THE DON’S BRAND

Mine To Find First

MARCO HART

Phone rings. 1:17AM. Blocked number

Marco Hart answered on the second ring. Voice sharp. Tired.

Marco: " This better be important."

Unknown caller: " Leonardo got the good before they got to El Diablo."

Silence. Awkward Silence.

Marco: " shit... how did that happen?" He was already pacing in his office. A glass of bourbon in one hand, the other clenched into a fist.

Unknown Caller: " it just happened. There was open fire at Salvatore's club tonight. Most of El Diablo's men lost their lives. Leonardo Moretti is no joke."

Marco stopped pacing. His jaw ticked.

Marco: " I thought Rel went undercover. This better be a joke. That was my investment. How the hell am I supposed to recover from that?"

Unknown caller: " that shouldn't be the problem here. The problem is Rel shouldn't give out names. Or else he's gonna come for us. All of us."

Marco exhaled hard. Rage and calculation fighting in his head.

Marco: " I'll sort that out. Leonardo won't be at today's torture room. I'll handle it."

Unknown caller: Chuckles " And also... your daughter was at the club."

Marco: oh Emily

" That shouldn't sound surprisedly it what she does better with my money."

Unknown caller: " I didn't mean the black sheep. Marco your jewel.

Emilia Hart.

The glass in Marco's hand cracked. He didn't feel it.

Unknown caller: laughing, low and dangerous " yeah. That one."

Marco went completely blank. His mind short-circuited.

Emilia? At Salvatore's? During a hit?

No. She wouldn't. She knows better.

But the source on the other end of this call never lied. Never.

" ... you're sure." Marco voice was barely a whisper as he asked.

Unknown caller: " Dead sure. See you around. Underboss."

Click.

The line went dead.

Marco stood there in the dark, blood dripping from his palm onto the marble floor.

Leonardo had the goods.

El Diablo was coming.

And now... his well behaved daughter is beginning to grow flaws.

" Emilia."

** EMILIA, NORA, VICTORIA.**

The front door slammed behind them and the whole apartment seemed to hold it breath for a second.

" Gosh... that was scary." Emilia dropped her bag on the table with a loud crash and sank straight into the couch, like her legs had finally given up. Her mascara was smudged, her heels were in her hand , and her chest was still rising and falling too fast.

" And I can't believe we get to witness that." Nora said, crossing her arms as she leaned against the kitchen counter. " And sincerely I agree with Emilia... no party for a week."

" Arrgrr... come on guys, you possibly can't be serious," Victoria cried out, sitting up. " Like one week? Do you know how many invites I already have this weekend?"

" One week won't kill you, Vicky," Emilia said tiredly rubbing her temples. She could still hear her own heartbeat.

" I would die. I mean it," Vicky pressed, dramatic as ever. " I can't imagine myself skipping a party when there's an invite with my name on it. That's my cardio."

" Then get ready to be shut in your room for one week." Nora shot back, throwing a pillow across the room that hit Vicky square in the face. She was already walking to the kitchen. " obviously to grab dinner. I can't believe I starved myself at that party. All I had was one slice of pizza with Emilia and that was it."

The apartment fell into that heavy, post adrenaline silence. The kind where everyone pretending to be fine but no one is.

Then Emilia's phone rang.

The sound cut through the room like glass. All three of them froze.

The screen lit up: mom.

" Jeez..." Emilia breathed. Her face drained of color. " I can't believe it. That b***h ratted me out."

She didn't even look at the girls a she stood up. " I need to take this," she mumbled, and disappeared up the stairs to her room, phone pressed hard to her ear.

Vicky's eyes followed her all the way up, wide and guilty. " Do you think it's that bad?" She whispered to Nora.

Nora didn't answer. She just opened the fridge.

Upstairs, Emilia shut her door and slid down to sit on the floor, back against it.

She swiped to answer.

" where the hell were you this night?" Her mother's voice came through immediately. Sharp. Angry.not even a greetings.

" Hello, Mom..." Emilia said, and hated how small her voice sounded.

" I asked a question, young lady, and I demand an answer!" Mrs. Hart snapped.

Emilia closed her eyes. Lying would only make it worse. " I went... I went out with my friends. Clubbing. Precisely."

There was a bear of silence that felt worse than yelling.

" Since when has this been going on?" Mrs. Hart asked, and disappointment was thick in every word.

" it's the first time," Emilia rushed to explain. " I only went for the first time today. I just... I wanted to party for once. But I didn't stay long, I swear we left early."

It doesn't matter if you didn't stay long. Her mom cut in. " The short while you were there is enough to get noticed. Enough to get your name dragged. Enough for people to start talking."

