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sorellina = little sister 

bastardo = bastard 

ti amo = I love you 

medico = doctor 

mi dispiace tantissimo 
= 
I'm very sorry

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Dino walks into the empty building and steps over a few bodies. He sees one of them lying face down and turns him over. He is startled when he sees it's Mario, Salvatore's second in command. His throat is slit and if Dino didn't know any better, he'd think it was Scorpia's handy work.

He glued all the little snippets of information together in his head and is convinced that she's been killing the recruiters for the past ten years. His little sister. Who became that way because of what he and Ciro did to her. And now that she finally cares for a man, they have no clue where he is.

There's still a lot he doesn't know or understand, but one thing's sure after everything that has happened. Family comes first, always. He kicks the dead Mario and looks around for a clue. His phone vibrates and he looks at the screen. Bruno sent him a picture of mamma, a redhead and two boys camping under the big table in the attic. He smiles, thinking about the past when he went 'camping' with his brothers like that.

Bruno wrote a message along with it:

Mamma and Enzo are safe in the attic.
The woman in the picture is Lexy, Logan's sister.
And the mom of the other boy in the picture, Lucas.
If you find Logan, he'll want to know that they are safe.

Scorpia woke up.
She knows and tried to run outside to find him.
She completely broke down.
I'm in bed with her.
Dino, find him.

Dino calls his buddies over and asks: "And? Did you guys find anything?" They all shake their heads. The only clue they have found is two highly ranked guys with slit throats. He slowly catches on to something and sends Bruno a message.

Does Scorpia have her knife on her?

It takes a while for Bruno to reply and a smile appears on his face when he reads it. Bruno is panicking and says he has no clue where the knife is. And that he ran out of that office with Scorpia in his arms, without thinking about the knife. Dino replies to Bruno's message.

Easy bro.
I think someone picked up her knife.
And is killing Salvatore's gang.
In her name.

Dino turns a few other bodies over and finds out they all have their throats slit. He calls his friends over and says: "We're visiting all locations. Starting with Salvatore's house. Check who's on our side and gather them all. No one touches Ciro and the redheaded Scot! You hear me? As soon as you find them, you let me know and protect them with your life. Go!"

He walks out and sends messages to the Gentile family and his mates at mamma's house. To make sure everyone knows what the plan is and to get Salvatore's organization dismantled till there is nothing left of it.

He races over to Salvatore's house in the green Jeep and is almost met with a bullet shower because the guys don't recognize the car. He sticks his head out of the window and yells at them to cool it in Italian.

The guys walk up to the car, looking at him with a mix of fear and surprise in their eyes. "Dino? Is it true?"

Dino asks: "Are you on my side? On the side of my family?" The men nod and Dino says: "Good. Gather everyone who's still here and bring them to the front of the house. I will explain it all in a minute."

He tells the men that Salvatore raped his little sister and that she waited ten years to get her revenge. But that she single-handedly slit Salvatore's throat today. And that there won't be any young girls recruited or abused from now on.

He adds: "If you don't agree, step forward and I'll gladly send you to join Salvatore in hell." His eyes scan the men in front of him, but they are all too scared to utter a word. He asks if anyone has seen Ciro or Logan and demands that they are to be protected at all costs.

One of the men raises his hand and says: "Dino, come with me. There's something you need to see." Dino follows him over to a black van. There's a dead guy with a slit throat behind the wheel and next to him sits another one in the same condition. They open the back doors and Salvatore is lying there in a pool of blood. Blood-red footsteps on the driveway indicate that at least two guys ran into the woods behind the house.

Dino yells: "Lighter and gasoline!" He pours the gasoline on Salvatore, tosses the burning lighter into the van, and runs towards the forest. He looks over his shoulder and barks: "Comb through these woods and look out for Ciro and the Scot. And burn this goddamn house down too!"

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Bruno stares at his phone and tries to understand what Dino meant by his message. Picked up the knife? In her name? 

Scorpia moans in her sleep and he rubs her back. 

"Shh sorellina. You're safe. Shhh."

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Dino runs into the forest and follows the trail of bodies. All members of Salvatore's gang, with their throats slit and lying in a pool of blood. He runs from corpse to corpse and suddenly sees a man in the distance, sitting against a tree.

