THE ITALIAN MAFIA'S KARMA

Chapter 80: COUNTING DOWN

Daniela was tying her hair into a bun which was the final part of her dressing for the morning, when her phone began to ring.She stretched her hand to the other side of the dressing table, and picked up the device.

"Hello Mama?"

"My princess. I haven’t heard from you yet. Did you do what I asked you to do?"

"Which part?" She asked as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

"What do you mean which part? Every part."

She shrugged. "Well Luciano is pressuring me to tell Papa about Natalia."

Helena hissed. "You’ll do no such thing."

"Of course I won’t. At least not yet. But he doesn’t know that."

"Good. And the other thing?"

"Yeah, I have sent my very trusted maid, Valerie, to search the room Natalia stayed the first few days of her stay in Neravalle. Once Valerie finds the letters she spoke of, she’ll bring them to me. We’ll forge new ones with the same handwriting, and destroy the old ones. Then, Giovanni can know."

Although she couldn’t see her mother, she could tell she was smiling proudly.

"You’re indeed my daughter. Don’t keep me in the dark anymore, Daniela. I want to hear every single detail of your progress."

"I’ll do that Mama. Love you."

The call ended, and Daniela exhaled.

Her gaze rested on her reflection again. "Time for breakfast," she whispered with a haughty jut of her chin.

Daniela walked out of her room to find Aurora coming her way.

"For a moment there, I thought you had run away from Italy," she said, as they linked their arms.

Aurora smiled. "You look super chirper today. What’s the occasion?"

"I don’t know. I just feel fulfilled, and happy. Besides, I’m going to see my man for breakfast. And let’s not forget that sorry ass bitch Valentina is still rotting at lanotte. Isn’t that enough reason to be chirper?"

Aurora laughed nervously. "It certainly is a reason."

They arrived arm in arm at the dining room to meet an almost full table.

Chris, in a conversation with Luciano, paused on seeing the ladies of Neravalle.

"Ro?" His gaze shifted. "Daniela?" He smiled.

"Chris," they both said dryly and in sync.

Daniela approached Luciano with a kiss directly on his lips. "Good morning babe," she whispered when she withdrew her lips.

Aurora followed after with a kiss on his cheeks. "Morning fratello."

When they were standing uprightly again, their gazes moved to Chris. "Chris," they repeated in unison, before heading for their seats.

Chris cackled. "Okay, first of all, ouch! What have I done?" He asked innocently.

"You’re a womanizer. No one likes womanizers. I hope this helps?" Daniela forced a smile, as she settled next to Luciano.

"Yeah, I don’t want your philandering ways rubbing off on my very loyal brother. I see through you," Aurora added.

He held his chest dramatically. "Luce, say something!"

Luciano shrugged. "I warned you not to date their friend, but you insisted. The burden is on you alone to bear, my friend!" He smacked his chest playfully, and Chris scoffed.

"Whew! Angelica was one of one. How is she doing these days?"

Aurora grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the table to throw at him, but Elio snatched it from her hand before she could.

"Don’t waste apples!" He chided her as he bit into the apple.

"Good man Elio," Chris said with a small clap.

The rest of breakfast was spent engaging in light banter whilst eating.

Towards the end, Luciano finally dropped the great news.

Daniela gasped. "Just three days?!"

"Technically two now," he said.

"Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I have to get a dress, and shoes, and do my nails, and—-"

"If we get started now, we could cover more ground. Up-up!" Aurora rose to her feet, and gestured for Daniela to do the same thing.

"You’re right Ro! Let’s go!"

Both girls ran out of the dining room immediately.

"More food for me then," Elio said as he stretched his hand to grab their almost untouched plate.

"Why have you been weirdly quiet?" Luciano’s curious gaze shifted to Salvatore.

Salvatore was so consumed by his thoughts, he didn’t hear him until Vittorio brushed his hand.

He jolted a little, as his head shot up.

"Really man?" Vittorio chuckled.

"Sorry," he apologized without even knowing what he was apologising for.

"What are you thinking about, Salvatore?"

He had a few seconds to decide if he would stay true to himself by blurting how he felt, or lie to avoid an awkward situation.

In those few seconds, he made a decision that projected who he truly was.

"I’m not sure about pushing forward your marriage with Daniela," he shot straight to the point.

A stillness covered the air, only broken by Chris whistling.

"Why?" Luciano questioned shortly after, in his usual calm tone.

"I feel it’s being unnecessarily rushed. What if—"

"Salva, I don’t need your approval when it comes to the woman I choose for myself. You’ve never liked Daniela, but I hope you learn to because she’s going to be my wife, okay?"

The tension in the room further spread, but for Elio, he was too invested in the food to care.

He ate hurriedly, ignoring every other thing going on around him.

"I understand carpo. It’s just how I feel at the end of the day."

"Great, we’ve cleared that up," he turned to Chris. "You’re staying, aren’t you?"

"You want me to stay for your engagement party?"

"Is there anything else you’d rather be doing in the States?"

His forehead creased in a brief thought, and then he shook his head negatively. "I guess I’m staying," he smiled.

Salvatore sighed internally. That was another thing he did not agree with.

***

After breakfast, Luciano brought Chris along with him to the lounge.

"Something is on your mind," Chris said as they took a seat.

"Yeah, I haven’t been completely honest with you, when all you do is help me."

Chris smiled. "I’m sure whatever you’re withholding is for a good reason."

"No. You deserve to know. What if Allen’s daughter is truly alive?"

"Hmmm," he leaned out. "That’s still a rumor. Do you have any knowledge that suggests otherwise?"

"I want to show you something."

The door opened right after he said that, and Sonia walked into the room.

"Good morning carpo. Good morning signor Chris."

Chris’ eyes lit up. "Sonia, right? How have you been?"

"Fine Signor. Welcome."

"Thank you. And look, your English has gotten so much better! Good for you."

She giggled. "I try, Signor."

Luciano beckoned on her, and she drew nearer to him.

She leaned closer to him, as he whispered into her ears.

"Sìcarpo," she said, straightening up.

Luciano waited until she had walked out before he returned his attention back to Chris.

"I’m guessing I should be expecting something mind-blowing?"

"Oh you have absolutely no idea my friend. Not a single idea," he smiled, as an image of Valentina floated into his mind.