Once again I asked my brother if it was really necessary I came and according to him it was. To be fair my brother wasn't one to over exaggerate when it came to work but it did annoy me that I now couldn't eat with Alice. However before I left her in my mansion I warned her to behave, she would also eat with me tomorrow and I even proposed the idea that I might answer some of her questions, as a reward.

Of course I knew what she was going to ask. All their questions were the same.

Why am I here?

Will you let me go?

And so on. It was boring constantly giving out the same answers to my captives however there was something special about this one. I wasn't sure why I wanted to keep her around but at the end of the day, I always did whatever I wanted. All the other witnesses were shot or killed on sight. We left the bodies there as well, there was no need for a clean up team as it was very obvious who had attacked and why. Only an idiot couldn't put together the facts. Alexander went from prison while his brother was nowhere to be found. It was blatantly clear it was my men who did the job so there was no need to try and cover it all up.

As I sat in the car, my driver taking me to the destination Alex had told me to meet him, Alice was the only thing on my mind. I didn't give a shit about the drug deal gone wrong or whatever it was that my brother was banging on about so hoped to get this over and done with asap. If I were my younger brother, I would have just murdered all the traitors involved without a second thought, but he was more sensitive or 'rational' as my father would say. He was usually open to finding other solutions. Not to say he wouldn't kill and be affected. No, he was still a Marino. He killed men and woman and tortured people to death. It was just the way we were brought up.

When I was 10 my father bought me my first knife. He showed me how to use it and then on my 11th birthday he took me out into the woods and made me murder a rabbit. Though I must say, it took little persuasion for me to do so. That day I went home, holding my prize up by it's legs and presented it to my horrified mother. She had always been a very caring woman. My father had actually brought her from an auction.

His parents demanded he have a wife to bear his children but in our business there is little time for relationships, I myself had never had one. We were always too busy to go on dates and do all the romantic shit. So my appetite was usually unsatisfied by a quick fuck then I would send the woman on her way. The sex was enough for me. Of course at first my mother didn't share any feelings for my father but soon he whipped her into shape and they fell in love. I knew that wasn't quite the case though. My mother was just broken. She was never quite there. You would talk to her, she would respond but nothing she did was ever authentic. Everything was rehearsed. She was nothing but a tool of my fathers. But never mind my parents, my father died and took my mother with him. He figured she would never be free from him and so shot her on his deathbed.

"Qual e il problema, fratello?" (So what seems to be the problem brother?)

I asked and Alex turned a corner, revealing the issue. The man who knelt on the floor, beaten and bloodied, was familiar to me but I was quickly reminded when Alex spoke again.

"Sono sicuro che ti ricordi di Jonathon qui. Ci stava tradendo! Si e scoperto che non e stato David a fare la spia, ma questo ragazzo." (I'm sure you remember Jonathon here. He has been ratting us out! Turns out that it wasn't David who snitched on me but this guy.)

I nodded my head. So turns out it wasn't David. That was a shame he was killed for no reason. He was a good man. Looking back I should have known something was up but it didn't bother me enough to waste time thinking over it.

"Quindi, hai incastrato un uomo innocente per i tuoi crimini?" (So, you framed an innocent man for your crimes?)

I asked the man who was already begging for his life. Admittedly Alex had done a pretty good job on him. He seemed to have a broken nose, was bruised all over and clearly struggled to stay awake.

"P-p-please Sir I am sorry!"

This was my favorite part. The begging.

I slowly knelt down to Jonathan's level so that he looked me in the eyes.

"Do you know what this makes you Jonathan?"

He shook his head at my question.

"You are a coward."

I hated cowards. My men had to be brave, fearless and strong. This traitor was none of these and even lost my team a decent man because he couldn't own up. Pathetic.

"And I am afraid I do not accept cowards amongst my men."

