Thanks to Fyrebyrd, Gabby1017, 2brown-eyes, and TheMetroDad for pre-reading, and to my beta, SunflowerFran. Please remember, all mistakes are mine.
Translations used are Sicilian and taken from omniglot dot com, and vary slightly from Italian. If you see any discrepancies, please let me know!
Let's see what Edward has been up to since the wedding.
Edward
"Salutamu," I say in greeting to the woman seated behind the reception desk. "Parra inglisi?"
She puts her hand out, wiggling it in a so-so motion when asked if she speaks English.
"Mi capisci si parru inglisi?" I ask if she will understand me if I speak English.
"I try," she says simply.
I place my hand on my chest. "I am Anthony Maisano," I start before lowering my hand to the desk. "I am looking for my aunt, Jane Mancini," I say slowly as if speaking to a toddler. Emmett snickers from beside me.
The woman's eyes light up in recognition. "Se. Jane Mancini. Yes." Her eyes go to the screen before her as her fingers type. "Yes, room 33."
I reach for her. "Grazij," I say as I kiss the top of her hand. Her giggle tells me I haven't lost my touch.
As we walk away from the desk, Emmett waits until we're out of the line of sight before he punches my arm.
"Ow! What the fuck was that for?"
"You forget you got a wife now?"
"Oh, shut the hell up, Em. Of course I didn't forget. You know sometimes the best way to get what you want is by turning on the charm." Looking over at my brother, I'm still not used to the sight of him with blond hair. I'm sure my dyed dark, closely-cropped mane, short beard, and meager mustache I've grown over the last two weeks are just as strange. And while I love my wife's expressive, chocolate-brown eyes, the contacts we're both wearing can only be described as shit-brown.
Spending time in the birthplace of the Cosa Nostra, we couldn't afford to take any chances with being recognized. It took much longer to locate the facility than I thought it would. Add to that the surveillance we had to do to make sure Jane wasn't regularly visited by any known Voltolini associates, it's taken every bit of the past two weeks to be ready for today.
It's also been more than two, long weeks of only speaking to my wife and daughter sporadically. The burner phones we're using are a way to stay in touch but not be traced. My paranoia at someone, possibly Da, tapping our personal phones, has reached epic proportions. I feel betrayed by the man who raised me; so underhanded moves are now expected from him. And in light of his oldest son's disappearance, him keeping a closer eye on us wouldn't surprise me. It's not out of the realm of possibility someone may be trying to intercept our calls.
I also don't know if our disappearance from the island has been noticed. Da could have left behind some of the men still loyal to him just to keep watch over Emmett and me. And if we've been seen, I can't risk the safety of my girls if someone were to discover we're nosing around in Sicily.
Jimmy has been sending me daily updates from his own burner, filling in details Bella chooses to keep from me. It's breaking both our hearts for me to not be there with her. When he told me how depressed she'd become, it nearly had me turning back for home. The need to have her safely by my side was eating away at me. But I also know I need answers so we can finally have some peace. And I'm pretty confident I'll find many of them with Jane.
As we follow the signs through the facility, we can't help but notice the level of care this place provides. Whatever the reason for Jane Mancini to be here, I know where the money she receives from my father is going
Emmett points out the small sign on the wall outside the room we're looking for.
33
Jane Mancini
Her name permanently etched into the sign tells me she's been a long time resident. The door is slightly ajar, so we take our chances and step through it, gently knocking as we go.
"Mrs. Mancini?" I call out.
"Se," she replies.
As we round the curve of the short hallway into her room, we're greeted by the sight of a slight, middle-aged woman seated in an armchair by the window.
"Jane?" I ask as our eyes meet.
"Yes, that is me," she says in a noticeably Sicilian accent. Her eyes meet mine, and they light up. "And I do not need to ask who you are. You both look like your father. Although I think you may be hiding your mother's coloring under the bad hair dye, se?"
Em and I exchange a look. "Um..."
