Corrupted Values

Chapter Ten - Veracity

I wake up to the warm afternoon sun on my face. It only takes seconds before the conversation from yesterday floods into my mind again. I sigh before sitting up on the couch and stretching out my arms. Will Nico really keep it to himself that I’m a Selvera? What will Marco do if he finds out? How could my mom tell me my father is dead? Did she even know the truth? So many questions run through my mind with no one to answer them.

“I wonder what time it is.” I say to myself before getting up and walking into the kitchen to get a drink. I drink the cool liquid, feeling it calm me down as I swallow the cold water. I walk to the other side of the living room and slide open the glass door. I quietly close it behind myself. Wings flap beside me with a ting from something landing on the metal railing. I look over to see Remi’s so-called pet has come to say hello.

“Hello crumbs.” I say smiling. He slowly hops towards me while looking at my hands. I put my glass down and grab a handful of seeds out of a bag Remi always leaves out in case he stops by.

“Here you go.” I say smiling, holding my hand out. He carefully pecks each seed out of my hand, careful not to peck my fingers. Once done, I go and sit in the cushioned chair to my left. I cross my legs and look up at Crumbs.

“Must be nice to be a crow, huh? If you ever don’t like something, you could just fly away and leave everything behind.” I say, and to my surprise, Crumbs gives a raspy caw back. I giggle at myself for talking to a bird. Crumbs flies over, landing on the arm rest to my right. I slowly bring my hand up and lightly pet his back.

“Now I see why Remi calls you her pet.” I say with a slight laugh.

“Crumbs, how can I know who I am when everything is a lie?” I say as I rest my hand on his back. He caws again as I let out a sigh and look down.

“I wish I could just fly up in the sky and leave all my problems behind,” I say as I look up towards the blue sky. I hear the glass door slide open, catching my attention as I look over.

“Can I join you?” Nico asks, poking his head out.

“Sure.” I answer. I give him a soft smile before turning away. He slowly walks out, closing the door behind him.

“You haven’t become a witch or anything, have you?” He asks, pointing at Crumbs. His question makes me laugh and I shake my head.

“No. This is Crumbs. Remi’s crow.” I say petting the bird once again.

“Oh…what a unique choice for a pet.” He says as he cautiously walks around us to the chair and sits beside me to my left.

“You seem to be doing better. You're on your feet now at least.” I point out.

“Yeah. You didn't think some little bullet could kill me, did you.” He answers smugly, crossing his arms and smirking. I roll my eyes at his comment.

“How are you doing?” He asks, looking at me.

“I’ll be fine. I just never thought I’d end up being the daughter to someone in a mafia. My mom never told me about any of this.” I say as Crumbs flies away cawing. Nico and I watch as he flies up above the tall buildings and out of sight.

“Azzy?” Nico says in a hesitant voice.

“Yeah?” I respond looking back at him.

“Your father is the boss of the Selvera Mafia, which means…” Nico says, trailing off.

“Which means what?” I ask nervously.

“You're not just the daughter of a man in just any mafia, you're the heiress to the Selvera Mafia.” He answers.

“What do you mean? I can’t be the heiress of a mafia!” I say sternly with my brow furrowed. Nico looks at the ground as I get up and walk towards the railing, trying to wrap my head around everything.

“How could I be part of a world I know nothing about? Up until a few months ago, I had never even seen a dead body.” I say before thinking. I slowly turn around to see Nico looking at me with his eyebrows pinch together curiously.

“When did you see a dead body?” He asks and my body freezes. I feel my breathing get shallow as he stands. My breath catches in my throat as I think of her.

“I was there when they killed her.” I say lowly.

“Who?” He asks curiously.

“My mom… I saw her body laying on the living room floor. The men said they were going to kill me so I ran.” I say wrapping my arms around myself. Nico’s eyes widen at my words.

“You were there when we-”He cuts himself off but I know what he was going to say. I try to hold back the tears as flashes of her body on the ground run through my mind.

“Why did you kill her? She was a good person. She never did anything but love me.” I ask as tears break free and roll down my cheeks.

“Azzy…” He says walking over and wrapping his arms around me.

“It wasn’t the plan. We were sent to kill Sergio for revenge, but he never showed up. When we realised Gianna noticed us, we knew he wasn’t going to come so we questioned her instead. She wouldn't give anything up no matter what, so they killed her… I’m sorry.” He says, looking down at me, trying to be reassuring. I know he means he was originally trying to kill my father, but I always thought he was dead anyway. I wish it had been him and not my mom.

“Why would you think he was there? He never was. I never even met him!” I say louder than I mean to as I pull away and scowl up at him.

“We got a tip that he was there the night before and we didn’t want to lose him after having our first sighting of him in years. We decided to fly the next day and go wait for him to see if he would show up again. We didn't get there until late in the afternoon.” He says in a raspy voice.

"Who was the tip from?" I ask, curious as to who knew.

"An older couple. They owed us money and until they proved themselves useful or paid us back, we had their granddaughter. They let us know you were at their house, but by the time we got there the next morning they were dead and there was no sign of you. So we were still going off nothing. They never mentioned seeing you until they had you. I think it's because they thought they could trade you for their granddaughter back." He says in a suspecting tone. I'm taken aback to find out Thomas and Beatrice are dead. Who would have killed them? I ask myself.

“Why does the Caldeiro Mafia want to kill my father?” I ask in a strained voice.

“Your father came after the Caldeiro Mafia first. He killed Bruno Caldeiro, Marcus's dad. Bruno was our boss until your dad killed him.” He says, looking down at me.

“Why does the Caldeiro Mafia want me dead? Why were you all looking for me?” I ask, scared for the answer.

“Because if they kill you, then it’s the end of the Selvera bloodline. The mafia would fall apart without a leader. We thought that when Sergio found out Gianna was dead he would slip up or come out of hiding, especially now that we know he has a daughter. He would know that you're in danger… but it’s been months now and there's been no change.” He says, leaning against the railing.

“What do you mean out of hiding?” I ask, confused by his words.

“Sergio killed Bruno fifteen years ago. Since then, he’s been lying low. No one’s seen or heard from him in the underworld. The sighting at your house was the first time in almost a decade,” He answers. My heart drops as I listen to his words. Why didn’t my mom tell me? The silence is broken by the glass door sliding open once again.

“Hey guys!” Remi says in a chipper voice.

“Hey Remi.” I say smiling at her.

“What’s put you in such a good mood?” Nico asks.

“Well, I just had a great idea.” She says, stepping out and sliding the door shut.

“Uh oh.” I say dropping my head back and leaning onto the railing. I look over to see Remi pouting at me.

“What? You think I don’t have a great idea?” She asks, crossing her arms. I laugh before picking up my head and standing straight again.

“What’s your great idea?” I ask.

“We should go to the club,” She says with a bright smile.

“We should? I thought you said you had a great idea. When do we get to hear that one?” I ask, trying to hold back my laugh. Remi’s mouth falls open in surprise while Nico stands next to me laughing.

“I think it’s a great idea. Come on, we can get out and have some fun. We haven't in forever.” Remi says in a whiny voice. I playfully roll my eyes, smiling.

“Well, I’m in,” Nico says, walking inside and closing the door.

“Well? What do you say, Azzy?” She asks, holding out her hand.

“Fine.” I say as I reluctantly place my hand in hers before she drags me inside.