Three Dons, One Heart

It was exactly 1:55 a.m. when Adriana Fiore received a phone call from her younger brother, Leonardo.

The weather was gloomy that night. Dark clouds clouded the sky, and they rumbled with thunderclaps and lightning.

The breeze was also extra windy; It danced all about without any form of structure, carrying along anything light enough to lift in the air, all while bright red lightning bolts struck the earth after every monstrous thunderclap.

The rain never poured, it didn't even drizzle; the weather teased the city of Portofino and on a night when fate turned its cruel eye upon Adriana Fiore.

Busy setting up the television for a movie marathon with her best friend Antonia.

Adriana picked up her brother's call, expecting his usual vibrant voice to greet her in a sing-song tone. Leonardo was always playful like that.

But what Adriana heard, made her heart skip a beat.

Her brother's deep voice was shaky and filled with fear. His usually strong tone cracked as he screamed her name between sobs and uneven breaths.

"Adriana! Adriana!"

His voice trembled and Adriana's entire body reacted to the terror she heard.

Anyone could tell that Leonardo was deeply disturbed.

In mere seconds, Adriana's mind raced through scenarios, trying to imagine what could be so bad as to terrify her strong brother.

She immediately increased the call's volume, bracing herself for whatever he had to say.

"Leonardo, what? What happened?" Adriana's tone rose in urgency, her heart racing.

Her eyes widened, and her grip on the phone tightened as she listened to his next words.

"I need you to listen very carefully to me, okay? Don't come home tonight or tomorrow, never come back here. I need you to run."

"Wait, Leonardo. What's happening? Tell me..." Adriana asked hurriedly, not letting her brother finish.

"Adri just listen to me and do as I say. You need to run for your life! They're going to kill us all... You have to run, Adri! Run away!"

Leonardo's desperate message came in one rough breath.

"Leonardo where are you? Run from who? You need to tell me what's going on."

Adriana fired question after question, not knowing which one she wanted answered first, or if she even wanted to hear the answers at all.

Just then, Antonia walked into the room. Adriana was pale, pacing back and forth and clutching the phone tightly.

The sound of the door creaking open made Adriana spin around.

Antonia was met with a pair of wide, panic-stricken eyes. Adriana's face looked like all the blood had drained from it.

"Run! Just leave Septim! No, they'll come for you. Leave Portofino! Run away from this city, Adriana! This is a command." Leonardo's voice rose to a scream, and the line went dead.

Thinking quickly, Adriana immediately tried calling him back, but there was no response. Different thoughts flooded her mind as she kept trying his number.

What could he mean? Who was she supposed to run from? And where could she even go? Her family was all she had.

She looked at Antonia pleadingly. Confusion etched itself onto Antonia's face, but she quickly moved to her friend's side.

"That was Leonardo's voice Adriana. What was that all about?" Antonia placed her hands on Adriana's shoulders, but Adriana seemed lost in her world.

"Answer me, Adriana. What's going on?" Antonia shook her best friend roughly, trying to snap her out of her trance.

"I have to go. My family is in danger," Adriana said quietly. She freed herself from Antonia's grasp and headed for the door.

But Antonia pulled her back almost immediately. Danger? That wasn't part of the plan, Antonia thought...

"Leonardo said I should run," Adriana said, facing Antonia again.

"What? Run? I don't..." Antonia's hands dropped to her sides.

She turned her back to Adriana, trying to feign confusion about Leonardo's warning.

"I don't know, Antonia. He just said I should run, leave Portofino, and not go home," Adriana explained, tears welling up in her eyes.

Antonia, with her back still turned, smiled. She had knowledge of what was happening to Adriana's brother and her family.

She had been extra nice to Adriana in anticipation of this very evening, the evening that would rid her life of a thorn.

Antonia turned to face Adriana, her expression full of faux concern. She moved closer, guiding Adriana to sit on the bed as if consoling her friend.

But in truth, she was playing her role for the night.

"Over the phone, it sounded like he was running from someone," Adriana said as she kept trying Leonardo's number.

"He sounded so scared, Antonia."

Antonia's heart was full of joy, though curiosity tugged at her.

The dangerous man she had made a deal with had only promised to remove the thorn from her life. He never did explain how though.

She had requested he ensure Adriana left Portofino for good.

Antonia had let her envy of Adriana fester into hatred.

She wanted her out of the picture to take all the attention, awards, and even Adriana's boyfriend, Brandon.

But with Leonardo's warning now, it seemed the man's plans were far more sinister than simply chasing Adriana away.

Antonia patted Adriana's back soothingly. "Uh, what else did Leonardo say, Adri?"

Adriana stood abruptly, Antonia's question igniting a sudden realization within her.

"He said they were going to kill us all." Adriana said, staring at Antonia with so much worry.

Antonia's eyebrows knitted together, her face was drained of color and her palms grew sweaty.

Recalling the events and properly thinking it through, that scary man did look like a dangerous person.