...Begins......

...Alexy On....

Today, I decided to change my life. I have a fantastic career established in Los Angeles, but I can no longer live this way.

My name is Alexy Rizzo, I'm 25 years old, and I am originally Italian.

I spent my entire childhood and youth in Italy with my grandmother; she passed away when I was 15, and I moved in with my uncle Rau.

I never knew my parents and have no idea who they are; it was never an open topic for discussion.

When I came to Los Angeles to live with my uncle, there wasn't much for me to do but work to study and eat.

Rau was a mechanic, working just enough to buy his drinks; the poor man couldn't even get by on his own.

I did what I could to support myself, taking on cleaning jobs, babysitting, cooking, and working as a waitress.

When I found myself completely out of options, I sang in clubs for a while; sometimes, I had to perform as a dancer in exchange for food.

I graduated in law with honors, all paid for by my own earnings; at that same time, Rau passed away from cirrhosis due to years of uncontrolled drinking.

As soon as I graduated, I secured a job at a firm, and from there, my career only progressed, as I continued studying new specializations in my field.

Now, at 25, with a well-established professional and financial life, I think it’s time to go back home.

I am a criminal defense attorney who also practices in other areas; here in Los Angeles, I am already one of the most recognized names in the profession today. Even though I've had only a few years in my career, I have never lost a single case.

But aside from my profession, I have nothing here; I never truly belonged to this place, even though I like it.

I have a few friends from college or colleagues at work, no family or passion, any ties to this place are nonexistent.

I love Italy, the smell, the culture, and the people.

For me, Los Angeles was just a complicated and difficult stay; all the memories I have of the place are filled with terror.

My country is my home, even though I don't have a family waiting for me.

I decided to leave everything behind and listen to my heart.

I arrived two hours ago in Italy, landed in Turin, and I'm already at the hotel.

I plan to enjoy the city a bit and then see where life takes me.

Fortunately, I have a good financial reserve that will secure my situation until I find a city I want to settle in and a good job in my field; perhaps I'll even establish a private practice.

For now, I want to take advantage of this time.

I’m about to call a friend who came here right after we graduated; I haven’t seen her in years. She’s my best friend, we always understood each other well, and when I told her I was in Turin, she quickly set up a tour.

We went to the wineries and had a guided tour at the royal palace and the Egyptian museum.

My friend's name is Miriam.

Like me, she is a criminal lawyer, and we've been very close since the beginning of our course.

She is not Italian, but she married a handsome Italian, fabulously wealthy, and moved here.

Today was all ours; I enjoyed the evening very much, and she invited me to check out one of the clubs owned by her husband.

Since I had never been to a place like this around here, I put on a fitted little black dress that’s suitable for any occasion.

We arrived, and the place is beautiful: rustic on the outside, a luxurious and very modern nightclub on the inside.

I never imagined a place like this in Turin, but I confess I’m already loving it.

The line to get in was huge, but we walked straight past.

We went up to the second floor in the VIP area.

We drank and danced until Miriam's husband arrived to keep us company.

Alexy - Hey Renan, good to see you.

Renan - How's it going? It’s been a while since we last met.

Renan - Hope you’re enjoying Turin and the club.

Alexy - I’m good, thanks for asking; I’m absolutely loving everything here.

Miriam - I hope it’s enough for you to stay here with us.

Miriam - It already is, my friend.

He is very reserved but seems to love Miriam deeply; he is incredibly caring and affectionate with her, despite looking like a brute.

My job is to have a sharp eye for details, and in my life, it’s no different.

I notice more security than usual, and Renan keeps getting interrupted by different men.

And my mind starts to work; something bigger is going on here.

Miriam - Hey, hey, can it, miss.

Miriam - Let the criminal lawyer take a break.

Alexy - Was I that obvious?

Miriam - Actually, I did the same when I came here for the first time.

Alexy - So my guess was spot on.

Miriam - Let’s just say that especially in this VIP area, we have many potential clients.

It takes me a moment to understand what she’s talking about.

