The Mafia's Arranged Bride

21 years ago “Take the boy,” Alessandro sneered, glaring down at the trembling young boy. “Kill him…” At age 6, Nico stood in the shadows, watching the horrific scene unfold, it being almost too much to bear. The boy was young, barefoot, and shaking. His wide eyes darted around with fear. “Capo… are you sure?” the man holding the boy asked, his voice uneven. “He’s just a kid. He’s… he’s your son.” Nico looked at the boy… small, scared, biting his lip to stop it from trembling. He looked just like him. Same dark eyes. Same mouth. Nico saw the fear on his face and felt something twist inside him. If this strange boy was his father’s son, does that mean he was his…brother? “He is not my son,” he snapped. “Nicholas is my son. That thing is a mistake, just like his mother. A mistake that could destroy everything I’ve built.” His voice dropped lower. “I’ll deal with his mother. Take him away, you know what to do.” He turned and glared at the woman tied to the pole. She was screaming, thrashing and desperate. “Take him!” his father barked. “Yes, Capo,” the man stuttered, yanking the boy back. “No! Mama!” the child wailed, his tiny voice shattering the air. “Mama! Mamaaa!” “Maximo!” the woman screamed through her tears. “Let my son go! Please—let my son go!” The boy and the man disappeared after a beat, even though their screams could still be heard. Father spat on the floor and then turned around, and Nico froze in terror when his eyes fell on him. “Come here,” he said. Nico didn’t move. “I said, come here!” he barked, making Nico jump with fear. His feet trembled, refusing to move, but he forced them regardless. He could already feel the pressure building in his bladder. “Good boy,” father said, giving him an evil smile, and handed him a burning wooden log. “Today, I am going to turn you into a f*****g man.” “I want to go home,” Nico whimpered. “I want to go to mommy…” “Shut up and light the fire…Nico…” his voice was cold as ice, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of the terrified little boy. “Be a man…light the fire. You’re Alessandro Baldocchi’s son. Don’t be a p***y…” “Please…don’t do this….” the young woman tied to the pole wailed. “Please, Alessandro…I will leave…I will take him and go away…please…” “Too late for that b***h,” his father sneered. “You have caused me enough pain in the ass. You really thought I would be interested in making a f*****g w***e like you, my wife? You dared to blackmail Alessandro Baldocchi…you f*****g w***e. Go ahead, Nico, light the fire.” “No…I…I can’t,” Nico whimpered, trembling with fear. “What?” he roared, his eyes blazing with fury. “What did you say?” “Please le…let me go…go…father. Pl….” the poor boy couldn’t complete the rest as a resounding slap landed on his right cheek, shaking his entire world with appalling pain. It almost sent him flying across the floor. His father grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up, his eyes burning with anger. “Listen, you little piece of s**t,” he hissed. “You’re Nicholas Baldocchi, don Alessandro Baldocchi’s son and the heir to the Baldocchi legacy. I won’t have you raised as a sissy. You have two choices, Nicholas. Either you do as I ask and light the fire, or…you watch as I beat your mother to death. What would you want?” “No….” Nico sobbed, trembling with fear. “No, don't hurt mommy…” “I don’t want to, but if you don’t man up and do as I ask, I will be forced to,” his father said. “Now, my son, are you going to light the fire?” He swallowed, glanced at the wailing woman tied to the post, and slowly nodded. “Yes,” “Good boy…then do it.” His father let him go, and one of his scary-looking men gave him a sneer. “Good luck, little capo…” he said, giving him a dark smile. “Just throw the log in the pile of hay, Nico. That’s all you need to do,” his father whispered in his ear. “Go…do it.” “No…please no! Please no…I have a little boy…he will be alone without me…please…” the tied-up woman shouted, trying her best to break free. “Don’t worry, that bastard has been taken care of,” Alessandro laughed. “Now, Nicholas…do it. On the count of three, okay?” “One…” everyone started to count. “Two….” “Three…” The boy threw the burning log into the pile of hay, and in a split second, terrifying screams erupted through the air. Nico stood there, trembling and sobbing and watching as the fire… Engulfed the woman alive.