It was the day for the Covenant to be made. All the men of the house suited up in their expensive suits. Fortunately, Anna left for her work and Vernon made sure that she returns home late in the evening. He asked Layla to keep her busy so that she won't get the chance to visit home in the middle of the day and find the house empty. Michael asked Maya to come over and looked after Val while they are away.

"Be careful, Gentlemen," Maya said softly as she darted between the men in front of her.

"I'm sorry for troubling you, Zia," Joshua said as he came and stood in front of her. He embraced her into a warm hug.

"Nonsense, I'm glad to be with Val," Maya said as she pulled away. Reginald and Joshua walked ahead. Vernon and Samuel hugged her before following behind.

"We'll be back soon," Michael said and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"Be careful," She whispered softly. Michael gave her a nod before walking away.

***

The perimeter of the Global Headquarter was tightly packed with securities. The Global Headquarters is originated and located in Sicily, Italy. Since the families of the two most powerful mafias are gathering here today for the Covenant, the Global Headquarter was heated up more than the usual days. Anything can happen and anyone can die if things go wrong but Leo made sure that the weapons are to be taken away before entering inside—so as to avoid any blood. One after the other, the men of the families walked out of the car and their weapons were taken away as ordered by the Don.

"The Don is really putting effort in making alliance," Ramos grunted as the securities check on him and took his gun and family switchblade away.

"I'm glad about his decision," Diego said as he puffed his cigar.

"I'm not," Ramos grumbled.

"Then why didn't you disagree yesterday at the meeting when the Don asked for the opinion?" Diego gave him a pointed look as they walked inside the Headquarter.

"Do you think my opinion will even matter at all?" Ramos said bitterly. "I was forced to kill my daughter because of the Absolute—"

"But you didn't kill her," Diego interrupted and looked at him. "Rebecca and her son are safe. If we make an alliance with the Harondale, she doesn't need to live her life hiding anymore." He added thoughtfully.

"How can you be so sure if Rebecca's alive, I haven't seen her for the last two years?" Ramos said as a glint of sadness flash in his eyes.

"Do you trust our Don?"

"With my life," Ramos answered.

"The Absolute should have been abolished decades ago," Dario grunted behind them. "I had sacrificed my love for the Absolute." He complains in bad-tempered.

"How are you handling Chicago?" Ramos asked.

"Piece of cake," Dario shrugged off, still in a bad mood. "My sons are helping lots in my business,"

"Do you still love that Harondale lady?" Diego teased.

"I do but I can't go back now. I'm a father of three and I am loyal to my wife." Dario said as his tempered cool down to being calm. "There they are—my sons. Armando, Rocco," he called out to them and both the son strolled towards them.

"Zio," Both the sons nodded and addressed their elders. Diego felt a sense of sadness washed over him as he watched Armando and Rocco. If his sons were alive, they would have been here right now with him. Though he has avenged their death by killing the Morgan's twin, he still grief when he sees boys of his son's age.

"Romero is here—" Dario said staring at the entrance. "—and he looks deadly like he wants to put a hole in someone's head."

"Couldn't blame him though—he lost his daughter because of the Absolute—"

"How?" Rocco asked.

"His daughter fell in love with the Harondale boy and when he found out—he killed that boy. His daughter couldn't take it and killed herself." Diego explained. "But sons, your generation is a blessing that the Absolute is finally going to end, there won't be rules to stop you from marrying a Harondale lady." He looked at Armando and Rocco amusedly.

"I'm never marrying one of them," Armando said and shook his head.

"Trust me, son. Harondale women are real beauties." Dario uttered as he flashes his Harondale lady inside his head. "But then, all of them are married except for one, the only granddaughter of the true Empire."

"And she belongs to the Don." They all turned their heads to the source and saw Alesso and Nicolo walking towards them. Armando and Rocco grinned widely and strolled towards them. They shared manly hugs.

"Long time no see, brothers," Armando said before pulling away from Alesso.

"How are things going on in Chicago?" Alesso asked resting his arm around his shoulder.

"Cool as always," Armando shrugged off.

"After this, why don't we hang out in Ping? Gambling is fantastic there." Alesso suggested lowly near his ear to which Armando grinned widely and nodded at him.

"Boys!" Diego spoke in a warning voice with a tad of amusement.

"I'm telling on Leo," Nicolo warned and mocked at Alesso.

"You both can join us too," Alesso offered, looking at Nicolo and Rocco.

"You're spoiling your brothers," Dario shook his head.

"They are already spoilt," Armando chuckled.

"Alesso, what do you mean earlier? Is our Don seeing the Harondale girl?" Ramos asked who was being bothered the whole time by his earlier statement.

"Oh that, Zio—I was just saying," Alesso lied and simply shrugged off in coolness. It was not the time to discuss matter about his brother's love story and moreover it might be interpreted in different ways too according to their perspective. And also it was not his place to be telling them—he cursed himself for blurting out.

