Livia Ximena Di Vittorio

I had never been a big fan of silences, I normally filled them with my endless chattering as a kid but I had since toned it down. But right now all three boys stared at me in silence, the other three people in the room not making a sound either.

"That man is our biological father?" This is the first question I was asked, by Dante, my oldest brother who is older than me by three years. He looks the most like his mother, with dark brown hair and dark brown hair, a tan complexion to match the rest of our families.

"Yes," I confirmed what Delia had started telling them but probably never got the chance to finish.

"And he's your father too?" Martino asks next, he had black hair like dad but brown eyes like his mother, twin and older brother. Matteo, his twin, had all the same features, just brown hair a couple shades lighter than black.

"So you're our half-sister?" Romeo asks, I could see the way his mind was whirling. They were thinking I was the product of an affair or something that made his mother run out with all of them. With my light hair colour, I looked nothing like Delia.

Thank goodness.

Romeo was a splitting image of dad, he even had mastered dad's signature resting bitch face. The only thing different was instead of a forest green eye Romeo had a darker hazel but not as amber as his brothers.

"No." I shook my head and they looked even more confused. "Biologically I am your full sister."

Their eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their skull, and so did Hayley, their step-sisters. Bruce had it figured out already but I think it was hard for him to hear out loud.

"H-how?" Matteo asks.

"I assume you know how children are made at your age, Matteo. And if you don't, it is not my place to inform you." I lean back on the counter. "Now I need to take you back to the house, if there is someone after you then you will be safest there."

I led them to one of the cars that we still had here, even though it was a tight squeeze. I drove out the gate and once again I had a few minutes of silence before one of them spoke again.

"So your father remarried?" Delia's eyes bore into me, I don't get the double standards, she was married, and had a stepdaughter she treated as her own. She would have never come back if it wasn't for their safety so she gets annoyed.

I lift my sunglasses off my face and onto my head as I look her in the eyes through the mirror. "Did you not remarry?"

"Yes...but."

"But?" I urge, well there goes my promise to dad about not running my mouth.

"I cannot believe your father must have told you a whole lot of lies about me to make you turn against me." She deflects going red in the face and changing the conversation.

"On the contrary Delia, my father has never uttered a single bad thing about you to me my entire life, he has only ever told me the good things about you, but actions speak a lot louder than words do."

+

"You live here?" Hayley asks in awe as we drive up to the front of the estate.

"Yeah."

I loved it here, it was a massive Italian Villa with vines covering most of the house. There were massive windows placed every few feet and balconies outside most upper-floor bedrooms. The garden in front of the house was all green, there were lots of flowers as well as a maze I knew I could get through like the back of my hand from the endless hours playing in it. From the front of the house, you could only see glimpses of it but the view from the back was the Italian coast, our house overlooked the ocean and some of my first memories were of my dad teaching me how to surf in that stretch of the ocean when we visited my grandparents when they still lived here.

Delia got out first, already knowing this place but I'm guessing she wants to get away from me. I wasn't the most hospitable person, but I am self-aware and that is more than I can say for a lot of people. Bruce followed her and made sure his daughter was with them. But Dante, Martino, Matteo and Romeo hung back, slowly getting out of the car and taking in everything. "You are in the west wing," I shouted after her but she disappeared quickly making no indication if she heard me.

"Welcome home," I tell them softly, I might have not been too hospitable to Delia but I would try my hardest to be nice to them, after all, they were family.

"This isn't our home," Dante says in just as soft a tone as I had used.

"It might not be, but it might count for something that you were born in this house," I tell him a summarised version of one of the stories dad had told me. "Yeah, it was storming and when Delia went into labour the roads were shut off so Dad and Nonna delivered you in one of the bathrooms."

"Are you serious?" Martino asked, a smile growing on his face as he looked at his older brother. "That's awesome. Your name's Livia right?"

Realising we hadn't done formal introductions I held out my hand. "Livia Ximena Di Vittorio, it is a pleasure to meet you, Martino Samuele, Matteo Salvatore, Dante Luigi e Romeo Gianni."

"You already know all about us, huh?" Matteo asks with a frown.

"I know about the first few years of your life, but after Delia took you I have nothing. I only know the stories dad told me about you."

"What do you mean mom took us?" Romeo asks.

"I can't explain too much, dad wants to be the one to do that but our family, the Di Vittorio as well as your mother's family, the Castillo family are involved in some things, Delia took you away to protect you from the lifestyle she grew up in. And I don't blame her for it."