He slows down and carefully walks up to the man. The guy has the aura of a wild animal, with a knife clenched in his hand. There are bones sticking through the skin of his hand and he is soaked in blood.

When Dino tries to get closer, the man begins to yell: "Back off bastardo! Leave us alone! I will slit your throat of you come any closer!" Dino squints and sees the guy has ginger hair. Plus there's someone lying on the ground next to him. Dino tries to speak as calmly as possible and signals the men behind him to stay back.

"Logan? Logan, it's me. Dino." Logan looks up at him, but doesn't seem to recognize him. His eyes are wide and wild and he waves the knife around.

He yells: "Back off! You can't have him! He's her brother! Back off!" That's when Dino realizes that the man lying next to him has to be Ciro. He tries to calm Logan down again, but it's not working at all. He grabs his phone and calls Bruno.

Bruno picks up and Dino says: "Wake Scorpia up! I've found Logan and Ciro, but Logan has lost it. I have to get him to calm down, to take him and Ciro to the medico. Ciro is lying on the ground and I can't help them this way."

He hears Scorpia's voice on the other end of the line and tries to keep his voice calm when he says: "Dear sister, I've found Logan. But he has completely lost it and is waving your knife at me. I will explain it all later. But for now, we have to try to get him to calm down. So I can get him and Ciro to the doctor."

Scorpia takes a deep breath and says: "Put me on speaker and try to get as close to him as possible."

Dino chances it and walks over to Logan, without saying a word.

Scorpia starts to talk: "Logan? Logan, listen to me... Logan, it's me... Scorpia... Bonnie... We're all safe. Logan, ti amo. Logan?"

Logan whispers: "Bonnie." He drops the knife and collapses.

Dino picks up the knife and manages to hide it in the bracelet after a few tries, before putting it around Logan's wrist. He instructs the guys behind him to pick Logan and Ciro up and place them in the jeep. He speeds over to the doctor, as soon as both men are in the car.

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Scorpia cries and throws herself in Bruno's arms. He says: "They've found him sorellina. They've got him." He hugs her and waits for her to calm down. He sends a message to Lexy's phone when Scorpia gets up to drink some water.

Dino's found Logan and Ciro.
He's taking them to the doctor.

He asks Scorpia if she's hungry and she says: "Starting to, yes."

Bruno says: "Come on. Let's go downstairs and I'll ask one of the Gentile nephews to get you a pizza Devastazione. Because I don't want you to pass out again. Especially now that Logan needs you."

They walk downstairs together and into the cafe. Scorpia grabs the bottle of Scorpion Vodka and two glasses, while Bruno talks to two Gentile nephews at the back door. They immediately place a call to the pizzeria and they can hear mister Gentile yell that he is getting right on it. Bruno laughs and sits down at the kitchen table.

Scorpia pours the vodka into the glasses and knocks one back. Bruno does the same and slams his glass on the table. The pizza arrives quickly and Scorpia immediately devours her first piece. Bruno chuckles and grabs a piece for himself. He can tell that Scorpia's slowly getting her emotions under control and doesn't even want to think about what could have happened if Dino hadn't found Logan alive.

Scorpia says: "Ouch. I think a visit to the doctor might be a good idea for me too." She tries to stretch her fingers and Bruno grabs her hand. He looks at her swollen, bruised-up hand with worry. Scorpia lifts her shirt up and he gasps when he sees the huge dark-purple bruise on her ribs.

He swears and says: "That sounds like a plan. As soon as we hear from Dino, I am taking you to see the doctor." 

She grabs a slice of pizza with her left hand and takes a big bite. She chews on it and enjoys the taste with her eyes closed. Bruno's phone vibrates and Scorpia sits up quickly. But it's a message from mamma, saying she's grateful that they are found, more so because she lied to Lexy about Logan being safe.

Bruno replies to her message.

Camp out a little bit longer.
I'll let you know when we're sure you are all safe.

He taps on the camping picture and shows it to Scorpia. She smiles at the sight of it and says: "That looks fun. You used to do that too, right?" Bruno nods and tells her stories about the times he camped in the attic with his little brothers. 

They drink another glass of vodka and then Bruno's phone rings. It's Dino and Bruno puts the phone on speaker.

