With Maria buried, the unpleasant task of clearing out her old office in the Mano di Morte family headquarters had fallen to Dexter. He intended to head in after her funeral to clear the room and close up the family building once and for all. Anything personal he would box up to pass on to her daughter, and anything else would be split between those who were closest to her or thrown out. It would be a tough task by any standards, but with the advent of Dexter having feelings, he was sure to find it next to impossible.

Having steeled himself for the task at hand, Dexter made his way into the Mano di Morte headquarters and found it disconcertingly empty. It never used to be this way; he remembered his earlier days in the family, days when the place bustled with life and business. It was, however, peaceful, and it gave Dexter time to work slowly and methodically as he began to go through Maria's office.

He'd filled a box with items to pass down to Maria's daughter before he made it through Maria's bottom desk drawer. Inside, he found an envelope, curiously marked, "FAO Dexter or VladimirLenin on the event of my death". Intrigued, he flipped it over, opened it, and found a letter, short and sweet.

My dear Dex and Vlad,

If you are reading this, I have passed from this world, but you still live on, as does the North Side.

You don't need me to tell you how much I love you both and how proud I am for all that you have achieved, I hope.

The district is in the best possible hands with you two, but I have one final favour to ask you both. If I did not live long enough to do so myself, put Isorin in charge of a family of his own. He will do a most excellent job, I have every faith in that, and it would have been my plan had I made it to the rank of Godfather. Let him fly high and reach his potential alongside the two of you.

Forever yours,

Maria

 

The letter was clear enough, and Dexter intended to do what he could to bring Maria's wishes to fruition. Abandoning his cleaning, he set out at once to find Isorin, to speak to him and to ask him to step up in a bold suit alongisde himself and Vlad in the North Side. 

Finding him putting the muscle on a deli only a block away, Dexter walked over to him, motioning for him to come outside, to a more private spot. There, he told him of Maria's wishes and handed him a key."

"It's her old building, Isorin. You don't have to use it if you don't want to, if it would be too sad, but I know that she would want it. I'll finish off clearing her office tonight, and I can get the names changed on the door. What will your new family be called, brother?"

After two long days losing himself with enough alcohol to drown even the strongest of men, Isorin looked back to what once was, his heart empty and his mind full of what ifs.

Maria had been all he had lived for; everything he had he owed to her. The emptiness was overwhelmining, the pain just too much to bare. They say a man should never cry as it shows weakness, but that cannot be further from the truth. For two days now, he had been losing himself at the bottom of a bottle and shedding enough tears to sink a continent. Isorin looked at himself in the mirror and found that, staring back at him, was a total stranger. He truly had lost himself. His heart was in pieces, his mind was gone. Try as he might, he just didn't seem to be able to function.

Had it not been for Dexter, he could well of ended it all there and then, in that very second that everything he once loved was gone, taken in an instant. For Isorin the world might as well have ended, though Dexter and the rest of his friends had other ideas. Unbeknownst to him at the time, insta, VladimirLenin, PaulHeyman and the rest had been searching for him. Dexter had something he needed to share and it was imperative they found him before he lost himself completely to the bottle.

Listening to the words of Maria's letter brought the pain flooding back, but this time the pain was different. This time, he would not disappear into a bottle. No, this time he was going to make Maria and the rest of the family proud by living on and finishing what had been started. Isorin looked across the table to Dexter and smiled.

"Thank you my friend. Had you not come looking, who knows where I would have ended up. Nothing would honour me more than to finish what we started. I owe Maria and the residents of North Side that much; every breath I have left in my body I will breathe for you and the memory of Maria. From this day forth La Mano Del Diavolo will be at your service."

After hearing the final wishes of the late Don Maria, LucaRossi wanted to make sure he paid his respects.

"As much as its a shame to see you announce this Dexter and not Maria herself, I'm happy to see North Side continue to grow into a fine district. I hope it continues to grow and expand in the memory of the late Don. Isorin, our bloodlines have worked briefly together in the past. However I want you to know I'm here to help with anything you may need in your futures.

Congratulations."

Paul stood alongside Dexter, VladimirLenin and insta, still dressed in the black suit he had worn to Maria's funeral. Her loss had hit North Side like a bombshell, and it was left to those who remained to continue her legacy. He paused for a moment, trying to find the words. His voice trembling, he began to speak.

"Isorin, warm congratulations my friend. However, I wish this could be under different circumstances. This should be a time for celebration, yet we all stand here today mourning the death of the woman who made all of this possible, and without whom there is a great hole in not only our district, but the city of Chicago as a whole.

I know Maria was planning on giving you the keys to your own headquarters upon taking the role of Godfather. It is up to you, Dexter, Vladimir, insta, myself, all of us in North Side, to do her memory justice and to do her proud. I know she would be immensely proud to see you here today holding the keys to your headquarters, and I have absolute faith that you will help us come back from this, rebuild as a district and be the strongest we can be."

Paul raises a glass

"To Maria, to North Side, and to the future."