"But you don't like her," Dante asks with accusing eyes. "Is it because she left you?"

"You know the day she was planning on leaving was the day dad was going on a business trip, but I got sick overnight he spent the day at the hospital with me, and when we got back you were all gone."

"She was going to take you too?"

"I think so, I don't dislike her for not talking to me as well, I dislike her for how she broke dad. He loved Delia, they had known each other their whole life. I remember him mourning her, I remember all the searches he did for you, I saw how sad he was every birthday that he missed, how he still took Luca and me out to buy you something every year."

"Luca?" Martino was changing the subject but I let him.

"Yeah, Luca, or Luciano. When dad married Carina they had Luca, he's thirteen. If we actually left the driveway you can come inside and meet him, as well as Vincenzo and Allegra."

"Who are they?"

"My, or our step siblings I guess. Vincenzo is twenty, and Allie is sixteen. I think Allie is away with Mom on a work trip."

"You call your stepmother mom?" So many questions.

"Do you call your stepfather dad?" I ask Matteo.

"Yes." He answers kind of meekly. "But he's been around since I was seven."

"And mom's been around since I was four, she even signed adoption papers. She's the one who raised me."

"Is that why you call Mom by her name?" Martino asks as I open the front door. The twins were the most talkative and inquisitive.

"I don't know her, I knew her for a year of my life which I don't remember. It's like dad, you don't know him and he won't exact you to call him dad, he'd expect Angelo."

I walked through the foyer of the house, everything was decorated in creams and sage green. Carina had redone the house when we moved in since she's an interior designer, she changed a lot but somehow never took away anything from how it was before.

"Luca?" I called into the house, I think he was the only one home. Vincenzo was probably out on a job and Allegra was with Mom and Luciano should be home from school by now.

"Yeah?" my younger brother yells back but I can hear him coming. He came home from school a couple of hours ago now he was chilling in sweatpants without a shirt, his gaming headphones still around his neck. "Livy." He greets.

Luca was a sweetheart, he got that from mom but his looks were all dad. He had black hair and the green eyes I had, he inherited the height that both dad and Carina had so since he hit puberty he shot up like a beanstalk and was already at six foot four at nearly fourteen. And it didn't help that dad had put him into training at a young age, when we went out people often thought we were the same age despite the five-year age gap.

"Who are they?" Luca had also got my bluntness, dad thought it was from how much time I spent with him but I wasn't complaining, Luca was a mini-me. Or well a mini taller me.

"I would like you to meet your half-brothers. That is Dante, Martino, Matteo and Romeo."

Luciano's eyes shot up, in both surprise and a bit of confusion. "Dad found them?"

"No, Delia came to dad." Luca groaned and fished into his pocket to pull out his phone, he took his case off and passed a hundred euro note. It was something we had bet on when he was like seven. Luciano then looked at the four men who were staring at us awkwardly.

"You know I kind of thought they were a myth like dad made them up or something," he said softly to me but everyone heard him and it made their lips twitch upwards. Luciano's awkwardness was something everyone found amusing.

"We have photos of them, Lu." I pointed it out to my baby brother.

"I know that." He scratches his neck awkwardly. "But dad can do anything."

I shake my head at my brother but I can't stop the rising smile on my face. "Can you take them to the rooms and give them a tour if they want, at least show them the kitchen and dining room. I have to go help dad at the base."

"Yeah sure." He nods.

"Also Delia, her husband and daughter are somewhere sound here, show them to the west wing, they can stay there unless they want to stay in one of the cottages." I lower my voice so that only he can hear me. "Make sure none of them leave the property, but if they are adamant about it send guards to trail them."

"Of course." Luca being the sweet angel he is leans over and presses a light kiss to my cheek like he has done his whole life and gives me the warning he gives whenever I leave the house. "Be careful, Sorella."

"Of course, Fratellino." I promise. "I'll see you guys later."

They don't respond, or I don't give them time to respond, I head to the garage choose one of my preferred cars and start driving to the base. We needed to find out who was behind the attacks and control them before someone got hurt.

Luca is a darling and I can't wait to develop his character. I'm basing him him a lot on a mix between both of my brothers. Insanely annoying but a sweetheart when he wants to be. I've made him very tall because my brother who is 14 now is 6'5 and has been since just before he turned 13. Sometimes I like to think I'm the main character and then I remember him, also because he was on of like 2 boys in the all girls private school I attended for primary.

Anyways I hope you like the chapter, please vote and comment

And I will see you next chapter

Happy reading

Ara <3