Funeral Party...

…and taking the devil's hand

Sunny Hirsch locked herself in the kitchen pantry.

"Sunny," said Maria from outside. "Come out, please. Talk to me."

Her voice was muffled by the wooden door.

Sunny Hirsch was scared. She just had seen a female colleague get raped and no one even tried to do anything about it.

That had almost happened to her!

Sunny Hirsch hugged her knees to her body and hid her head there. Should she go back? She was alone in that world where the rich do whatever they want.

"Sunny" called Maria Esposito again. Her voice sounded far away. Like a dream.

Sunny's life completely changed in the last week after her father passed away. She had already lost her mother but losing her father was something she wasn't expecting. It was so suddenly. It's funny how kids know it's the natural order. Dad and mom will leave first. But that doesn't make it any less painful.

1 WEEK AGO

5 PM — Los Angeles, California

Sunny sat next to the coffin at the funeral. She had the headphones on and was looking at nothing particularly at the phone screen.

"She is ice," people said.

"She doesn't even cry" people commented behind her back.

"...street at night because of a single candle. She's so spoiled."

The casket was closed. But there was a picture of Joe Hirsch, Sunny's father, next to the coffin. He looked a lot like Sunny. Blond, blue eyes. But his eyes were hidden by glasses and he had a wispy beard. Even though the photo, there was still the feeling that he was going to crack some dad jokes around.

"It's burial time," someone said. "We have to go."

It was raining in the pit and the land was wet. Sunny Hirsch remembered how her father used to say that he loved the smell of land during the rain. They had coffee on the porch while smelling the rain falling in the backyard. Because of that vivid memory, Sunny Hirsch didn't listen to a word from the priest praying. Until the gravediggers threw dirt at her father, she remembered Joe's last words,

"The only thing I want is to see you smile, Sunny".

Sunny took off her headset and smiled. The people around were horrified by the scene. But as tears fell from Sunny's eyes for the first time, she was smiling at the coffin being covered.

"So shameless..."

"Oh, my God."

"Worst daughter in the world.”

Sunny's mouth was hurting as she was smiling. All of her teeth were sampled. It was the biggest smile she had seen in her life. It was the greatest pain she would ever feel until her death.

That’s what Sunny thought until her sister Luna showed up (with her Italian boyfriend) while their dad was almost all buried. Sunny didn't knew but that was just the beginning of her end.

Luna Hirsch paid for a car to take them back home. Luna looked very sorry as she saw her sister's broken state.

As the sisters (and the Italian guy) back home in the car of a rainy Los Angeles, Luna Hirsch asked a thing that made Sunny scream, "What?"

As soon as the driver pulled up in front of the house the Hirsch sisters grew up in, Sunny got out of the car.

“You’re kidding, right?” Sunny screamed.

"Sunny! Wait" asked Luna.

Sunny wasn't mad at Luna for not coming back on time. She wasn't even mad Luna was late for Dad's funeral. But that question made her angry for the first time.

“I’m not going to Italy, Luna. I just lost dad!”

“I lost him too,” Luna remembered.

"The rain has stopped," noticed Sunny suddenly.

Sunny thought how annoying that day got so beautiful after Dad's funeral. It's stopped raining. The sky was blue and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Butterflies fluttered around the flowers Joe had planted in the front garden of their house.

"I'm sorry, Luna. But I'm trying to keep my man far away from that crazy bitch. She is obsessed with him and her father is a mobster."

"I don't know how to speak Italian."

"They may try to kill him if he doesn't do what she wants."

“I don’t have a passport.”

“His life may be in real danger.”

"Are you sure that you know what he wants?" Sunny Hirsch asked.

"He wants peace. I want that peace too."

"Don't you care about what I want?"

Luna Hirsch took the sister's hand.

"I know that you want to stay here and transform the house into a dad's sanctuary. But I really think that you should leave. The last thing that Dad would like it’s for you to be unhappy."

But surprisingly, it didn't take Luna many days to convince Sunny. Luna already had a plane ticket and a contracted job in Milan. She just needed Sunny to fill in for her at work during her 3 months contract left. After that Sunny can get fired without Luna paying a terribly high fine.

"Are you sure people will not notice?" Sunny Hirsch asked. "We are very similar as sisters but come on."

Sunny looking at her sister Luna was like looking into a mirror. The same light blond hair, huge sky blue eyes, and small nose. After puberty, they could easily pretend they shared 9 months in the belly as twins.

