"TEN MINUTES, AURORA!  I DON'T WANT YOU LATE FOR SCHOOL!"  Bella yelled up the stairs.

"MOM WHERE'S MY MILK MONEY!?!?"  Aurora called down the stairs.

"ON MY DESK - SORRY!"  Downstairs William was screaming.  He was always crying.  Sometimes Aurora felt like that was all he ever did.  Scream and poop his pants.  She loved her brother but ever since his arrival, it was harder for her to get time with her mother and father.  She knew they were trying but Dad was always up late so mom could sleep cause she worked during the day.  And when he wasn't up all night, he was off at a poker tournament like he was leaving for today.  

Aurora dug around the desk, trying to find the milk money and as she moved away a few bits of paper she saw a name which made her little heart stop.  Blinking in disbelief she picked up the envelope which was already torn open, and she pulled out the letter inside with trembling hands.

Bella, 

I heard your son was born and I hope you two are doing well. I remember the day I first held Aurora in my arms and it was so magical like nothing else in the world mattered. The excitement and anxiouty of bringing a life into the world is overwelming. But you have shown with Aurora that you and Gavin are great parents and can handle anything the world throws at you. I hope one day to meet my grandson when you are ready for that of course.  

There is a gift for you attached to this letter. I know you guys are trying to make your life more Legitimate and this may help with that. 

I am here for you if you need anything from me. 

Love,

Salvatore. 

Aurora's mouth hung open.  She dug about the desk until she found another paper; an official-looking document that also had her father's name on it.  It was a deed to a casino in a place called Cuba.

"RORA?  YOU FIND IT?"  Gavin called up the stairs.

Aurora put the document back and shoved the letter back into the envelope - replacing it beneath her mother's other paperwork.

"YEAH."  She lied.

For the whole of her life there had been one bedrock principle she had trusted in: her parents never lied & she never lied to them... not once.  Aurora's world shook, a hundred stories told suddenly came into question as she dashed back into her bedroom and went for a picture of Sal and Marie at her parent's wedding.

"YOUR NEW BODYGUARD IS HERE!"  Her mom called up.  "COME DOWN I WANT YOU TO MEET HIM!"

"ONE SECOND!"  She called out, staring at the man in the photo, wondering who he was and why her mother had kept them apart.  Why was she being raised here if her father was still alive?

The plan formed in her head so quickly she hardly had time to get the parts together.  

The photo from her frame.
Her knife.
The envelope with Salvatore's address.
All the money from her and Uncle Will's Candy Operation - John would understand.  She'd pay him back when she could.
And last but not least, using a chair to climb on top of Dad's dresser, she grabbed the pair of steel handcuffs.

"AURORA!"  Bella called a second time and was answered by the little girl running down the steps.

"I'm here."  She said sadly.

"You okay, Kiddo?"  Bella asked walking the girl over to a large man dressed in a black suit and tie.  

"Couldn't Kassandra have stayed ... or maybe Neil come with me?"

"Hush."  Bella said ushering Aurora over to the man.  "This nice man is Tom.  Thomas, this is our daughter Aurora."

The dark haired man offered his hand and shook with Aurora.  "Good to meet you, Miss Byrne.  I'll be the new head of your detail."

Aurora smiled.  "Did my dad test you like he did Kassandra?"

Gavin cleared his throat.  "I need to get going." 

He kissed Bella & William.

"See you in two days.  Win big.  Okay?"  She kissed her husband back and said to Thomas, "Let's get you the keys to the car."  

Tom followed Bella leaving Gavin to kneel down and hug his daughter. 

"Dad..."  She asked him hesitantly. 

"What is it?"

"Did you like Salvatore?"

"Big question before school."  Gavin tilted his head to the side and looked at Aurora a moment before saying, "He thought the world of you and your mom and in that, we were always in agreement.  Maybe a few other things too."  

She nodded.

Gavin touched the tip of her nose as he stood up.  "When I get back, we'll talk more about him, if that's what you want.  You got my word."

Aurora forced a smile as her dad made his way towards the door and she threw out, "I love you Daddy."  

Gavin heard it so rarely he nearly missed a step.  In the Byrne household love was something that was said only at the most important of moments, and generally in those times when Gavin thought he might not see Bella again or vice versa.  He looked at his little girl staring at him and he walked back over to give her another hug.

"I'll be back, Kiddo.  It's just a weekend tournament.  You'll be safe with the new guy.  Your mom and I vetted him.  He's not Kassandra and I know you don't like change... but trust us.  We wouldn't pick someone half-assed for you."

Aurora nodded.  "I know.  I trust you."  

Gavin smiled and gave Aurora a wink before grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair and heading out the door.

Aurora went into the den where her mom was talking with Tom.  

