me.

I stare at the TV. A random superhero show is playing. I sigh.

I need to talk to someone about Daniel before he comes back. I need to know what I have to do.

I pick up my phone and call the only person who can help me.

"I'll be there to pick you in five minutes," Alessandro says as soon as he answers.

-

"So, what are you going to do?" Alessandro asks me, passing me a diet coke.

I shrug, not knowing what to say. Instead I look up at the night sky. This is the place I was missing for so long. It's a cliff, about an hour from the city. The cliff is not too high so we can easily jump into the sea below and not get hurt- I know because we have done so many times before. The only sound here is of the water moving because the cool, fresh breeze, some animals in the tress around us and the leaves moving. There's barely any pollution because we're so far from the city which is why the sky is so clear that we can make out the constellations.

For the first time in a while, I feel free of everything.

I sigh. "He's not going to be back for a while. I have time to decide whether I want to..."

"Break up with him or accept him?"

"Those aren't the only two options."

"Maybe not for others, but they are the only two options for you. You never do anything half-way. Either you're all in or you're not. There's no in between."

I rest my head on Alessandro's shoulder. "If he didn't lie at the end. If he had just told me..." I trail off. "Can you find out more about him?"

Alessandro doesn't say anything for a while. "I already know about him."

I look at him. "What do you know about him."

He bites his lip. "Enough to know he lied to you."

I take a sharp breath. That can only mean one thing. "He's in the mafia."

Alessandro nods. "He's not only in it, he's going to be a don in a year."

If I'm being honest, I'm not surprised. I think I've always known that Daniel was someone dangerous, someone I should stay away from but I couldn't. If I saw him right now, all my reservations would disappear from my mind and I would find myself in his arms again.

"What should I do, Alessandro?" I ask him.

He smiles at me. "You already know what you're going to do."

He's right. I do know what I'm going to do, but that doesn't mean I have to admit it to myself right now.

I bite my lip, my eyes shifting from my best friend to the sea. "I want to jump."

Alessandro laughs. "It's a good thing I got you spare clothes then."

I look at him and stand up, readying myself to jump. "Then what are waiting for?"

Alessandro gets up, grabs my hand and pulls me away from the edge.

"On three?"

I grin. "Why wait?"

Both of us run forward at the same time and jump of the cliff.

-

《Daniel Nicholas Castello》

"You told her?" Bianca asks, bewildered.

"That's what I said isn't it?" I reply, keeping my voice and face devoid of any emotions.

"Why didn't you tell her the full truth then?"

"She doesn't need to know."

Bianca groans. "Jesus, Ace. Of course she needs to know if she's going to be a part of your life."

"Does your boyfriend know?" I ask her already knowing the answer. He does not know, and Bianca does not plan on telling him- ever.

She narrows her eyes at me. "I'm not going to be the boss in a year. Or ever for that matter."

"That doesn't change anything."

"Raf?" Bianca looks at Rafael. 

"She's right," he adds, then hands me another glass of whiskey. I raise my eyebrow. "You're going to need it."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Why?"

"Alessandro told Selena everything."

I almost drop my glass. "He did what?" My voice is quiet, laced with venom. What the fuck was he thinking?

"She asked him about it," Rafael explains, looking amused. Motherfucker.

"And he couldn't have lied?"

"He's not you," he replies and I shoot a glare at him.

"If he was not your brother, he would not live to see another day."

Rafael smirks. "I know."

"I am still going to beat the shit out of him."

"I know."

A muscle in my jaw ticks as he leaves the room. I don't know why I'm fucking mad. This is what I bloody wanted. I wanted her to hate me so she would want to leave me. But now that I know that it's going to happen, I know I won't let her. I don't give a fuck if she wants to be with me or not- she's fucking mine whether she likes it or not.

"You should have told her the truth in the first place," Bianca says.

I glare at her. "You s-"

"Who?" Nonno asks, walking into the room.

Fucking hell. This was the last thing I needed. I reach for the bottle and pour myself another glass. With the shit that goes on in my life, I am surprised I am not an addict yet.

"Selena," I reply, monotonous.

"Vincente's daughter?" He asks and I nod. I can already see the wheels spinning in his head, estimating the benefits of an alliance with Vincente Calos. By alliance I mean the marriage kind.

Fuck me. 

"Don't even think about it," I warn him, coolly.

"Why not? It's better we sign the contract soon before he promises her off to another."

"He's not you," I bite out and he narrows his eyes at me.

"I did what was best for both of my daughters before they went and ruined themselves with those imbeciles," he retorts through gritted teeth.

Bianca and I look at each other and roll our eyes. We've heard Nonno call our fathers words much worse than that before. He must be finally warming up to them.

