"Like forbidden fruit—no one knows its taste, yet we all know the price."
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Sirani Castle
In the castle garden, On a dark night, the winds were fierce, darkness enveloped the place, tall trees surrounded the castle like guardian demons, and the howling of wolves told people hundreds of kilometers away of the approaching borders of the Serrani.
Moreno, Racina, Antonio and Helen were playing their favorite game, Truth or Dare.
They were wearing thin, half-sleeved clothes; even Rasina wore a short Chanel dress, as if they were challenging the weather to bring out all its best.
These four, or the Trouble Quartet as they called them, were the eldest grandchildren of the Serrani, the nephews of Alejandro؛ the clan leader.
He trusted them more than anyone in the world. They were like the pillars upon which the clan rested.
He had never assigned them a task and they had returned defeated. In their dictionary, there were only two options: they succeeded or they succeeded, there was no other option.
They all had yellow eyes, but Moreno and Racina had brown hair, while Antonio and Helen had blond hair.
These are the Serrani genes that the clan share; their yellow eyes make them stand out in Rome.This made them have many secret fans، For example,
Racina has been receiving anonymous letters for almost three years, in which she receives poems about the color of her eyes, and Antonio and Moreno receive marriage proposals.
Helen was known for her volatile temper and violence, so no one dared approach her. The last one do so was a high school student who sent her a small piece of wood engraved with the following words: "You will do humanity a service by giving birth to children."
He ended up getting it stuck in his mouth and forcing him to swallow it.
Racina said, "Your role , Antonio, dare or truth?
" Truth"
"coward. Well, answer this. Um, if you had an external power and could prevent something from happening, what would you prevent?"
Without hesitation or thought, he answered, lying on the grass with his eyes on the stars.
"Preventing Alicia kidnapping"
A deathly silence fell over everyone; they looked at each other with lifeless eyes. A strong wind blew at that moment, sharing their painful memories. Yes... even after all these years, no one in the clan has gotten over what happened that dark night.
"She died"
Mourino said it with dead eyes. Then he added, "Do you still call it kidnapping?"
"As long as we haven't seen her body... yes... She is still missing ."
The four of them sighed... then they all lay down on the grass.
" I've always believed that we can't change fate or events, especially when it comes to life and death. But that night, I desperately wish I could change it, or lose my memory so I could forget it forever. Sometimes I even find myself wishing I'd never married in the first place, never had children... and never lost them. "
The four of them got up quickly and turned around. Lady Rovinia was behind them and had heard their conversation.She was wearing a black dress made of elegant French lace and a black hat as well, for she only wore black after the death of her seven sons, and the kidnapping and murder of her only daughter Alicia .
She smiled and then asked them to
return to their place. She went into the middle and lay down with them on the grass. They hugged her and said, "You know you're our mother All , right?"
"I know"
Everyone fell silent and continued gazing at the stars, dark emotions burning within them, each vowing revenge.
*******************
Celia grabbed her notebook and pen, straightened herself up, and entered the meeting room. It was her first meeting at Larsen & Co., and she was excited.
Even though she'd been forced into this job and had to abandon her final year of medical school, she didn't know why she was so excited. It was just her nature, of course..
She entered the empty meeting room, and after a few seconds, the men started to come in. Five men entered, three of whom looked to be in their forties, while the others appeared to be in their mid-thirties.
They were all wearing elegant suits, but she knew, of course, that appearances were just that—appearances.
A few minutes later, Rodolfo Larsen entered. All the men stood up and waited for his signal to sit down again.
She was right behind him, notebook and pen in hand, ready to take notes.
Rodolfo opened his computer and began to speak. You know very well the reason for this emergency meeting.
We received $300 million this morning from the weapons mission, so I want the fastest way to launder this money.
The amount will be divided among you..
so that the first process will be money laundering through a casino Venice (The Mysterious Palace) - "The Aristocratic Face of Crime"
The person in charge of this task was Kaizo; gambling was his specialty; he played with the rich and the politicians as he played with cards.