He didn't respond, probably too afraid as he thought I was going to kill him. And he was right. I was going to kill him. With no hesitation I pulled out a knife from my waist coat and drew the blade across his throat. He instantly began to choke on his blood and I stepped back to avoid getting drenched with it but it was too late. Now this dick had ruined my suit.

I watched, satisfied, as his dead body slumped to the ground and then signaled for two of my guards to get rid of the body. I then turned to my brother.

"Glad that that's sorted." Alex spoke as if we hadn't just killed someone. Like I said, it wasn't a big deal.

I killed my first person when I was 15. My father took me on a mission. His name was Constantine Ivanov and he had been working for a rival mafia. I shot him with my AK-47 (it was the first gun I ever received) and shot him in the stomach first. I wanted to see him in pain before I ended his life. It was always funnier that way. I then shot him in the head and admired the splatters of blood he left on the wall behind as if it was art.

I went on to kill more. I stopped keeping track soon after my 16th birthday. It must have been a very high number though. Alex had not killed as many as I had. He found it harder to join this lifestyle than I did. My father had done the same with him yet Alex couldn't kill the rabbit so my father beat him. My mother tried to intervene but he also struck her. I remember the sound. That was the first time I saw him lay a hand on her, however I knew it wasn't the first time he had done it. We would often hear her crying at night. As I got older it became clearer to me that my parents' relationship had an odd dynamic.

"Look, you know what I'm gunna say."

I looked away from my younger brother and nodded my head- already bored of the conversation he was about to start.

"Father made it clear you had to have an heir by the time you were 30 and it had to be a legitimate child, so you must-"

"Be married, I know. " I cut him off.

Alex sighed and began to speak again.

"Look your 28. It's important in case something happens to you! I can take over if that were the case but it was always the plan your first born son would lead one day! Like you, father, grandfather and so on!"

He was right. I hated to admit it but I did need an heir and I was running out of time. Then a thought struck my mind. Alice.

The whole ride back home I couldn't take my mind off of the woman who was lying in my bed right this moment. I had a plan and Alex now knew it too. I needed to settle and something about this girl fascinated me more than any other had. It didn't matter that she hated me nor that I wasn't in love with her. I didn't do love, what was important was that I wanted to keep her for some reason, was so possessive over her and what better way to make her fully mine than to marry her?

We were not in a colossal rush to make arrangements so I could take my time arranging this. I wouldn't even tell Alice, her reaction was predictable and I couldn't be bothered to deal with that. As long as she remained obedient I could reward her, the more she misbehaved the more punishments she would receive.

I would need to train her first. My plan for that was simple. I would control all aspects of her life - deciding what and when she ate, what she would wear, when she would sleep and so on. Hopefully after only a few punishments she would break and begin to trust me. Then I would marry her. She would be dependent on me and someday she would even be happy. I didn't particularly want her to suffer forever. Yes I did enjoy the thought of her screaming in pain but one day she would love me. Love me. Now that was new.

When I returned to my room Alice was not on the bed as I had suspected. Instead she had opted to fall asleep on the couch by the window. I imagined that was because she enjoyed watching the outside world but was mainly due to the fact she knew this was my room and didn't want to share the bed. I laughed slightly. If I wanted to I could just scoop her up and place her in the bed where she belonged, I could even hurt her as punishment for disobeying me. But I decided to give her a free pass. I understood how she was tired from the last few days. But she would have to get used to my ways because it was only going to get worse from here. It was in her best interest that she listened and did everything I wanted, but I hoped she did disobey. I knew she would. And that was good for me, a woman who instantly submits...now where is the fun in that? I would enjoy slowly watching the fire within her dampen down to tiny sparks. But I would destroy her hope of ever leaving me. She would learn to make the most of her situation and in turn, be the mother of my children. Considering she became mine, then I would treat her like a Queen, like my Queen.

I laid down on my empty bed but kept my sight on my Alice, watching her chest rise and fall. Her head leaned against the window so every time she breathed out a misty stain was left behind.

Rest up my sweetheart. Because soon the real training begins.