Alexy - Damn it, woman, why did you bring me here?

Alexy - We work for the law; if we get caught among people like this, we’re done for.

Miriam - Easy there, girl; I'd never bring you to an unsafe place. In this part of Turin, the police don’t even come.

Alexy - Seriously? Was I supposed to feel relieved? Because it’s not working; what the hell kind of place did you bring me?

Miriam - I brought you to meet my world; you wanted opportunities, and a place like this has plenty.

Miriam - Don’t be like that; you know better than I do. To get where we are, we have to defend bad people; it's our profession.

Alexy - I don't defend bad people, Miriam, just some of dubious morals, you know, innocent until proven guilty?

Alexy - And I only do it when they are fighting against men of power and for the wronged; you know what my ideals are.

Miriam - Okay, okay, I know, but we haven't always had the privilege of choosing clients. I know your principles, that talk about protecting those who steal from the rich to give to the poor.

Miriam - That’s exactly why I brought you here; there are many who think like you in this place, me included.

Miriam - Enough with the boring talk; let’s drink and find you a bel ragazzo.

And I started to loosen up with the drinks and music.

Miriam stepped away for a minute.

I notice a different movement; everyone is looking in the same direction and parting ways.

I’m a bit too tipsy, so I keep dancing with my back to the commotion until I feel a wall of muscles bump against me from behind.

Male voice - Watch out, piccola ragazza; you might end up bumping into someone dancing like that.

His fingers brushed lightly along my arm, slowly moving up.

He’s too close, completely invading my space while still touching me.

I turn around, furious and dizzy; I’ve had too much to drink.

Alexy - Watch it, coglione; you might lose your hand touching where you shouldn’t.

When I finish speaking, I realize I'm staring at the man's chest.

The guy is way too tall, so I look up and see his face.

Mio Dio.

I can’t tell if I’m scared or aroused, perhaps both.

When I realize I’ve been staring for over a minute, I decide to turn my back and head to the other side of the bar.

...Grayson on....

I arrived in Turin extremely tired, having worked a lot these past few days.

Being the Don of the Italian Mafia is a massive responsibility; I don’t stop for a second.

My name is Grayson Marino, I am 28 years old and I am the King of the Italian Mafia.

I came to Turin for business and I don’t plan to stay more than two or three days.

I’m heading to one of the family’s clubs, where my consigliere is in charge.

Normally, I only go to the clubs for business meetings, and today is no different.

I arrive and, of course, everyone knows who I am; they all make way and nod their heads in respect.

I enter the VIP area, and everyone who’s dancing there stops to give me space to pass, as my meeting is on the other side of the floor.

When I reach the middle of the room, I see a woman dancing. She’s right in front of me, seemingly unaware of my presence, as she doesn’t move an inch to make way and continues to sway.

One of my men is already heading toward her to make her leave, but I stop him with a wave of my hand.

I’m going to scare the little girl; this will at least be entertaining.

Grayson - Be careful, piccola ragazza, you might end up bumping into someone dancing like that.

Holy hell, what a perfume; I decide to lightly run my fingers along her arm, it’s the smoothest and softest skin I’ve ever touched.

My fingers gradually move upwards.

I want to reach her neck and inhale her scent, but I don’t have time. She turns around at an incredible speed and says,

Woman - Watch it, coglione (idiot), you might lose your hand touching where you shouldn’t.

I freeze...

... I just extend my hand in denial to one of my men who was already drawing his weapon.

Did I understand that correctly?

She hasn’t even seen my face yet; she’s looking at her straight line, which is my chest.

When she looks at me, she’ll realize the mess she made, kneel down crying, and begging for my mercy.

And she looks at me, just as I look at her.

She’s beautiful; I recognize this face from somewhere, but I have no idea where.

God, who is this woman?

And we stay like this, staring at each other, when she breaks the eye contact, turns her back, and leaves.

I’m more petrified than before, everyone is watching as if they can’t believe such audacity; in fact, I don’t believe it either.

Damn, I’m going to kill that bitch.

...Grayson on....