Then suddenly all eyes were at the entrance when a herd of footsteps were echoed inside the hall. As a habituated nature, both the families on encountering their sworn enemies reached for their guns in their waistband only to find none. All of their weapons were checked in by the securities outside and soon echoes of grumbles were heard inside the hall.

The moment Rino Harondale and Romero De Luca met eye contact, both of them glared at each other and came face to face.

"You killed my son," Rino growled at his face. "If I had my gun, I would have killed you right away." He seethed.

"I lost my daughter because of your son," Romero sneered and they both caught each other's collar and glared dangerously. Soon Diego came and pulled Romero while Terzo pulled back Rino by his shoulder.

"We are here for the alliance—not to start a war," Terzo warned Rino in a low voice and glared at him. Rino glanced at him a bitter look before releasing himself from his hold.

"Pull yourself together, Romero. Don won't be happy to see you in this condition." Diego warned him. "Both the families have lost enough soul—make peace with yourself and everyone, Romero." He added quietly to which Romero stiffens less under his hold.

"The Dons will be here soon—I request both the families to settle soon inside the conference hall," Alvero informed them courtly before gesturing his hand towards the large wooden door of the conference hall.

Silently the De Luca families entered first then followed by the Harondale families. The hall was divided into two with rows of seats opposite to each other. Both the families were settled opposite to each other and wait for the Dons, underbosses and former Dons arrival.

Soon, Marcus, Leo and Roberto entered. The De Luca's stood in accord addressing their leaders. Even most of the Harondale's stood up automatically in respect. Leo is indeed respected by many. He nodded at them in return before settling down.

After some minutes, Reginald and his family entered and were soon addressed with respect. Matteo closed the door and stood outside, guarding the door but he was not alone—Alvero was standing adjacent to him, some feet away, in his position.

"Long time, Matteo," Alvero greeted him looking straight forward.

"Never thought that we'll meet again." Matteo retorted. "But glad to see that you're still surviving with De Luca's."

"Same goes for you too," Alvero frowned over. "You should have come with me ten years ago—we could have served the same family together." He added giving him a quick glance.

"I don't regret my decision. I have pledged my honour and loyalty to the Harondale's and I'm proud of it." Matteo said, feeling proud.

"So am I," Alvero prodded. "But the irony is—we end up serving the families of sworn enemies." He said and bit back a smile.

"We won't be enemy anymore after the Covenant." Matteo smiled. "Good to see you, old friend."

"Good to see you too, bastard," Alvero said in a smirked.

***

Anna knew that her brothers were hiding something from her. She couldn't stay put in one place but paced around her cabin. Since the day Nonno and Vernon returned from Italy, the male of the house was very busy inside the study—even at night. She went near the window only to see Vito crossing the street and getting into a black SUV. She narrowed her eyes down at car and went downstairs.

"Where are you going?" Layla asked when she saw Anna scurrying away through the other side of the hallway.

"Got some duties to do," Anna lied and shrugged off as she walked by. Layla shook her head and didn't say anything. She's okay with it as long as she's not heading home. 

Vito got inside the car with burgers. He passed one to Cyrus and both of them started to enjoy their burgers.

"I was craving for this," Cyrus muffled under his mouthful but his eyes went wide in shock and he nearly choked on his burger when he saw Anna standing in front of the car. Anna gestured them to come out with her finger. They looked at each other in horror and quickly got out of the car.

"Explain," Anna said as she crossed her arm over her chest.

"The Don assigned us to protect you in secret, Boss." Cyrus blurted out in fear.

"Since when?" She demanded.

"Last week," Vito answered.

"I'm going to have a talk with my brothers," Anna said in annoyance and turned on her heels.

"But they're out of the station," Cyrus blurted out making Anna snapped back at him. He cursed under his breath and bit his tongue. Vito gave him a pointed look and slapped at the back of his head.

"What do you mean?" She asked and Cyrus shook his head in wide eyes opened. "Tell me, Cyrus, before I bash you down on the floor," She warned and trudged towards him.

"They left for Italy some minutes ago," Cyrus answered quickly. Beside him, Vito was as good as stone.

"Why?"

"For the Covenant,"

"Covenant you say, what is it?"

"The Harondale and De Luca are having a meeting for an agreement," Vito answered.

"At the Global Headquarter?"

"Yes, how did you know, Boss?" Vito creased his brows and asked.

"I heard from one of the security saying over the phone while I was by the garden," Anna said under her gritted teeth. She was trying to calm her anger. The Harondale and De Luca were meeting and none of her family even care to tell her not even Leo. He is going to be as good as dead when she meets him. They promised not to hide anything from each other but he broke it.

"No, that can't be. We record all the phone calls and voices of the force and I know for sure that there was no one who talked about the Covenant—unless it's from a secret phone." Vito said and explained.

"Vito, do you think that person was leaking information?" Cyrus asked glancing at him in dread.