"Then back here for a snack at 3pm.  Then we're going to dance at 4pm.  She has a recital in three weeks so we're doing an extra hour of practice until then."

Tom nodded.  "We should get going Mrs. Byrne or we're going to be late."

"Of course,"  Bella said hugging Aurora and kissing her quickly.

"Mom?"  Aurora asked as her brother began to fuss again.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Grandparents day is coming up at school and... well I was thinking maybe this year I could talk about Salvatore instead of Grandpa Jack.  I mean, I know he's my birth father but legally..."

The baby cried louder, Bella bounced him lightly trying to settle him.

"I mean, he's like a grandpa really cause you're my mom.  So, I mean, maybe you want to talk to me about him some?"

Bella sighed, a dark look crossed her face briefly.  "Right now I need to get your brother fed and you need to get to school.  Salvatore can wait."

Aurora frowned as her mom began heading towards her rocking chair.  "I suppose the dead aren't going anywhere."

"Exactly."  Bella said, adjusting herself to nurse.

"Miss Byrne?"  Tom asked.  "You ready?"

Aurora nodded.

"I love you, Mom."  She said at the door to the garage.

"Love you too, dear."  Bella replied but she was already looking down at William and Aurora was left feeling abandoned in a stranger's care.  The letter from her father was heavy in her pocket, heavier than it should be and she could barely contain herself as she got into the back seat and pulled it out to re-read it.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

My father is alive.  My parents knew.  They've been lying to me all this time... why would they lie to me?  How much else have they not told me the truth about?  Is my mother alive too?  Where is she?

She touched the face of Salvatore in the photo.

I have to find out.

Three o'clock came and went.  It was nearly four and still no Thomas.

Bella paced in front of the window.  "Linval."

"Yes, Ma'am."  Her bodyguards had been on alert within five minutes of 'late' ... now they were waiting for orders.  Bella had let thirty minutes pass, allowing for bad traffic or other confusion on the first day but her anxiety was growing and she couldn't wait a moment more.

"Get the car ready."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Raini stepped forward and took the baby.  "Shall I call Wolf's hotel?"

Bella shook her head.  "Let's find out what we're dealing with first.  Maybe it's a flat tire or something perfectly justifiable.  I don't want Gavin in a panic over nothing."

"Of course."  Raini said kissing Will's sleeping brow.

Bella went to her cabinet where her work equipment was kept and opened it.  She quickly attached a knife to her thigh with the custom garter that Gavin had made for her.  She then put on her shoulder holster and when she reached for her gun she paused, remembering the mention of Salvatore earlier, and looked at the dark wooden box bearing her family's crest.  She knew she shouldn't fear the worst, this was probably nothing but some voice in her head screamed that it was something more than that.  

Protect our family.

She sighed, frustrated with her stupid and unfounded fears.  Opening it she pulled out the pearl-handled pistols and put them into her holsters.  She paused to kiss Will's brow and threw on her jacket.  Striding out of the house and into the car.  

The ride along the route to Aurora's school was one of the longest she'd ever taken.  She watched hoping to see the car on the side of the road.  But found nothing until they were a block away from the school.  The car was parked just where it was supposed to be, one block away.  As if it had been there all day.

Linval pulled over and he and Neil got out with her.  They checked the car but found nothing out of the ordinary.  Bella didn't get back in the car.  She found herself running to the school.  She ran as fast as she could, still out of shape from having given birth, terrified, and in heels she nearly tripped going up the stairs to the locked doors.

"They got to be here." Linval said as he came up behind her.  Bella was already pulling out her guns to shoot at the glass windows on the doors.  Neil put an arm around her and pulled her back away from the glass.  Linval shot out the windows and reached in to unlock the doors.  The three went in, guns at the ready.  Room after room.  Nothing.  No one.  Each door opened revealing nothing left Bella feeling worse and worse.

Finally the room where the furnace was kept.  Neil kicked it open and handcuffed to a metal pipe they found him: Thomas, with a gag in his mouth the sound of the furnace drowning out his grunts and moans and the clanging of his handcuff against the pipe.

Bella ran forward, but Neil was quicker, pulling out the gag.

"WHO TOOK HER!?!"  In Bella's mind this was plain and simple a kidnapping.  It had to be!

"The kid ... she did this to me."

Bella stepped back.  "No... you're lying."  She pointed her gun at Tom.

"WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?!?"

"Bella you can't kill him..."  Linval tried to talk sense to the mother dragon who was seeing only red in her mind.

"I swear to you,"  he begged.  "She ran in here before her first hour.  I followed her, got turned around and then the next thing I knew I had this on me.  She took my damn wallet too!"

Bella stared at him.

"Did she say where she was going?" Linval asked.

