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The Bellas

The new year's party went on until the early morning. The family welcomed the new year together, celebrating with a fireworks display.

Francesco met and spoke briefly with his aunts and cousins. Among everyone who believed that he was Luciano's son, his aunt Illaria and her daughters engaged him happily. Illaria was happy to have another younger sibling, especially a brother, and told the boy he could always call on her. Isabella and Annabella were fascinated with the idea that they were older than their uncle and refused to call him uncle, calling him instead 'fratellino'.

The two girls stuck with Francesco all night, talking his ears off or dragging him around the room to play or dance. They too pestered him about his life, but he just smiled at the questions about his mother. He did confide in the two that he enjoyed painting, and they begged him to paint them.

"I'm not that good yet." Francesco defended.

"We will see for ourselves." Annabella declared.

"When you are famous later, we will be the only ones to have your first pieces." Isabella said triumphantly.

Francesco smiled at the twins; they were more carefree and outspoken than the other two. They pointed out members of the family, retelling rumours of poisonings, assassinations, forged wills, mafia associations, staged suicides, infanticides, and sterilisations. The twins gave him advice and warnings for interacting with the members they pointed out. Their staunchest warnings were to never eat food offered by anyone or walk around without guards.

"Oh, and act like a fool. Mom says if they don't see you as a threat, they'll probably leave you alone." Isabella said solemnly.

When the fireworks went off, the girls jumped around, shouting excitedly at the sky welcoming the new year. They pulled Francesco behind them as they ran up to all the family members, wishing them a happy new year, then quickly flitted away to the tune of laughter and screeches. Their final stop was their grandparents. Here, the girls' attitudes changed; they curtsied quietly and obediently greeted them, then left Francesco behind.

The boy's chest heaved, and his face flushed red with excitement. But looking up at his grandfather's face, he was met with stone-cold disappointment. Francesco fixed his suit and fell in line next to the man.

The next morning, the family gathered for the first mass of the year at the chapel on the grounds. The stone building, despite its snug appearance, accommodated the large family comfortably. The pious heads bowed in prayer surprised the boy. Naturally, everyone had different faces they showed people. But knowing what he learned from the twins last night and even overhearing their conversations, looking at them now, it was hard to believe anything from yesterday.

After mass, Francesco's grandfather visited him. He scolded the boy for his behaviour the previous night. Lucianco grabbed Francesco by his collar, lifting him almost off his feet and shaking him.

"Don't you ever make a fool of me like that again! If you want to have any hope of leading this family, you need to act like it. Every wrong step you make is an embarrassment to me."

Francesco looked at his grandfather; Luciano's eyes were wild. Dull, soulless brown discs stared back at him, an empty rage stirring just beneath their surface. This was a different kind of rage than he had experienced with Logan. It sent a cold shiver down his spine.

He'll kill me! I'll have to kill him!

The boy nodded fearfully, and Luciano released him, storming from the room. Francesco fell on all fours, panting, his mouth agape in shock at the thought that had crossed his mind. Tears fell from his eyes as a myriad of emotions passed through him. Never in his life had the thought of killing someone crossed his mind.

"Mom." He whispered to the empty room.

Isabella and Annabella visited Francesco in his room after breakfast. They brought with them a board game, which the three children played together. Francesco felt a mix of betrayal and uncertainty in the presence of the sisters. After everything they had told him the night before and his grandfather's reaction, the boy found it hard to trust their happy, smiling faces.

"What's wrong, fratellino?" Isabella asked, pushing her face close to his.

He gave the girl a weak smile as he eased away. "Nothing."

"You look sick," Annabella said in the midst of counting her fake money.

"Yeah, all the fun's been sucked out of you."

The boy relayed to the girls that Luciano had scolded him for playing too much yesterday and that he wanted to avoid another. The twins laughed and told him he shouldn't be afraid of Luciano.

From Isabella and Annabella, Francesco learned that their grandfather had two siblings, both younger than him. His grandfather's brother, Marcello, occasionally stirred up trouble within the family and publicly. While their sister, Giana, did everything she could to ensure her son was a candidate for head of the family,

The divide in the family mainly fell into groups of those that supported Marcello, Giana, Luciano, or others from the secondary branches. But, over the years, his grandfather had been steadily losing support. Those still on his side believe that he is the best person to lead the family.

Luciano had lost a significant following when, rather than Aurora's marriage into the Oliveira family, he bought a small shipping firm. The eventual gains they earned had restored some faith in him, but his support did not fully recover. Then different rumours began to spread following Aurora's disappearance.

"It's all Aunt Aurora's fault." Annabella said.

"Mom says it's not, but if it weren't for her, we'd be a lot better off. Especially since Oliveiras always have sons." Chimed Isabella.

"You could have been living your life comfortably back home instead of being here. Having to deal with these people."

The twins annoyed Francesco. The longer he stayed in their presence, the more he disliked them. He thanked them for their advice and excused himself, saying he was feeling tired from the festivities. The girls cheerfully left, promising to visit him the next day.

But he would avoid them for the rest of his stay, advising Stella and his guards that he did not want to entertain any guests.