Chapter 2

Liliana

It rained last night, leaving everything darker, especially the herb garden, which burst with tomato vines and basil. I close the gate behind me, then I proceed toward the main door. Chewing the licorice, my hand reaches for the doorknob, twitching it. The door flies open, and I walk forward with my mind in a deep imagination.

"Seriously, Lily, is it a time for a girl to return home?"

Shit. I close my eyes before turning to face my mom. Her gymnastic figure is amazing; she looks good as ever.

"It’s eight, Mom."

"Come with me." Grabbing my hand, she drags me into the living room, then she makes me sit on one of the couches, sitting beside me.

"You don't look good today. Tell me what is happening to you."

"Mom, can you tell me who my real parents are?" I bite my inner cheek. I feel a little teary since this morning. I don't know what is happening to me.

"Lily. You know I can't tell you. Why do you repeat the same question every day?" She holds my hand firmly while caressing it.

"Mom, you are only thirty-four in age; then why did you adopt me? Where are my parents? Why didn't they want me to stay with them?"

"Why are you asking me this question?"

"I'm feeling awkward today. I feel like someone near to my heart is in danger, and I think maybe my real parents are in trouble."

"Don't worry; nothing will happen to them."

"Tomorrow is your birthday, and we will be attending a private party. I've recently received an email from the Capo of Chicago. He will be giving his throne to his brother, Rocco Giordano."

"Is it important, Mom?" I roll my eyes. I hate mafia men. In fact, I hate this mafia family.

"Yeah, your dad needs to attend the event since he is part of the Chicago outfit. It would be an honor for our family to be present there."

"It’s my twentieth birthday, Mom. But I'll accompany you if it's for our family's sake."

"That's like my girl," she smiles at me.

My father, who adopted me, might be a pain in the ass, but my mother is his opposite; she cares for me more than I do, and it's a blessing to have her in my life. What I'm afraid of is this vicious man, Roger, who is my so-called father. He has been bribed by the bratva in order to attack the Chicago crime family. Roger is on both sides; what he does not know is that when the Capo finds out, he will be dead.

I do not have the support of my biological family, but yet I cannot imagine my life without this small family of mine. All I ask God for is not to let this family scatter. I wonder why I want to find my real family; this might be due to the diamonds my biological mother attached to me when she handed me to Myrrha mom. The diamonds are not an ordinary piece; they are the famous Orlov set. The box contains about eight of these pieces, and I know they are worth a billion dollars. Roger does not know anything about the diamonds; otherwise, he would have conquered all of them.

One thing I'm sure of is that my biological parents were not from a middle-class family; they must have had a lot of power, but still, they could not raise their own daughter. Sometimes I wonder if maybe that woman had stolen these diamonds. But then I thought—the Orlov is not easy to be stolen. Life might be full of surprises, but one thing I've put in mind is that I would never give anyone the Orlov, even if my life is at risk. The Orlov will remain a secret; yet it is the only thing that can lead me to my family. I wish someday I will find someone who will be worth staying with me. Aside from this life I am living, I want to feel special for once—just once.

***

Getting off from the car, I take out my phone. Switching on the phone, the screen light causes my eyes to blink twice. It's dark in here. The time indicates it's quarter past nine. I'm late. The ceremony must've reached the end. Anyway, I did not want to attend this private party of the new Capo—I’ve never seen him before. For what I heard, he was not in Chicago for the past months. I know the Capo's brother Antonio; he is handsome and married. I wonder if Rocco must be good-looking like Antonio; they are brothers, after all.

I walk across the huge entrance with palm trees on the side road. Leon Mansion, as stated on the address, was part of a well-established suburb in Upper East Side, Chicago. If it weren't for the naked Adonis statue sitting in front of the huge fountain with a loincloth covering his private part, I was sure I'd have missed it altogether. Adonis really is beautiful, even though he's made out of white marble. But imagine seeing a real live man that looks like Adonis. He'd be the god of all passion, a person that would totally captivate my heart.

"Ahh," I sighed. "So beautiful."

"What business do you have here?"

What? Who? Where? Did someone just speak? I looked up and saw a dashing figure standing at the other end of Adonis in my direction. Oh, is he Adonis? I stared at the man whose figure is like Adonis and said, "I'm sorry. I was just admiring the statue."

"Any other business?"

Swallowing another piece of licorice, which I was for a while, I replied, "I'm looking for Leon Mansion. Could you please tell me where it is?"

"This is Leon Mansion."

"Le... Leon Mansion!" I almost choked on the licorice. I stared at the immaculate garden with a lineage of green trees on either side, the fountain housing Adonis. Wow! This mansion must belong to a millionaire. Of course, it belongs to an aristocrat; it’s for the Capo. The man was still standing there, unable to see his face clearly, but with the dim lights, he had a figure like Adonis. I stood there without uttering another word until Adonis's lookalike walked away. So did I. I made my way toward the mansion.

The mansion itself was a huge block of ancient buildings that stood right at the center of the property. From outside, it looked beautiful, but on the inside, it was majestic. The whole foyer was the size of our house alone. Except there was hardly any furniture around, unlike our house. I was a hoarder, so I always managed to get some secondhand books or some sort of junk to decorate our home. But this place was just adorned with a few couches and an armchair. A beautiful chandelier dropped down from the ceiling, and a skylight provided light in the foyer.

I walked toward the lone armchair, almost not noticing a couple of buff-looking men who stood to the side, staring at me through black sunglasses. They almost gave me a fright, standing there like statues. They had their arms behind their backs, looking quite intimidating.

"Hi," I managed.

The men didn't respond but just glared back at me.

"Why does it look like I've entered the wrong place?" I mumbled to myself. Where have I landed? This was supposed to be a party, right? After strolling around for a moment, I was urged to enter one of the rooms. As soon as I stepped inside, a man sitting on the couch caught my attention and almost knocked the air out of my lungs. The man was almost an exact replica of the Adonis statue outside. My heart pounded, and I smiled. He must be the one whom I saw outside. But he didn't smile back. It didn't matter, though.

"I'm here for the private party," I said before he could say anything. He still didn't respond but continued to gaze at me with his midnight eyes.

"You've entered the wrong room, little one."

Little one? Did he just say "little one"? Am I a small baby in front of him?

"I... am sorry. Excuse me, please." With these words, I made my way toward the door.