"No."  Tom said clearly feeling terrible.  "She just took my wallet and ..."

"What?"  Bella snarled softly.  "She did what...?"

"Crossed herself and said she was sorry."

Bella pulled her gun and shot the man right in the head causing Linval and Neil to jump, it had been a long time since she'd killed anyone in cold blood this way - especially someone who worked for her.  Tom slumped over dead. 

"FUCK!"  Bella screamed watching the black blood pool all about the floor.

Neil put a hand on her shoulder to console her.  "She couldn't have gone far... seven years old.  Seven hours?  Middle of winter?  She's playing hookie somewhere.  A zoo.  The park.  Maybe with some of our crew or that boy she's always hanging out with... surely.  Take Tom's car.  Find her, Neil."

Neil nodded and didn't wait, he was moving already for the door.

"Clean this up."  She said to Linval. 

"Yes, Ma'am."  Linval said already grabbing a roll of trash bags off one of the nearby shelves and putting on his gloves.

"I ... I have to call Gavin." 

Aurora watched the countryside passing her by out the steel framed window.  Day turned to night and day again.  She'd swiped a bunch of food from the kitchen at the school and filled her backpack with supplies but she was wishing she had something more substantial.  Apples and bread were good, but when it's all you had ... your tummy complained a lot.

It was cold on the bus and the seats weren't so nice so she found herself putting her head on her backpack a lot to nap.  When she slept sometimes she dreamed of Sal and what he might say to her.  Sometimes she dreamed of her mom and dad worrying about her.  Other times, she saw Tom's last moments as she imagined they'd be. 

Had Dad found him, would have hurt him, but the guy would have walked away.  Mom, however, wasn't like dad.  She judged people much harsher and while she'd never seen her mom kill... she'd imagined it.  Mom had a terrible temper.  Odds were good that the drain he was sitting on might have been filled with that poor man's blood by now and Aurora felt terrible. 

Since learning about what her parents did for a living, she'd learned a lot from some of the older boys, the ones who sometimes pretended to like her so she'd put in a good word for them with Kassandra and Linval.  Business wasn't just about businesses and sometimes hurting bad people... business got good people killed too.  Joe's dad had been shot running hooch up from Atlanta and told her all about it.  Said his dad was a good guy who just drove cars and just like that he was dead.

Aurora pulled out her tickets and unfolded the information to look at it again by the dim running lights inside the bus.  According to the map, the man at the bus terminal had given to her after she paid him to pretend to be her dad and buy her ticket, it would take almost three days to reach Seattle.  She had to make sure she got on the right buses or she might be stuck somewhere.    

She put the map away and pulled out the photo of Sal and Marie.  They were smiling.  They were so handsome together.  The place her mom and dad got married was a palace, that's how the story went according to Aunt Tara.  And her parents had been like the King and Queen of it all.  Closing her eyes she imagined the grand party full of rich people in fancy clothing, the music, the food, the amazing palace and it's maze made out of bushes... and the fireworks.  Aurora smiled imagining herself as a princess there with her father and mother the King and Queen of the Mafia.  Everyone feared and loved them and so by extension they feared and loved her too.

She tried to imagine her mother as a sister.  Gavin as not a father but a brother-in-law.  It was strange.  An impossible thing really.  She tried to remember her mother's face in some other way than the one photo she had of her... but nothing came.  Aurora pulled her legs up close to her chest and hugged them.  

Another day of riding the bus then she'd be on the streets of Seattle and she'd find the truth.  Maybe she'd find them together, waiting for her.  Maybe they'd be excited to see her and then... well, she didn't know what, but she longed to find out.  To know them.  To know all the parts of who she really was inside.

She yawned and fell into another sleep.

Aurora put her backpack on and looked down the street.  This place was NOTHING like Philadelphia!  Aurora felt like she'd stepped into another world.  The people's voices here were even different.  She'd been traveling for days and every part of her ached.  Her bag of food was almost empty now and none of the sleep she'd had was good. 

She made her way through the bus terminal.  At every stop she'd always been able to go to the counter and ask an adult where she should go next, always telling the story that her mother put her on the bus to come meet family here in Seattle.  Apparently, this was a common enough thing she could have bought her own ticket at the first station!  She'd met several kids along the way actually, some younger than her traveling with older siblings.  She even spoke to one boy who said his mother sent him out west in the mail the first time... though he didn't recommend it.

But asking the way to her father's house wasn't going to work here.  And so, she needed a map of the city.  Just like the maps her mother was teaching her to use, she'd use it to find her father's address from the envelope.  Aurora came around the corner and skidded to a stop.  She held her breath as she saw her father's back.  He was talking to a man at the counter.  How had he caught up already?!?  Aurora couldn't believe it.  He must have come on a plane.  Maybe her mom noticed the letter missing?