"Were you worried someone would see you here? Eh," she scoffs, waving her hand dismissing the notion. "No one is watching over me. No one cares whether I live or die. They left me here to rot a long time ago."
"May we?" I ask, pointing at the small sofa in the room.
"Of course. Make yourselves comfortable. I do not get many visitors."
"So, no one comes to see you?"
She scoffs. "Oh, I get the occasional visitor meant to intimidate me, I am sure. They want to make sure I do not speak of the Family and who I really am."
"Who you really are?" Emmett asks.
"Se, by blood I am a Voltolini, but most here believe I am merely Jane Mancini, lonely cripple with no family." The bitterness in her tone is clear.
"You know our father?" I ask, trying to gauge just how much she's willing to reveal.
"Oh, I would say I know him as well as anyone could know another. I even thought I loved him many years ago."
Her candor is throwing me for a fuckin' loop. While I hoped she'd be willing to speak to us, I never imagined she'd be so ... open.
"So you were involved with him then?" Emmett asks from my side.
She narrows her eyes at my brother, and I see a flash of the hotheaded young woman she must've been before time and circumstance put her where she is.
"I was a foolish girl and fell for the charms of an older man. But if you want to romanticize it, then be my guest." She sighs and turns again to look out the window. "It was a lifetime ago, and I lost much because of my reckless heart."
I take a breath, steeling myself to start my questioning. "Mrs. Mancini, we—"
"Oh, I am no Mrs.," she says with that same fire I saw a moment ago. "No man would want me after what those men put me through. Using me as if I were some puppet in their tug of war." She mumbles her last words, but we hear them. "No, I was a pawn in their game."
"And what game was that?" I ask.
She turns back to look our way. "My mother warned me many times not to allow a man to make choices for me, but the day she died, well, I seemed to forget all she tried to teach me." Her eyes fall to her hands idly playing in her lap. It's then I notice how frail she looks; her legs so thin and delicate beneath her.
"Will you tell us?"
Her fire-filled eyes once again meet mine. "And why should I spill all my secrets to you? What good will it do to dig up the past?"
I huff out a breath, unsure how to convince this woman to talk to us. "Because they say those unwilling to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it," I say, staring directly into her eyes.
She studies me for a long time before nodding once, her gaze falling to her lap. When she speaks again, her voice is low.
"I met your father a long time ago," she recalls. "It was not long after I turned sixteen, and I had never seen a man so handsome. He had come to meet with my patri, and I made a point to introduce myself before he left our home. His eyes were what grabbed my attention." She smiles to herself, seemingly lost in the memory. "When I found out who he was, I made it my mission to seek him out. I was able to sneak away and meet with him in secret. My father never knew his little principessa was falling in love with a man who was in many ways his enemy."
She turns to look at us, and her eyes are filled with sadness. "When I found out I was carrying his child, Carlisle promised me things would work out and that he would take care of everything. But I could only hide it from my patri for so long. When he finally discovered my secret, he threatened the life of the child I carried if I didn't tell him who the father was." Tears gather in her eyes.
"I was very close to the birth by then, so he locked me away for what felt like months. When my labor finally began, I begged my father to bring Carlisle to me. I wanted him by my side. He had promised things would work out, and I clung to that promise. Had I known what he meant ..." She shakes her head as he gaze falls back to her lap.
"Did he ever come for you?"
"Oh, he was there the very next day. I woke to the sound of men arguing. My patri, my ziu, my older cousin, Caius, and the man I believed to be my savior were all screaming at each other. At the time, my girlish fantasies led me to think Carlisle was there to whisk away our son and me to live happily ever after." She takes in a deep breath before blowing it out. "But, no, that wasn't meant to be. He was there to take away my child, the son I had given birth to only hours before, and give him to the wife I did not know existed."
Emmett and I exchange a weary glance, knowing we're getting close to finding out the reason behind all the lies and deceit.
"Ms. Mancini, why did your family allow that to happen? Why would they let him take your son? Allow you to just hand him over to our father?" Emmett asks.
