Silhouettes of fate

Alessio

ALESSIO

Stepping out of my sleek black car, Dante, my underboss and younger brother, wasted no time expressing the concerns that had been circulating "Alessio, Il tavolo alto and il Circolo degli Anziani are growing more restless day by day. How can you lead them without a wife and an heir?"

Having led the downfall of mafia bosses across Italy, Chicago, New York, Russia, Serbia, and Mexico with the help of William Henderson, I found myself leading a global criminal alliance – Il tavolo alto, (the High Table). il Circolo degli Anziani,( the Circle of Elders), comprised seasoned bosses from every corner of the underworld. Reluctantly accepting the role, I had maintained a fragile peace, akin to a United Nations for mafias.

"Alessio, this is gravely serious," Dante asserted, his tone reflecting the weight of the matter at hand. As the leader of the circle of elders, my lack of a spouse and heir had not only caused inconvenience over the years but had led to a few attempts on my life. However, these threats never phased me. Pushing the door open, I was halted by Dante's firm grip. Turning, I faced my underboss, and consigliere Alessandro, standing in solidarity behind him.

"Dante's right, Alessio. Non hai moglie e non hai figli. Sei già l'anziano più giovane. Dobbiamo trovare rapidamente una soluzione," Alessandro concurred, highlighting the urgency of the situation. I, the middle child, had assumed leadership after my older brother Alessandro chose love over power, a decision that led to war and ultimately left me in charge. Despite my initial resentment, my perspective shifted when I met Akira.

"We'll discuss this later," I declared, signalling a delay to the impending confrontation. We retreated to separate conference rooms, a giant box presented as the customary precursor to the meeting. Knowing the protocol well, I began stowing away every firearm on my person, a total of six. As I stepped forward, the room was hushed when a clear voice interrupted, holding up a second box. With a sigh, I began disposing of my knives one by one.

"Oh mio signore," someone muttered behind me, a testament to the gravity of the situation. Trust was a rare commodity in this world, and I kept my guard up at all times, a survival instinct that had kept me alive.

Following the meeting, I found myself reluctantly attending my cousin's reception. Seated in a corner, I engaged in silent discussions with my uncles, skillfully avoiding the inevitable clutches of my aunts. As the night wound down, I retreated inside the house, seeking a moment of solitude.

In the dimly lit room, I settled into a chair, the pungent aroma of a fresh cigar enveloping the air. With a sigh, I lit the cigar, reclining as I exhaled a stream of smoke. Before I could delve into my thoughts, my nonna, the matriarch of the family, spoke up.

"Your favourite cousin just got married, and you look miserable, Alessio," she remarked, her voice carrying a mix of amusement and concern. Before I could retort, the room's tranquillity was shattered as my cousin Tony and a Lombardi found themselves in a heated dispute.

Nonna, with a sinister smile, observed the unfolding chaos. "I haven't witnessed a good fight in days," she mused, lighting her own cigar with practised nonchalance. I shot her a quizzical look, and she merely shrugged.

The room fell into an immediate hush as the unmistakable echo of a gunshot reverberated through the air. Nobody flinched; nobody cared to acknowledge the chaos of a fallen Lombardi, gunshot wound on his shoulder, ironically my sister-in-law's cousin.

"Matteo, lo porti a casa, per favore," Bianca instructed her brother, detaching herself from Alessandro's embrace to kneel at her cousin's side, applying pressure to the wound. The conversations and music continued immediately after that.

"This looks disgusting; did your mother cook it?" Nonna knit her brows, inspecting the plate as if it held the secrets of the universe. The perpetual feud between my mother and Nonna had reached legendary proportions, they tried to poison each other multiple times with food.