Aurora darted out the door and into the street, past half-a-dozen people and down several alleyways until she assumed she'd put enough distance between her and Gavin that he was certain to not accidentally spot her.  Pulling the hood of her coat up she ducked down into her winter coat more, hoping no one would notice her.  

"Excuse me?"  She asked a friendly looking woman.  

"I was wondering where I can buy a map of Seattle?"

The woman chuckled.  "Where's your mommy or daddy little girl?"

Aurora had to think fast.  "I'm on my way to school.  I need a map for a project.  My mom forgot to get one."

"I think you can get one for a nickel in the shop just over there."

"Thanks, Ma'am."  Aurora ran into the shop and began looking around.  Finding the map she walked towards the front of the store and froze when the scent of a hot dog caught her attention."

Aurora threw a nickel onto the counter.  "Thanks, Mister."  She said holding up the map.

The shop keeper chuckled and watched Aurora dart out to the hot dog cart like a woman deprived of food for weeks.  "How much?"  She asked the man with the hot dogs.

The man smiled at her.  "A dime."  He said, not expecting Aurora to pull one out of her pocket.

"Ketchup only, please."  She said with a smile.

The vendor nodded, "Yes, Ma'am."  He made up the dog and handed it to the little girl.

Aurora took a big bite of the juicy dog and made an appreciative noise before beginning to walk off.  Bite after bite she devoured the dog making her way towards 'Birch Street.'  

Birch Street reminded her of fifth in Philly.  People outside.  They were poor people.  Lots of them.  Folks who were hit hardest by the depression and they watched her finishing off her dog enviously.  Had she known she was coming to a place like this she would have finished it first.  Aurora didn't feel safe, and a part of her almost hoped Gavin had caught up to her.  Looking over her shoulder to see if it was him following her she was disappointed to find not her father... but two older boys, not yet men but close, following her.  

Aurora walked a bit quicker, but she knew the look of troublemakers and this wasn't her first rodeo.  She thought about getting somewhere more visible so she could shake them off by making them worry legit folks would interfere and protect a little kid... but this whole neighborhood was shady and she couldn't be far from her Dad's home.  His was in the 1400s and she was in the 1200s now.  

Aurora heard the feet quicken and then a hand grab her and pull her into the alleyway.  Her knife came free and she sliced the boy's hand who held her, right at the thumb like her dad taught her so he couldn't use it to grab or throw a punch anymore.  He fell back screaming.  Blood dripped from her blade and colored the dirty snow of the alleyway.  Aurora crouched, making herself a tiny target.  She didn't say a word, but her she hoped her face looked as intimidating as she felt that it was.

"LET'S GO, GOD, I CAN'T MOVE MY THUMB!"  The first boy cried.

"Just give us your money, little girl.  You ain't hurtin' for nothin'.  Your mom and dad will give you more."  The second boy said, flipping out his switchblade.

"Your friend is smart.  You should listen to him."  She said quietly, the barest hint of fear in her tone.  She'd never cut a person on purpose before.  Only once before and that was on accident while her dad was teaching her how to hold and move with the blade.  She'd gotten a lot better in the two years since she'd begun training.  She never cut someone she didn't mean to now.

"I'm gonna..." The second boy began to say as he came towards her and then stopped dead in his tracks.

The first boy saw something behind her more terrifying than his thumb hanging useless and turned to run in absolute terror.  

"I'm sorry..."  The second boy said putting down his knife between him and Aurora.  "I'll go.  I'm so sorry."  The boy ran, trying not to turn his back fully on what Aurora was SURE had to be Gavin.  

Speaking as she turned around she said, "I'm so glad you're here..."  her words died on her tongue as she met the eyes of Salvatore Luciano in the flesh.

Her mouth hung open a moment, her bloody knife in her grip felt cold and wrong as she spoke, "Dad?"

Sal looked down at his daughter steal faced, he wanted to pick her up and hold her, but he had a something else to take care of first. Sal turned to his bgs and nodded his head in the direction the boys ran off. A couple of his men took off after the boys and Sal turned back to his daughter kneeling down to her. 

"Aurora what are you doing here? Wheres Bella and Gavin?" he said wrapping his arms around her. 

"We need to get you off the street," he said picking her up and carrying her back to his place. 

Sal's brain was racing, how did she get here? Wheres Bella and Gavin or at least her protection? Did something happen in Philly?

He had just gone for a walk in the neighborhood and seen a couple of local punks messing with a little girl and decided to step in... It wasn't till she said "Daddy" that he realized who it was. 

Once in the house, he got her cleaned up and phoned Bella's house. 

As the phone rang his heart raced. 

"GAVIN!?!?" Bella says Panic tone.

