Forbidden To The Mobster

ld's first me

edtime story. But in my case, my first memory is the last night I saw my parents alive

li, was sitting next to me in the back seat, holding me tightly. She would glance back from time to time, and all she would say was that

Mom?" I asked, fe

her eyes and replied, "Don't wo

, driving the car with a tense expr

going so fast?" I w

orced a smile. "We're just playing a ra

t to ours. I remember the bright lights and the roar of engines as the black car tried to

parents were sadly no longer with us. Two pairs of black shoes were beside

d of view, responded, "We can't le

calmly said, "We'll take care

confused, held onto the hand of the man who appeared to be around my father's age. He helped me ou

ne," he said kindly. "

man I would later discover to be Don Salv

ex world that Don Salvatore ruled. He became my guardian, my protector, and later, my mentor. Th

n that dark night, and since then, I have walked in his shadow, sheltered and guided by a world that many don't understan

*

s had passed since that fateful night when my parents died, but the past continued

o the window, eager to welcome the morning sun that bathed Vibo Valentia, Calabria, in my room. It was an importa

ing sensation. The scent of olive trees and the sea filled the air, and I felt grateful to be

t was Federica, a loyal woman who had become a sort o

ina. Happy birthda

day has finally come," I

u for breakfast. Everyone is eager to c

day, memories flowed like a film in my mind. I vividly remembered what happe

Salvatore's wife, Lucrezia Mancuso, was the driving force behind this twist. She had always dreamed of having a daughter, but after giving birth to four bo

to the idea that I was the daughter she had always wanted, nicknaming me "Bambolina," which in

her own daughter, and I saw her as a loving mother. She taught me about Italian culture, how to coo

and doctors couldn't determine the cause. I never left her side, the woman I had embraced as

she looked at me with tired eyes and expressed a regret t

on, feeling a lump in my thr

me her. Her voice was only a whisper. "You d

ld ask her what she meant, Lucrezia closed her eyes, and her breathing became slow and i

ntegral part of the Mancuso family. He, along with his four sons, taught me everything I needed to know abou

ory in my heart, a mother who loved me, and whom I loved deeply. Under her guidance, I became an es

pite all the years I had spent here. Being accepted by the Mancusos was not an easy

but I was also determined to find my own path within the family. I wouldn't just be Don Salvatore's protégé; I would be a leader in my own right. As I put on the pearl