"I just asked for a transfer to Milan," said Sunny Hirsch. "Nobody knows me there. I promise you."

"What are they gonna say about my name?"

"Just say it's a mistake. Hirsch it's not even a common surname anyway. They will not make a big deal if you don't."

And that's how Sunny Hirsch somehow arrived in Milan. She was but relieved to finally arrive but when she saw the news that a car had caught fire in front of a company building, Sunny thought had accidentally ended up in France. She didn’t know that Italians also had such... hobbies.

Sunny took her suitcases and walked into Italy for the first time in her life.

"Hello," said a woman behind her.

The woman had very dark hair, brown eyes, and that pretty Italian face. She was dressed in a navy blue overcoat and she was smiling recognizing Sunny.

"Sei Luna, vero?” (You're Luna, right?)

Sunny Hirsch only understood the "Luna" part so she nodded. Uh-huh. Luna. That's her.

“Sono del Wolf Group. Maria Esposito.” (I'm from the Wolf Group. I'm Maria Esposito.)

Maria... Okay… Sunny Hirsch nodded.

“Possiamo andare adesso?” (Can we go now?)

Still nodding, Sunny awkwardly moved on.

"Sai che dovrai lavorare con la Cavalleria, vero? Il proprietario del Gruppo Wolf ha 10 figli. Non tutti sono facili da affrontare." (You know you're going to have to work with the Cavalleria, right? The Wolf Group owner has 10 heirs. Not all of them are easy to deal with.)

Sunny Hirsch nodded.

"Perché mi sembra che tu non parli italiano?" (Why do I feel like you can't speak Italian?)

Sunny nodded again.

Maria Esposito stopped and looked at Sunny Hirsch. Sunny flashed her best sympathetic smile.

"Forse è meglio così." (Maybe it's better this way.)

Sunny Hirsch always thought her sister worked at a conglomerate as an intern. Suits, papers, gray buildings. Instead, Maria Exposito took Sunny Hirsch to a residential neighborhood.

Maria's car stopped in front of huge gates and there were armed guards. Security was heavy.

“Mi sento come se ti avessi portato direttamente nella tana del leone... Tana di lupi, in realtà.” (I feel like I've led you straight into the lion's den.... Den of wolves, actually.)

"Molto buono," Sunny Hirsch replied with a smile.

The entrance to the mansion was imposing and majestic. A wrought-iron gate opened onto a cobbled path that led to the front door. On either side of the path were beds of colorful flowers and neatly trimmed bushes. In the center of the garden, a marble fountain gushed water. Over the fountain, a bronze statue of a wolf raised its head to the sky, as if howling at the moon. The statue was realistic, its fur carved in detail. The mansion was white stone with a terracotta roof. It had three floors and many, many windows. That place was powerful and intimidating — like all my secrets and fears would be laid bare on the marble floor, thought Sunny.

Maria Esposito parked the car far away from the main home. She looked at Sunny Hirsch very seriously.

"First of all," said Maria in perfect English "I need to tell you about Antonio Blaze's 9 sons. And most importantly: why you should never let them seduce you."

PRESENT — Moonstone House's Kitchen Pantry

"What happened?" asked a male deep and smooth voice from outside.

"She locked herself in," said Maria.

"Luna?" asked the male. "It's me."

He knows my sister?, Sunny Hirsch thought, lifting her head.

Sunny Hirsch unlocked the door. She was chocked to find one of the Blaze brothers. Alessandro Blaze was even more gorgeous when seen up so close. Dark red hair, incredible green eyes. Like emeralds. If he stood still long enough and someone put up a sign, you'd believe he was a work of art.

"I'm scared," Sunny Hirsch admitted low.

Alessandro Blaze smiled a little bit and offered his hand. He had a huge and strong hand. Like he sid aome heavy exercises.

"I'm going to help you," Alessandro Blaze promised, offering a hand to get her off the ground. "I brought you here so I'm going to be responsible for you. Into the end."

Sunny Hirsch knows she shouldn't do that. But somehow, she just took his hand. Maybe she was hypnotized by his green eyes, maybe she just needed someone (anyone) to grab at the scary moment. But she did.

Sunny Hirsch wondered why he had said that. Did Alessandro Blaze know her sister? What had he promised to Luna? She had many questions but at that moment she just blindly accepted his protection.