Chapter 25

*Chapter 25
23 October 1996 - 09:33
Silva's POV*

**"Buon Figlio di** Mattina (Good morning son)" My father voice boomed through my door the morning of my 10th birthday. I knew in his eyes today was an important day. It was the day he made me a man that belonged to the dark side of the world. It was the day I become a man by joining the mafia clean group. I'll be a part of this until my 15th birthday when he will train me to shoot and live properly in this life made for me not by choice but rather fate.

"Padre" I answered getting lazily out of my bed. He stood like a king at my door in his black and grey suit. My father was never a loving person or even someone that showed emotion. So you can imagine my surprise to see he has a grin on his face. I stood up straight as he walked in. He looked me up and down and nodded. He nodded to the door. "Fretta, oggi facciamo un uomo (Hurry, today we make a man out of you)"

I never wanted this life and I knew that from a young age. As I walked down the stairs to see my 15-year-old brother downstairs grinning at me, like a fool looking happy to see me become a man in the eyes of our family.

Nikkei was going to take my father's place in 5 years as Don of our family. Our family had a lot of traditions. Like your first son will take over whatever position you are in the family, at the age of 10 he will join the cleaning group, at 13 he will join the big group but will always stay in the back and observe, at 15 he will be learned how to fight and use a gun, between 18 and 20 he will become Don if he is the Don's son and at 22 his parents will choice his future wife by arranged marriage.

"Fratello, tu sei emozionato sì? (Brother, you are excited yes?)" He said mockingly well roughing my hair with his fist. I swatted his hand away. I only nodded and walked into the kitchen where my mother was sitting at the kitchen island. She wiped her tears away when she saw me walk in the kitchen. Were as my father and brother where Italian and German my mother was Greek. Unfortunately Greek was hard to learn so she talked in English to us.

"My boy... You have grown" I looked down at the ground before jogging over to my mother and hugging her. I can imagine it not being easy to let her 10-year-old son go into the world of cruelty and being a part of the cleanup crew that sees dead, bloody people the whole time. She hugged me back squeezing me a bit. She mumbled some Greek in my ear that I didn't understand but it sounded like loving and kind words.

Slowly after my first day of work, my life changed.

*23 October 1999 - 22:11*

It all happened in slow motion. I saw the drug deal go bad in front of my eyes and one of the men shot my dad in the leg. The man was about to shoot him again but in the heart this time. I looked away not being able to do anything from the inside of the car.

I heard 2 gunshots go off and then another one. I shook in my pants too afraid to look up. I took a deep breath and saw my dad on the ground, my brother next to him and one of the other gang members of the other team also on the ground. In the distance I see a man running away.

I quickly jump out of the car, running to my family. I check my father for a pulse and when I find one I relax a bit. But then I remember my brother. I turn and swore in fright. My brother was on the ground holding his chest where blood was seeping from it. I dropped to the ground on my knees and pull off my shirt. I tore it apart and start wrapping it around his wound when he shouted in pain.

He looked me in the eyes and grabbed my shaking hand with one of his that was full of blood. Full of his blood. His eyes were filled with tears. "Brother..." He said in a hoarse voice. He coughs a bit and blood dripped from his mouth.

"Prendersi... cura... di... Madre (Take care of mother)" He said slowly well struggling to breathe. I shook my head "Non dire Quella. We will look after her together (Do not say that)" His eyes fluttered before he whispered "È Arrivato il mio tempo. Prendersi... cura... di... Madre, and padre.Prendersi... cura... di... testersso (My time has come. Take care of mother and father. Take care of yourself)" His voice floated away in the wind as he took his last breath.

I shook his shoulders trying to wake him but 15 min of shaking him and doing SPR he didn't respond. "No, no, no. Nikkei!!" I whisper into the air. I dropped my brother's head and tried to wake up my father. He would know what to do. He could save Nikkei. When he didn't wake up, I dragged Nikkei's body to the van and struggled to load it but after a few minutes, I got it right. I walked to my father and lifted him up. He wrapped his arm around me and I walked struggling under his weight to the van. He got in and I started the car. Luckily my father taught me how to drive so I took off home. Hoping it wasn't too late just yet.

I hoped I could be a hero and save my brother. I didn't want to lose him. He was my mentor and brother but most of all he was my best friend.

*30 October 1999 - 11:26*

It was raining and the sun was dull. It was like the sun was tired and sad just like the rest of my family. The sky was crying for the loss of a good man. My brother was a good man. Yes, he was involved with the wrong things but I'd like to think that if he had another family he would have lived a full life. Not just 18 years.

