Chapter 24

Z A R A

Five minutes in, just as I predicted, Alejandro was swept away by many people. He tried his best to keep me by his side so I can keep up with the pace but soon realized that I would rather not.

"Do you want to start with some appetizers?" He asks, which surprises me. "They have a table set up on the other end. You can take Charlotte with you. I'll have Frank hover around you."

"Yes!" I'm grateful for two reasons: one being that I hate being dragged around into conversations I don't understand and two, I am starving but I'm always starving so that's not new. "I'll be back after I'm done."

He nods and lets me go. Charlotte and I make our

way to the food when I gasp at the different, colorful assortment.

"They all look healthy, yet so delicious," I'm drooling at this point, looking at the various dishes I can try.

"They're all assortments of antipasto," Charlotte says as she picks one up.

"Anti-what?" I blink.

"Antipasto is Italian for appetizers," she explains. "That's a grilled tomato crostini, this is arancini with peas and mozzarella, bruschetta with pickled okra, potato and mozzarella croquettes, grilled polenta with dried cod—"

"Wait! Stop!" I have her pause. "First of all, everything sounds absolutely delicious. Second of all, how do you know all the fancy names?"

Charlotte giggles softly, "I use to work part-time for an Italian catering company before Boss gave me the full-time position at his house. I know my way around Italian cuisine. It also doesn't hurt the fact that I'm also Italian myself."

"That's so cool!" I smile. "I'm going to start with the potato and cheese thing. You can never go wrong with potato and cheese."

"You should be able to consume everything being served tonight except for the drinks, you have to be wary about what is alcoholic and what is not," Charlotte says.

I raise a brow, "What do you mean?"

"You don't drink alcohol for religious purposes, I believe? But we should be serving mocktails—"

"No, no, that's not what I mean. I meant why should I not have to be wary about the food?" I ask.

"Oh! Boss made sure everything on the menu is halal, so you can eat without thinking. Though, he had to stay within the Italian cuisines or else the elders might've gotten upset," she says so casually.

I look over at Alejandro, who's still conversing with people, I didn't expect him to go the extra mile to make sure I can eat without being worried.

Not me becoming emotional over him being mindful about my eating habits. The standard and bar for this man are in the depths of Hell right now so I'm impressed by anything remotely nice he does.

As I munch away on the appetizers, while speaking with Charlotte, we're interrupted.

"Hey! Zara! Glad to see you're doing okay!" The voice belongs to Amelia.

To be honest, I have nothing against her. I mean, yes, she's still sleeping around with my husband, whom I'm not very pleased with myself, knowing that he's taken but maybe she's just getting the bag so I won't get in the way of her making some money.

"Hi, Amelia! Ah, yes, I'm doing better. Thank you for informing Frank the other day," I smile.

"No problem at all. Al wouldn't have done it. He's so stubborn, you know?" She sighs.

I look over her shoulder, half expecting Marcus to pop up and comment about how much he hates me.

I'm sure Amelia noticed because she says, "Don't worry, Marcus isn't with me tonight. We're not always attached to the hip, know you?" She winks.

I let out a small, nervous chuckle.

She looks me up and down, "You look absolutely gorgeous, by the way! I love the look."

I look down at my own dress instinctively,

"Oh! Thank you!"

I look at hers and my jaw drops. I don't know why I didn't register it before but where... are her clothes? The whole dress is a translucent, black mesh with only her chest and crotch covered. Even though the two parts are covered, her boobs are overflowing out of her bra and her underwear is a thong, leaving nothing to the imagination. Not that I'd need to imagine her naked because lucky me, I've already seen her naked... multiple freaking times against my will!

No matter what she's wearing, she still looks stunning. There's no mistaking that all eyes will be on her. Her figure itself is perfection, she's a beauty, no doubt.

"You look even more pretty!" I genuinely mean it.

"You think so? I chose this last minute because my father insisted I attend the event for Al's sake," she says.

"Your father?" I thought she was chasing the bag.

"Tommy Lucchese," she points at a man standing beside Al.