It's not like I really wanted to kill a beautiful woman for simply turning her back on me, but she called me an idiot, and in front of everyone.

As a Don, I can't accept that kind of offense, being disrespected in one of my houses has never happened and I don't intend to let it happen.

Mattia - I can take care of it, but it wasn't that big of an offense, you touched the girl without asking.

Grayson - And do I need to ask?

Mattia - You're the capo, you don't need to ask anyone for anything, but she's not wrong in calling you that.

Grayson - Thank heavens I'm in a good mood, anyone else would be dead for agreeing with her, you're practically calling me an idiot too.

Mattia - I didn't call you that, she did, I just said she's not wrong, after all, it's her body and you touched it without asking, now, if you want my opinion about her calling you an idiot, I can give it, but I'm warning you, you might not like the answer.

Mattia laughs softly.

Mattia - Like I said, if you want, I can deal with her.

Mattia is my Sottocapo (Underboss) and also my best friend.

Grayson - I'll take care of it later.

Mattia nods and we move on.

I observe the place, sit in the private area where our meeting will be, soon we are served drinks, Mattia lights up a joint, while I drink a good whiskey.

Renan comes to us as soon as he sees us arrive, he is my consigliere (counselor) and also a great friend, as well as Mattia, the two are like brothers to me, there is no one I trust more than them, in fact, I trust them more than my own brother.

Renan smiles broadly when he sees us, he's been here for a while, I don't come to Turin much and now Renan is practically living here, so we haven't seen each other for a few months.

The territory didn't used to be ours, but another Mafia's, we gained control of the city with a lot of struggle and Renan has been expanding our business all over the place, but not always the consigliere can do everything alone.

Both the government here and the police, were well paid by the other family that dominated the territory, in return they cooperated, handing over many brothers, but in Cosa Nostra it doesn't work like that, cooperating with the government or the police is punishable by death, we pay well, very well, to have them in our hands, but we don't mix or cooperate in anything.

Renan - My brothers, how good to see you.

Mattia is the first to get up, hugging and kissing Renan's face, I do the same.

Mattia - We miss you in Sicily, brother.

Renan - Business is good, I'll be home soon.

Renan sits down with us.

Renan - Before our guests arrive, Mattia, I need a good caporegime (Captain) to prepare and leave in front of Turin, I haven't had any problems, we dominate the city very well, what was left of the other family retreated, but still, there may be some revolt in the future, so I need someone strong.

Mattia - Well, it seems to me that the best one for the job is our youngest.

Grayson - Do you think my brother is ready?

Mattia - He's loyal to the family, he was a good soldier and has been a great caporegime and board member, the kid is thirsty for power and arrogant in the right measure, Turin is a city that receives many tourists and will give us a lot of profit, needs a young and shrewd head, I think it's a good place for him to dominate and reside, not to mention he has good men.

Renan - As an advisor, I also nominate him, Andrea is more than ready and also needs to find a bigger occupation, Turin would be in good hands with him.

Mattia - We also have Lorenzo, but I don't think he'd like to leave where he is to take on a new city.

Renan - I agree, Andrea is young and wants to show service, Lorenzo is more settled, I don't think he'll want to make half the necessary changes that Andrea would certainly want to make.

Grayson - What about your position as counselor?

Renan - Andrea is our best bet, I can stay a while and teach him everything he needs to know.

Grayson - So that's it, Mattia you warn him, prepare Andrea and better yet, tell Mom.

Mattia's eyes widen in dread.

Mattia - It's not my job to tell our mother, I'm out of this, Renan is with you, after all you're the family counselor.

I end up laughing, Renan shakes his head almost choking on his drink.

Renan - As a counselor, I think it's best if someone in the family tells her.

Grayson - They are both family.

Grayson - You both have to protect me, give your lives for me, I'm the capo, but even so, I can be killed, especially at the hands of my mother.

They both laugh.

Grayson - This is on you.

Renan - We're going to get the youngest out of the aunt's, there's no getting out of this alive.

