Capo Dei Capi (Secrets of the Famiglia Part 1)

Chapter 34 (Aliyana)

Present

"We agreed to keep it quiet. Nothing happened, no retaliation, nothing until recently. Ren was visited by

Xander, seems like Alice was wrong, Xander very much wanted to protect Alec that night."

“What the fuck Liya, we are supposed to be a fucking family. Shouldn’t we have gotten a say too? We

could all be dead by now.” Gabriel yells as I look to the carpeted floor. Yes, they should have had a say.

But at the time, it seemed best to keep it between Ren and me.

“Ren didn’t just put himself in danger, he put us all in danger. Xander Moretti is a fucking snake, he’ll slit

your throat if it meant proving himself worthy of his father's fucking approval. And Alice, fucking Christ,

Aliyana. If she knows Elisa is your father’s daughter, we are fucked. She’ll know we are up to

something. Point be damned if Elisa is a fucking devil in disguise or not,” Michel barks as he bangs his

hand on the wall, making me jump.

“We should’ve never allowed the two of you to go alone. If the Russo family are on to us, we need to

make a stand Xander will choose the side that has the best perks for him. Alice is a fucking bitch, but I

don't see her wanting to kill Ren. She wouldn't admit it, but Matteo is important to her, and you, are

important to him for some unknown reason,” Mero voices out what they all were thinking that same day.

“And Di Salvo already claimed Matteo as future Capo. His father is known to dislike his dead wife's

family," Michel informs us.

"Either way we look at it, Ren is dead. We need to decide how we’re going to handle it. This is all

pointless when there's no proof they did it. A lot of talks are going around the State. People are still

blaming the Irish, some are saying the Cartel could’ve whacked him as a message to Marco. But, we

all knew a Russo coming after us was a possibility," Gabriel is saying what we all already know.

"Deno warned us when we made a choice all those years ago. We need to see this through, especially

if they killed Ren,” Mero, always our voice of reason, and facts.

Gabriel stands, his presence is a consumption of power. He will make a great Capo one day, soon,

when his uncle steps down.

“What you did was wrong, let’s hope it teaches you next time not to overthink. We are in this together, it

was our choice as much as it was yours. And we all know you chose to let it slide. I would’ve killed your

sister, blood or not and probably agreed with Ren and killed Alec too. Elisa is innocent; she's still here,

in danger. If she dies, her blood is on our hands.” Michel glares at me, a nerve in his neck ticking.

“I know,” My voice is soft, but my eyes aren't.

“We should head to the Warehouse and get this shit done. Deno won't wait forever.” Michel storms out,

leaving the 3 of us in the room.

“He’s hurting Liya, we all are, and if Alice killed Ren, you need to ask yourself how far you are willing to

go. We started this years ago, Alec was just a pawn on the board. Alice is a knight on the wrong side of

the board fueled by vengeance. Your father’s love for you doesn’t help ease her hate. Add in Elisa, who

you have flaunted in her face like a red-flag, tempting a bull, she is our prime suspect.”

“I’ll kill her if I have to. I'm still my father’s daughter; I will protect him. What I won’t do is allow anything

to happen to Elisa in the interim, we need to get her out.” I can honestly say at this moment, I place my

first step away from the Misfits' plans but, at the same time, closer to Mero. He loves her, after all.

Sweet Elisa.

I just hope he will love her regardless because as I stare into my friend's eyes, I know the secret I keep

will very well end his affection for her.

“I’ll bring the car around,” Mero gives me a stiff nod, understanding we are both here to keep her safe.

He walks out of my bedroom, leaving Gabriel and me.

My head lifts up to meet his tall form, his eyes intense, assessing as they stare at me for a few beats

before his nostrils flare as he looks to other parts of my room.

This entire room is all Ren. The art which shapes my ceiling was made by the two of them. The framed

canvas on the wall next to the door leading to my en-suite was my first painting. I threw it in the trash

can. The same portrait Ren and Gabriel dug out of the bin.

I close my eyes as flashes of his smile in this very room become more than a memory. The sound of

his voice as he yells, ‘Yana Banana.’

I have lost many in the 19 years of my life, but this is the hardest of that loss. I feel the change in the

tide, the weight of it all befalling on my very being.

Ren, my precious friend, brother, other half, now gone.

The warmth of Gabriel’s finger on my cheek undoes me, and for the first time since those stairs two

nights ago, where I cried for the boy he was, I cry for the man he will never get to become.

Gabriel grabs me into the heat of his chest as my mouth opens, and I let out the sound of my breaking

heart.

“My beautiful Liya, you are stronger than this,” Gabriel’s words in my ears, meant to silence my pain,

reminds me of all I have lost as his hand rubs my head.

“He’s gone, Gabriel, gone. He was good, and my choices could be the reason he’s dead. How do I live

with that? If Alice killed him, how can I kill my own sister? Tell me!”

“Yeah, he was good, but with all your choices Liya, we don’t make a killer, we can only become one,

Ren chose to leave the party, he chose to kill Alec, not you.” Gabriel holds me as his words play in my

head, and my tears dry out.

“If Alice is the one, then I'll be there with you, whether you choose to pull that trigger or not. Always or

never Liya.”

“Always or never,” I whisper.

I am not sure how long we stand here, in a room that has more memories of the one we mourn than

either of us know. There were nights when I’d leave my bedroom as Ren laid his body in my bed.

Times when I chose to remain in the confines of the garden, and he’ll sit up here in his mind. I smile at

the thought.

Weeks during our holiday, the 5 of us would lie on that very bed seething about all the reasons we’ll

one day take down the Russo family. In this very room, we devised a plan that could have ultimately led

to Ren’s death. One loss, so much pain. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Mero hoots, breaking us apart. I wipe my tears and choose to say nothing to the redness in Gabriel’s

own.

We head downstairs to the car, away from all the memories of the boy who fell too soon.

"When will you tell Mero the truth about Elisa?" Gabriel asks the question I have asked myself a lot

recently, but in the end, always arriving at the same answer.

"Sometimes, denial is for the best. And lies are a necessary evil."

We are born with an end date, an estimate. Lorenzo Catelli stood too long in the hot sun, and that

estimate expired way before its due date. I can’t say for sure if it was the past of the Misfits which

brought him an early grave, or his own demons coming back to haunt him. Or merely the sins of his

father, or brothers, but as I jump in the car and Michel faces me from the front seat, I know I will avenge

his death. We all will.

Even if it meant killing my own.