Desolate Novel – Mirabella’s POV Alone. If I was to choose a word to describe myself, that would be it. For as long as I can remember, it’s been me versus the world. I’ve never stepped foot off this property. I never got to experience what it feels like to go to school and make friends. I was homeschooled my entire life. I was never allowed to talk to the other students, I didn’t go to school for making friends, I went to get an education. An education that I was thankful for. Without the homeschooling program, I wouldn’t have two associate degrees, business administration and healthcare management. This is going to be especially helpful in planning my escape out of my mother and stepfathers grasp. I cannot take this life anymore.
The abuse, the imprisonment, and the loneliness, all of it is enough to hate my life. My human incubator has never once told me she loved me, my stepfather makes sure I know that he isn’t my real father, but I should be grateful “at least they actually wanted me.” It’s a lie, they don’t want me, they just want me to clean their house, cook their food, and be their personal punching bag. I don’t think I can take much more of this. I know that I have a broken foot, daddy dearest stomped my foot with his boots on because “I didn’t say thank you after my last beating and tried running away”, my knee and my shoulder are dislocated from being thrown down the steps by mother dearest because “I look too much like my biological father,” and my ribs are broken, but that’s normal. I’ve tried running away from this inferno, but my stepfather was the chief of police.
There was no escaping, I never made it off our property, someone always found me. “Mirabella, is there a reason our food isn’t plated and on the table? It’s 6:00 p.m. You know that’s when I sit down to eat, not when you should be plating the food. I don’t know what’s hard about following the directions we give you, Mirabella? Are you that stupid that you can’t do a simple task? You would think with how much we paid for your education and letting you graduate early, that you would be smarter than this. Now lay down and know you deserve this.” He pulled my hair and threw me on the floor. He made sure I was face down so he wouldn’t mark my face, no one will know that poor little Mirabella was abused.
He ripped off his belt and started swinging, it didn’t matter where he hit as long as it wasn’t my face. I didn’t scream or talk, the pain was numbing, I barely felt anything anymore. The only thing that still bothered me was that my mom watched from the corner of the room laughing at me. “Awh, look how pathetic you are. I can’t believe you actually are related to me, how could someone so weak be related to me. Always looking at me wishing I cared about you, that’s hilarious, Mirabella. No one will ever love someone like you, you’re worthless. There will be no one who tolerates you the way we do. You should be grateful you have a roof over your head. Better than your father wanted you to have, he wanted to give you up. Isn’t that just sad, how unlovable do you have to be for your parents to not want you? Now, let’s play a game.
How long does it take for you lose consciousness while I choke you?” She laughed. bimbo. I smirked at her and spit in her face, “do your worst, mother dearest.” Maybe she’ll kill me this time. I stared into her eyes while she choked me, I could feel my vision start to blur. I hoped for death as I drifted into the darkness. I woke up to a loud, thunderous noise. I sat up slowly and locked eyes with a police officer. I shot my head back down to the floor; they can’t find out. I won’t survive if they find out. I saw boots come into my line of sight; the police officer crouched down in front of me. “Sweetie, can you look up at me? I promise we’re only here to talk.” I slowly raised my head, silently smacking my own back for wearing a turtleneck, so they couldn’t see the marks my mother made on my neck. “Great job, hun. We hate to come and meet you under these circumstances, but your mother and stepfather were killed in a car accident last night.”
The pretty officer paused to allow me a few seconds to process her words. The police officer, a woman likely in her early 30s was giving me sympathetic eyes, I stared back emotionlessly. I couldn’t show my real emotions, I don’t want to have to explain to the officers why I was practically jumping for joy that my mother and stepfather were finally dead. I was free. “Now we do have to ask you to pack your things, we’re going to take you back to the station and use a DNA test to determine if you have any family that would take you in. Do you know of anyone, sweetie?” I shook my head. “Okay, that’s perfectly fine, now you take your time to pack your things, we’ll be in the cruiser if you need anything, don’t hesitate to let us know.”
I gave her a small smile and waited for them to go back outside to make my way to the room. I was grateful they didn’t want to follow me to my “bedroom” because I lived in the utility room. It was a three-bedroom house and I had to live in the utility room, crazy isn’t it? I didn’t have much so this shouldn’t take very long. I had three outfits, including the one I was wearing and one of the others was a pajama set. I packed my clothes and went to my cubbyhole behind the washer. I hid my valuable items behind the washer, so they wouldn’t find them. The first items were my books, I told them they were for school, but they were for my own entertainment.