Secondly, Giovanni, you will be participating in the international auction next week, buying a painting. I heard that one of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings will be on display there.
There's $100 million left, I'd like to hear your opinions.
Celia was passing her honey eyes to everyone present at the meeting; they were exchanging suspicious, silent glances with each other, especially when Rodolfo turned around..
Until a man who appeared to be in his
forties spoke,
"I suggested dividing the remaining amount among some fledgling startups to develop their businesses, and then adding them to our team later"..
" guarantee that "
With these words, Rodolfo concluded the meeting.
Everyone left; only Rodolfo and Celia remained in the room. She approached and placed in front of him the notebook in which she had written..
His attention was drawn to a side note: tension, glances, movement, hair-scratching, deception.
A frown appeared between his brows. He looked at her, but she smiled.
"I don't know what kind of men they are, how close they are to you, or how much you trust them, but I think you should be careful."
He smiled, revealing a dimple on his right cheek she'd never noticed before.
How could she do this? This man was an iceberg, devoid of emotion. His voice brought her back to the present. "What do you say we continue our conversation in my office, Miss Malfredi?"
She nodded and followed him to his office.
When They entered his office, he closed the door and then said..
"So, I understand from your words that you doubt my men "
"Just a note, doing my job as you know"
" Of course "
'Their body language was not reassuring. "
"Perhaps because we're discussing massive money laundering, not what we'll eat for dinner"..
She smiled, then said sarcastically..
"I don't think men like that would be bothered by money laundering, as you know."
He smiled again and added, "Are you determined?"
"I defend my opinion"
"You are a lawyer in the Otherlife"..
She smiled." My offer still stands; I can be if you need. "..
He chuckled; he really enjoyed her matching his sarcasm. Then he added..
"Well, I didn't expect this from your first meeting."
She looked at him With focus , waiting for him to continue, then he said :
"I noticed some discrepancies in the company's monthly income about two months ago, so I became suspicious of some under-the-table deals"..
" I'll take care of it. "
.....
Celia is lying in bed wearing pink pajamas with a pink panther print. She has her baby with ears, her hair is pulled up in a tomato-shaped bun, and she's chatting with her best friend, Bianca.
"Celia, no nag you're coming with me!"
"Bianca, I don't really like those parties, and I'm busy with work"
" Damn it, Celia, the party's after work, and we won't be long "
Celia sighed, hardly believing She'll accompany her crazy friend to carry out her so-called genius ideas.
"Well, but we won't be late."
"Thank you, love you, kisses, goodnight"
Celia read the letter and then lay back, truly insane!!
Bianca wanted to attend Duke De Cavalli's party tomorrow to celebrate the opening of his museum showcasing rare paintings by the world's most brilliant artists, just to make her wealthy lover Marcello jealous، Because she quarreled with him over his looking at a painting attributed to "Leonardo da Vinci" and known as La "Bella Principessa", a drawing of a beautiful young woman — believed to be "Bianca Sforza", daughter of the Duke of milan, He then remarked that She looks attractive,Or perhaps he's come to love everything that bears the name Bianca.
Of course, she considered his so-called "dark comedy" an insult,
and that he should have said his Bianca was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
The poor fellow ended up apologizing hundreds of times, saying he was expressing his opinion from an artistic perspective.
Of course, she'll attend the party because she's also interested in art.
The party was to be attended by the bourgeois class of businessmen, politicians, and wealthy aristocratic families; Bianca had the opportunity to attend Because she is from the Santani De Rosa family, a very old and noble family in Italy,
Although Celia was her best friend, the number of high-class parties she attended with her friend could be counted on one hand—a few birthday parties and celebrations of her father's achievements—because she felt that those places didn't suit her and that she didn't belong.
But she will attend tomorrow only because of her insistence, and also because she wants a change of scenery after the pressures she has been under recently.
In the morning, Celia woke up to her mother shouting her name and went downstairs to see the large package addressed to her waiting at the door.
" I don't remember ordering anything"
She stepped forward to read the message sent with him:
.
.
.
.
.
.....