Mattia - Rock, paper, scissors.

I watch the scene amused, we are leaders of the Italian mafia and yet the two of them look like children.

Renan - Fair enough.

The two of them lean forward and play.

Renan makes paper, Mattia stone.

Mattia - Cazzo (Fuck)

Renan laughs.

Grayson - Good luck.

Renan calls one of his men, Joran walks up to him.

Renan - Where's Miriam?

Joran - Drinking with the other lady.

Renan - And so?

Joran - Behaved, the lady not so much, she dances and flirts, but still, well behaved.

Renan - Great, call me if you need me.

Joran leaves.

Mattia - I'm curious, who would the lady be?

Renan - Miriam's college friend.

Mattia - Interesting, is she pretty?

Renan - Very, one of the most beautiful Italians, but she's a no-go zone, Mirian made me promise that I wouldn't let anyone in the family lay a hand on her.

Mattia - Can I ask why?

Renan - She's one of the best criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles and she came from there to reside again in Italy, she seems to have convictions close to our reality.

Grayson - Miriam is trying to recruit her?

Renan - She doesn't know what we are yet, but yes, we are trying to recruit her, she has never lost a case, Mirian says she is a shark in court and also shrewd in life.

Mattia - Sounds like a great find.

Renan - It is.

Grayson - In that case, let the men know that they are not to approach, that goes for you too Mattia.

Mattia - How disheartening.

Our guests arrive, it is the chief of police of the city and the head of internal affairs.

They both seem terrified.

The police chief speaks first.

Man - Gentlemen, I am Leonardo and this is Ricardo.

Ricardo greets.

Renan - Have a seat.

Two girls come and serve drinks.

Grayson - I'll be direct, you know that Cosa Nostra now commands Turin, I don't like problems or interference in my business and when that happens, I usually make a point of expressing my displeasure.

Grayson - My brother will be here in a few days, Renan will make the introductions, he will be the front of the city, I don't want the police interfering with my business and I don't want internal affairs pressuring or investigating the police officers.

Grayson - Besides that, I want cover, inside both sectors, I like to be warned when I have problems.

Grayson - Unlike the other family, I don't partner, I pay for services and that's it.

Grayson - I have 6 cops and a delegate I want inside the system, as well as two people to put in internal affairs, they are my men and not yours.

Leonardo - It won't be that easy to get all these people in.

Grayson - It's already happening, that wasn't a problem.

Both are surprised.

Ricardo - What do we gain from the support? The other family helped us, gave us names, informed on the other families and also some of yours, when we needed it.

Leonardo - I need to provide service, we get charged for it, not everyone is corrupt, I need to arrest someone from time to time.

Renan - That won't be a problem, it's organized, I get people for you to arrest, make a file and release without sufficient evidence, I even have some more booked, we have good lawyers, this won't be difficult, as long as it doesn't involve our name or the family's name.

Renan - The longer the system thinks the other family is operating, the better.

Grayson - But the city needs to know who's in charge here.

I take a piece of paper from my pants pocket.

Grayson - This is what we pay monthly for your services.

They both open the paper and their eyes widen.

It's a very detailed list of how much each one will receive and also each one who supports us.

Grayson - I believe with this we won't have any problems.

Leonardo - Most definitely not.

Ricardo - I can only agree.

Grayson - Well, I did my part, the rest is between you, discuss the details.

Leonardo - I know you are famous for the great retaliations and do not accept to be betrayed, please, do not make Turin a war zone.

Grayson - That won't be a problem, if you do your job right.

Leonardo - Of course.

Grayson - I have things to take care of.

I get up and leave the four behind.

One of my men comes up to me, Ian.

Grayson - Where's the blonde?

Ian - Sir, she's at the bar drinking, but I saw her with....

Before he could finish a girl comes up to me and hugs me, Giulia.

Giulia - Honey, I missed you so much.

Grayson - Not now.

She pouts petulantly.

Giulia - I miss you so much, it's been so long Don, let me make you happy, I just want to help.

Grayson - I'm already happy, I don't want and don't need help.

