Raising The Mafia (Chapter-3)

Halloween was a fun time of year in our family. Since we had the kids, it brought excitement to the holiday having them dressed up every year. Ariella would usually be a princess or her favorite animal at the time, though one year she dressed up as Elle from Legally Blonde which was her favorite movie.

Luca, on the other hand, wasnt a huge fan of dressing up once he hit the age of six. Until then I would always decide what he would be and everything would go smoothly, but he had become very vocal at the age of six. Even though he wasn’t a fan of dressing up he had insisted on choosing his own costumes - mostly characters from horror movies. The past two years he had dressed up as Pennywise from IT and Slenderman. Although he’s my child, his choices sometimes worried me.

Now, the kids were 11. I felt like I had blinked and suddenly my babies were no longer babies, but instead a growing girl with ambitions and a serial killed in the making. I had accepted Luca’s fate to an extent, there was no choice in the matter so there was no reason to try and change it. But not only was this lifestyle affecting his adult life, but also the life he was supposed to have as a child. It pained me to not be able to do better for him - he didn’t stand a chance.

I stood behind the stool that Ariella was sitting on, brushing out her long black hair as she hummed to the music on the TV. My girl had a beautiful soul and for her I was greatful for some sense of normal.

“Do I have to go trick or treating with Luca? Can’t I just go with my friends?” Ari asked me after letting out a deep sigh.

Both kids wanted to trick or treat on their own this year, I was completely opposed but Val had taken it as an opportunity to see if Luca was capable of protecting his family - Ariella being the test in this situation.

I wasn’t comfortable with Ariella being in Luca’s care but Val had made his decision and I had no say in the matter, as usual. It was a terrible feeling to be nervous about what your son might do to your daughter, no mother should feel so paranoid about their kids being alone together.

“Well, honey. If you want to go without Luca you would have to go with your dad and I, so it’s him or us,” I told her, giving her an ultimatum that I knew wasn’t much of a choice on her end. At eleven years old they both were already wanting their freedom and to feel like they were given responsibility.

Ariella sighed heavily and slumped back in her chair, “Luca it is, then.”

“Good choice,” I head Val’s voice respond as he entered the room, his smartphone in his hand and his focus was on the screen. Most likely he was dealing with business.

“Dad, I feel like Luca is a little too intimidating to bring trick or treating. My friends are scared of him,” Ariella began to plead her case, unfortunately for her I already knew that it was a lost cause.

Val tucked his phone into his pocket and waved towards Ari in a nonsense manner, “Little girls act like that when they have a crush. Your mom was the same with me.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s why I was scared,” I muttered under my breath. Val knew very well that I did not have a crush on him when we were first joined in union, I was actually frightened for my life.

He ignored my comment and proceeded to talk to Ariella, “It’s Luca’s job to protect you. You will be safe with him, I promise. You’re like the princess that he needs to protect or else the mean king will lock him in the dungeon.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at Val’s choice of words and Ariella grinned at him, pleased with his response, “You’re the king, right dad?”

“Of course.”

“I suppose I can handle Luca for one night,” Ariella finally gave in, standing from the chair and giving both Val and I a smile, “I’m going to go and put my costume on.”

As she ran towards the stairs eagerly, Val smiled to himself, obviously proud for being able to handle the meltdown our daughter was about to have. He handled it well compared to how he would have eleven years ago, it was clear to me that the kids made him a better person. They challenged his values and his patience, but he came through for them. For us.

Val and I had a different relationship compared to most married couples. Not only did our relationship start in a completely unnormal way, but aside from everything we had been through and how much I hated him at one point, there had been a genuine love that formed in my heart for him.

I couldn’t explain to myself or anyone else why I would allow my heart to love a monster, someone who was so terrible to me, but I did. After years of trying to make myself hate him, I couldn’t anymore, especially after the kids were born. The role he took on as a father changed the entire way I looked at him, there was a light in his eyes that I never knew existed and he took on the father role like the king he wanted to be.

“So, no kids in the house tonight? Just us?” Val had a devious smirk on his lips and he placed his hands on my hips, “I guess we’ll just need to have our own Halloween party.”

I found myself giggling at his words, something that once repulsed me now made my body tingle in need for him, “Won’t you be worried? I’m not sure if I’ll be able to focus on anything until they come home safely.”

“I will make sure you focus on other things, they’ll be fine, amore.”

He seemed so sure and I wish I could have the same optimism that he had when it came to the safety of our kids. Their lifestyle was dangerous, anyone could be after them due to their father being Valentino Acerbi and their grandfather being capo Marco Acerbi. They instantly had a target on their backs.

“They won’t be alone, Elaina. I have security following them,” Val assured me, something I wish he would have told me earlier, “This is a test for Luca, I know he’s a lose cannon so there’s no way I would leave him with Ariella as a test to see if he’ll hurt her.”

I stepped back and looked up at Val, unable to hide the irritation on my face, “Why couldn’t you tell me that before?”

“Does it really matter? You should expect better of me to keep our daughter safe,” He took a seat on the couch and leaned back to look up at me, “Don’t start an argument over nothing, just be glad that I have arrangements and start figuring out your costume for tonight.”

I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh, “Val...”

“If you dress as a cop, I may just turn myself in,” His eyes scanned my body with a devilish smirk on his lips and desire in his eyes.

“Oh my god,” I covered my face to suppress my laughter, “Shh. The kids are upstairs.”

I felt Val’s hands on my hips and the next thing I knew I was pulled on his lap, his lips pressed against my ear as he spoke in a tempting whisper, “How’s this? You want me to be quiet, but I don’t think you can be...”