My eyes widen, oh, no, she definitely doesn't need the money. But she did save my life so I guess I'll just look away from the fact that she's sleeping with Alejandro. I don't care anyway, he's not that great of a husband. The more time he spends away from me, the better for my physical and mental health.

"Her father is one of the current bosses of the Five Families in New York City," Charlotte whispers, informing me.

"It's okay to speak about it out loud, I won't bite," Amelia winks, reassuring Charlotte.

"Almost everyone here belongs to one of the Five Families."

"Five Families? What's that?" I'm sure I heard something about this in movies but honestly, it went over my head.

"Alejandro has explained nothing, has he?" Amelia groans.

I shake my head, "I still don't even understand what he does for a living. I just know it's bad."

Amelia laughs, "That's okay. Al thinks everything, except fucking and working, is a waste of time."

I understand that very well.

"The Five Families are the five major New York City organized crime families who are known as the Italian-American Mafia. Each family has a Boss who is, as the name states, leads the families. My father and Alejandro are examples of two of the five bosses," Amelia explains. "You see, the Five Families are supposed to have almost an equal ground; keyword: almost. But of course, this isn't a perfect world. Also, all

Five Families are part of the Commission."

"Commission?" I ask her to explain further.

"I know, it's a lot to take in, bear with me. The Commission basically consists of a makeshift board of directors, and they oversee all the Mafia activities in the United States. They also mediate conflicts between the families," she continues.

"Your fiancé, Alejandro, is actually the man who oversees the activities of all Five Families. You can call him the chairman of the Commission, per say. His grandfather, Charles, was the chairman before he was assassinated a couple of years back and Alejandro took his position."

"Oh," the subject of Alejandro's grandfather being assassinated was mentioned so casually that it took me a couple of extra seconds to process. "What?! His grandfather was assassinated? What about his father?"

"His father disappeared right around the time Charles was assassinated. It's rumored that his father was also murdered to prevent another Genovese from taking power but I guess they forgot about Alejandro," she shrugs her shoulders. "Honestly, I try not to get attached to anyone in this business, you never know when they'll end up dead. It can be in a couple of seconds or in a couple of years but it usually ends in some horrific death."

Right then, Amelia's phone rings.

"Hello?... Yes, daddy, I'll be right there!" She hangs up.

"I'll have to excuse myself, ladies. My father has summoned me to meet future suitors, whom I will be rejected," she waves as she leaves Charlotte and I behind.

"That's was a lot to take in," I let out a heavy sigh as if I was holding in my breath. "I don't know if I have an appetite anymore."

"Are you sure you don't want to try the grilled polenta with dried cod? It's really delicious!" Charlotte says nonchalantly.

I forget that she's used to all the shock factors of crime to this level. Also, I know I said my appetite disappeared but I lied. That grilled polenta looks really good.

I munch away at the food until my phone starts ringing. Of course, it can't be anyone but Alejandro.

"Hello?" I pick it up with my mouth still stuffed with food.

"I need you to stop eating like I haven't fed you in months, it's embarrassing," he curtly whispers into his phone.

I look over, across the hall to see him looking directly at me. I quickly swallow the last bit of the snack and dab any crumbs off of my face.

"Sorry," I mumble.

"Please join me again, I have a few people I'd like to introduce you to," he instructs.

"Do I have to?" I whine.

"Yes," he states. He doesn't give me any room to argue and hangs up the phone.

"Charlotte, I have to go back to my executioner," I sigh.

"Your what?" She almost chokes.

"I said I have to go back to my fiancé," I say, trying to hold in my laughter at first.

"No, no, I'm sure I just heard executioner," She stares right at me as if she's crazy.

"Executioner, fiancé, same thing," I laugh.

I glide my way back as gracefully as I can to Alejandro's side. I'm not sure how to enter into his little bubble of people so I tap his shoulder softly to let him know I'm here.

He turns around and gives me a smile before wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Gentlemen, meet my beautiful fiancée,

Zara," He introduces me to three intimidating men.