"Hi. The doc examined Logan and Ciro. Ciro has several shot wounds and lost a lot of blood, but there doesn't seem to be any serious internal damage. They will take him into surgery in a minute to get the bullets out and to stitch him up."

They hear Ciro yell in the background. "I look like a fucking colander!"

Bruno and Scorpia laugh and Dino says: "And as you just heard, he hasn't lost his sense of humor."

Scorpia asks: "What about Logan? Can I talk to him?

Dino clears his throat and stays quiet.

"Dino?"

Err, yeah... Sister... You can't talk to him... He..."

She hears Dino take a deep breath and he stays quiet for what seems like hours.

"He is not conscious yet. His hand is broken in a very severe way, the bones were sticking through the skin and he was holding your knife in that hand. The doctor says he most likely had a psychosis. A psychotic break that saved his and Ciro's life. But the doctor can't give an estimate on when he will come to nor the state he will be in when he does wake up."

"He needs surgery for that hand, that's for sure and they will be doing that as soon as possible. Other than that, besides a few bruises, there is nothing wrong with him. Which is insane, considering he only had his fists and your knife as weapons. It's unreal that he is still alive. He fought till the very last second and did everything in his power to protect Ciro. That is one amazing man, Scorpia."

She nods, while a tear rolls down her cheek.

Bruno asks: "Can we get Scorpia in for a check-up too?"

Dino says: "Sure thing. There's already a car on it's way over to you, to pick you two up."

Bruno opens the back door and discusses something with the guys outside. Shortly after, they hand him a stack of clothes and he lays them down on the table. Scorpia looks at them and sees her own underwear, a shirt and a pair of jeans. And a shirt and jeans for Bruno. There's a knock on the door and Bruno gets handed a pair of red boots and some sneakers.

He puts the red boots on the floor, close to Scorpia's feet, and puts the jeans and shirt on. Scorpia puts her underwear on and the jeans over it. She stares at her own shirt, but decides against it and pulls Logan's shirt over her head again. She sits down to put the red boots on and Bruno sticks his feet in the sneakers.

Scorpia asks in a soft tone: "What the hell are we going to tell Lexy and Lucas? They are going to hate me. It's all my fault."

Bruno gets up and walks over to her. He puts his arm around her and says: "We have to tell them about it in person at least. And it's not all your fault. I am sure Logan wouldn't want you to say that. Because he definitely got what he wanted. He wanted you to be safe, above anything else. And you've rid the world of Salvatore."

Scorpia says: "For ten years I thought that was what I wanted most of all. To end Salvatore's life..."

The tears stream down her cheeks and Bruno tries to stay strong for her. There's a knock on the door and Bruno opens up. He exchanges a few words in Italian and turns around to Scorpia, who looks completely lost. "Sorellina? Are you coming? We need to get you checked out and you can see Logan there."

She gets up slowly and when he looks into her eyes, he can't find the light in it anymore. He supports her to the car and prays the entire way to the hospital that Logan will wake up soon.

Dino is waiting for them outside and takes them with him, into the doctor's office. The doctor examines Scorpia's hand and ribs. But no matter how much he prods and squeezes, she doesn't flinch. The doctor raises his eyebrows at Bruno, who says: "Logan." Her head snaps up to Bruno and the doctor understands right away. 

The doctor tells her he wants to have some x-rays taken of her hand and ribs and that he wants to see her again after that's done. A nurse helps her into a wheelchair and wheels Scorpia away.

Bruno sits down in the waiting room, next to Dino and takes a shaky breath. Dino says: "She is not okay, is she? We all hoped that Salvatore's death would change everything in a blink of an eye, but that's not what happened. Maybe if I tried to listen to her sooner... Bruno, what if it breaks her forever?"

Bruno looks at him with eyes full of tears and says: "I don't know little brother. I would give my own life if that meant saving her. But we can't turn back time. All we can do is take care of her from now on."

Dino says: "Logan and Ciro are both in surgery right now. And the doc promised to keep us posted..."