I love anything that has to do with the mafia. I used to dream that I was a long-lost mafia princess, and my father and brothers would come and save me from this inferno. I know it’s farfetched, but those thoughts kept me sane. Another fantasy I had was that some mafia don would barge in here, confess his love for me, and save me. I’m very aware that these were silly fantasies, but it kept me occupied most days. The other item that was in the cubby was my stuffed Pitbull puppy. On its collar, the word Enzo was embroidered on it. I don’t know why I felt such a connection to this stuffed animal, but it kept the nightmares away on the nights I knew mother and her husband wouldn’t be home to check on me. If they would have found the stuffed animal they would have destroyed it in front of me. I grabbed the pain medication out of the bathroom and packed it as well.
I zipped the duffel bag up and hobbled my way to the cruiser. Silently, I got in the cruiser and nodded my head to the officers, letting them know I was ready to go. We’ve been at the station for a few hours. When we got here, a doctor met us in Cara’s office, the pretty cop that was at my house, and took my blood. I told him I didn’t like getting blood drawn from my arms and asked him to draw from my hand, so I didn’t have to expose my bruises. John, Cara’s partner, walked in with some subway subs. I can’t say I wasn’t thankful, I haven’t eaten anything in three days. I grabbed the 6-inch turkey sub and ate silently while they discussed the case. This entire station didn’t seem to upset that their chief of police had just passed away. I even heard Cara tell John that morale was up with the temporary chief of police. Maybe Jimmy, my stepfather, was a prick at work too.
Cara’s phone started ringing breaking me of my thoughts. She was agreeing occasionally and finished the conversation with whoever was on the other end with a thank you. “Alright, sweetie, the doctor found some living relatives. It looks like you have a father and 5 brothers, who want to take you in.” I stared at her in shock, mother always said that my dad didn’t want me, why would he want me now? “They’ll be here in the morning, let’s take you back to the bunks and get you some rest until they get here in the morning. Now I see your gears turning in your head, try to keep an open mind. They seemed very eager to find you honey. Don’t overthink this, get your rest, I’ll be in my office if you need me.
The bathroom is that door right there, if you need to use it.” I wonder if they’ll hate me too. Will they also think I’m unlovable? I pulled Enzo out of my bag and laid on the bed. I wonder what they look like? I already know I kind of resemble my father. I wonder what he’s like? Will they hurt me too? What’s having a sibling like? I didn’t know the answer to those questions, but I did know that I wasn’t getting very much sleep tonight. Gabriel’s POV It’s been almost 16 years since I’ve seen my baby girl. She was almost 2 when her bimbo of a mother took her from me and our sons. We still search daily because my daughter will know who her father is. Since giving Lorenzo the mafia, I have more time to spend on our legal businesses and more time to look for Mirabella. I could see in my children that it kills them the longer their sister has been gone, especially Lorenzo.
He used to be the happiest kid; Mira was attached to his hip. The only person she wanted to be around more than Lorenzo was me. Now she did adore all her brothers, but there was a bond between Lorenzo, Angelo, and Mira that was as strong as the bond between Ares, Apollo, and Marcello. I just wish they had more time to bond between each other, I’m sure that Mira wouldn’t even remember us. I doubt that Jessalyn told her anything about us. I knew it was suspicious when Jessalyn wanted to have a girl’s day with Mira, those two were like oil and water more than the rest of the children.
Jessalyn barely showed the boys attention, but she gave none to Mirabella. That was fine with me, the first girl in our family in generations was a daddy’s girl and I loved it. I just wish I could bring her back home and shower her with love the way she deserves. I miss her more than anything. I grabbed the whiskey from my office bar and poured a glass. I never get drunk, I still have five other kids to take care of, regardless of their age. One glass just relieves some of the tension. I was going through the documents my private investigator found on Mirabella or her mother when I heard my phone ring. “Gabriel Marchetti, speak.” I didn’t have time for foolish small talk. “Hello Mr. Marchetti, this is Officer John Hammond at the Colorado Police Department. Jessalyn Collins and her husband were in a car accident. We took their daughter in and performed a DNA test and saw a match for you and your sons. Would you like to take custody of Mirabella?” I felt the earth move.
