(Three months ago)


    August 30 — New York


    Gael''s family rented the whole restaurant called Solstice for the evening. He had no idea that they were throwing him a party that night. All he thought was that he was taking his grandmother and sister out for dinner.


    They were still in New York, but this part of the city wasn''t bustling. The restaurant was located in a quiet neighborhood. Solstice was a small restaurant that served Italian and American cuisine, which Gael and his family from his father''s side go to from time to time. They enjoyed dining there because it was intimate, and they already know the owner of the restaurant.


    Solstice had tall ss windows, and the curtains were drawn shut from the inside. He didn''t mind it, thinking that the owner must have closed it for a reason.


    "Watch your step, Grandma," warned Gael as they took one step upward towards the entrance of the restaurant. He had his hands on her arms, assisting her to walk.


    "I can still walk just fine, Santi. You don''t need to give me all this attention," Grandmother Susan huffed. "You may have grown taller and bigger than you were when you were fifteen, but I learned how to walk first than you did. Don''t tell me how to walk."


    A small sigh escaped his lips. "You''re getting grumpier every year. If this is what getting old is like, I don''t want to age. Feels like you''ve gotten more stubborn like Gabby."


    "Hey!" Gabrie pped his arm with the back of her hand and rolled her eyes. <strong><em>"Stronzo,"</em></strong> she cursed in Italian. (Stronzo means Assh*le)


    "Language!" Gael flicked Gabrie''s forehead—she instantly winced in pain, rubbing her forehead until it didn''t hurt anymore. Then she continued cursing him under gritted teeth as she entered the restaurant.


    Grandmother Susanughed. "I don''t understand what she said, but it sounded like she called you something bad. It''s funny."


    "She called me an assh*le."


    His grandmotherughed even more. "Sometimes, you are."


    Gael could only shake his head. It was his birthday, yet it felt like he was being punished.


    "Why is it so dark inside?" he wondered just as he pushed the door open.


    "Surprise!!!"


    The lights turned on. The sound of people greeting him when he arrived definitely surprised him. But the shock on his face was immediately reced with a genuine smile when he saw every familiar face in the room.


    On the left side were a few older women he recognized were friends of his grandmother while on the right side were men from the De Luca family residing in the city.


    Gael shook his head and rested his hands on his hips. He hated surprises, and he thought this one was silly. But he was still touched that they made an effort.


    <strong><em>"Buonpleanno!" </em></strong>Giovanni greeted as he came to his side, hugged him, and kissed his cheek.


    <strong><em>"Grazie, Gio."</em></strong> Gael returned his uncle''s hug. His uncle was only a couple of years older than him, so they were like brothers. "Why didn''t you tell me you were throwing me this?"


    "Idiot. Then it wouldn''t be a surprise." Giovanni pped Gael''s upper arm yfully and then ced his arm around the other as he prompted everyone in the room to sing ''Happy Birthday''.


    The room instantly became brighter. All the lights were on, the curtains were opened, and the ce just became lively. Everyone had drinks in their hands, and the food starteding.


    Giovanni asked him to say something. Gael didn''t want to, but he had to. So he said something generic but didn''t forget to thank his grandmother for being there even though she was already old and grumpy.


    Everyone cheered and clinked their sses. He raised his and took a swig of his wine.


    An image of Ang shed in his mind, and he was reminded that he was supposed to call her. He was so busy that day that he barely had the time to rest until they went to the restaurant.


    As he took out his phone, Giovanni came back to his side and whispered something to his ear.


    "I just received a message. We found the mole," his uncle said.


    "Who is it?" Gael whispered back carefully, his eyes already scanning the people in the room, thinking that it was someone with them.


    "He''s a new soldier. He''s not here. But Alfonso told me he saw him yesterday with the Morellis outside of Queens." Giovanni drank the scotch in his hand, his other hand hidden in his pocket. "They already have him now. He''s at the bunk."


    "Why didn''t they capture him yesterday?"


    "It was a woman. Alfonso didn''t know she was a Morelli. He only found out a while ago. The bastard has been sleeping with a Morelli, and he didn''t know." Giovanni seethed. "Remind me to add something to the qualifications before they be a soldier."


    "What?"


    Giovanni side-nced at Gael with a scowl as he said, "Genital dissevering."


    For a few beats, Gael could only look at his uncle with an unreadable expression. He had a sudden urge to cover his groin area. Giovanni was definitely crazy.


    In the next second, the two of them barked out augh, throwing their heads back and then clinking their sses before taking a sip.


    "Happy Birthday!" The fifty-year-old owner of the restaurant came out from the kitchen, carrying a homemade cake. It was a simple oneyer white vani cake with one lit candle in the middle. He walked towards Gael with a huge smile on his face, his arms stretching outward.


    Gael ced a hand on his chest. "Ah, Senior Carlos. Thank you."


    The owner urged him to blow the candle. He wasn''t a believer of wishes, but at that time, he silently said his desire in his head. Then he bent forward and gently blew on the light. Another bout of ps erupted from the sides.


    And just as the light from the candle died, the sound of a gunshot and shattered ss rang in Gael''s ear.


    Senior Carlos fell on the floor, along with the cake that immediately smashed the ground. Blood gushed out from the side of his chest.


    "Get down!!!" A man''s powerful yell resonated in the room.


    And Gael''s swift response was to look for his grandmother and sister.


    Another shot was fired.


    And another.


    And another.


    And another.


    Bullets just kepting, and Gael crouched on the floor, covering his head as he scanned the room in search of the two women. He found the two of them under one of the tables in a booth across the room—a few feet away from dead bodies whose blood already stained the tiles.


    Something hard hit his arm. He turned his head and saw Giovanni handing him a handgun.


    He received it, checked the magazine to see that it was fully loaded, and then pped it back into ce. Gael started shooting the men in a van outside the restaurant while he made his way across the room towards his grandmother and sister.


    "Take the back door! I''ll cover you." He told them.


    The two women followed Gael''s lead amidst the gunfight.


    "Gael!" Gabrie shrieked when she noticed bright red soaking her brother''s white shirt in the abdomen area. His face was so pale, and sweat covered his forehead.


    The gunshots suddenly stopped, and the van sped off into the road.


    Gael grimaced at the pain in his side. He was sure that he broke a rib or two. His vision became blurry, and then he staggered just before he hit the floor.