BELLA'S POV
I arrived in Sicily early the next morning. It smelled like salt and blood, just like I heard about.
I stood at the gates of the Sovereign estate, or should I say what was left of it, and felt fifteen years of ghosts pressing against my skin. Years ago I was born in this house, and it had died with my parents.
The estate looked like the corpse of its old self, one can tell how vibrant and magnificent this place was, but now, the walls are crumbling, gardens wild and overgrown, windows shattered like broken teeth. But the gates still stood, wrought iron twisted into an elaborate S.
Sovereign.
My name, the thought of it made my heart skip a beat, I'm back home, exactly where I belong.
I pushed through the gates and walked towards the main building, each step echoing in my mind, several thoughts about my surroundings running through my mind as I absorbed my environment. I looked around, to find someone, anyone, I knew they were around here.
After wandering for an hour, they found me, three men, meant to guard the estate, I think.
They were armed to the teeth, watching me suspiciously.
The oldest stepped forward, gun lowered but ready. "You're trespassing." He said, realizing I'm harmless.
"No, I belong here!" I stated with conviction, the men looked at me like I suddenly grew horns.
"My name is Isabella Marie Sovereign. Alessandro Sovereign was my father. This is my family's land."
The men watched me for a while, then burst into a fit of laughter.
I'd anticipated their doubts, I knew they would need solid evidence.
"Alessandro's daughter died with him," the man said. "Everyone knows that."
"Everyone's wrong." I pulled out the documents I'd found in Anthony's floorboard.
Displaying the ones I carefully arranged, ensuring I didn't display any major documents.
"Remember Anthony?, he took care of me. I was given to him as a child, now that I have survived, I'm here to claim what's mine."
The oldest man took the documents, studying them. His hands started shaking.
"Dio mio," he whispered. "The eyes. You have his eyes."
"I have more than his eyes." I stepped closer. "I have his name. His blood." I looked at each of them. "And I need soldiers. Are you interested, or your loyalty belongs somewhere else?"
The men exchanged glances. Some silent communication I didn't understand.
Finally, the oldest knelt.
"Tommaso Ricci, lady Sovereign. I served your father for twenty years. I was there that night—" His voice broke. "The night we lost everything."
"Then help me take it back." I said regaining my lost confidence, lifting my chin slightly,
First mission accomplished.
They brought me to their safehouse, a warehouse located on the edge of Palermo, filled with men who have been hiding in shadows for a while, they are Sovereign men.
Loyalists who'd scattered like roaches.
"How many?" I asked Tommaso.
"Forty-three men. Some women. Children of soldiers who died." He poured wine.
"We've lost hope, Lady Sovereign. Fifteen years, we've been waiting for someone to rise from the ashes, hoping the heir Alessandro wrote about was real."
"We were haunted years after Alessandro's death" he paused trying to find his voice "By Don Caruso" he stated,
My hands fisted beside me, my eyes twitched slightly. He will really stop at nothing to get everyone dear to me.
"Don Caruso is my ex husband..." I recounted my experience, explaining why I came back.
"I'm here to avenge my family" I concluded resting my back on the chair, staring at the crowd listening to me.
Tommaso was quiet for a while, then he spoke up, "We had nothing to fight for before, now that we have directions we will fight for you"
I calmly took the wine, the anger brewing earlier dissolves, it was easier than I thought, I smiled feeling proud of the moment.
"We are so happy to have you Lady Sovereign." One of the men shouted, Tommaso nodded in agreement
"We thought Anthony didn't survive, we never heard from him when everything died down."
Hearing Anthony, the sadness returned, the fact that I was directly involved with Dante for years breaks my heart, I can't believe I ignored Anthony's warning till it was late.
Anthony.
He knew who I was, who Dante was, but I got married behind his back. I could remember the fear in his eyes when I got married. He was forced into silence. My eyes stings at the memory of his dead body floating in the river, Elena remains that were found years later.
How dare Dante? He killed both sets of my parents. I will ruin his whole empire, even if I die trying. He spent years hunting for me, now I will spend months haunting him.
Something about that night wasn't clear to me, I need answers.
"Who ordered the hit?" I asked, my voice weak,"Who killed my family?"
Tommaso leaned forward. "It was blamed on the Vitales that Lorenzo Vitale's son led the attack. But the orchestrator was obvious, it was someone who benefited from the Sovereign territories being up for grabs"
"Caruso's were the one who controlled the territories right?" I asked, Tommaso nodded.
Dante Again!
"When?"
"Within months of your family's death. Caruso moved fast, claiming the territories were abandoned, that they were "maintaining order." Tommaso spat. "Maintaining order by dancing on graves."
I stood, my legs a little unsteady. Tommaso stood with me. I made the right decision by leaving. At least I made one good decision in my life.
"What do you need from us?" Tommaso asked.
"Everything possible" I turned to face the men in the room. " I need you to teach me all I need to know, I'm a Sovereign by blood, I need to take back what was stolen from us"
"And Dante Caruso?"
"I'm going to destroy him." My voice was ice. "Piece by piece. Everything he built on my family's blood, I'm going to burn to the ground."
The room erupted in approval. Fists pounding tables, men shouting their loyalty.
I stood there, feeling my old life die and something new rising from the ashes.
Bella Russo was dead.
Long live Isabella Sovereign.
********
That night, I stood on the balcony overlooking Palermo, a city my father once controlled.
Thinking about what could happen and what has happened.
Tommaso appeared beside me. I felt grateful for the opportunity to meet my father's men before my ex husband wiped them out too.
"Tell me more about them, my parents" I said, my mood lifting slightly, Tommaso signed slowly, the silence was long, then she said
"Tomorrow not tonight, you should get some rest" He paused. "It won't be easy, lady Sovereign. Becoming who you need to be. It requires sacrifice."
"I've already sacrificed everything."
"No." He looked at me with sad eyes. "Not yet. But you will."
He left, and I stood alone, watching the city sparkle below.
The war has started, and I'm changing.
I just hoped when this is over, when I'd burned down everything he built and stood victorious in the ashes, I'd still recognize the woman in the mirror.
But I was willing to risk it, even if I die trying.