SERAFINA'S POV
It was raining heavily when I walked on the long hallway of my father's mansion. Two guards, I had known since childhood, Toni and Nico walked beside me.
There was complete silence in the mansion. The only sound was coming from my heels clicking on the floor. I kept my shoulders straight, even though my heart was beating fast. In my family, the Rossi family, you were not allowed to show fear.
I stooped outside my father's study and the guards opened the door. I entered inside and saw my father sitting behind his desk, he didn't look up from whatever he was reading. Right now, he looked like a normal man but he was actually a monster.
"Serafina. Sit." He ordered.
I looked around the room. My older brother Luciano stood by the fireplace looking worried. In the corner, my younger sister Bianca sat watching me with her fiery eyes. Then, I sat on the chair opposite to my father just like he had ordered.
"Whiskey?" He asked but was already pouring.
"Thank you." I took the glass but didn't drink.
He finally looked at me.
"You're wondering why you're here."
"I'm wondering which of my mistakes you're about to punish me for." I replied in a playful tone.
He smiled slightly.
"No mistakes. Your work has been excellent everywhere, be it Prague or Vienna."
He was talking about the people I'd "handled" for him.
"Then is there a good news?" I asked.
"That depends." He slid a photograph across the desk.
I picked it up. It was the photograph of a man at an art gallery. He had black hair, was wearing a designer suit and was handsome in a dangerous way. I recognized him immediately.
"Lorenzo Vitale."
Lorenzo Vitale was our family's enemy. Our family war had killed dozens, including my uncle last year.
"They call him The Viper. Do you know why?" My father asked.
"Because he waits for the right moment to strike, and when he does, you never see it coming until it's far too late."
"Smart girl." My father leaned back in his chair. "He's taking over the Vitale family in six months when his father steps down."
"What do you want me to do?" I asked, even though I already knew.
There was only one reason my father would show me this photo.
"I want you to destroy him."
Silence filled the room. I placed the photo on his desk.
"How?" I asked.
"In the same old fashioned way." My father smiled. "Seduce him. Make him trust you. Get close to him to learn everything about Vitale operations."
"You want me to be a honeypot?"
"I want you to be what you were trained to be. A weapon."
Luciano finally spoke up.
"Father, this is too dangerous. Lorenzo doesn't trust anyone. He's smart, and he has killed people for lying to him."
"Which is exactly why I'm sending Serafina and not some amateur." My father responded. "Do you doubt your sister's abilities?"
"I doubt anyone's ability to fool Lorenzo Vitale."
"Then it's a good thing I raised the best." My father looked at me. "You've been using your art student cover for two years. It's the perfect timing. Lorenzo collects art. He owns three galleries in the city. You'll enter into his world naturally."
I had built my cover identity perfectly. I had enrolled in classes, created a portfolio, even sold a few pieces.
"He'll investigate me. He'll find inconsistencies."
"Your background is bulletproof. We've made sure of it." My father opened a file. "Sera Moretti, art student from Florence. Orphan raised by her grandmother. No family connections, no suspicious history."
"When do I've to start?" I asked.
"Lorenzo is hosting a private gallery opening next Friday. You'll be there. One of the artists dropped out last minute. Your will fill the spot."
I had one week to prepare to seduce the most dangerous man in the underworld.
"And once I'm close to him?" I asked. "Once I have his trust? What's the endgame?"
"You extract information about Vitale operations, and when the time is right, you make sure he's exactly where we need him to be."
"For an assassination." I replied.
"For justice. He killed your uncle Tom."
"You're using Uncle Tom's death as justification? We both know this is about territory and money. Don't dress it up as revenge."
"Watch your tone." Father warned.
"Or what? You'll send someone else? We both know I'm the only one who can do this." I stood, up, placing my hands on his desk, leaning forward. "So, let's be honest. You're sending me to extract information out of Lorenzo Vitale, then set him up to die."
For a moment, father just stared at me. Then he laughed.
"Yes. That's exactly what you're going to do, and you're going to do it perfectly, because that's what Rossi women do."
"I could die."
"You could but you won't. You're too good."
"He could discover who I am."
"He won't."
"And if I refuse?"
The room went completely silent again.
"You won't refuse."
"Why not?" I challenged. "Because you'll disown me? Kill me? I don't care about that."
