The Mafia's Babies by Kaycee Romano (rocket ebook reader txt) 📖

"Hi, I am Alessia." Alessia put her hand forward to Alison while River moved back with Mia and approached her mother and grandmother.

"I am so glad you guys came." She said as she sat down next to Nanna and across from her Mom.

"I know." Susan Johnson said with tear filled eyes.

"Will you stop with the crying already, Sue?" Lilith Johnson shook her head. "It's getting old. Not to mention it doesn't suit a hardcore criminal lawyer like you!"

"Mom!!" Susan whined as she patted under her eyes with a paper towel while River and Lilith chuckled. "I am just so happy I could see you guys. Mateo was generous to let us come visit."

River nodded, her own eyes welling up with tears only to narrow a tad bit after a moment. "Mateo kept contact with you?" She quirked a brow, searching their faces for answer.

If he did and he just hadn't told her, she didn't care what dumb reason he gave her, that dumbass was a dead ass.

"I did, through Benjamin." Her mother confessed, looking at her empty plate.

Who?

'I don't know.'

River gave him a confused look as she took the spoon from the Nutella jar and gave it to Mia for her to lick. "My last case which brought all these troubles."

Ahh the sketchy guy.

'Yep. Got it.'

'Why are you back anyway?'

Because after a long time, you started reading werewolf stories again and your brain has started to think you have an inner wolf.

'Wow, that's very reassuring. I am losing my mind, aren't I?'

When did you ever have a mind to lose LOL!

River internally rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. "It's fine. At least the kids got their father due to this."

"That was a treacherous move," Sebastian took a seat next to his best friend, booping his daughter's nose as he did.

"What?" River took the spoon from Mia's hand, when she got her attention pointing at the licked clean metal, and put it in the Nutella jar and shoved a scoop of chocolatey goodness in her own mouth before getting her a scoop. She also moved the jar towards the two of them.

River decided that since they had put their saliva filled spoon in it, the two of them had no choice but to finish the whole jar.

"You ditched us and are chilling with these oldies." Sebastian pointed at his godmother.

"Who are you calling an oldie, you senile salamander?" Lilith scowled at him.

"My tongue slipped Nanna. I meant to say oldie, and I was talking about Mom, not you." Sebastian pointed at Susan yet again.

The criminal lawyer scowled and swatted his hand away while everyone laughed. The three girls also joined the table.

Alessia fit right in. They chatted over breakfast. Only Alessia and River were yet to eat but the rest of the family sat with them and talked to them about how life was going. River and Alessia had to withhold a lot of information from them because they just didn't want them to worry so much.

Of course, Jacqueline and Sebastian had exclusive content that they could tell their best friend only when they were alone. Ahhh drama queens.

"Where are your parents?" River asked Alessia as they all got up from the chairs.

"Very excited to see the in-laws I see.." She winked. "Mrs. Adesso."

River smacked her while she guffawed out loud, sounding so similar like Mateo. Of course, they would have some similarities, they are freaking siblings.

"Well, our Nonna wanted to come meet you. But she is this drama queen who is over her head." Alessia said distastefully, the aura around changing drastically. "She wanted to take her time and enjoy the beauty of Italy so she wanted to take a train? Honestly, I don't understand that woman one bit. If you ask me, it's high time she went up or to a looney bin."

River blinked. Alessia hated her grandmother? Or was that just the way she expressed her love? After all, everyone has different ways of showing it.

"But... Abrianna Costello doesn't die that easily." Alessia sighed. "She was once shot by her most trusted bodyguard of seventeen years. That too straight to the head, shot range, part of her brain spattered to the floor." Alessia shivered, visualizing it in her head. "She lost sight on her left eye but other than that, she is still hellfire!"

River nodded, taking it all in.

So Abrianna Costello was a made woman of the Mafia and a scary one at that. And from the way she spoke, Alessia happened to hate the woman's very existence. She wondered what had happened between them for her to despise her own grandmother so much, because grandchildren loved their grandparents – it was like a law of nature. They adored their grandparents. But the way Alessia talked about her grandmother made it seem like she wanted to be the one to put an end to Abrianna's life.

And River knew that kind of hatred couldn't form out of nowhere. Something really bad had happened.

"I am just going to check on the kids." River announced to everyone and before Sebastian could protest, "I will listen to your stories after that."

"You will listen to me first, right?" He asked more specifically.

"Man-child." Jacqueline rolled her eyes while Sebastian stuck his tongue out. "Yeah yeah, she will listen to your lame stories first. Then I will revive her neurons with what I have to say."

"Oh please... Stupid hospital stories are going to kill her scarce brain cells."

River rolled her eyes and walked out. She wanted to get offended at her best friend for calling hospital stories boring but she knew that Jacqueline and Sebastian were going to have a row about it anyway and she didn't have to indulge in it. It was all taken care of. Her two best friends were bickering children.

As if you aren't.

'I need a therapist.'

And a life.