Omertà

Chapter 3: Make My Life Easier

Lucy Hale as Annabelle Waters.

I never thought I'd be sitting inside the head of the Italian Maria's office. On the other hand, I also never really expected Mafia headquarters to be in such a beautiful house. I guess life's funny that way. The office was a cozy little too with a huge ceiling, which gave you the impression that you were small and insignificant. I guess that was the point. The walls were a dark, olive green and the furniture was made out of dark tinted wood, matching the floor boards.

A man who appeared to be in his fifties was sat behind a large wooden desk with papers, stacks of money, bullets and a gun scattered on its surface. I was surprised to find that the old man had a striking resemblance to Dimitri. They had the same facial structure with sharp features, light brown hair with bronze highlights and warm brown eyes. The only difference was the age evident in the mans hair and on his worn face.

"Dimitri, perché stai portando un puttana in questa casa?" The man spoke in fluent Italian.

"Lei non è una puttana , papà. Si prega di ascoltare me prima di prendere qualsiasi decisione . Non avevo altra scelta , ma per portarla qui." Dimitri fired back defensively. I have absolutely no idea what was going on, but the man seemed to be thinking something over and Dimitri seemed tense. "Father, please don't blame her for my mistake."

The man stands and walks around this desk until he is standing directly in front of me. "What's your name, fiorella?"

"Annabelle?" I try to say in a strong voice but it comes out as a croak.

"Are you sure?" He asks with a smirk on his face. I can feel my cheeks burning as I nod and look at the ground.

"Well, Annabelle, tanto piacere. My name is Alessandro. It seems as if you were at the wrong place at the wrong time... Sadly, there's nothing I can do to change that." My stomach drops as he pauses to gauge my reaction. "I can, however, offer you a deal."

I look at Dimitri and he nods at me, encouraging me to speak. "What kind of deal?" I ask, turning back to the man, Alessandro.

"I let you live, under the condition that you stay here. You can't leave unless you're with Dimitri." He says coolly, as if he wasn't discussing my life.

"What? You can't expect me to live here forever! That's hardly fair!" I know what Dimitri said, but this was ridiculous! I can't live here forever! I have a life, I have friends!

"Annabelle." Dimitri says in a warning tone, stepping closer to me.

"No, Dimitri, she's right." Alessandro says in a bored tone. "You'll live here indefinitely. If your behavior is good, you may earn yourself more and more freedom until I see you fit to be released."

"You can't keep me here, it's against the law!" I protest.

Alessandro let's out a bitter laugh. "You think the law prevents me from doing things? Ha! Good one!" He laughs again. Before sobering up and coming closer to me in an intimidating manner. "Listen, fiorella, you may think the law protects you, but what protects the law from us? Nothing. I've got eyes and ears everywhere. Even if you were to run away, I'd find you. So you can either take the deal and live, or leave it and die."

By the time he's finished, I'm holding back tears and trying to come to terms with reality. This can't be happening. I can't be stuck here indefinitely with a bunch of strangers. I barely even know Dimitri, so I don't even know if I can count on him to keep me sane in a place like this. As much as I hate my predicament, it's better than death, so I know I have no choice but to agree.

"Fine." I mumble. "Okay."

I watch hatefully as a grin spreads across Alessandro's face. "Good, good!" He turns his back on me and begins giving instructions to Dimitri. "Dimitri! I need you to have her swear omertà and go through the ritual, then bring her upstairs to room 14c and make sure she feels at home. She'll be here for a while after all. Now, please, leave. I have to speak to Enzo about what happened this morning."