Dino clears his throat and says: "I've burnt Salvatore's body. And ordered the guys to burn his house down too. I also gave the men that were left a choice. No more raping and recruiting young girls or visit Salvatore in hell. I told them about Scorpia getting her revenge after waiting for ten years. They are all very impressed by her. The men that are left are on our side. No one's in danger anymore. All that's left to do is wait and see how Ciro and Logan get through their surgeries.

Bruno says: "I'll call mamma. To tell her it's safe to come down from the attic." 

He tells his mom that everything is safe and updates her on Logan, Scorpia, Ciro and Dino. He promises to come home as soon as he can.

Mamma listens to everything patiently and says: "Don't force her to do anything. Leave her be as much as possible."

He hangs up and thinks about his mother's words. He tries to imagine how he would feel if Lexy wouldn't wake up. Never getting the chance to see if there's a future there. Never being able to show someone you love them. His heart hurts and he decides then and there that mamma's right. Whatever Scorpia wants or needs, that's what they will do.

He sees the nurse coming his way in the distance, pushing his sister in the wheelchair. They walk into the doctor's office again and the doctor examines the x-rays. The doctor's eyes go from the x-rays to Scorpia and he says: "It's unbelievable, but there's not a single fracture to be found. Looking at your hand and ribs from the outside, made me believe that there had to be something broken in there. It is all very badly bruised though. So I will prescribe you some painkillers and maybe something to calm you down a bit. You've been through a lot."

Scorpia looks up at him and says: "No. I want to feel the pain and I need to keep a clear head."

The doctor stares at her in shock and Bruno shrugs his shoulders.

Dino speaks up from the corner of the office. "Whatever she wants doc. You are used to tough, Italian men, but she has them all beat. She is the strongest person you will ever meet. Just take my word on this."

Scorpia asks softly: "Logan?"

The doctor says: "I'll make a phone call to find out how both of the men are doing." When the doctor hangs up, he looks at Scorpia as he speaks. "Logans' hand is now full of metal, but everything is straight and connected. With a lot of recovery therapy and some patience, he should be able to use it fully again. His heart rate, oxygen levels, and blood pressure are all good. No internal bleeding."

Scorpia gives the doctor a desperate look and he swallows.

"He is not awake yet."

She pushes the fingers of her good hand into the skin of her bruised one and the tears stream down her face. 

Bruno looks at her hands in shock and asks: "And Ciro?"

The doctor says: "He was very lucky. It's like he was wearing a bulletproof vest. No vital organs were hit and most of the bullets went straight through. They had to remove one in surgery because it was lodged in his shoulder. He is in a lot of pain from that one. He is resting in the recovery room now and will be brought to room 134. You can wait for him there. I need to convey with a psychiatrist first before I can decide on what to do with Logan."

Dino and Bruno help their sister up and take her with them to Ciro's room. Scorpia stares out of the window and doesn't react to anything. The brothers don't even try to talk to her, because there's nothing helpful to say. After a while, Ciro is carted in and his brothers walk up to the bed immediately.

Ciro is ghostly white but he has a clear mind. He looks at Scorpia and says: "Sorellina? Scorpia? He saved my life. He stood in front of me the whole time, waving your knife around. He gave me cover with his own body. He repeated the same thing over and over; For Bonnie."

Ciro looks at her with glassy eyes and says: "Sorellina... mi dispiace tantissimo."

Scorpia turns around and looks at him with absent eyes. "I am sorry too. For plotting my revenge for ten years. Looking forward to that moment, to end up feeling worse than I ever did. To have destroyed my only shot at a little bit of happiness. I will never be able to face Lucas and Lexy again. I can't even look at myself in the mirror. And for what? What did it bring me? A broken heart and a broken soul."

She sinks down onto the floor and curls up in a ball.

The youngest brothers look at each other in defeat and Bruno lifts her up from the floor. He sits down on a chair with Scorpia in his arms.

He plants a kiss on her hair and says: "Stay strong, sorellina. For Logan. He needs a reason to wake up for. And even if you might not believe it, you are that reason. If he loses you, he will surely give up. We are all alive because he fought for you. Listen to me sorellina. Love has almost conquered here. Don't you dare give up with the finish line in sight."

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There you go, Chapter 16 or Capitolo Sedici.

A heavy one, right?

You can't be strong all the time...

But at least they've found Logan and he's alive. 

See you for the next update!

XO Hankie ❥