Chapter 1
Geneve had spent her entire childhood running with the others in her 'adopted family.' As an orphan child she had ended up in a small group of other orphans, some older and some younger. They all had looked out for each other, the only problem was that she was an orphan for a reason - her parents had been murdered because of their standing in the community they lived in. Everything was considered the slums, or the ghetto. The only ones with money and a nice home and living were the ones at the top of the mafias that resided in the town of--well, it was in the middle of nowhere. It was between one point and another; the law enforcement was cheap and corrupted, while the land was overrun and dry.
She recalled running, constantly, until they had found a small home that had been abandoned in the woods. It had a well and no electricity, but candles and such worked. Geneve had no other memories other than knowing that she needed to run whenever she saw the slick black cars that rolled down the street, with the shiny rims and the inky tinted windows. Any man in a suit frightened her - they were dangerous, possibly another family of the main branch that controlled the area.
The Addario mafia were the ones who were at the top of the food chain; she had gathered information from the other children she lived with. They were a ruthless family that had strict rules and a structure that only helped themselves. They were the bosses of all bosses when it came to any other family in the town of nowhere.
She recalled hearing a rumor that the Don of the Addario mafia had ordered the kill on her parents. She had also heard that the reasoning behind it was because her father, Domenico Belmonte had married a woman from a cartel rather than a mafia. She recalled her mother's name, yet not her last name - Paloma. It meant dove in Spanish.
Geneve had become more aware of the situation when she had grown older. Now nineteen, she understood why her parents had been murdered. She wasn't fully Italian, but half Italian and Mexican. A bad mix, she supposed.
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She shared a room with two other girls, one named Adrianna and the other Collete. Adrianna was the oldest out of them all, twenty-three with short black hair that was curled and messy around her rounded face, and her blue eyes were more stormy than blue. She was short, built to work, and was the leader, while Collette was seven with straight blonde hair and brown eyes.
All of the girls slept in one room while the three other boys slept in the other. Geneve enjoyed the company, but the small house was cramped with everyone in it.
Stefano Fausti was also twenty-three, and brother to Adrianna. Their parents had ended up in an accident, while their mother the only one living, had severe brain damage and had been in a nursing home. Except that she had died from a stroke when they were twelve, and left them completely alone. Stefano of course had the deep coffee colored hair, rugged and untamed, with dark gray eyes and the bronze skin of an Italian. He was well built and hardened by years of taking care of the other children. He took special care of Geneve too--many of the others taunted them both about it.
The other boys were Zanobi, and Guido, both twins with pale skin and dirty blonde hair. They were a bit older than Collette--everyone suspected, but they didn't know their exact age.
