10. Promising Fire

Tristan was not happy about his father's way of speaking about Vienna. He was there in their kitchen when he made the phone call to Vienna. He did not like it one bit. Once, the kitchen was empty as his siblings and his mother went to get changed, Tristan closed the door and faced his father "I need a word."

Emanuelle asked "A word? Go ahead son." He then put his hands in his pockets standing tall facing his son who was now around same height as him.

Tristan spoke in a low tone "Father, it ends now. You can't joke about my relationship with Vienna. I try hard to show I have honour and respect. Rosarios are not like us. They don't do humour. Francesco Rosario does not tolerate jokes about his daughter..."

Emanuelle smiled "Son. Firstly. I don't see you trying hard to show honour. You don't speak up against Francesco's wife sending your girl away."

Tristan argued "I will not hold her back. If she really wants to go, I will not stop her. But I will speak up if her mother tries to make her choices for her."

Emanuelle responded "She already has. She filled out a form for her. The form that Vienna gave your mother was in her mother's handwriting and not hers. What are you going to do about it today son?"

Tristan gave out the breath he was holding as he was keeping eye contact with his father "It is Vienna's decision. But if I see evidence her mother is pushing her to do anything she is not happy to do, I will speak to her."

Emanuelle chuckled "Stand up to her? I don't  think so. You will fight for her son. Drop the politeness. Francesco will not tolerate anyone interrupting his child's life and his wife is no exception. Francesco grants anything to his wife but his children's choices cant be taken away by anyone, not even by his wife. I say you forget the formalities. I give you permission. If Francesco thinks his wife can interfere in the life of your girl and you keep quiet then maybe I also need a talk with him. You must object now before Adele gains ground in making more decisions for her daughter..."

Tristan shook his head as he objected "I do not think of Vienna's mother like that. She is emotional and can be unreasonable but I do not think she will be a threat to her. I do not have evidence to suggest that. Have you?"

Emanuelle sighed "Oh, I have seen enough proof before you were born. If it was not for Adele's interference, last night would not have happened. Paulo Rosario is only alive because of Adele. Before Adele walked onto Francesco's path, Paulo was a dead man walking. Francesco wanted to kill him for what he had done. But then Adele turns up after ten years. I am not saying Francesco is influenced by others. He is not. But for his wife, he bends his own rules, only for his wife and no one else. He doesn't change his rules for her. He just bends them slightly. Now regarding the matter with Vienna, I am confronting him. Vienna will one day be part of our family unless you lose her respect and if you don't honour her of course.

Tristan narrowed his eyes "How can you say that? I will never lose her. I won't."

Emnauelle smiled "Then show me some fire. I am not saying there will be any but I need some fire from you or you will get burnt yourself son by your future mother in law." He then winked at him. He then patted his son on the shoulder and side stepped him.

Tristan did not like that his father made such comments but he didnt object as he watched his father leave.

Tristan walked to the table. He poured himself a glass of milk and as he was drinking he saw his sister entering the kitchen. She came inside and closed the door making him raise an eyebrow as he put his empty glass down "Is all well?" He then took a few steps to his sister. She didn't look like her usual self. At breakfast she was deep in thought and when she had left, Tristan knew something was wrong. He was going to find the right moment to question her but his sister was quite secretive. His mother had raised Clarisa to be independent but of course open too. If she had a problem she tried to resolve it. If she couldnt she always asked. Her parents trusted her to come to them when she needed to. So it was no surprise their mother hadn't pressed her on why she was quiet. She hadn't raised a victim. She had raised a girl who could think and judge by herself. She had raised a fighter who never backed down from a challenge and in facet went looking for challenges.

Clarisa looked into her brother's eyes and then she dropped the mask. Her true emotions crossed her face and Tristan realised she was worried. Clarisa was good at hiding her emotions like her mother even though her quietness said she had something on her mind, Tristan couldnt tell till then she was worried.