"You did what was best for you, not for them."

He doesn't argue this time, knowing that I am right.

"Is he dead?" I ask him after a while and he shakes his head. For the past two weeks, we have been interrogating Luca as possible but the motherfucker knows how to keep his mouth shut. I have gotten some information out of him, but not enough. If he doesn't give me anything more useful soon, I might just kill him- consequences be damned. "Did you at least get any information out of him?"

"No," Nonno replies, looking annoyed at my patronising tone.

"Getting soft in your old age?" I know I'm pushing him, but I don't give a fuck about his reaction right now. I need to channel my anger and he is the easiest to provoke. And it's not like he can fucking kill me.

His eyes flash for a second but he manages to regain his cool. "It's not like you got much out of him."

He's the one doing the provoking now.

"I got more out of him then you," I retort. "I was holding back, because if I didn't he would have been dead by now."

"Don't hold back then. Show me why you deserve to replace me."

"I suppose I should keep the first aid kit at standby," Bianca mutters, as Nonno and I start moving towards the basement.

-

"Back so soon, old man," Luca says as soon as he sees Nonno. His eyes shift to me and for a second I catch a hint of fear in them. "And you brought an audience this time."

"I'm just here to observe this time," Nonno answers as he sits down on a chair not far from the pole Luca is tied to.

"Ah, you want to see your heir's skills? Well, I hardly think you will properly get to see them while I'm tied up."

I look at Lorenzo. "Untie him."

Lorenzo moves forward to untie him and I turn around and remove my coat and put my gun and knives on the table. There is no way Luca can win against me. I was trained by the most ruthless man in the world- and I'm not talking about my grandfather.

-

Thirteen Years Ago

"Again," Lucien said as I curled up on the ground.

"Please," I whimpered but he sent me a hard look.

"Do as you're told, boy. Otherwise-" I scampered up from the cold, hard floor before he had a chance to finish his threat. I, better than everyone knew what would happen to be had I not listened to him.

I winced in pain when Lucien walked up to me and slapped me on my already bruised cheek. "Disobey me again and you will regret it. Do you understand, boy?"

"Yes, sir!" I said, trying to stand straight.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Again."

I turned around and stepped onto the mat again, readying myself to fight the other boy again.

-

Twelve Years Ago

With my arm around the boy's neck, I looked at Lucien for approval. As soon as he gave it, I snapped the boy's neck and threw him aside.

"You could have done better," Lucien told me as he walked around me.

I kept staring at the wall in front of me. "I did better than most people could."

"Don't argue with me!" Lucien snarled then slapped me.

I looked at him, unaffected. "I wasn't arguing with you. I was just stating a fact."

His eyes flashed dangerously. "Go and stand facing the wall."

"Yes, sir," I said and did exactly as told. I knew what was coming next and I didn't care. I was used to the pain by now.

"You will learn to respect me," Lucien said.

I clenched my jaw as I heard the crack of the whip.

-

Marcello had me captive for a little more than two years and in that time he taught me a lot of what I know. The only reason why he taught me everything was because he thought he would be able to brainwash me and have me work with him. He never once imagined training me would be his biggest mistake- the thing that would cause his downfall.

"Ready, Ace?" Luca asks mockingly as I roll up my shirt sleeves.

I turn around and smile. "I am. Are you certain that you are?"

I see the hesitation and fear in his eyes but he doesn't back down. Of course he doesn't. He may be a traitor but he's still a Marchetti. We don't back down from anything.

Without warning, Luca charges at me. I sidestep at the last second.

Luca and I relatively the same height, but he is a lot broader than I, which puts him at a disadvantage because that leaves him more vulnerable in many places and it slows him down. I have trained with him before so both of know each other's techniques.

Luca comes at me again. This time instead of sidestepping, I duck, land a punch in his stomach and slip past him. He turns and punches me hard in the jaw before I can stop me. I ignore the sharp pain and dive at his midsection, knocking him down. He tries to get up, but because of his previous wounds, he is too weak and disoriented to do it quickly. By the time he knows what's happening, I've pinned him to the ground. I throw punches at his jaw, nose, mouth. Again and again and again. And again until he frees an arm and hits me in the chest throwing me off-balance. I jump up as soon as he manages to get up, kick him behind the knees so he falls again. I kneel behind him and press my arm against his neck, pressing so hard that he can barely breath.

"Tell me who is working with you," I growl in his ear. One of his hands hits my mouth, busting my lip, but I remain still. "Or do you want to watch Pietro die?"

My words have an immediate effect on Luca- he becomes so still, that if I couldn't hear his breathing, I would think I killed him.

"How do you know about him?" His voice is quiet and trembling. He's terrified. I almost smile. This is where I wanted him from the start.