"No, its Sal she is here and safe," Sal says relieved. 

He can hear her shuddering sigh, hear her settle into a chair.  "Oh my god... oh my god she's in Seattle?!?  Jesus Christ..." Bella begins crying.

"How the fuck did she get here? How does she know where I live or that I am alive?" Sal asks confused. 

"and why the hell is she ALONE?" he says getting angry

"I don't know."  She sobbed.  "I don't know!  Thank God... thank god...  can I talk to her?

"She slipped her bodyguard!  She fucking cuffed the guy to a god damn pole in her middle school and gagged his sorry ass."
 Bella starts to get upset

"She is shaken up. She had a run in with a couple of punks, she cut one pretty good and I stepped in. My guys are tracking the dipshits down now. I will deal with them. How quickly can you get here?" he asks her. 

"Gavin should be close behind her.  He left a message last night that he knew where she was going although I can't even guess how - was out of town when this happened!  I've been beside myself utterly.  The punks... they didn't hurt her?  Did she cut them?  She took her knife?  Oh my god, I didn't even think..."  Sal can hear Bella walking up stairs

Her breath catches.  "The picture... if I'd even bothered to look.  I was so busy thinking someone took her... she's never done anything like this before!"

"Ok get here. She was not hurt they didn't touch her. You should be proud she learned well." he says to her

"We'll take her out for ice cream if we don't kill her for this stunt.  I have my people fueling up a plane and logging a flight plan now." Bella says to him. 

"ok, I will have a car waiting for you when you get here. I have her she will be protected," he says

"I know.  Dad?" Bella says

Bella swallows the lump in her throat.  "Thank you.  Thank you so much for finding her."

No problem. I will see you soon." he says before hanging up the phone.

Sal turns and heads into the living room where Aurora is sitting. He heads to one of his bodyguards and whispers in the man's ear "You are to protect her, she is not to so much as stub a toe is that clear?" the man nods his head in understanding

Sal turns to Aurora "how did you get here?"

Aurora's smile split her face from ear to ear, eager to tell Salvatore about her adventure, "I handcuffed um ... the new guy... I can't remember his name.  Tony?  Terry?  Tom?  Anyway, I handcuffed him in the boiler room and took his money to buy a bus ticket.  Which was good cause bus tickets cost more than I thought."

"I took food from the school kitchen so I had stuff to eat.  Then I went to the station and paid a man to buy me a bus ticket to Seattle, Washington."  She pulled the envelope out of her pocket.

"See, the letter you sent mom.  I found it by accident a few days ago.  I wasn't snooping.  She told me my milk money was on the desk and I couldn't find it.  So I was digging and this was there.  I saw your name and... and I guess that part of it was snooping."  she sighed and her shoulders fell a bit.

"Well, anyway, I got a ticket and every time the bus stopped I asked the man or woman at the counter which bus I needed to ride next.  It says on my ticket, but in places like Chicago and Kansas City there were so many I couldn't be sure which one was the right one!  I didn't want to miss my bus because the man in Philly says that if you miss your bus you sometimes have to wait for days for the next one."

She hesitated, "Are you mad at me?"

Sal sat and listened to his daughter's journey. A smile came across his face... she was a Luciano fearless. 

"I am not mad at you but you should not have taken that trip alone? Why not ask your mother?" he says to her

Sal's bodyguard enters the house and whispers to him that they caught the boys. Sal tells them to hold them in the basement of his bar and that he will deal with them later. 

"You know she was worried sick and Gavin is here in Seattle looking for you?" he says to her. 

"I saw him."  She muttered feeling a bit ashamed.

"It's just... they told me you were dead.  All these years I've been thinking you and Marie were dead and they knew you weren't!" 

She got tears in her eyes. 

"They said they'd never lie to me but this... this is about the biggest thing they ever could have lied about in the whole wide word!  I'm angry.  I'm so..." she hesitated and threw out the worst word she could think of, "... fucking angry!"  

The little girl shook with rage and her little face scowled like a demon having a bad day. 

"You were alive and they took me from you and my mom!"  She rambled on fast, as kids can speak when upset, letting no word in edgewise.  "...cause they couldn't have a baby until mom got fixed!  Right?  I don't know why you let them take me but... but... I had to find out!  I had to find you ... and Marie ... and ask why."

She looked around the room as if expecting to see something of Marie's.  A photo.  A feminine item.  Some clue of her mother's presence.  Seeing nothing she pulled out the photo of Sal and Marie at Bella and Gavin's wedding.  She held it up to Sal. 

The two of them were sitting at a dinner table, Sal's arm around Marie as she held sleeping Aurora proudly.  Smiling together in happier times. 

"This is all I have of you.  A picture and a story that you died... and it's all a lie!  Aren't you mad too?!?" 

