Famiglia

Miraj put down his fork and knife, looked at me and said,"He is getting better at planning which is to be expected after two unsuccessful attempts. He knew you would be alone with him in the park. He is learning from his failures... That's worrying."

I think he still thought I was wrong but he was satisfied with my explanation. His accusation on me about Ari's safety was rendered invalid but my husband wasn't much for apologies.

"Yes. But he forgets that as Ari's parents we won't let him win easily."

"He doesn't forget. It's more like he doesn't understand it. He was never a parent, Eliana."

I understood what he meant. My father was the same and if it wasn't for Miraj and this marriage, I would never have inherited my family business. My father would have denied me of my birthright. Actually, he had denied me of my birthright till I married Miraj.

"Well then, it is time for him to understand. I don't want to wait for another attempt to happen. I want to go through that bastard's front door and empty my gun into his head. This game of cat and mouse has to end."

Miraj gave a heavy sigh as I used a napkin to clean my mouth and got up from my chair to leave.

"Okay", said Miraj when I turned my back to him. I paused and turned back to look at his eyes. They were resigned.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes"

"It would be war between your two families. 'La famiglia' will pay. Once he is dead, his position will be empty and the only way the new leader won't retaliate is if the new leader is you. You're ready for that?"

I knew he was ready. I saw it in his eyes. But I needed the words, the confirmation that we were going to war and my husband was ready for the consequences.

"Yes, I am ready. This war has been long time coming."

Two days later, we both called a meeting of our most trusted men and officially made the announcement to our men.

***

Miraj was trained to kill ever since he was a child. That's what you get when both your parents are from mafia families. It takes a lot of pain to turn a person into a killer, especially a child. You have to take away the child's compassion, destroy their innocence and purity, and watch as it slowly eats away at their humanity.

The one thing that stood with him through it all was family. The Moretti family was lead by Alonzo Moretti, Miraj's father. Miraj changed his last name officially once he chose his mother's side of business. It was the official declaration to the world. With this decision, Miraj had made sure he would never be the chosen heir of the Moretti family. They would die before they let a Giovanni become their family head. Even though the two families were joined by multiple inter-marriages to avoid conflict, each family had their pride. Moretti family being led by a Giovanni would mean the Morettis were lesser.

The alliance between the two families was always fragile and there was a delicate balance. That's how agreements between competitors always are. Miraj had chosen a side and it upset the balance. Miraj was his father's only son just like his father was his grandfather's only son. Only one that was alive. Miraj had an uncle who was murdered but no one found out who did it. Most people suspected Alonzo. They had no one to lead them after Alonzo now, unless Miraj changed his name again.

His father was big on blood is thicker than water and that's why majority of the higher positions in his organisation were held by a Moretti. Once Miraj took over his father's position, he would have to kill a lot of people in higher positions in the organization because he couldn't trust them. No, he wouldn't trust them. Paranoia was a side-effect of this life. The problem lied in the fact that most people he would have to kill were related to him by blood.

Killing a stranger wasn't an act for the faint-hearted. It took balls of steel. And killing your own blood took balls of titanium.