"I need the names of those working with you," I repeat, ignoring his question, as I tighten my hold on his neck.

"They're in a locker in my house," he whispers.

"Where exactly?"

"In the blue bedroom. The locker is hidden behind the Monet. The code is 0897."

I throw Luca aside and look at my nonno. He looks impressed.

"Tie him up and tell Stefan to get those names for me," I order Lorenzo. I pick up my gun from the table and in the back waistband of my pants.

"Who's Pietro?" Nonno asks me, keeping his voice low so Luca can't hear him.

"His son."

A look of surprise crosses my grandfather's face before being replaced by a disdainful one. "Why did you not use that information before?"

I narrow my eyes at him because of his tone. "Because I just fucking found out a few hours ago."

A few weeks ago I found out about Luca's wife. He has been married to her for about six years and no one ever knew about it. I threatened him with her but he still didn't give up any information with made me think there was something more important to him than his wife, and rightfully so. And that's how I found out about his secret mistress and the son he had with her.

Nonno looks like he's about to make another contemptuous remark but before he can, Bianca comes down and groans.

"Jesus Christ," she mutters in disbelief, looking from me to Luca, who is unconscious now. "Five bloody minutes. That's all that's gone by."

"Yeah, because unlike someone else, I know how to get information out of someone," I jibe at Nonno. His jaw clenches and I see his hand move closer to his gun.

"Not now, Nonno," Bianca says, opening the first aid kit. He looks at her as if he's debating shooting her too. She looks at him and rolls her eyes. "Everyone knows you won't kill any of your grandchildren, least of all the only two you actually like."

Nonno's expression softens and he mutters something under his breath.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot- your wife is waiting for you upstairs," Bianca tells Nonno and he sighs. 

"What the fuck is she doing here?"

"She maxed out her credit cards again." Bianca says, then looks at me. Both of us burst out laughing.

"That girl is a pain in the ass."

"It's your fault for marrying a girl half your age," I mutter and he glares at me. It's his fault really- he knew how she was before he married her. In fact, I warned him of her spending habits- which I knew about very well because she was a... close friend  of mine a few years before she got married. 

"I may not kill you, but I'm getting very close to shooting you," he warns me and I grin.

"No, you're not."

He gives me a hard look then storms up the stairs.

"You have to stop provoking him," Bianca says as she starts cleaning my cut on my lip with an alcohol swab. I narrow my eyes at her when she presses the harder than she normally does.

"Why, B? It's not like he can do anything to me."

She gives me a disapproving look. "He might not kill you but he can injure you very easily."

"I'll heal. But that pain won't even compare to the satisfaction I get when I see him get angry."

Bianca shakes her head in disappointment but she's smiling. "Sometimes I think that you're a sadist."

"You cannot have lived my life and not be a sadist."

She rolls her eyes then moves towards Luca.

"There is no point in helping him. He will be dead the moment I have the list of people working with him," I tell her.

"I am a doctor. It is in my nature to want to fix people," she says as she sits beside him and starts cleaning his wounds. "You went easy on him," she comments after examining him. She looks back at me. "Why?"

"He gave me the information I needed."

"That's not the only reason."

I study her for a second. Sometimes I think our intuition is hereditary. "The harder I went on Luca, the prouder Nonno would have been, which means the more disappointed Mamma would be. When he is not watching me, I do not care if he is proud of me or not- but doing this in front of him felt like I was betraying Mamma."

Bianca gets up, walks to me, then leans on the wall beside me. "I get that. If our mothers found out about this, about our involvement in the Cosa Nostra after everything they sacrificed- Jesus, I cannot stand to think about their disappointment and heartbreak when that happens."

I sigh and close my eyes, silence settling in the room as we both think about her words until my cell phone rings.

"We have the list, Ace," Stefan informs me and I open my eyes. 

I can feel Bianca staring at me but I don't say a word to her. I know she wants to know if they found the list or not, but she'll have her answer in a minute. 

I hang up, take out my .45, remove its safety and look at Bianca. "I told you there was no point in helping him, B."

She watches as I aim the gun at Luca's head and shoot him.

-

A/N

Highkey feel like cutting my hair but I know that will only end with me crying... again.

I have really long hair (knee length) and literally for like 3 months I've been getting the urge to cut it till my shoulders but I won't. I have done this before- last time my hair was almost the same length and I decided to get a bob. Yeah, I cried for more than a month after that even though getting the haircut was my own decision.

This was very random.

Okay, so I had to go back and check what happened in the chapter because I got a bit sidetracked.

I was waiting to write this chapter for the longest time but I could not get it right. This version- well, I did not hate it so I decided to publish it.

Hope you liked it <3