Clarisa whispered "Tristan. I need your advice. Do you have a minute?"

Tristan didn't want to intimidate his sister so he decided to take a seat. He sat down and nodded "Go ahead. I have all the time in the world for you." This was his technique to not scare her off. He knew the effect he had on people when he towered over them sometimes. He was as tall as his father now and quite bulky. As much as he wanted his sister to spill all in one go, he backed off slightly. He had to be assured she was safe first.

Clarisa walked to Tristan and pulled out a chair. She spoke as she sat down "I dont know what to do. I am in a mess."

Tristan leaned closer "What kind of mess? Anything I can solve for you Clarisa unless you are hurt. Are you hurt? You must tell me the truth."

Clarisa rubbed her forehead "No. I am not hurt...."

Tristan took a deep breath "Has anyone threatened to hurt you?"

Clarisa shook her head "No. I am fine. I am not hurt. No one has theratened me. I am perfectly safe."

Their talk always went this way. Tristan was going to go mental if he didnt ensure his sister's safety. If he was not assured, he was going to make sure she was safe and that meant Clarisa was not going to be able to move without him watching. Tristan was going to make sure he was convinced of her safety.

Tristan nodded "Clarisa. You do know I would never let any harm come to you. Right? I wont let anyone hurt you, blackmail you or cause you pain..."

Clarisa replied "But I told you. I am safe. I can cause a war. I don't want people dying over me. Honestly... Tristan. You are the only one who can help me. Dont tell anyone about what I tell you. I need your help. Can you promise not to tell anyone? This is not the time to go public with this. I want the peace to be preserved if possible."

Tristan stated " You know full well my answer Clarisa... I can promise I will protect you and I will do what I have to do to make sure you are safe. If you want to tell me a secret, you can go ahead but Clarisa you know me better than this. I wont compromise your safety over anything. If I see your well being would be compromised, I would tell everyone who needs to know about what you are about to tell me."

Clarisa visibly shook at the promise behind his words. She had to be careful about what she disclosed. She had so many secrets to tell. Which one could she tell his brother and in what way in order to not make anything worse. She took a deep breath "I need you to do one thing for me. Tonight you may find out about a matter that may or maynot concern me at the conference in Harlem. I want you to know that I knew what I was doing when I did it."

Tristan asked "I dont understand. What have you done? Clarisa... Tell me..." He was trying hard to keep calm. He had been taught enough self control not to scare his sister off when she was obviously in need of his moral support. He was approachable enough for her to come to him before anyone else in most situations. Sometimes she went to their father first if he wasnt around but he was number one trusted choice. She trusted him with words that she didnt even trust her own twin, Trent with. This relationship was opposite in the Rosario household. Vienna went to Viggo for everything first and Viggo normally talked to Vincenzo if needed.

Clarissa looked away "I cant tell you. Not now that you say you will tell others. I promise you will find out everything tonight at the meeting..."

Tristan demanded "Look at me Clarisa."

Clarissa gulped and looked at his brother. She knew he was hanging on his self control. If Trent said the same sentences she had, he would have been pinned to the wall and questioned left and right until he confessed all. But Tristan was holding himself back not interrogating her being patient when his instinct told him to. He was the most protective big brother anyone could ask. But she had always been honest with Tristan all throughout her sixteen years of existance that he knew she wasn't hiding anything and all was the truth coming from her.

Tristan spoke with disapproval "Dont give me riddles Clarisa. Tell me what you can. I told you I will have to keep you safe. I need to know what you can give me now. If you are in trouble, I need to know what kind of trouble it is."

Clarissa argued "Look. Tristan. I am prefectly safe. I am not in trouble. Its not me... Other people are in trouble..."

Tristan pressed her "You said you are in a mess."

Clarissa nodded "I am in a mess. But it looks like a mess to me. But I am not the one who will get hurt."

Tristan asked "Who will? Is... our family involved? Is Vienna involved?"