He listened as he daughter spoke, seeing the Luciano anger in her, and feeling his heart drop. He cants help but notices her speak of Marie and looking around the home, that is nothing short of a bachelor pad, for some sign of her. 

Sal reached across and grabbed her little hand. 

"They did not lie to you Aurora until recently they thought I was dead. And Marie was killed all those years ago," he says to her. 

"You see when you were still very little your mother was killed and a day later I was attacked and left for dead. But I survived and had to go away for a long time. Gavin and Bella both thought I was dead and it had to stay that way to keep them and you safe." he says tearing up. 

"Just before your brother was born they found out the truth. You can't blame them for not knowing how to tell you that I was alive. After everything that happened that I had done." 

She threw her arms around Sal and squeezed.

"They didn't lie to me."  She sobbed joyfully, instantly forgiving her parents and also feeling some sense of her own wrongdoing now. 

"It's okay."  She patted Sal's back almost as if she was trying to comfort him. 

"I'm sorry Mom died.  You must be so alone!  You ... you can come to Philly and live with us!  Hollowood is a HUGE estate." 

Excitement grew in her tone as she thought about it,  "We have three houses in the woods.  So much woods you can't see through it all.  We can be together like a family.  We don't have to be apart anymore.  My mom and dad are the most powerful Mafiosi in all the world or at least in all of Philly.  No one would cross them not even the Godfathers.  They love my parents.  They won't let anyone hurt you.  I won't let anyone hurt you."

Sal feels sadness as his daughter hugs him, while its everything he wanted there was dread that loomed, she was excited and happy but she had no idea of the evil that had been done within their family. 

"You know what parents do for a living? Does that mean you know what Marie and I did? Who we where?" he asked the little girl. 

She pulls back and looks at him with love and puts a hand on his cheek.  She tilts her head to the side, glancing around the room before choosing to speak in hesitant uncertain Italian.  "Sei un uomo d'affari. Sei un uomo d'onore. Sei un uomo che protegge la sua famiglia e fa cose cattive alle persone cattive che feriscono le brave persone. Fai parte di Cosa Nostra."

"You were Godfather of Detroit.  My mother was Godmother of Chicago.  My mother said that means you were the most respected, loved, and feared people in the whole world.  She said people loved you so much they died for you... that you could bark and tell a man to jump and he'd be in the air already and Marie... she could get me to do what she wanted with just a smile.  She said you had more money than we do... and we're so rich that people are always borrowing money from my dad and Aunt Tara."

She smiled.

"But no... mom didn't explain most of it to me.  She says I need to stay out of business stuff, that she does it so I don't have to.  But she told me some things, mostly about who you were and the stuff she thought about you."

She hesitated but then decide to explain, "I saw dad come home one time when I was super little... and he had to tell me why he was all bloody.  He told me that sometimes he hurts bad men who hurt good people... to protect us.  And that makes him a bad man too, but I don't know about that so much.  Soldiers kill people in wars and we say they're good."

She scratches her head, "So I think my dad is a good man.  Aunt Tara, she was a Godmother, she told me some of what Mafia means cause these boys at school said mom and dad were filthy mobsters and I didn't know what that was.  So... Aunt Tara explained it and I can't see how it's so different than what politicians and union leaders do - you're just more honest and I like honest people."

"Then there were the guys at Purgatory who always talk about stuff you shouldn't talk about around other people. They just thought I was a dumb kid so they went on and on and I learned some of the stuff there.  And then there was Anthony and Billy at my school.  Anthony wants to be a Made Man one day.  So, I've had him keeping bullies off me and my friends for about six months now and in exchange Kassandra my old bodyguard who just left to go back to Greece, she and mom's bodyguard Linval got him the hookup and now he's a runner.  He can keep working for my family but he's got to stay in school and finish first.  See Mom knows Anthony's mom and she don't want Anthony dying like his dad did.  His dad was... a goomba.  I think that's the right word?  It sounds funny so maybe it's a made up word or I got it wrong?  He got shot.  And mom promised Anthony's mom she wouldn't let him do nothing dangerous cause he's too young but since he looks out for me... she was willing to give him safe jobs." 

She drew a deep breath.

"So don't be mad that I know, I don't think bad things about you and Marie.  My mom took me to Chicago and showed me all the places that were special to Marie.  And she promised me a trip to Detroit too, though maybe we don't really need to go now since you're not really buried there."  She laughed and waited to see how Sal would react.

Sal sat stunned for a seven-year-old she was pretty informed. He took a min to decide how to proceed. 

"You have the basic idea. Its a family we watch out and protect each other as well as the communities we work in. We help people when they are struggling. Do we make money, yes, and sometimes Gavin is correct we have to do bad things. Marie was a beautiful and briliant woman. You remind me of her." he said with a smile. 