She scoffs. "Oh, I would not say it was as simple as that. I did not willingly hand him over. And much blood was shed that day."
"Blood?"
"Se. Their arguing only escalated. Things became heated, and I will never know for sure who fired first, but when the first shot rang out, I tried to hide away in my closet, holding my screaming newborn in my arms." A few tears fall from her eyes, trailing down her cheek. "It went on for a very long time, and when it finally quieted, I hoped it was over, and I could take my son away from all the violence, from the men that would cause him harm."
"But it didn't happen that way, did it?" I ask softly, genuine sadness for the woman before me filling my heart. Her own family, men that should have protected her, caused her so much pain.
"No, it did not." She sniffles and reaches for a nearby tissue box. "When I finally opened the door of my closet, I was face to face with my cousin. I will never forget the evil I saw in his eyes that day. He ripped my child from my arms and just ... walked away. I was stunned. I could not move. Fear for what was going on around me held me in place for a long while. I was only a child myself, and I had no idea what horrors I would discover beyond my door. When I finally came to my senses, I got to my feet and ran after the man who took my son. But, I was too late. I stood at the top of the staircase watching Caius passing him to your father, and I had no hope of ever having him back in my arms." Her eyes meet mine. "I did not even see the carnage surrounding me as I ran down the steps, trying to reach them. And it was not until I felt the pain of a bullet in my back and fell to the floor that I saw my patri in a pool of blood beside me."
Knowing what I know of Marcus Voltolini, my thoughts quickly lead me to a logical conclusion. "Was it Marcus that fired the shot?"
"I believe so. There were not many men standing at that point. Patri must have held his own trying to get to me."
"Jane, please help us understand. Why would your uncle and cousin be so set on your son being given to Carlisle?" I ask.
She looks me directly in the eyes. "Because my uncle and cousin would not allow me to keep him. My son was the rightful heir to Aro."
My brow furrows in confusion. "But—"
"He was never able to father a son, and I was the only child born to him. His first wife, Sulpicia, bore him no children, and she conveniently ... disappeared. Once he was no longer tied to her, he was able to marry my mother, Renata. I may have been born before they wed, but their marriage made me part of the bloodline in the eyes of the Family. My mother died giving birth to a son, who also did not survive, so the child I carried would have then stood in line to lead the Family one day." She sighs, sadness taking over her face. "Not that my father's men would have followed him, being half Irish, but Marcus and Caius wouldn't take any chances. They wanted him gone. And Carlisle was there, all too willing to take him. His goal of hurting my father by seducing me was his plan, but having a son to deliver to his wife was a bonus."
Her words hang heavy in the air, settling like a dust cloud between us. The implications of what happened so long ago reaching us all these years later.
I can only imagine the panic Marcus and Caius felt when they learned their place in the Family was being put in jeopardy by a newborn baby. Even if what Jane says is true, that her father's men wouldn't have followed him when the time came simply because of his paternity, Marcus and Caius had to have been too blinded by fear and desperation. Our father being there to take Jasper was what they wanted. Maybe it was their plan all along. And only three men can answer those questions.
"And the shot to the back is what brought you here?" Emmett asks as I'm lost in my own thoughts.
"Se, yes. Thirty-five years I have been locked away here, like some dirty secret. After I was treated in Boston for my injuries, which left me unable to walk, I was put on a plane for Sicily, and have been here ever since."
"Why do you stay here, Ms. Mancini? You could have left years ago."
She narrows her eyes at me as if I'm a bit thick.
"Where would I go? They dumped me off here without a second thought. And why would I want to go live alone? I have no family to care for me. At least this way I have someone to talk to every day, someone only a call away if I need something. Besides," she says, pausing to glance out the window, "they would not let me leave, or if I did, they would not let me get far. I know they have people checking in on me on occasion, to ensure the safety of their secrets."
"And our father has been the one to pay for your care?"
