Rosalia's pov
It was my twentieth birthday today.
I'd been excited for it for almost a month.
My mom had my dress made for me a black long dress adorned with real diamonds at the neckline a long slit ending mid thigh.
It hugged my natural curves perfectly and I knew my birthday shoot photos are gonna be fire .
I paired it with my new pair of red bottom heels .
My make up was also done to perfection .
The plan was to celebrate and cake cut with my family then the shoot then .. clubbing later .
My hair , dark thick long and beautiful cascaded down my shoulders brushing my waist in it's natural curls.
My blue eyes were filled with light and joy .
Though I wasn't throwing a party at the house , it was only my family present..
My mother , Seraphina Valez .
My father , Rafael Valez
And my big brother :Vante Valez .
Just us, and I felt all the love a whole crowd could not give .
Being raised in the mafia is not for the weak , nor the strong because, peace is a luxury you only dream of having.
But my family has been able to hold that for a year now .
Being the most powerful family in the underworld, we managed a twelve months chaos free period .
And the house felt more like a home than a war zone.
Turning twenty wasn't light in our family.
They called it THE AGE, the day my parents would sit me down and fill me in on all the ugly truths of our bloodline.
The Valez.
But instead of a dramatic revelation, we were sitting around the dinner table like any other night. My mom walked in, carrying a cake with twenty candles blazing. Her smile was huge, proud, the kind of smile she only wore on the biggest days.
I took a deep breath, my father and brother singing "Happy Birthday" with their phones out to record it.
And when I blew the candles out, eyes closed,with a smile on my face .
When I opened my eyes .
CHAOS !!
My mom dropped the cake as my dad yelled,
"Get down!"
Glass windows shattered. The front and back doors burst open as men in black suits and masks swarmed in, rifles raised.
Our guards, more of our private army, flooded in to intercept.
And suddenly the room was a war zone, with bullets flying, smoke rising and the air was filled with the scent of gunpowder and blood .
My ears rang as I dove for cover, dodging bullets behind tables and chairs.
I grab my gun from my thigh holster under my dress and I take down as many men as I can .
My aim is perfect.., as they drop one after the the other .
My brother was across the room doing the same...gun in hand focussed.
It was happening too fast...and my blood run hot as the situation seemed to escalate .
I wasn't stupid; I could see we were outnumbered. More and more men kept coming while ours fell one after another.
"Upstairs now!" my mother screamed, shooting at the advancing men.
I kicked off my heels and covered her as she made her way to the staircase. Bullets pinged off the walls like rain.
"Now!" she shouted again, over the gunfire...as she also coverd me as I moved towards her .
I noticed a squad of men coming directly for us. My heart was a drum in my chest.
"We don't have much time, Rose…" my mom grabbed my hand, yanking me toward the far end of the house.
A bullet grazed my shoulder. It burned my shoulder and I hissed in pain stambling forward .
My mom kicks open a door at the furthest end of the hallway we step inside and she shuts it .
My eyes stung with tears. The adrenaline in my veins made my hands shake and my palm pressed on the wound on my shoulder that's now bleeding.
"Mom—what is this? Who are they?" I stammered, voice trembling.
She paces before finally lifting her eyes to mine.
The gunshots downstairs were muffled now, but closer.
She was physically shaking, tears in her eyes .
"Princess… I need you to do something for me," she said, not answering my question about who those people are .
I nodded, because she was pale and fierce at once, and it scared me.
"I need you to run," she whispered, tears spilling from her big green eyes.
I shook my head, my own tears breaking loose as I leaned into her touch.
"M-Mom, I can't leave you guys," I choked. "We stick together, you always said—"
She shook her head hard. "No, sweetheart. Not this time. I can't let you die."
"Neither can I," I whispered. "Mama, please…"
The gunshots moved closer. I flinched.
"You have to go, Rose. I love you. We all do." She led me to the window.
"Mom—"
She was already unlatching it. Below, the pool glistened under the moonlight.
"Go. Always remember who you are, princess," she said, kissing my forehead, pulling me into one last hug.
I hug her back tight, sniffling not willing to let go because this might be the last time am seeing her .
The gunshots and footsteps draw closer , and am forced to pull away .
I tugged the tie from her hair as she pulled away, my fingers trembling.
As I watch her hair fall ..she gives me a huge proud smile .
I looked down the night air chill I hesitate .
It was a long drop.
"Now, Rose!" my mom yelled when the door burst open.
I threw my gun down first.
I sucked in a breath and jumped. Branches tore at my arms and legs as I slid down the trellis before diving into the pool.
The water swallowed me whole. I gasped, surfacing—just in time to hear the explosion.
The mansion burst into flames.
As multiple bombs blew up the mansion .
"No!" I screamed, seeing my mom's silhouette at the window fall back as bullets hit her.
"Run, Rose!" my brother Vante's voice echoed from somewhere in the chaos.
I wiped water from my face and swam to the edge of the pool. Men were running toward me. I grabbed my gun, shot two of them before realizing—
"Shit!" I was out of ammo.
My mother's hair tie floated toward me. I snatched it, climbed out of the pool without looking back, and ran.
My wet clothes clung to my skin. Branches scratched my arms and legs. The flames behind me lit the forest for only a few meters before the darkness swallowed me.
I looked back one last time, slowing, tears hot on my face, my mother's hair tie pressed to my palm.
"I love you," I whispered—for all three of them, because it wasn't rocket science that they wouldn't make it out alive.
That's the thing about being raised in the Mafia: you're always emotionally prepared for things like this.
But nothing ever prepares you for losing your entire family in one night—on your birthday.
I was now orphaned and running towards a forest that doesn't seem to have an end .
But..I wasn't prepared for what fate held in store for me .