" By who, Mom?" Emilia asked, frustration bubbling up under the fear. " I only had fun with friends and we left.We're back home now. We're preparing for bed."

" Emilia," Mrs. Hart said, and her tone dropped. Final. " Go to bed. And prepare to get home. Your dad demands that."

The call ended before Emilia could even say Bye. Before she could ask for forgiveness as they would have expected from her.

She stared at the dark screen. Home. As in back to her parents house. As in out of the apartment. As in out of her freedom.

Downstairs, Vicky was still holding the pillow to her chest. " well?" She asked when Emilia didn't come back down.

Nora s**t the fridge. " pack a bag," she said quietly. " Sounds like you're going home."

Emilia came down the stairs two at a time, eye red but dry. " one week," she said with a humorless laugh. " Looks like I got my no-party rule for the rest of the semester."

Vicky groaned and threw herself back on the couch. " This is unfair we didn't even do anything crazy!"

" we were noticed," Emilia said, picking up her craved bag from the table. " And that was enough."

** LEONARDO PENTHOUSE **

The shower was running hot.

Water streamed down Leonardo's shoulder, tracing the lines of muscle on his desk Before disappearing down. The drain. His hand dragged through his wet hair and he tipped his head back, letting the water hit his face.

But the water didn't clear his head.

Her.

She was all he could see. On the dance floor tonight. Lights catching her skin. The way she moved. Carefree, alive, like she had no idea who was watching her.

His little bird.

The thought came uninvited and stayed. His jaw lightened. In 24 hours she had became a problem.

He couldn't ignore. A fixation he couldn't logic away.

He wanted her in his space. In his world. On his terms. The condo. His side of the bed. His name in her lips. The ideas that came with that were dark and tangled_ controlled, possession, obsession. The kind of thoughts that I'd he let them run would ruin. Or worse.

He couldn't wait 12 hours. He wouldn't.

He shut the water off with too much force. Steam clung to the mirrors as he stepped out, water dripping from him. He wrapped a robe around himself and walked barefoot across the cold marble to the floor to ceiling windows of his penthouse.

Chicago glittered below him. Millions of people. And only one of them mattered tonight.

He poured wine into a crystal glass but didn't drink yet. With his other hand he dialed.

It was answered in the first ring.

" How is it going?" His voice whispered was low, controlled.

" Sir," Xander said. " I have her information. She's... well known in Chicago. Public profile, family connections. It won't be simple."

Leonardo's smirk was slow and dangerous. " Good. Bring me everything tomorrow. First thing."

He ended the call before Xander could respond.

He finally took a sip of wine. Then another. The burn matched the fire in his chest.

"Finally," he murmured to the city below, to the empty room, to her. " You are supposed to be. Little bird."

Outside, the wind picked up. Inside, Leonardo made a decision he wasn't going to undo.

And somewhere across the city, she had no idea her name was now the only one on his list.

** EL DIABLO **

Damn it.

I got tripped over my money.

That motherfucker came out of nowhere.

They took my money. My investment. My goods. Every thing I spent 3 months setting up, gone in 10 minutes because of one sloppy move.

The underground den was silent except for the sound of his boots hitting concretes. Back and forth. Forth and Back.

This is his room. His rules. His world.

And on their knees in front of El Diablo were five of his men. Sweating, shaking. Each breath they took depended on what mood he was in.

Pathetic.

" You," he pointed the gun, voice low. " You. Why didn't you go after my money? Hm?"

He stopped pacing right in front of them. " You ran. Like cowards. All of you."

One of them tried to speak. " Boss, We were outnumbered _"

" Outnumbered?" He laughed, but there read nothing funny in it. " And what is the sense of keeping you then,"

The gun came up fast.

BANG.

The one in the middle dropped. No warning. No second chance.

BANG.

The one at the end_ the one who was driving the van got us boxed in—dropped too.

Screams. Begging. Pleading.

" Get them out," I said coldly, not even looking at the bodies on the floor. I nodded to the three who were left alive. " Drag then out. Now."

" P-please boss, leave this up to us. We will definitely fix it _"

" fit it ?" He turned, eyes dead. " you had one job. You lost my money."

They scrambled, pulling the bodies by the arms, leaving streaks on the floor.

The door slammed shut behind them.

Silence again. Just him. The smell of gunpowder, and his money that was now in someone else's hands.

He walked to the bar in the corner I poured himself whiskey, and drowned it in one go.

His hand gripped the glass until his knuckles went white.

He stared at the door, and his voice came out low. Dead. Promising.

" you are going to pay for this, Leonardo Moretti."