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TERESA RICCI WAITED impatiently to board the plane that would take her to her new life. No longer would she be confined to the small village near Sicily, where her parents lived in seclusion. She knew what her father did for a living, but it had never bothered her. It also didn’t bother her that her future had been planned out since her birth. All she wanted was to escape this small village. Her father rarely allowed her to go into Sicily to shop or even spend the day with her friends. He had too many enemies and if something happened to her where she couldn’t fulfill her destiny, then his fate could possibly be sealed as well.
Her marriage to Alfonso Scarcelli would combine two powerful families, one here in Sicily and one in America. They would be unstoppable. She heard her father talking about their future plans and she knew that they had big plans in the making.
Teresa’s mom had taught her well on the importance of not asking questions when it came to The Family business. Business affairs must be kept out of their personal life. Teresa’s mom may teach that, but she did not practice what she taught. Teresa’s mom was a shrewd woman and Teresa had no doubt she knew everything her father did, including his numerous mistresses.
All that concerned Teresa was landing in America and finally having some freedom. She read that New Orleans was the most haunted city in America. She was disappointed to find that there wasn’t much shopping to do there, but New York, San Francisco, California and other popular shopping destinations weren’t far away.
As soon as she could, she planned on asking this Alfonso Scarcelli what his feelings were towards her living a life on her own. Since he had shown no desire in contacting her, she doubted he cared. The other night she did some surfing on the internet and found several pictures of the man at various functions; he was a handsome man. At least she was marrying a man she found desirable.
***
ALFONSO SAT IN THE limousine with his dad as they waited for the arrival of his future bride and in-laws. His mind went over everything he could be doing instead of waiting for a plane to arrive from Italy. His dad sent a private jet over, refusing to have his future daughter-in-law mingle with the other passengers. However, he suspected his father sent the jet because he wanted to ensure that neither the girl nor the parents changed their mind. He wanted this marriage to take place.
Alfonso was ready to get this wedding over with so that he could get back to his life. He had news for her; he refused to give up his girlfriends or current lifestyle.
His father tapped the back of his head in what he called a “love tap”. In Alfonso’s opinion, it was harder than needed to be considered a “love tap”. His dad had yet to consider him an adult. He didn’t bother taking into consideration that by the age of sixteen he’d made his bones; at the age of twenty, he’d committed more murders than possibly the cleaner. Alfonso wanted to live up to his nickname in the Family, the Mafia Prince. He didn’t want anyone to think he received special treatment since he was the Boss’s son.
Frankie Scarcelli looked at his son, “Your new wife is here. Let’s go greet her and her family. Remember how important this union is, son.”
Alfonso looked at his dad, “You have nothing to worry about, Dad. I want to join these two Mafia Families just as bad as you. We will be one of the biggest families in America and Sicily.”
When Alfonso saw the Italian Princess step off the plane, his jaw dropped. She instantly stole his attention. The green dress showed her body off to perfection. She walked in stiletto heels as if she had been born to walk in them. They accentuated her shapely legs. Her glorious auburn hair cascaded down her back in luxurious waves. He wanted to lose his hands in that hair. Her body was made for sin and he could imagine the fun they would have between the sheets, and maybe out of them. Unless she was an ice princess like his mother. His mother had never been one to show affection, to her kids or her husband. He never understood why his father stayed with her.
Everything about his fiancée appeared to be flawless. Not a hair was out of place. Everything from her perfectly arched eyebrows to her manicured hands indicated that she came from a life of privilege. She was well put together and paid attention to even the smallest of details. She would make the perfect wife for a mafia prince.
From the corner of his eye, he caught a bodyguard gawking at his fiancée, and a rush of jealousy overcame him. He would teach this one the importance of breaking one of “The Ten Commandments”. The man should know better than to gawk at his fiancée. Without a second thought, he took out his gun and pistol whipped the man. That would send a message out to everyone working for him not to stare at his woman; it would not be tolerated. If he had been at home, the man would have been shot, but out in the public, it would not be a wise move. The man would be dealt with later.
***
TERESA FELT THE INTENSE stare from her fiancé and was taken aback when he suddenly walked over to one of his henchmen and pistol whipped him. She wasn’t sure what happened, but worried that he may have a temper. She knew from experience some men believed their wife was a piece of property and treated them as such. She had seen her mom talk back to her dad, and the next morning try to hide the bruises on her body. Her mom brushed it off as part of being married to a mobster, but Teresa would not stand for that sort of thing. There were ways to deal with an abusive man and leave no marks. Her mom had been slowly poisoning her dad over these last few years. She’d recently confided to Teresa about her scheme to get rid of her abusive husband. She had been adding antifreeze to his Limoncello and various other poisons to keep him from guessing what was happening. Her father was too proud to go to the doctor with a bout of loose bowels and stomach cramps; he just said it must be the stress of his job or something he ate. She was smart enough not to poison him every day. There had been times when the man had been so mean and hateful to her that she wished to be done with it, but if he died suddenly there would be questions that she didn’t want asked. Instead, when she wanted to get even with him and cause him extreme discomfort, she added a few drops of eye drops to his coffee. She explained to Teresa that you must be careful because too much could kill a person, but one or two drops kept them in the bathroom and unable to cause you any harm.
As Alfonso walked up to his fiancée, she observed him intently. For now, she would wait and see just what kind of man he was.
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