"He has," she says with a nod. "His guilt for what happened has been great. He has even come to visit me over the years. It is only occasionally, maybe every few years, but he would bring me pictures of my son and shared with me what he could. In the early years of my stay here, only distant relatives would come to see me. And other than Marcus' men that come to check in on me, the other visits waned over time. Other than a few visits by a woman I had never met before, well over twenty years ago, you are the only new faces in a very long time."
"Did Da ever bring Jasper?"
"Sadly, no. I am sure the men keeping watch over me would not have allowed it."
"Has he been here recently? Da?"
"Oh, it has been a few years since I saw your father." She suddenly brightens. "On his last visit, he told me I had a granddaughter." Her eyes seem lit from within, chasing away the demons of her past, thinking of the little girl who shares her blood.
"Bon jornu, Jane!" The cheerful voice calls from the doorway, the orderly carrying what looks like a lunch tray. "Oh! Scusa," she says with surprise, clearly not used to seeing visitors in Jane's room. "M'â scusari."
Jane waves off her apology and the woman leaves the tray on a nearby table. Our hostess seems anxious to hear about the granddaughter she's never met, her eyes shining with curiosity.
I clear my throat, unsure what I'm willing to divulge to this woman about my princess. "Yes, you do have a granddaughter."
"And does Jasper treat her well? I was always so worried the blood in his veins was bad. The only hope I had to hold on to was that Esme was a better mother than I could have been."
My jaw tenses as I think of the lies our father has undoubtedly told this woman about her son; the newborn ripped from her arms.
"Actually, I'm raising her. I'm married to her mother," I say curtly.
"Oh!" A look of surprise covers her face. "Why is Jasper not raising his daughter?"
I grit my teeth, holding back the words of hatred for the man who just weeks ago, I personally sent to a watery grave. Thankfully, my brother steps in to answer her question.
"He's had trouble with drugs over the years, so he has never been part of her life."
"I see," she says, her eyes going back to her lap. The pain and sadness that this woman has dealt with her entire life is almost palpable. While I don't want to lie to her, I don't think it would be fair to tell her the truth about the vile creature she gave birth to.
"Do you have a picture of her?" she asks, looking up at me, the hope clear in her eyes.
"No, I'm sorry, I don't have one with me." My answer is not the one she had hoped for. I feel like a shit father, not having her picture with me, but I couldn't risk carrying around my personal phone while we're here. It's under lock and key at a safe house in Cork.
"What can you tell me about her?" she asks wistfully.
I can't help but smile, thinking of my princess. "Her name is Kaitlin. She's nine and full of fire, much like her mother."
"What else can you tell me?"
As much as I want to keep my daughter safe and separate from the ghosts of the past, I can't find a reason not to give this woman something, anything, to grant her some peace, knowing something good finally came from the sins of the past.
"She loves to read," I say with a small smile. "She hates math but loves adventures. She will go out of her way to make sure you smile when she's around and she's ... She's my princess, and I would do anything for her."
"And she is ... happy?"
"Very. She and her mother are my life."
"Why do I feel like we've spent a month zig-zagging all over the goddamn planet?" Emmett roughly rubs at his face to wake himself.
"Because we fuckin' have." I side-eye my brother, just as irritated as he is to be on this commercial flight. Making arrangements last minute meant we were flying coach on an international flight. It is not pleasant.
Our visit with Jane didn't last much longer once we got the full story about the events leading up to, and surrounding, Jasper's birth. The male nurse that came in to check on Jane not long after her tray was delivered kept glancing our way trying to work out who we were and why we were visiting, so on the off chance he was someone employed by the Voltolini family, we decided to high tail it out of there.
We took the next flight to Dublin then drove to the safe house in Cork, hopefully losing anyone we may have had on our trail. After resting long enough, we gathered our personal belongings and made our way to the airport to head back to Boston.
But it was the frantic call from Da that had me checking in with Jimmy to make sure my girls were okay. He sounded on the edge of reason, and a feeling of unease had settled into my bones.