"Get in," Anna ordered them to get inside the car. She hopped on the driver seat and drove immediately towards the house. Being the smart ass, she understood what was going on. If that person had leaked information, that means someone somewhere in planning something not so good. She shook off her thought and accelerates her speed.

As soon as she reaches home, she went looking for that person and luckily she found him guarding in one corner of the house.

"You," Anna point a finger of accusation at him and trudged towards him.

"Yes, ma'am," The man eyes went wide in shocked but bowed at her in habitual.

"Grab him," She gestured Vito and Cyrus to hold him to which they did as she said.

"To whom were you leaking information?" Anna asked and the man went pale and looked at her in horror. "Answer me," she demanded, trying to stay composed.

"No one, ma'am. I'm innocent." The man pleaded.

"Do not lie to me. Tell me everything now while I'm asking nicely. If you tell me now, I promise I'll spare your life and if you don't tell me and if something happens to any of my family, I will skin you before killing you." Anna was shocked at her own words—did she just say that? She can't even kill but it works when people don't know about her phobia. People often tell the truth when they are threatened for life. And this man was testing her patience.

Vito and Cyrus gulped in fear as they watched Anna with wide eyes open. They shared a dreadful glance.

"Boss, what are you doing?" Argo, the second head of security came running towards them. His eyes went wide in shock as Anna snapped at him pointedly and quickly level down his eyes.

"Tell me now," Anna ignored him and glared at the person in front of him.

"It was Sylvester. They gave me money for it." The man finally confessed as he quivered under her glare. "I just told them that the Covenant is at the Global Headquarter in Italy. I know nothing more." Anna believed him coz Sylvester's aren't fools to be telling their plan on him. Beside her, she felt Argo pulling out his gun and pointing at the man.

"Don't shoot him." Anna stopped him.

"But Boss, he's a traitor." Anna ignored him and tried to call her Nonno, brothers and Zio but couldn't connect so. They must have been boarded on the plane. Then she tried calling Leo and his brothers but none of them picks up her calls.

"Argo, lock him in the basement and do not kill him or let him escape," Anna said sternly. "I will deal with him when I come back."

"Where are you going, Boss?" Argo asked in confusion.

"Italy," She answered. "Vito, Cyrus, both of you are coming with me."

***

"As we have discussed yesterday with some of the elderly, I vouch for your opinion one last time. Is there any objection from any of the families?" Joshua asked as he darted between the two families.

He waited for some moments; nobody said anything but he could notice some of the disapproval expressions from both the families.

"Rino," He called out and looked at him. "Do you have anything to say?"

"No, Don," Rino answered in bad-tempered and glared at Romero.

"Romero," Leo jerked an eyebrow at him.

"I don't have any objection, Don," Romero said.

"If there is no objection then I call upon the Former Dons to sign in for the new Covenant."

The Lawyer from both the families placed the file in front of Marcus and Reginald. They both took the file and signed it immediately.

"Henceforth, the Absolute no longer exist. The Harondale and The De Luca is no longer enemy from this day forth—an allegiant for an Alliance has been sought." Reginald declared. Soon applaud were heard from both the families but not all of them were happy with the decision.

Then Leo came forth and held his hand out. Soon silence fell and all eyes were on him. "If anyone who dares to break the alliance will be appraised as betrayal and will be put an end to life." He warned as he glanced at both the families. He was glad that their guns were taken away or else the scenario inside will have been different now. The hall would have been decorated with puddles of blood.

"The new Covenant is made and I believe you will keep it till your last breath," Joshua announced looking to his families.

"Yes, Don." All agreed to him.

"The Covenant is over. You're all dismissed." Leo said and turned back to look at his Nonno. He sighs a smile and gave his Nonno a warm hug. The Absolute was finally put to an end and Alliance has been made. Now there's nothing stopping between him and Anna. He knows that Anna will be angry for not telling her anything but it doesn't matter, he has ways to make up with her—and moreover Anna will understand. He was dying with happiness inside but he didn't show. He is the Don and he has to keep his emotions together.

"Leo," Joshua called out to him. Leo pulled away from his Nonno and face Joshua. For the first time, Joshua smiled at him and spread his arms at him for a hug. Leo chuckled at him before accepting his hug.

"Don't forget, if you ever break my sister's heart, I'm still coming for you," Joshua warned amusedly as he pulled away. But his face fell immediately when he saw Antonio and Francis coming towards them. He was angry but for her sister's sake, he didn't do anything. And also he was thankful that their weapons were taken away or else he might have actually shot him out of anger—he doesn't even trust himself.

Vernon came beside him and rested his hand on his shoulder and grasped it firmly, indicating him to calm down. Joshua looked over his shoulder and chuckled sadly, "I'm alright. Don't worry, I won't do anything." He said quietly to which Vernon nodded at him and patted twice on his shoulder.

Then suddenly the conference door flew opened and all eyes went wide in shock.

"Anna,"

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