I try to carefully remove her from me, but she forces herself against my body.

Giulia - Please love, I promise it will be worth it.

Grayson - I don't want to, not today, who knows another day.

She kisses my neck and then bites my ear.

I look at her already impatient, it's enough for her to let go of me.

Giulia - Sorry.

Giulia - Another day then?

Grayson - Maybe.

I caress her cheek trying to feel less of a cretin.

And I leave, with Ian behind me.

Ian - Sir, as I was saying, she's at the bar and she wasn't alone, she had.....

Grayson - It doesn't matter.

Ian - But sir, she.....

I leave Ian behind as soon as I see her, she's talking to a man.

What a beautiful ragazza (girl), maybe a scare will do, or maybe I can make her submit, apologize in a very peculiar way, sounds like a pleasurable kind of torture, it would be a punishment for her insolence.

...Alexy on....

I walk quickly to find Miriam, the jerk left me all flustered.

Miriam - I was looking for you, I had to go see some things at the bar, there's going to be an important meeting in the private area and the girls here are pretty, but not very experienced.

Alexy - It's okay, I was dancing, can you believe some guy touched me?

Miriam - What do you mean? Who was the bastard?

Alexy - I have no idea, I was dancing and he pressed his body against mine, he ran his fingers over me in a way that left me numb.

Miriam - So you liked it?

She looks at me confused.

Alexy - I don't know for sure, but I called him an idiot and stormed off, but I have to confess, he's tempting.

Miriam - For you to compliment him, he must be something else, just be careful, most of the men here are not very trustworthy.

Alexy - If any of these untrustworthy men come near me, let me know, please, I'm running from trouble.

Miriam - Of course.

We both drank some more.

Miriam - Come on, tell me everything, it's been a while since we've seen each other, how's your life been?

Alexy - You know, in business I was doing very well until now, but that's it, I wasn't very happy, I was never one for many friends and I don't have any family left.

Alexy - I was living to work, Rau died and left some debts, I had to sell everything, luckily the sale of his house and car covered the expenses.

Alexy - I had to sell my grandmother's house too, a large and valuable property here in Italy.

Mirian - Do you need money? If you need it I can...

Alexy - I don't need it, thank you, I'm fine, the sales paid for everything I needed and there was also a good amount left over to keep me going for a while.

Miriam - You changed your whole life to come here, are you sure that's all you came for? I mean, you had an amazing job.

Alexy - I'm looking for a lot of things here in Italy, answers being one of them, but I left there mainly because I felt alone, I think I need to start over, after my nonna (grandmother), Rau and everything I went through, I need to start over.

It's not a lie, but it's far from the truth.

Miriam - You are so beautiful, I can't believe you don't have a boyfriend.

Alexy - I've had one and you know, that jerk is one of the reasons I'm far away from Los Angeles.

I confess.

Miriam - Wow, want to talk about it?

Alexy - Not today.

Miriam - Anyway, I'd like you to stay with us, at our house, at least until you decide what to do.

Alexy - Girl, I can't accept, you're a couple, I'll end up taking away all your privacy, I prefer to stay in a hotel and besides, I'm traveling this week, my grandmother's things are all in a rented storage unit in Saluzzo, I want to see the things I intend to keep and what I'm going to donate, I want to stop paying unnecessary rent.

Miriam - Okay, how long are you planning on staying there?

Alexy - A few days, just enough to get everything organized.

Miriam - Great.

Miriam - I don't intend to stay here much longer, I think in a few months we'll be back in Sicily, I'd love for you to come with us, you might like it and decide to stay, it would be amazing to have you there with me.

Alexy - Not a bad idea, I can spend a few days there and see how it goes.

Miriam hugs me all happy.

Miriam - Let's dance.

Alexy - Let's go.

We danced some more, letting our bodies move to the rhythm of the music.

A very handsome man approaches.

Man - Excuse me, good evening, are you ladies being helped? I'd like to buy you a drink.

Miriam looks at me with a tight smile, I understand that this one is not one of the complicated guys, I wink at her.