"Yeah," I answer, impatience seeping into my tone. If we don't hurry the fuck up, we're going to miss our plane. They've already announced boarding for our flight to Boston.
"Edward, where the fuck have you been? I've been trying to reach you for days! Why the hell haven't you or Emmett been answering my calls? Have you heard from your brother?" His rapid fired questions catch me off guard.
"What? Emmett? Yeah, he's taking an extended vacation with his—"
"No! Jasper. No one has heard from him in almost a month now, andI'm more than a little fuckin' worried."
"No, I haven't. You do realize I'm on my honeymoon, don't you?"
"And I realize sometimes business is more important than fucking my wife." His anger, frustration, and panic are bubbling through the phone, and I'm only happy I'm thousands of miles away from him at the moment. Because with a comment like that, he'd likely be staring down the barrel of my gun.
"My brother isn't my concern, Da," I say curtly.
"Well, he fucking should be. Senator Brandon isn't goingto take too kindly to his son-in-law going off on a bender. If that's what he's done, we can't afford the fallout that will come from that."
"Have you checked in with his side piece? He mentioned running off to see her." A sadistic grin lights my face, knowing nothing of my dear, older brother will ever surface.
"Of course I've checked with her. She hasn't seen him either. And Alice ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning, so I've got the Senator breathing down my neck to find him. He's convinced Jasper coming home would help Alice in her recovery."
I shake my head, dumbfounded anyone would ever draw the conclusion those two were ever anything than toxic to each other.
"No, I haven't heard anything, but if I do, I'll be sure to pass along your message."
"You need to be getting home, Edward." His voice is cold, menacing.
"Yeah, I know. We'll be home in a wee—"
"No, Edward! Now! And if you aren't home by tonight to deal with this shit, I'll make sure to get you here."
"Can I get you anything else, sir?" The flight attendant draws my attention to her, the memory of Da's words from hours ago still echoing in my ear. The one overseeing our section has been more than attentive, and her revealing uniform and cloying perfume are getting on my last nerve.
"No, thank you," I reply curtly.
"Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me." She less than discreetly places a drink I didn't ask for on my tray, her phone number clearly written on the napkin square beneath the glass.
"How come she brought you got a drink? I didn't get one," Emmett whines from beside me.
I grin as I bring the glass to my lips. "Must be my charming personality."
* Salutamu - Hello.
* Parra inglisi - Do you speak English?
* Mi capisci si parru inglisi - Do you understand me if I speak English?
*Se - Yes.
*Grazij - Thank you.
*patri - father
*principessa - princess
*Ziu - uncle
*Bon jornu - good morning/afternoon
*Scusa - excuse me
*M'â scusari - I'm sorry
A/N: Hang in there! Next week we'll hear from Bella and find out what happened.
I was an utter fail at review replies last week. Between FFN having issues, dealing with a sick son, and my rush to complete my FAGE story (which I'm happy to say I was able to complete!), it wasn't possible to reply to many reviews. I did read them all and love hearing all your thoughts and comments. Things are calming down, so I hope to be able to reply to them this week.
I'm over the moon super excited to announce that I'm up for a handful of awards over on TwiFicFandomAwards dot blogspot dot com. Someone was so kind to nominate me for Favorite Newbie author, Duplicity for Favorite Drop Everything Fic, and Forged By Fire for Favorite All Time Fic and Favorite Potential Best Seller! Round one voting is open through this Saturday, 2/17. You can vote for your three favorites in each category once daily, so go vote for your picks!
And don't forget, two of my completed stories are up for fic of the year over on ! Both Forged By Fire and A Rainbow After the Storm are on the list. If you loved them, take a moment to vote! Many fabulous stories are up this year, and you can vote daily, so spread the love and vote for all your favorites!
For exclusive weekly pics and teasers, come check out my Facebook group, Sunshine Fics. Thank you all so much for all the love you've shown this story. I adore each and every reader and review!