Val reached for the button on my jeans and I bit my lip, allowing myself to fall under his spell as I always did. I pulled back to give him better access and in the corner of my eye I could see Michael Myers standing in the doorway.

“Holy sh--” I fell off of Val’s lap when I jumped from the sudden fright.

“Chill, mom.” Luca pulled off the mask and looked at me on the floor, “It’s just a stupid costume and it isn’t even scary.”

I could hear Val chuckling to himself as I pulled myself off of the floor, “Luca, please done just sneak up like that. How long were you even standing there?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “Long enough to know that dad wants you to be a cop tonight.”

“Oh my god...” Luca was too good at sneaking up on people, I never felt like I had privacy because I never knew if he was around the corner listening. I quickly attempted to change the topic, “That’s a great costume, honey.”

He only shook his head, “I don’t like it.”

“But you chose it,” I reminded him.

“That was then, this is now. It isn’t scary enough...” He looked towards Val before continuing, “I want people to fear me. A guy in a jumpsuit isn’t frightening at all, only to mom.”

Val stayed quiet but had a thoughtful look on his face. He was obviously trying to think of ideas for Luca and then he finally spoke up, “You know what’s fucking creepy? Chucky.”

“Chucky is a doll,” Luca responded in an unimpressed tone.

“He’s a killer doll,” Val responded, “We’ll paint some stitches on your face, get some artificial blood and--”

“I don’t want artificial blood,” Luca shook his head, “I want real blood.”

Val sat up straighter, his eyes locked on Luca and all humor in his face was faded away, “You think this is how it works? You want some real blood so you go and kill someone just for the heck of it?”

Luca didn’t seem the slightest bit phased by Val’s serious demeanor, instead he simply stood his ground, “If I want to, then yes. I can do whatever I want because I’m an Acerbi.”

This time Val stood up, all patience that he had for Luca had been worn thin and he was finally becoming more aware of how dangerous our son could be, “You don’t get to do whatever you want because you’re an Acerbi. Because what happens if you get caught, Luca? We kill those who deserve it, the people who cross us. We don’t just kill for no reason.”

“You’re a hypocrite,” Luca huffed in annoyance at his father, something that rarely happened between the two but I was relieved that Val was finally standing his ground and telling Luca how to behave, “You’re the one who always told me to not let anyone stand in my way. Right now you’re in my way, and I don’t like it.”

There was a noticeable clench in Val’s jaw as he sent Luca a warning look, “I am your father. You don’t talk to me like that, are we clear?”

“You don’t want to test me, father.”

With that, Val pulled a gun from the holster of his pants and aimed it towards Luca. I knew that he was just trying an intimidation tactic, but I didn’t like seeing my son in this compromising position. Even though Luca couldn’t seem to care less, I was stressed by the situation.

“Test you?” Val chuckled low at Luca’s attempt to threaten him, “You’re eleven years old. You’re a kid, Luca. I’ve been playing this game longer than you have and if we’re talking about who shouldn’t be tested, it’s me. Get the hell up to your room, take that stupid costume off and enjoy Halloween from your bedroom. We are finished this conversation.”

Luca remained silent but still, his face expression didn’t change from the angry look it held. He simply turned away and left the room, leaving the sound of his footsteps walking up the stairs and my heart pounding.

Val put the gun back into the holster, mumbling, “Our kid is fucked.”

My eyes flickered towards him, my chest heaving to contain the emotions that flooded through my body, “You did this to him. You raised him this way.”

“I raised him to be strong, independent and a leader. Not a fucking psychopath!” Val’s voice became louder, staring at me with rage filled eyes, “He is beyond anything I could train him for. This is all him!”

I had no words during this time. It felt like everything I had felt had already been expressed multiple times and now I was at a roadblock. Nothing would change, Luca wouldn’t change and I needed to accept that but it became harder each day.

“Is there some kind of boot camp for the mafia?” I asked, knowing it was a stupid question but I was desperate.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Val responded, running his fingers through his hair and sighing heavily, “This isn’t a soap opera where families ship their kids off and they become normal. We aren’t a regular family and if anyone had to live with Luca for more than two days, they would either call the cops or end up dead.”

He was right. We weren’t a normal family and we never would be. There was a time when my biggest worry would be Val, now Luca was the one who caused me to sleep with one eye open. He was intelligent and maniacal, a terrible combination.

“MOM!” I heard a loud, chilling scream from Ariella who was upstairs changing into her costume and everything in me froze.

It didn’t take long for Val and I to be at the top of the stairs and running towards Ariella’s room, rushing to get to her.

When Val pushed the door open, Ariella was sobbing on the floor and Luca stood next to her with scissors in hand. Ariella’s long black hair was now to her ears, the rest was scattered over the floor, causing a mess.

“Oh my god...” I rushed to Ariella to make sure no other damage was done to her body. I would be relieved if it was only her hair that had been damaged, but if there was physical harm I wasn’t sure what we would do.

“H-He took my hair...” Her sobs were relentless, her face soaked with tears.

“Honey, it’s okay... We’ll fix it and make it look pretty, okay?” I tried to make her feel better, kissing her forehead and holding her close to my chest.

She pulled away and looked up at me with a broken look in her eyes, “I can’t be Morticia with short hair.”

When I looked towards Luca, I noticed that he and Val were having a stare down, neither of them giving in to the other. Suddenly Luca dropped the scissors on the floor and glared at Val, “I told you that you don’t want to test me.”

His words left both of us stunned and silent, knowing that Luca would only get worst with time - if that were even possible.