"Fiancée? Do you finally plan on settling down? Is this the Alejandro Genovese I know or has he been replaced by a clone?" One of the older men asks with a hint of humor.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss. I'm Joe Bonanno."

"Please ignore him, he tends to be impolite most of the time," I recognize the man speaking as Amelia's father. "I'm Tommy Lucchese, nice to meet you,"

He's Amelia's father? Up close, he's pretty tall and attractive for someone who has a daughter around my age. He looks similar to Mads Mikkelsen, almost. He has the same structure and gentlemen-vibe to him as the actor. My God, he's handsome for an older man.

I quickly mentally scold myself for thinking such thoughts. Maybe Alejandro's right, maybe I do have daddy issues.

"It's nice to meet you," I say a little too quietly. The words got stuck in my throat because of the extremely inappropriate thoughts in my head.

Alejandro shoots me a look, I probably made some kind of expression that was totally visible.

"You're the beautiful gem that chained up Genovese, not bad, not bad," another one of the men says. His comment sounds more sleazy rather than genuine. "The name's Joseph Colombo."

I nod as a gesture of acknowledgment.

"They're three of the five bosses from the Five Families," Alejandro informs me.

Ah, so I make one wrong move and one of them will not hesitate to blow off my head.

"We do have a compare [kom'pare] missing," Mr. Lucchese says. "Carlo Gambino couldn't make it tonight. He's on a trip to resolve some family matter. He would've been happy to have met you,"

I literally don't know what I'm supposed to say so I lightly push Alejandro in hopes that he understands I'm clueless.

Thankfully, he understood because he quickly intervenes, "Gambino has been missing a few meetings recently, he's alright, isn't he?" The words sounded more like a threat than a welfare check-in.

"You have to trust Gambino, he's more loyal than you think," Mr. Lucchese reassures him.

"Ah! There she is!" Mr. Colombo suddenly interjects. An alarmingly young woman shyly walks up to us and takes a spot beside him. In fact, she looks young enough to be his daughter.

Please don't say you're his wife. Please don't say you're his wife. Please don't say you're his wife.

"Meet Lucia, my wife," Colombo grabs the girl and aggressively pulls him closer. "Lucia, this is Zara, Alejandro's fiancée."

Ah, shit.

"Nice to meet you, Zara," her voice is soft and almost... broken.

"Nice to meet you too, Lucia," my throat tightens staring at the poor girl. I know for a fact she's younger than I'd like her to be.

Maybe I'm overthinking, maybe she just looks younger than she actually is and she's actually treated very well—

My eyes rest on her arm, where I can see a fresh, purple bruise marking her skin. She notices me staring and quickly pulls her sleeve down further.

"Isn't she just perfect? Every man's dream is in my arms and in my bed," Colombo's disrespectful remarks make my skin crawl.

"Yes, she's perfect for you," Mr. Bonanno comments. "Just the right amount of ripeness."

Just the right amount of what?

My hand grips Alejandro's arm a bit too tightly, "Excuse me, gentlemen. I'm going to steal my fiancé away for a couple of minutes,"

Alejandro raises a brow, looking puzzled.

"Of course, of course," Mr. Lucchese nods.

As I'm dragging Alejandro away, I hear Mr. Colombo make a comment, "She's a naughty one, like my Lucia. She can't wait till she's home so she'll be on her knees for him a little earlier."

Once we're far enough from the bosses, I finally say, "What the hell is going on?"

"What seems to be the problem?" Alejandro sounds irritated.

"What's the problem? You're asking me what's the problem? That sleazeball is not only making disgusting comments about his wife but I'm pretty sure she's under 18!"

"And that's your problem because?" He raises a brow.

"Alejandro! That's a child!" I say aggressively.

"Take it easy, she's 18," he rolls his eyes.

"You're not getting it! She's 18 now but how old was she when he took her? He's a predator!" I'm clearly Lodi bc my cool.

"Took her? Who said anything about taking her?" He clearly avoided the predator comment.

"You're kidding me, right?" I almost gasp. "She's clearly frightened and hurt. You have to do something, that poor girl..."

