Livia Ximena Di Vittorio

It had been my dad and me for the first few years of my life. Just the two of us, I don't remember much of it but he had always been the best dad, he was there for everything I needed and put me before his very demanding job every single time.

When I was three he met this wonderful woman, and even when he thought he couldn't get over the heartbreak of my mother he fell in love with Carina Marzon. They married a year later when I was four.

Carina had two kids before she met my father from a very abusive man, she had Vincenzo who was two years older than me and Allegra who was two years younger than me. I loved having siblings, I had heard stories of my brothers who had been taken and now I got to experience something similar.

When I thought nothing could get better, I had a mother and I had a brother and a sister. Carina fell pregnant and when I was five my little brother came into this world. Luciano Di Vittorio was the last member and the baby of our family.

Life felt like a dream after that, my father had adopted my siblings and Carina adopted me. We all went to school together and had so much fun.

Of course, being my father's oldest biological child in his care I was meant to follow in his footsteps and take over his Mafia but that was in my blood. I had known about the mafia from when I was a child, I had never been shielded away from the chaos of that lifestyle. In fact, I loved it.

I am the boss, the future Donna of the Italian Mafia.

Despite our new family, my father made sure to tell us, me, especially about my older brothers. Dante, Martino, Matteo and Romeo.

I don't remember them, I was only a year old when they were taken away by my mother. For a long time, I was upset that she had taken them and not me, even though I knew she had meant to but when I got older I was thankful she never had the chance to take me. I loved my childhood, I thrived off this life.

And I think if I had been taken as well my father wouldn't have made it, as I got older my father told me about the depression he had experienced from losing four of his children as well as the wife he had been in love with all at once. And not in so many words had he mentioned how I was the only thing keeping him going until he met Carina, Vincenzo and Allegra.

Due to my father being a single parent for a while he and I were very close, and even when everything changed he made sure to keep up that bond with me, he was my father and he made sure to know I was right at the top of his priority list and that he hadn't replaced me.

I knew that, but it was the right thing to tell me, especially when the little voice in my head started developing.

But throughout the years the story of my brothers had become a fairytale, even though my father had always looked for them they had never been at the front of my mind, maybe a passing thought to look out for my dad on one of their birthdays.

I had never once thought I would get to meet them.

But here they stood in my dad's office along with their mother, step-father and step-sister.

They all looked like dad, they had his tall build and two of them had his black hair, the other two had their mother's chocolate brown hair.

The hair I would have if I hadn't been dying my hair blonde since I had started when I was fifteen and took notice of the photos of her at my grandparents' house and noticed how strong our resemblance was.

Unlike all of my brothers, though I had my father's forest green eyes, and that with my now blonde hair took away most resemblance to the woman in front of me, but now my hair was getting darker I looked a bit more like her, it was just a reminder to book a hair appointment at the first opening.

They all looked like they had been through it, they looked tired and exhausted and there was something wrong, especially if Delia had thought it was a good idea to show up at dad's doorstep.

She showed up at the old house that was still under our name. The one I had lived in until Dad and Carina got married. When they did get married we moved into the Di Vittorio Manor where my grandparents had previously lived, they had then moved into a smaller place (Small in their eyes, but it was still counted as a mansion in everyone else) on a private island off the Amalfi coast where we lived.

No one said anything Delia was looking between dad and me, regret in her eyes and the others looked like they had no idea what was going on.

"Livy." I met my dad's eyes when he called my name. "Take them to the kitchen and get them something to eat, Tabita should be there."

My dad's English was rough since we normally spoke Italian, and coated in a very Italian accent but he used it since he didn't want them to feel unsafe like we were planning their murders while they didn't understand.

"Okay." My four brothers as well as their sister followed me but Delia's new husband stayed behind with her.

They followed me but when I looked back a couple of minutes later I realised one of them had stopped. "Are you coming, Romeo?"

My accent wasn't nearly as strong as my father's since I had gone to an international school with English teachers but as I said his Italian name it came back stronger.

"I don't remember him telling you his name." Matteo narrowed his eyes at me. He and Martino were twins but they weren't identical, Martino had brown hair instead of black but that was as far as their difference went.

That statement cemented the fact that Delia hadn't told them anything about us or their life before they were taken, none of them had any recollection of living in this house, or of dad and I.

"You didn't need to, I know who you are."

"That is kind of creepy," Martino commented, but it was lighthearted.