They found my bambina. “Yes, absolutely. Me and my son will be there in the morning at 8:00 a.m., is that soon enough?” I could hear the shakiness in my voice. I need to cut that out, I’m a former Mafia Don. “Yes, thank you. We will see you in the morning. Please bring your id and be prepared to fill out paperwork.” I chuckled, “We’ll see you then.” My girl was coming home. I put the documents away and went downstairs. I yelled in the hallway, “family meeting in 10 in the media room.” The media room was the biggest room in the house, and it allowed all of us to fit in comfortably. We’re all ridiculously tall so our normal living room was sufficient for when it was only a few of us. Lorenzo was the first in the room with a stone-cold look on his face. I hope hearing the news will at least put a smile on his face. The rest of my boys walked in one by one, all with different faces of confusion except Marcello. He had a goofy grin on his face, such a happy kid.
His goofiness is contagious because I felt myself chuckle. All my sons looked at me, waiting for me to explain why I called a family meeting. The last family meeting was when I found out Ares and Apollo were fighting in the underground. We compromised that we would come with them for the next few fights and decided that they would train our mafia men because they were good fighters. Some of the best I’ve ever seen in all my years in the mafia. “I received a phone call before I called this family meeting-” I was interrupted by my youngest son. “I didn’t do it, I don’t care what they said Jessie told them, I did not get her pregnant, we never even had intercourse, I turned her down, she got upset, and now she’s trying to say I’m a father. I’m too young to be father, especially to a child that’s not mine.” We all stared at him while he was going on about how he never even touched her. I saw Ares and Apollo holding back a laugh, Angelo had a look of terror on his face, and Lorenzo was smirking. “Marcello, calm down son. That wasn’t what the phone call was about, but dear lord never speak to a girl again. I cannot handle another conversation about you being a dad, you’re not 18 just yet.
However, this conversation was about a girl. We found her; your sister is coming home. Your mother and her new “husband,” I don’t know how she got married since we never divorced, were killed in a car accident. They brought Mirabella to the police station and called us when they got confirmation in the blood work. They sent me the results and they match. Now, Angelo, you and I will go in a few hours to fly to Colorado to get your sister. I need a nicer looking face to go get her the first time she meets us. We should be back tomorrow evening or the next morning at the latest.” My sons were shocked. Angelo had a tear falling down his cheek, Ares and Apollo both had equal looks of shock and anger on their face. I don’t exactly know what would be angering in this situation, but they’re allowed to feel anyway they’d like.
Marcello face was beaming, he knew his twin was coming home. Now Lorenzo’s face was the most shocking, my cold son was smiling for the first time in years. It made me feel like a good father seeing him light up that. I knew I wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight; my bambina was coming home. Angelo and I were getting off the jet and into the rental car. My hands were sweating, I can’t remember a time where I was this nervous. I know she won’t remember us, but it still kills me that I wasn’t there to watch her grow up. I don’t have many regrets but allowing Jessalyn to take her on “a girl’s day” takes first place. I could feel Angelo’s excitement rolling off him. I know he’s excited, as are the rest of my boys. “Who do you think she favors, dad?” Angelo looked over at me while we were driving to the station. I chuckled at him, “when she was born, you couldn’t tell Marcello and her apart. I’d say we’re getting ready to see the female version of your goofy brother.
They are twins after all.” It took me 20 minutes to arrive at the station. When we walked in all heads bowed, the way it should. We walked to the receptionist who was batting her eyelashes at Angelo, who was suppressing a grimace. “Please stop staring at my son and give me the papers for my daughter, Mirabella Collins.” I sneered at the last name, that’s not her last name and it won’t be for much longer. I finished filling out the paperwork, while the bimbo called the officer who was watching over my baby girl. I saw 2 police officers come out with a girl, who looked like my youngest son, but a hollow version of him.
She looked like she hasn’t slept in days, and she was walking with a limp. What happened to my baby girl? Her eyes met mine and I felt whole again. “Hey baby, I’m your father, Gabriel Marchetti and this is your second oldest brother, Angelo.” My daughter looked at me with no emotions, I think my hearts on the floor in pieces. She nodded her head at me and slung her bag over her shoulder, “are we free to go?” She directed the question to the police officers. They both nodded with a smile and the female officer hugged her. Mira froze at the contact; Angelo and I locked eyes in worry. The question remains what happened to my daughter?