Surrender to Sicily

“When the hand of fate is nudged, every falling leaf is swept into the torrent.”

At twenty, I had no idea what kind of path to power I was being set on. Blood, gun smoke, desire, lies, profit... They would dye my life an unparalleled, brilliant black.

My name is Ryder, and I am the Godfather's illegitimate son.

I have four younger brothers: Andrew, Louis, Lanes, and Chris. Each has a very different style. Andrew is the successor the Godfather groomed. He is skilled at making deals and knows how to manage the family's businesses and win people's loyalty. He is the most capable leader among us, and the greediest. He keeps his wildness confined beneath a black suit and hides his fangs behind a smile. Louis is two years younger than Andrew and me. He is quiet, and his silence complements his refined features, giving him a cool, distant air. He may not say much, and he is rather slender, but he is the best fighter among my brothers. Once, during a five-minute breakout, he killed three men with a Colt, never missing a shot. Lanes and Chris are twins, and torture is their specialty. Their ingenious little tricks have made Sicily's tough guys quake in fear, keeping the peace for a long time.

I used to think my presence in the family was no more than an unnecessary extra. After all, my birth mother was merely a fallen noblewoman, one of the Godfather's many mistresses. If she hadn't been lucky enough to bear the Godfather's first child, she might have gone from “the Pearl of France” to “a handful of dry bones buried in Sicily” long ago.

I inherited my refined looks from my mother, as well as her unhappy fate.

When I was twenty, I returned to the family home. I had only planned to keep my head down and be an invisible nobody on the margins, content with managing a small project for the family. I never expected my restraint to attract the attention of my four younger brothers. As they tested me, openly and covertly, time and again, I not only revealed my determination not to compete for power, but also exposed my unusual sexuality. In the end, I became nothing more than a toy for my brothers to amuse themselves with.

Father God did not hear my pleas. I followed my mother's fate and was sacrificed to the beasts.

Theme: Those who harbor malice toward others will eventually be consumed by malice themselves.