As I stood in front of a crowd of people, I struggled to find words. I was just a little 13-year-old boy that had to deliver a speech to his dead 18-year-old brother. It was sad and wrong. I swallowed the knot in my airway and looked at the crowd. I looked down at my shaking hands after seeing my mom's tear stricken face.

"Nikkei was a brave man and he will always be known as a brave person." I looked up at my mother. I blinked twice before continuing "He was not just my brother but..." I quickly wiped a tear that betrayed me. "He was also my mentor in life and my best friend." I saw my father and looked him in the eye.

His face was stone hard and there was nothing in his eyes that gave away the way he really felt. "He was there when I needed him the most and I wish I could have saved him." My father looked down at the ground before placing his hands in his pockets and looked up again "Nikkei will be missed and never forgotten." My mother collapsed into my father's arms crying into his neck. He wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her back slowly and soothingly. "Addio Fratello (Goodbye brother)"

I looked up at the ceiling of our house where the wake was held. The storm turned into a soft drizzle of rain somewhere in my speech. I knew my brother was resting in peace now. I looked out the window and said my final words to him."Troverò Chi ha fatto questo e io lui pagherà (I will find who did this and he will pay)"

*7 May 2006 - 08:26*

I stared down at the bloody and bruised body in front of me. I sighed and ran my hands over my face. Yet another man I killed that didn't bring me any closer to the drug lord that stole the life of my brother. I needed fresh air.

Shaking my head I walked out of the abandoned factory and down the gravel to my air. Opening a new packet of cigarettes, I lit it on fire before breathing in the smoke.

Piercing the silent night my phone's ringtone broke me from my thoughts. The unknown number on the phone made me turn cold. "Che Cosa? (What?)"

"Ho sentitoche mi stavicercando (I heard you were looking for me)" a deep voice rumbled from the other side. On any other given day I would have asked who was speaking but I knew. Deep inside me, I knew the man talking on the other side was Luigi Rossi.

"Now what gave you that idea Luigi?" I asked, switching from Italian to English. The chuckle on the other side infuriated me. I wanted to kill this man even if it was the last thing I did. I wanted to torture him, make him beg.

Luigi was a drug lord my father knew. They weren't friends but neither were they, enemies. When Luigi wanted drugs or guns my father was the man to go to. That was why it wasn't such a big surprise when he betrayed my family.

But, it was a surprise when he took the chance to destroy my family. Rossi wanted things in life, things nobody would even dream of having. Like for example try to have my mother for himself, to make me his son. Unfortunately, my father wouldn't let that happen.

That's why he tried to kill my father the first chance he had. It also happened to be on the dark and stormy night 7 years ago. The same day my father survived but my brother died.

"Ah son, maybe all the dead bodies you leave at my front door" I glared up at the dark sky.

"Rossi, why don't we meet in person? Sort this out face to face. You know I won't stop till I have your head on a pitchfork."

"Enough games son! You are playing a game you will not win. Stop killing my men. You brother died at my hands because he was weak! You need to move on. Anger causes people to make mistakes." Luigi's voice was hard and cold.

What he didn't know was that Ferreira men never gave up. "I'll see you soon Luigi. You can run, but you can't hide forever."

*29 February 2008 - 00:01*

"Al mio comando (At my command)" The men around me nodded. I've waited 9 long years for this moment. The house was dark and silent. Rossi went to sleep about 20 minutes earlier.

As I said, there was no place he could hide. I might have taken me almost 9 years to find him, but I did. I won't let him slip out of my fingers this time.

The men at the back door check-in and I nodded at the other men. It was time. I walked up to the door and picked the door open. Silently it open and I walked in silently on the tips of my boots. Last year at this time, I called Rossi and told him to let our bygones be bygones. I wanted him to let his guard down.

Of course, he was on high alert for a while but now he thinks I actually forgave him. This was his vacation house with no security and no hidden tricks. He never thought someone would find this house but I was patient and now I had him just where I wanted him.

The floorboard didn't creek under my weight and I decided to creep up the stair. The 10 or so men that were with me were just here for damage control. Just here for the what if's. The chance that he might kill me or get away.

Just like I thought, the man was sleeping peacefully in his comfortable $30 000 Egyptian sheets. I smirked at his old face. Placing the tip of my gun to the forehead causing him to slowly opened his eyes.

"Bygones be Bygones?" He asked with a frown on his face. I smirked at him while shaking my head.

"You were so desperate for my forgiveness, so desperate to want my family that you thought I would forgive you for destroying my family. You were so desperate that I fooled you. I could never forgive you for what you did."

Luigi nodded. "Never let your guard down." I didn't reply and watched him. After a few silent moments, I nodded before pulling the trigger.

**Copyright © 2018 by Grace Write**