Miriam - I am seeing someone, but my friend is not.

Alexy - If you want to buy me a drink I'd love it.

Man - Great, my name is Josue and yours?

Alexy - Alexy.

Josue - Beautiful name, just like you.

Alexy - Thank you.

Miriam - Well, excuse me, I'm going to find my husband.

Miriam leaves and I go with Josue towards the bar.

Josue - What would you like to drink?

Alexy - Spritz.

Josue - Excellent choice.

He orders the drinks.

Josue - I haven't seen you around here.

Alexy - I just arrived in Turin.

Josue - Seriously? And where are you from?

Alexy - I grew up in Saluzzo, but I was living in Los Angeles, I got here today.

Josue - That's amazing, Saluzzo is a very beautiful place, I also like Los Angeles, are you here to stay?

Alexy - In Italy yes, in Turin I don't know yet, do you come here often?

Josue - I started coming here recently, it wasn't a comfortable area of Turin, now it's changed a lot.

Alexy - And are you from here?

Josue - Yes, I'm from here.

Alexy - Why wasn't this area comfortable?

Josue - The area had an owner, let's say a very complicated family, that made the place uninhabitable for good people.

Alexy - I see, and what changed?

Josue - A new family, actually from what I hear, they are the owners of the place, I don't know the person in charge here, but I own the agency that sold the property, we dealt directly with the capo.

My heart races, I know very well what he means by family and capo, he's talking about the mafias, in Italy this is common, especially in these regions, but what scares me is not knowing that the area is run by a family but that the mafia owns the establishment, this, this is impossible.

The club belongs to Renan, Miriam's husband.

Alexy - I think you're mistaken, the club belongs to a friend, actually the girl who was here with me is his wife.

He is surprised.

Josue - Excuse my frankness, but you may not know your friends very well, I don't know who the representatives of the place are, but I can tell you that they are part of the leadership of the new family that runs the city, I heard the owner saying on the day of the transaction that his advisor was going to be in charge.

Josue - They cleaned up the streets, as I said, the place was horrible, a drug den, walking around here was asking to be robbed or worse, as much as I don't like their business, I have to admit that for Turin, it was great, I also profited a lot from this sale.

Josue - And they always make it clear where they're from, what they do and what family they belong to, just ask around.

My heart skips a beat, it couldn't be possible, could it?

Miriam wouldn't get involved with these kind of people, Renan seems like a great guy, of course I noticed that the place is kind of strange, I have no doubt that there are several people like that in here, but now Miriam and Renan?

I refuse to believe they are a part of this.

I take a sip of my drink to try to curb the tension and I realize that I'm more tipsy than usual because of the alcohol.

Josue - You really are surprised, aren't you?

Alexy - Honestly? Yes.

Josue - In that case, can I give you some advice?

Alexy - Of course.

Josue - Stay away from these people as soon as possible, as much as the city is safer, they are not trustworthy people.

I can imagine that.

Josue - The troublemakers are quiet for a good reason, you don't control addicts and homeless people with kindness, this family usually has no mercy on those who cross their path and getting involved with them can be quite dangerous.

I take a deep breath trying to digest all these words.

I'm about to answer when I feel stares in my direction, I look to the side and the big jerk who touched me earlier is walking straight towards us.

Alexy - Merdä.

Josue - Is there a problem?

Alexy - I-I.. I..

Josue glances in the direction I'm looking, when he sees the man, he gets up quickly.

Josue - I have to go, remember what I said and good night.

He leaves without giving me a chance to answer, I'm stunned.

The man sits down where Josue was and stares at me.

Grayson - You're coming with me.

I stare at him for longer than it takes to process his words and burst out laughing.

Alexy - You're not only an idiot, you're crazy, I'm not going anywhere with you.

Grayson - I'm not an idiot, crazy maybe, and definitely very dangerous.

My breath catches in my throat.

Grayson - I don't force women to do anything they don't want to do, but you girl, offended me twice in a very short space of time and that's not going to fly.