"Zara, that is none of our business. They don't ask about my relationships and I don't question theirs," he states, signaling the end of the conversation.

God, I'm so frustrated I want to rip my hair off. I look away, dispirited at Alejandro's comment.

He places his hand on my cheek and gently turns my head to look at him, "You have to understand that if I make even a small disapproving comment about the girl, he'll start a war right here."

I bite my lip to not let myself cry, seeing such a horrible thing right in front of my eyes without being able to do anything is such a gut-wrenching feeling.

He places a soft kiss on my forehead, and says, "I know you want to help her, my love. But it won't lead us anywhere but to a road full of problems. I'd very much like to avoid any conflict."

Out of the pure need for comfort, I wrap my arms around Alejandro for a hug. I press myself further onto his chest, "But I want to save her."

I want to save her because that man stole her innocence away from her. I want to save her because she deserves a better life. I want to save her because I couldn't save myself from the very man I'm seeking comfort from right now.

Alejandro wraps an arm around my back, holding me tighter while using his other hand to caress the back of my head, "I know, my love, I know."

I take a step back, breaking off the hug, "Is it okay if I take Charlotte and stand somewhere else?"

"Yes, that's fine. I would prefer that, actually. Just stand close by where I can see you," he says.

Once Charlotte and I are at a safe distance away from the Bosses, I tell her what happened.

"It's nothing new," she sighs. "Mr. Colombo is known to take in wives who are young and pretty. This is his third or fourth wife, I believe. He divorces them all before they hit the age of 25."

I literally want to gag, that sounds horrible and very much like predatory behavior.

"Hello, ladies. Lovely evening we're having here," the familiar voice makes me smile.

"Elijah!" I say excitedly as I turn around. "I was hoping to bump into you again!"

"It fills my heart with utter joy knowing Miss Zara hopes to bump into the likes of me," he acts like his usual dramatic self.

"Okay, Shakespeare. Tone it down before I have my executioner behead you," I grin.

"Your what?" He blinks in confusion.

"My fiancé," I smile.

"I could've sworn I heard executioner..." he mumbles.

"They're literally the same thing. My fiancé, my executioner, the same person!" I roll my eyes dramatically.

Charlotte shakes her head with a small laugh, "She did the same to me. I thought I was starting to hear things."

"Your executioner will behead you before he even thinks about killing me," he states confidently.

He's probably right.

"I can only dream," I let out a dramatic sigh. "Anyways, do you want to know who I want to stab with a butter knife tonight? That Joseph Colombo man."

"Miss Zara, keep your voice down!" Eilish hushes me at the same time Charlotte covers my mouth. "Are you trying to start a war?"

"My bad," I say in a muffled tone as Charlotte's hand still covers my mouth.

She finally lets go, "You have to be careful about what you say and where you say it. I understand you don't know how big of a problem it can cause but trust us when we say, you don't want to know."

Elijah nods, "It's better if we don't speak ill about any members of the Cosa nostra in public."

"I'm sorry!" I quickly apologize as I realize the severity of the situation. "I'll be more careful about it now."

"But you're right. I have the same opinion," Elijah smirks. "If I could just chop him up into little pieces and feed him to the pigs, I would."

"Me, too. I'd burn him alive and watch him turn into ashes as he screams into the void," Charlotte says.

Elijah and I both look at Charlotte in shock before we both burst into laughter.

"My, my Charlotte. You've got a beast hidden in there," Elijah acts surprised. "Remind me to not get on your bad side."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to let it slip!" She quickly covers her mouth. "I don't like men like him, they make me extremely angry."

"Literally, same!" I agree.

We spend the next couple of minutes talking and laughing until the topic of high school starts.

"Oh, yeah. Alejandro went to your school, right? That's how you two know each other?" Elijah asks.

I nod, "Yes, unfortunately." I pause for a second before asking, "Say... you wouldn't know why he was at my school, would you?"

"Oh, Miss Zara. I know all the details of that assigned task. Would you like to know?" He smirks.

"Yes, please!" I say a little too enthusiastically.

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