"But the life has a dark side to it. Bad things can and do happen. Me and her where on top of the world and yet bad things still happened. Your mother is right she does it so you dont have to. Its not a life she wants for you." he said looking at her seriously

"The life makes you do things you can not ever take back and that you wish you would of never had to do." he says with saddness. 

"And that is how Marie died because of the life and it can never be taken back no matter how much I may want to." he says to her. 

"I know you're sad that Marie died, but you couldn't make her be something other than what she was or treat her different than any other godfather you knew.  If you protected her and didn't let her be what she wanted, it would mean you didn't respect her.  You respected her.  That's what all girls want really.  I don't know much about what happened that night... but bet she and her people fought hard.  I bet they were brave and stood together until the end.  And no matter what that's how they all would have wanted it to be.  They were a family."

She hugged Sal.

"I'm glad you didn't die with your family in Chicago or in Detroit.  Cause... you got family who lived too.  Me, Dad & Mom, Aunt Tara and so many aunts and uncles... and all we look for each other in cities all over."  she pulled back to look Sal in the eyes and tried her best to bring his spirits around.  "We're one family and people are gonna be as happy to know you're alive as I am!  Now that the bad people who killed Marie and who tried to kill you are gone... you can be apart of our family again.  We don't ever have to be apart."

She smiled letting Sal go.

"If you're worried I'm going to be in business too... don't worry, I haven't decided yet.  I think I might become a boxer or maybe a doctor who takes care of animals.   Maybe a dancer too.  I dance really good but I don't think I'll get to be in the recital that's coming up on account I missed some practice."

She paused.

"Do you have anything to eat?"

Sal listened and his heart kept dropping in his chest. he was pretty sure it was on the floor when she said the people who killed Marie where gone. 

"Sweetheart the person who killed Marie is not gone. He is alive." 

Sal sat in horror as to what to say. He wondered where Gavin or how much longer it would take Bella to get here. If he was forced to tell this little girl what really happened she would need one of them there. Because he could not see this little good wanting anything to do with the monster that killed her mother. 

"What would you like to eat?" he asked. 

Aurora sat very still as her father stated so plainly that the men who hurt her mother were still alive. 

It didn't register for her immediately that this could be true.  In her mind when wrong was done to her family, her father and mother took care of it.  She supposed on some level she knew tat they would kill anyone who hurt them... but she hadn't put a lot of thought into wishing death on those who had murdered Marie and Sal.  Mostly she always assumed they had.  Now, hearing they hadn't she found herself at a loss. 

"Um... a hamburger?"  She said, still processing.

She tried to imagine a reason why someone who killed her mother would be allowed to live, but if she was being honest with herself, she couldn't think of a good reason.  And so, she asked Salvatore the next logical question, "Why hasn't my dad... or you killed them?  Or my mom cause I've heard stories about why they call her the Dragon.  The Italian women in the market say she has a taste vendetta and if someone's family is wronged 'The Dragon' is who they know they can go to.  She'll help families who can't go to the cops and stuff."

She furrowed her brow.

"Is this why you're so sad?  Cause the person who killed Marie is still alive?"  

Sal turned and sent one of his men to get Aurora a hamburger and some fries. 

"Well for a while they thought the man that killed her was killed. Because that person was me," he said to her with remorse and sadness. 

Sal had tears running down his face both for having to tell her and for having done the act in the first place. He looked at the girl's innocent face and the look of pure confusion on her face. 

"I am the man that killed Marie," he says to her. 

Aurora had no memory of Marie and aside from the knowledge the woman was her mother, no affection such as her mother and father had... just a story, as she'd put it earlier.  So hearing the man who was her father say these words was about the oddest thing she'd ever heard.  Worst was seeing him start to cry over the matter.

She tilted her head to the side, a sharp mind trying to figure out a puzzle.  A frown played on her lip but whether it was for the man himself or the thing he'd admitted to, it couldn't be said for sure.

"My dad says that if you pull a weapon on someone, you need to be ready to kill them.  If you kill a man, that's something you gotta carry with you forever and I guess that means you got to be sad about it for a long time." 

She narrowed her eyes. 

"You probably feel bad about killing your wife,"  She leaned forward in her chair.  "...but... I don't know her.  I don't know you.  I came a really long way to figure out why my parents lied, only to find ... they didn't lie.  Which I guess means they're pretty good parents.  And seeing how they haven't shot each other yet,"  She make a dry chuckle.  "I figure I did okay in how it all turned out."

She shrugged.

"So, if you're crying for me... you don't need to.  I'm happy.  I have a good family - even if all Will does is poop and cry and everyone loves him for it.  I mean, I wish knew her and you too ... but... maybe things worked out for the best?"

