Velvet Lullabies

Roberto, the enforcer whose job centered around watching her, hovered over. “Here, skip." He called.

"Jesus, Addy.” Vinny muttered catching up to her.

Using her sleeve to wipe her mouth, she finally turned to them.

"Take me home please."

They obliged, and less than five minutes later and Adelina was back in her childhood home. Her mother had been thrilled to see her.

Eve DeMarco was nothing without her children, or at least that's what she told them. The woman was a little bored since Adelina was away at school, Vinny was in and out of the house, and her husband was no longer home to be taken care of. She spent one night a week with the other wives, but "they're all lil’ old bittys" as she told Adelina. She lived for the moments her children were home so she could dote on them and feed them a home cooked meals.

She already had lasagna in the oven when Adelina burst through the front door.

"Topolina!" she cooed.

Adelina visibly flinched at the nickname.

"You haven't been home enough." Eve's hands gently touched Adelina's cheeks and pressed on her shoulders as if making sure she was there, real, and intact.

"Sorry, Ma."

"Your shaking." Eve studied her daughter, whose eyes were full of fear and on the verge of crying. "Vincent?"

"She's fine, Ma." He huffed from the entryway. "We just met with the Boss."

Eve's eyes dropped to the floor, and she reclaimed her arms to wrap them around herself tightly. "Oh," she muttered. "I see."

"Wait," Adelina looked suspiciously between the two. "You knew?"

"Yes," Eve sniffed. "I'm sorry Addy, but it will be okay."

Adelina was pissed. She was annoyed and angry that she lived in a world where she got no choice, no voice, no opinion, and everyone was going to stand by and let it happen. Even the people closest to her.

The first thing Adelina learned growing up in la famiglia: trust nobody.

Chapter Two

About five minutes from Brown University's campus sat a tiny dive bar off the beaten path. The place was a frequent stop for students and the occasional local. On any given Thursday night, there was a crowd of college Juniors and Seniors sipping $3 beers and pretending they didn't have to wake up for classes the next morning.

On this particular Thursday, Lucian Luchese sat at the bar nursing a tumbler with two fingers worth of whiskey. His corner

seat provided him a nice view of the table of college girls scantily dressed with colorful mixed drinks in their hands.

He wasn't normally one to do his own surveillance but tonight the circumstances were different. Usually the intel he needed was on street dealers, the Mexican Cartel, or New York politicians. Tonight, however, his eyes were glued to a table of college students.

He spotted Gemma DelGado, younger sister of Gian DelGado, a Providence Mafioso man not to be fucked with. Gian’s crew brought in the most money Providence had ever seen. The man had every politician in his pocket. Her father was Guiseppe DelGado, consilerge to Massimo Maranzano – and one of the best criminal lawyers in Providence. Gemma was treated like a princess. The girl had never worked a day in her life, and she probably never would.

Beside her was Maxwell Ryder, known as Max. Parents Emily and Roger Ryder, born and raised in Providence, majoring in Music History, Max was what la famiglia referred to as unaffiliated. He had no mafia connections, and there was no indication he even knew he had two friends who were.

The rest of the table was filled with other Brown University students, none affiliated with the family except for Adelina DeMarco.

Adelina was the reason for Lucian’s being in this fowl dive bar.

She was the daughter of the Maranzano family front boss, Angelo DeMarco.

Angelo was sort of a legend.

He ruled a tight ship, and the men under him brought in good money. A lot of good money. Massimo ruled by fear and intimidation, but Angelo ruled with love and compassion. The combination worked well for them for almost 30 years, until Angelo was killed.