"No. Because if you refuse, your sister pays the price instead." Father announced.
Bianca immediately stood up from her chair.
"I'll do it. I can seduce Lorenzo Vitale just as easily…"
"Sit down." Father snapped.
"Dad, I'm just as trained as Sera. I can…"
"You're a hammer, Bianca. This task requires a scalpel. Sit. Down." He ordered.
Bianca's hands clenched into fists. Her face flushed with humiliation and rage but she sat.
I knew that look. I'd seen the jealousy, the resentment, the desperate need for our father's approval that Bianca could never quite earn.
FLASHBACK (When I was 16, at a training facility).
"Again." Our instructor said.
Bianca and I circled each other on the practice mat. We'd been training for an hour. My movements were controlled, and precise while Bianca fought with rage and passion.
I swept Bianca's legs, and she fell down.
"Excellent technique, Serafina." Our instructor praised. "Bianca, you're letting emotion dictate your movements. Think, don't just react."
Bianca's eyes were filled with jealousy like always, but for the first time I'd seen the hatred in her eyes for me.
I blinked, coming back to the present. Bianca was staring at me with that same hatred.
"Bianca has other talents." Father said. "This mission requires subtlety."
"It's fine." Bianca said. Sera has always been better at playing the wh*re."
"Bianca…" Luciano shouted.
"What? It's a compliment." Bianca smiled. "She'll fu*k him, betray him, and probably make him thank her for it. That's a skill I don't have. I'd just k*ll him on the first night. Sera's way is better."
"That's enough. Luciano, Bianca…leave us." Father ordered.
Luciano hesitated, looking at me with concern. I gave him a small nod. He left with Bianca following him but with one last venomous glance over her shoulder. The door closed, leaving me alone with father.
"You know your sister has always been jealous of you." He said.
"I know."
"Do you know why?"
"Because you favor me. Because I'm everything she wishes she could be." The words hurt to say, but they were true.
"Exactly." He sipped his drink. "Bianca is brilliant in her own way but she's reckless. Two weeks ago, Bianca was supposed to eliminate a Vitale informant. She left his body in a public park. Police are investigating. She left DNA, fingerprints." He slid another folder across the desk. "Crime scene photos."
I opened it.
"My god!" I whispered.
"If the police finds out that Bianca is the murderer, she goes to prison for life with no parole. I can make that evidence disappear. I can protect her or..."
"Or you can use her as a scapegoat." I finished. "Throw her to the police to protect the family."
"Exactly."
"You're blackmailing me with my sister's life."
"I'm giving you motivation." He leaned forward. "You've always been soft when it comes to Bianca even when she doesn't deserve it."
"She's family."
"Exactly, and family protects family. So, you'll do this mission, Serafina. You'll seduce Lorenzo Vitale. You'll extract every piece of information we need, and you'll do it all perfectly."
"And if I fail?"
"Then I have no reason to protect your sister. Bianca spends the rest of her life in prison." He stood up. "But you won't fail. Because you're my daughter. You have one week to prepare. Matteo will be your handler. Study Lorenzo's file and memorise everything." Father stood up and gestured towards the door. "Oh, and Serafina?"
I looked up.
"Don't disappoint me. You're my daughter, but even daughters can be replaced."
I stood up, and walked towards the door with my hand on the handle.
"And if you think of doing anything except what I've ordered…" His smile was cruel. "Well. Accidents happen. Bianca's always been unstable. It would be tragic if she didn't survive her next assignment. Do we understand each other?"
"Yes."
I opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
Bianca was leaning against the wall, waiting. She'd heard everything.
"Looks like you're going to save me again, big sister. Try not to enjoy playing the hero too much."
"Bianca…"
"Don't." She stepped back. "We both know you'll do it. You'll sacrifice yourself because that's what you do. You're daddy's perfect weapon."
"I'm doing this for you."
"I didn't ask you to." Bianca was teary eyed. "I never asked you to be my savior but you can't help yourself, can you? You need to be the good one."
"That's not…"
"Save it." Bianca walked away. "Go fu*k The Viper. Get yourself killed playing hero, just don't expect me to cry at your funeral."
Then she disappeared around the corner, leaving me alone in the hallway trapped between an impossible mission and my sister's life.