The Mafia King’s Obsession

(Aria-Four years ago) "I guess it's true what they say, a leopard never changes it's spots," I whispered the words to myself with a smile plastered down my face as I walked down the long marble hallway with a tray balanced in my hands. The sound of my feet echoed against the Romano estate halls. Matteo had promised would quit working late and tonight we would finally eat dinner together again like a family. But I could see his office light was still glowing beneath the door. Typical Matteo. My brother loved control too much to let the night rest. I smiled at myself as I was ready to give him hell for breaking his promise. My eighteen year old self thought nothing could shake this house, this family. We were the Romanos—the untouchable mafia family. I nudged the door open with my hip, already rehearsing my mock lecture. The smell hit me first. The air inside the study was different than usual. It was thicker and sharp with the metallic smell of blood. The tray slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor, porcelain shattering across the rug. My eyes followed the sound past the broken glass, past the dark stain spreading across silk until they found him. My eyes landed on the spilled glass of wine near Matteo's desk, then on him. My brother was slumped across the Persian rug, his white shirt was soaked with blood….his blood, I gasped in horror as his chest rose once, twice… and then not again. "Matteo?" The name cracked out of my mouth like I was saying a prayer. My legs stumbled forward before my mind could process, before my lungs caught up with the scream building inside. That's when I saw him. Luca Moretti. The boy I had grown up with. The boy who used to sneak me gelato on hot summer days. The boy who had stolen my first kiss when I was sixteen, promising the world with a smile. The boy I once believed was my forever. But forever ended here. Now he stood over my brother's body, his face carved from as though from ice. His gun was still raised, smoke curling faintly from the barrel. His jaw was clenched so hard a vein throbbed at his temple. "No…" My voice trembled, horror choking me at the sight of what he had done. "No, Luca….tell me you didn't…" His dark eyes locked onto mine, and for a split second, I swore I saw something break in him. His lips parted, his chest heaving like he wanted to speak, to explain, but I didn't hear any words. The sound of betrayal was the only thing audible in my ears. "You killed him," I whispered, tears blurring my vision. He took a step forward. "Aria, listen to me—" "Stay away!" I stumbled back, clutching the doorframe, my nails digging into the polished wood. My world tilted as I processed everything . My brother was dead. My best friend… my first love… was the monster holding the smoking gun. I stumbled back, my heart hammering, tears spilling hot and fast down my cheeks. "Stay away!" He froze. For a moment, his face cracked. Pain flashed across his features. They werereal, raw—but it only made the horror worse. Because pain meant truth. Pain meant he knew what he'd done. Luca lowered the gun slowly, as if it weighed more than he could carry. "It's not what you think—" "Don't!" My voice shattered, high and broken. "Don't you dare!" The room spun. Walls I had grown up within felt like they were collapsing inward, suffocating me. The Romano estate, with its gold-trimmed frames and polished marble floors, no longer looked like home. It was a tomb. I turned and ran. Luca's voice followed me down the hall, low and rough with something that almost sounded like desperation. But I couldn't stop. "Aria wait, it's not as it seems," I heard him say from behind me. My feet pounded against the hard floor, heart pounding in my chest. Every corner of the house I had once called home now felt like a cage, closing in with shadows and blood. Behind me, I thought I heard his footsteps, then silence. But I didn't stop. My bare feet slapped against cold marble as I tore down the hall, vision blurred by tears. My lungs burned, my chest heaved, but all I knew was escape. "Listen to me—" His voice echoed after me, ragged and commanding, but I slammed through the double doors and into the night. The cold air slapped my face, shocking my body into motion. My scream lodged in my throat, trapped by the terror clawing at my chest. Somewhere behind me, the sound of footsteps faltered. He didn't follow. Why? I didn't care. I sprinted across the courtyard, past the fountain where we used to play as children, past the gardens Matteo promised he'd fix for me one day, past everything that had once felt safe. The gate loomed ahead like salvation. My hands shook as I shoved it open, stumbling into the dark street beyond. Only then did the sob tear out of me, violent and raw. My brother was dead. And the boy I once loved was his killer. I didn't sleep that night. Or the next. Or the next. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Matteo's lifeless body and Luca's figure above him. Every time I tried to breathe, I felt the weight of betrayal crushing my chest. The Aria Romano who believed in family, in love, in happily-ever-afters, had died on that rug beside her brother. The girl who ran into the night was someone else entirely. She wasn't the pampered daughter of a powerful mafia family anymore, she wasn't a dreamer who thought love could save anyone. She was a ghost in her own skin, hollowed out by the sight of blood and the sound of her heart breaking. And she would never forgive Luca Moretti. Not for the blood. Not for the betrayal. And not for shattering the only heart that had ever belonged to him.