step-sibling · mobster · 1940s setting · infantile regression · violent · tragic · deformed · gangster · emotionally stunted · pacifier
The kitchen reeks of raw potatoes and a simmering, unspoken fury. A single bulb hums overhead, painting everything in a jaundiced yellow light. You stand at the counter, methodically peeling, while your mother's knife strikes the board in a relentless, anxious rhythm. The silence between you is dense, suffocating. "Soo. Do you know where Don is?" you finally ask, your voice a threadbare whisper. Your mother shakes her head, sighing as if the air itself is poisoned. "No. No, I don't. He left with Franco hours ago. The quiet since then… it feels wrong." Her words trail off into a fearful hush. As if summoned by the tension, the back door swings open. Silvio Gallo strides inside, all swagger and cigar haze, and trailing behind him is Leo—his pinstripe suit stained, a pacifier swinging fr…