She didn't feel hatred towards this grown man crying before her, if anything she strangely felt bad for him.  She knew he'd done wrong and bad men should be punished, but if mom and dad hadn't killed him yet... did that mean Marie had done wrong?  Or was this just one of those situations where someone made a bad choice?  A bad decision?  And because mom loved him, she was trying to ignore it?

Aurora wasn't sure if was up to her to forgive him or not, and she honestly didn't know if she should, but she did know he didn't need to cry over it.  There were far better reasons to cry if you had to cry at all.  She didn't need the tears, the dead didn't need them either, and if he was crying for himself that was the height of silliness because he was the one who made the mess to begin with!    

"If you're crying for her... don't.  She's gone now and I don't think she'd want you to cry anyway.  She loved you from everything mom and dad says.  And since they don't lie, that must be true.  People who love us don't want us to cry.  She might be mad at you but moms and dads get mad at each other all the time.  It doesn't mean they stop loving each other.  I think you must love her a lot to still cry.  And... maybe that's your punishment for your mistake.  Now, you're alone.  And that's ... sad."

She drew a breath, for a moment looking very much like Isabella.

"And if you're crying for yourself... then you're just being silly."

She shook her head. 

"You made a bad decision.  You wouldn't be crying if you didn't.  All you can do now is try your best to make up for what you took from the world and me I guess?  Do the things she would do... take care of the people and stuff she would have taken care of, and try to be better.  If you don't learn from your mistakes... then what's the point?  That's what mom says."

She forced a smile.  

"Do you need a tissue?"  She hopped up and reached in her pocket to pull out a kerchief, offering it.  "You're the only one in the world who can answer this question so... I'd like to know the truth some day.  Even if you don't tell me today, will you promise to tell me why someday?  I would like to know what happened.  I mean... did you guys have a fight?  Did she take something from you or your city?  Were you tricked into doing it?"

She kicked at the floor. 

"I mean... we don't have to talk about it.  I got a lot of questions about other stuff."

Sal took a deep breath and gathered himself. Marie's death is something he had to live with and in a way, he was glad to carry that burden alone, and that this little girl didn't have that attachment so she didn't feel the weight of it. He didn't want forgiveness from anyone for what he did. Right or wrong it was the choice that was made and there was nothing anyone could do to change it and anyone affected by it, and still alive, would only forgive him for him, not for themselves. 

"The why is complicated and maybe one day when you are older I can try to explain it to you. But the truth is that the why is not important. It was purely connected to the life we chose to live and the fact that we ran two powerful cities. Marie was a wonderful person and wife and mother. None of that came into why she was killed. A war is why she was killed." he decides that's enough 

"Anything more than that I think would not make any sense. I mean the fact I killed my wife doesn't make much sense, to begin with. Just know she loved you more than anything in the world as I did and still do."

Aurora didn't voice her opinion on her dad's explanation but sat quiet and thoughtful.  In her mind, she worked through the truth of things.  She questioned if her parent's had stayed silent because they didn't know how to tell her that her father was alive, because maybe they were afraid she'd want to go live with him, or maybe (and most likely in her mind) because they didn't know how to tell her that he'd killed her mother.  

It didn't feel good.  The more she tried to find a place for this in her head.  Fathers shouldn't kill mothers.  They were meant to protect them.  Men shouldn't kill women almost as a rule, women were meant to be protected that was the general opinion of most of the adults she knew - though she knew plenty of women that men needed protecting from so that was kinda weird in her head.  But, most women weren't like her mother, her aunts, and she supposed her birth mother too.  And since Marie was one of the most powerful and feared women of them all - she probably needed the least amount of protection.  

Of course, who could anticipate someone who loved her would ever shoot her.  And that was the part, Aurora decided, that bothered her.  IF someone could shoot another person they loved... did that mean everyone in her life was in danger?  That SHE was in danger?  Her father told her that she was the most important person in his and Marie's world... but what did that matter to someone who would kill his wife and the mother of his children?

Aurora had information - but none of it gave her real answers.  So, she did what she did in times like these, she thought and thought about the information she had and her feelings about it, until her head felt dizzy with all the thoughts and feelings.  She told herself she'd know what to say and do and when she finally did, she'd do it. 

A short time later one of Sal's guys, one who'd been with him on the trip to Philly, had returned with a burger in a brown paper bag.  As he entered the room, the look upon his face instantly gave Sal to know that he'd met up with a very worried Gavin. 

He walked over and whispered into his boss' ear, "Guy outside wants to see you.  Says he knows the girl came here.  I didn't confirm nothing, Boss, but um ... he says he's coming into this house in five minutes if someone doesn't come talk with him.  What do you want me to do?"