Capo Dei Capi (Secrets of the Famiglia Part 1)

Chapter 22 (Aliyana)

“Have a bath Yana, we going on a little trip. You might want to carry a jacket with you, it's going to be a

long night.” Ren rushes in, dictating without looking away from his phone and his moving fingers.

“Also, have you spoken to that Christy girl? Mero won't stop nagging.”

I clear my throat. My face, hands, clothes, and shoes are colored in paint. My hair is on top of my head

with a paintbrush stuck in the center, holding the thick mass up.

I look like a mess. Also, I am not in the mood to clean up and go out. Nor am I in the mood to talk to the

female version of Hitler, Christy Perkins.

I ignore the last part as I have already explained to Mero that I will not be hooking him up with our

school's most irritant girl.

Not only was she a staunch Catholic, but Mero is also an Atheist and a Made-Man. He already got

made, and like the rest of us stuck in this City that kept us as a Prisoner, his hands were filled with

blood. He was a sinner, and the ring on his finger proved it.

“Why don't you go without me? I need to finish my painting, and I still have an assignment to get done.

It's Math.”

Now he chooses to look up, his face is still red from the skin peel he had yesterday. I spent three hours

with him while he was getting it done. My Papa’s orders.

His grey, brownish eyes are heavy from lack of sleep. His thin body drowning in the jeans he insists

needs to be a size bigger than his waistline and the XL white Levi tee that hangs just above his knees.

Ren has no fashion sense.

Elisa giggles when she glances at him, probably thinking the same thing I am.

“Hello, Russo.” That is all the time he will give her because she is a Russo. If she believes I am mean,

she is yet to find out the meaning of it when she meets Michel.

“Hi, Lorenzo. I am going to ah, leave you two alone. Thanks for letting me sit with you, Aliyana.”

She gets up and walks herself out the door. Her bright floral dress and the pink belt around her waist is

a girly piece of clothing. Something Guilia would wear. Something I would never even think about

putting close to my body. See, the opposite.

“Fraternizing with the enemy now, Yana? I leave you alone for three hours, and you decide to bring a

Russo to your secret place?” His voice is cracking; therefore, his snipe doesn't sound as threatening as

it once did.

I roll my eyes as I grab a small brush from the plastic cup of water. My attention goes back to my

canvas as I dip the brush into the blue palette.

“Not that it is any of your business, but she found it on her own. She's a nuisance but harmless,” I

inform him as he shuts the door and shuffles closer.

“None of them are harmless, Yana. Elisa might be living with one of us but doesn't make her family.” Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

“It also doesn't make her an enemy. Sometimes it is nice having a girl to talk to.” This is all lies. I don't

like Elisa, and we hardly speak.

She’s the one who does most of the talking. I am the one who usually listens and answers when she

asks a simple and sometimes stupid question.

But Ren thinks he is the boss of me, and I am in no mood to be bossed around today, hence why I tell

him jack shit. He is a Catelli, I am a Capello, our family is both powerful.

“We should go,” He says, and I look up at him as he examines the rusty attic with mild distaste.

“I don't wanna go.”

“Really, Yana? So, you don't want to find out where your sister is?” He stands right behind my painting,

his eyes wide and face red as he waits patiently for my answer with that arrogance a Catelli is known

for.

If I was able to freeze into one spot and completely blow up from disbelief, I would have been frozen or

scattered in bits and pieces on the floor by now.

My smile is slow and hesitant.

“How?” I ask him as the brush remains in my hand, painting air as I look at him disbelieving.

“Well, that is what we need to find out. Gabriel was the one who made the call to a guy named Sal, and

Sal knew someone who does things like that. Mr. Kent was the name given. His son is attending our

school part-time for extra cred, guys' name is Dexter. Michel said guy seemed cool when he asked him

to ask his dad to meet us.”

My smile is huge, as I put my brush into the water. Ren shakes his head and rolls his eyes to the

ceiling.

“30 minutes Yana.” He leaves me in the room as I stare at my impression of a midsummer dream. The

painting needs a lot more work if I am going to graduate from my first year of art class, but I know I can

get it done.

Seeing my sister, finding her, and just spending time with her is something I won't get another chance

to do this year. I am thirteen, I know the laws we are breaking by doing this. My sister is a member of

the Bratva, an enemy.

Papa said that an enemy is an enemy. The Famiglia and the Bratva are just that, sworn enemies.

A few months ago, Michel, Gabriel, Ren, Mero, and I were at the park not too far from here. Gabriel

asked me what I wanted to do once I got older, seeing as he was writing an essay about ambition, I felt

obliged to answer.

I could have said a lot of things. A painter was one of the many but really, I just wanted to find my

sister. I wanted to know if she's alive. She is the other one like me. A half-blood.

It was silly at the time to confess it, and I left it at that, but Gabriel obviously didn't.

He is the eldest by 7 months and the broodiest amongst the 5 of us. He is also the rightful leader

amongst the lot of us. But telling Ren as such won't be the smartest thing to do.