Marcello Mariano
Thursday the 4th of April, 2024, 6pm.
It started like any other evening. A quiet drink in my hand as I sat in my office, the soft tick of the grandfather clock in the corner, the buzz of lights bleeding through the blinds. I had half a dozen meetings that day, politicians pretending they're not owned, rivals pretending they aren't terrified. Typical.
I was halfway through my second glass of bourbon when my phone vibrated on the desk.
New Gmail Notification.
Subject: DNA Match Confirmed — Larusso Marcello
At first, I frowned. Our DNA isn't something we toss around on the internet like amateurs. I thought maybe it was a scam, but curiosity made my hand move bevor caution did. I clicked it open.
"Dear Mr. Mariano,
Through our partnership with the Ancosters program and a third party submission from a related profile, we have confirmed a direct biological link between you and Diana Mirabella Kaiser.
Percentage: 25%
Location: New York
Suggested relation: likely half-siblings
"Matched through Larusso Mariano's uploaded DNA sample."
"Diana Kaiser is currently seventeen years old."
I stared at the screen. My jaw clenched. I read it again, slower.
A daughter.
A seventeen year old daughter.
My chair creaked as I lean back, suddenly aware of the silence pressing down around me.
I haven't touched a woman in years, let alone seventeen- Except one.
That one night. Days after the funeral.
The day of the funeral. I remember it clearly like it was just yesterday. The sun had been shining. The day my wife and daughter were buried, the sky had the audacity to be blue. Not a single damn cloud. The world just kept turning. Even though mine had stopped.
They died in a park.
A fucking park. A hitman meant for me landed in the middle of the sandbox where my two year old was chasing pigeons. My wife had turned just in time to shield her.
It didn't matter.
Two shots. One missed me. Two didn't.
After that... I broke.
There was one night. In Los Angeles in a club. Bryan had practically dragged me there to get me out of the city before I went nuclear. I drunk more than I ever had in my life. A woman ended up in my hotel room. I don't remember her name. Hell I barely remember her face. We didn't talk. Just .... existed for few hours in the same quiet, haunted place.
When I woke up, she was gone.
I never gave it another thought. Until now.
"BRYAN!" I bellowed.
He appeared in the office within seconds. He always did have excellent timing, probably from saving my ass so many times over the years.
"What is it?"
I turned my laptop toward him.
He read the email, then raised an eyebrow.
"A daughter?" He said slowly.
I nodded.
He whistled, long and slow." Seventeen?"
"Apparently."
"From...?"
I cut him a sharp look. "From the year I was drinking scotch like it was water, to forget how to feel."
Bryan gave a low chuckle. "Well congratulations. It's a girl. "
I didn't laugh. "Find her." I said." Everything. Quietly. No contact. And Bryan..."
He turned back, already halfway through the door.
"If this is real.... she's under our protection. From now on."
He gave a nod, then left.
I opened the family group chat and typed:
Marcello: Office. Now.
Killian was the first to arrive. Of course he was. My oldest, sharp as a blade, disciplined like a monk. Always moved like the building might explode.
He stepped inside, closed the door." What happened?"
"Sit."
Then came Damien. Middle child. Thinks he's smooth. Always smirking like he's the main character in a gangster movie. Usually is, in his own head.
"What, someone trying to kill you again?" He said, flipping into a chair. "You look like you saw a ghost."
"I did." I muttered.
Then Larusso strolled in, sipping from a protein shake like this was a yoga retreat instead of a mafia compound.
"Did I miss breakfast?"
I ignored that.
I turned my laptop around again.
"Someone submitted Larusso's DNA to a website called Ancestors Program."
Larusso blinked." The what?"
"Think of it like '23andMe' for idiots with no concept of privacy."
He tilted his head." I didn't do that."
All eyes slid to Damien.
He gave an exaggerated shrug, like he was auditioning for a soap opera." Okey, okey, before anyone shoots me... I did it."
Of course he did.
Killian muttered. "Of course you did."
Damien held up his hands." It was a joke! I swapped Larusso's toothbrush and sent it in. Thought it'd be hilarious if he got a letter saying he had ten kids."
Killian didn't speak. He just reached out and smacked the back of Damien's head.
"Ow!"
"Do you have any idea how stupid, reckless and dangerous that is?" Killian growled." We are a mafia family, not a reality show! You could've compromised our entire family!"
"I thought it'd be funny!"
"Funny?" I snapped. "You thought it'd be funny? You gave our genetic code to a public database! What if the cops got their hands on it?! What if our enemies did?!"
"I didn't think—"
"No," I cut him off. "You didn't. But now we have this."
I gestured to the screen again.
"A girl. Seventeen years old. "
Larusso blinked." I didn't knock up anyone seventeen years ago."
"It's not your kid," I said. "It's your half sister"
Silence.
Killian leaned back." What the actual fuck."
Damien let out a long whistle." Well, that escalated."
Larusso blinked twice." ... so wait. You had another kid?"
I nodded once.
"When?" Killian asked.
"After your mother and Sabriena died." I said.
No one spoke. Even Damien was quite for once.
I cleared my throat. "When I went to Los Angeles . I drank too much. Met a woman. One night. That was it. I didn't know her name. She never contacted me."
I glance down at the screen again. Diana Mirabella Kaiser.
"Seventeen years old. Her mother died when she was five. She's been alone since then."
Right on cue, the door bursts open.
Bryan stood there, a black folder in his hand, breathing hard.
"I ran it twice," he said." It's real."
He stepped forward and handed me the folder.
"Her names Diana. She's not just real. She's extraordinary."
I opened it.
First: birth certificate. School records. Then hospital forms. Foster care papers. She's been living alone for a while now. Quite. Keeps to herself. No legal trouble. Top of her class two years ago.Then... photos.
I froze.
There she was.
Dark curly hair. Sharp cheekbones. Jawline like mine. A small beauty mark under one eye, like me. But it was the eyes that got me.
One stormy grey. One green.
Just like me.
"She looks like a mini you. Just the girl version."
They crowded around me, flipping through pages.
Killian let out a low whistle." Fuck."
Damien blinked." She looks gorgeous."
"Yeah," I said quietly, still staring at the photo.
"She looks just like me."
I shut the folder, heart thudding in my chest.
"She has no idea who we are, " I said." No idea what family she was born into."
Killian stepped back." So, what do we do now?"
I stared at the closed folder in front of me. Diana Mirabella Kaisar. Seventeen. Alone.
The only daughter I have left.
"Now?" I said." Now we bring her home."