Romeo's eyes were trained on a picture, one of him, his brothers, his mom as well as dad and I. Taken just before they left. His eyes took in the picture, then his brothers and me.

"That's us?" Even though it was a statement it was phrased as a question.

"Yes, it is." That was what I left it at and led them to the kitchen. It wasn't my job to provide them with information, that was Delia's job, not mine. "Tabita?"

I call for my old nanny. She had been mine when I was little after my mother left so even though she knew the story of my brothers she had never met them. Now I was grown up my father had set her up on our old estate and she ran a bed and breakfast. She loved it. But our wing where we had mainly stayed when we lived here had been closed off and locked with many codes so the guests couldn't access it.

"Livy, Tesoro." Tabita rushed out to greet me, I hugged the older woman, soaking in love from the woman who had helped raise me my whole childhood. "How are you, and your siblings?" She asks in Italian but I don't get to reply when she notices the group behind me.

"Tabi, can you find something for them to eat?" I ask using English. "I need to go help Papa with something."

"Of course, come on, you all look like you need a good meal." She leads them to the table and I take the opportunity to slip out of the room and I walk back into my father's office without even knocking. I never have so why would I start now, but it didn't mean I didn't get the same faux annoyed look I got every time I barged in.

Delia and her husband Bruce turn to look at me, Delia with sadness and Bruce with confusion.

Oh, so hubby dearest didn't know about me either, how sweet.

"Livia." My father greeted me in both exasperation and tiredness making me frown, I didn't like my father like this. I had glimpses of my father like this when I was little but he hadn't made an appearance for a very long while.

Delia turned back to Dad, accusation in her eyes. "She knows." It wasn't a question.

"Unlike you Delia, I do not keep things from my kids."

"What do you mean kids, you only had one to raise." She speaks now not from her head but from annoyance.

"Actually." I butted into the conversation. "he raised four, two biological and two he took in."

Delia's eyes fell on my father's ring finger which had a gold band that he had hardly taken off in the fourteen years since he got it at the altar.

"You're married?"

"Aren't you?" I butt in once again and my father gives me a look to shut up.

"Unfortunately for all of us it seems your mouth was hereditary.'' My father comments to Delia, he had told me many times before I had my mother from my mom but I had always brushed it off. But the statement made Delia look at us in regret once again.

I just shrug and move to stand behind my father's chair. Bruce was just watching, I didn't blame the guy I doubt he knew a lot of Delia's past and all this was a huge shock. I picked up the file dad had written detailing the attack, there wasn't much information but I knew I was probably the one going to look into it, Dad already had his hands full with his current responsibilities. Standing behind him I could see his phone when it lit up with a text, it was from my uncle, my dad's brother and second in command and I knew dad had to rush down to the base.

"Looks like I'm taking you home." I sigh. It wasn't that I had better plans for today but I would rather not be doing this. I could be hanging with my siblings or friends or the better option, lying in bed with a book.

Delia wanted to say more but she followed her husband out of the room and she led him to the kitchen, she knew the way after all she had lived there for the eight years of her marriage.

"Are you okay Papa?" I ask, switching to Italian again since we didn't have an audience anymore.

"I will be fine, and you neonata?" baby girl

"I'm good, it's just...weird." I shrug. "So what do I tell Mama, the boys and Allie?"

"I've already texted your mother, but I haven't told your siblings yet." My dad looks at me, brushing back my hair and cupping my cheek. "I love you and everything about you but please do not mouth off to everyone and try to behave?"

"I will try my very hardest but." Dad raises an eyebrow at me. "But no promises."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Livia." I can see a faint smile rising on his face. "You are my child after all. But please do be nice to your brothers. They are family."

"E la famiglia soprattutto. I know dad." And family above all.

"Good, I'll be back as soon as I can. Let me deal with this situation first."

"I've got it, dad, don't worry."

At least I hope I did.

This book has over 400 reads in under like 6 hours which is insane to me. I am loving all the support and comments and to honour that I thought I would introduce our girl

So what are we thinking about Livia so far, just a quick introduction. I cannot wait to show her more, I physically have to hold myself back from posting more chapters but I want to space them out more so I don't stress myself out when I have nothing to post.

I have some Tiktoks about Livia up on my page if you want to check those out, a couple are from a while ago if you want to check out my page it is the same as my username.

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Happy reading

Ara <3