Clarissa shook her head "No. I am involved. I am safe... Vincenzo, Vitale, Letizia, Scorpious, Tiziana and Juliano have been involved... There maybe a war. You will find out why tonight..."

Tristan asked "I am going to ask you this. You must be perfectly honest with me. How long have you known this? How long have you carried this secret?"

Clarissa replied "I have been involved since I left for Italy but there was no mess. I had a call this morning. I was told there is big trouble happening and to get ready. I knew there was trouble. But it is now complicated. Too complicated."

Tristan asked calmly "Who was the call from?"

Clarissa gave out a shaky breath and hesitated.

Tristan " Terza Clarissa..."

When she used her full name, that was her only warning. She spoke quickly "Cristina Costantini."

Tristan was taken back "What? Since when do you keep contact with Cristina. He hadnt seen her in awhile."

Clarisa replied "Its a long story..."

Tristan asked "I have time. What has Cristina got to do with anything? She keeps her head low. The names you mentioned so far can be in this mess you refer to. I can totally see them cause chaos but not Cristina."

Clarisa whispered "You are right. She didnt know much until... Cesario told her and he asked her to contact me to warn me."

Tristan asked "Cain? Of course. I expected him to make an appearance". Cesario was Cain's real name. His full name was Cesario Cain Costantini. He hadn't seen Cesario for some time now either. He was attending the Harlem meeting with his father, Cristofero and his uncle, Di Luca who was Cristina's father.

Clarisa looked at his brother worriedly "Cesario wants me to hide. He asked Cristina to contact me to get ready as ... Vincenzo's grandfather is predicted to rise. He says there is danger from the Rosarios to me. But what would happen, would push the Irish and Italian families to clash. Paulo Rosario has back up. I dont know where his back up is. But we must be ready. There can be a full Irish, Italian mob war. I could be the cause of it. But I won't get hurt myself as he said. No one is allowed to touch me. But a war is on the table depending on what happens in the meeting tonight."

Tristan's chest was rising and falling now as he balled his hands into fists. He breathed out " I will speak to him. i will find Cesario. He must tell me what he knows" He then stood up.

Clarisa stood up "You don't understand. No one will touch me. I am safe. And you cant reach Cesario. If he could call me, he would have. He is with the camp that would be the one putting war on the table if Paulo Rosario gets his way. But its a possibility. He has said too much already. No one can know his loyalty is with us."

Tristan trusted Cain. Even his father, Cristofero who hated the world, respected the O'Neils. He remembered Cain's father being loyal to his father always even though his number one ally, the Voltolinis were not on the O'Neil side.

Clarisa then spoke urgently "He said something that he shouldn't have. He could be in trouble if they know he said it. He said a Sicilian Alliance is coming to New York. They won't go back unless they get what they came here for. Paulo Rosario, knows about this he had said to Cristina. The key is Vincenzo's grandfather. Those were his last words."

Tristan felt cold suddenly. Vincenzo's grandfather was no ordinary mob boss in his time. He was special in some ways. He had some kind of significance. Tristan didnt know what it was. But there was something about Paulo Rosario that made him stand out. Maybe Vincenzo had inherited his riddle like presence and his mysterious nature from his grandfather. It was never the end of it with Vincenzo just like they said Paulo never went away. He had some back up. What Clarisa said did not make much sense. It was all like pieces of puzzle thrown their way. What was really happening, he had no idea. But he knew tonight was the night to find out some truths.

Clarisa was looking at his brother worriedly with anticipation thinking about what he was going to do next. "Tristan. Can you promise to keep calm and keep the peace if you can no matter what happens? Rosarios are involved amongst other Italian families..."

Tristan spoke in his most assuring voice "I will protect you. But I cant promise anything else."

Clarisa closed her eyes shut. She didnt expect any different from her brother. She prayed for peace. She didn't want fire. But his brother's tone was promising fire.