A black luxury sedan flanked at both ends by two black SUV's slowly made it's way through the streets of Milan, the cars painting a sombre picture in an otherwise enchanting evening. The man inside the sedan snorted at the people looking with obvious displeasure at his convoy that took up the entire road. He turned his attention back to his assitant, dark hair and eyes with olive skin, a quintessential meditteranean beauty. But she was not employed for her beauty but more for her sharp wits that helped her survive the unforgiving streets of Sardinia. But right now that woman looked at him nervously, " Please don't worry sir, I am sure the Madam will be alright."she said, trying her best to comfort him, or so she thought. The man didn't say anything. To others his silence would be considered as nervousness but he alone knows that he feels apathetic to the situation. He looked outside the window once again, at the streets he owned.
The man was Luigi Lancia , the twenty fifth generation head of the Lancia family. He was also the sole remanant of the powerful mage family, having lost all the others to schemes by their longtime rivals the Ascia family. But it no longer matters. The rivalry ended when Luigi personally ended the life of the head of the Ascias, having made him witness the deaths of his loved ones and finally whispering to him his own schemes. The man cried blood when he heard from Luigi's own lips that the one who truly killed the Lancia family members was yours truly. Luigi had provoked a war between the two families to get rid of the 'abscess'. Luigi had used the war to destroy those who could oppose him and his ideas and had used the Ascia family as a tool. The wisened head of the Ascia family nearly went insane when he found out that a family as old and grand as his had been used as a ' disposable tool ' .
Such was the man called Luigi. But do not mistake him for a power hungry man. No, what Luigi sought wasn't power but efficiency. Having lost his parents to an ' accident ' he grew up in an environment of constant political scheming. Throw in magic and you have a situation where you can trust no one. Magic. The one thing that kept him alive and useful. Being a talented mage had earned him the trust and respect of others which enabled him to move more freely. Luigi loathed how his powerful family had fallen to internal disputes. They were family in name only. Brothers tried to kill each other and sisters plotted each other's downfall, they did not try to reach greater heights but tried only to pull others down to their level. Nepotism ran rampant within the family, as ironic as it sounds. To Luigi , who valued efficiency, such a situation must be destroyed. And so he plotted, gambled and won.
The current Lancia family was like a well oiled machine. Although family in name only with all positions filled by Luigi's own hand picked people, it functioned efficiently. Luigi valued merit. He found no reason to tolerate friendship and relations when it came to running his family. Luigi was jerked out of his thoughts when the car stopped. His secretary opened the doors and held it for him as he slowly made his way out. The board read ' St. Angelo's ' the best hospital in all of Milan, owned and operated by the Medici family of mages. He sighed, his face carrying a hint of mirth. He slowly walked inside to the labour room. His ' wife ' was giving birth to his son. Luigi had wanted an heir but he realised that it would become a variable to his plans. So he decided to choose a woman with superior genes. He searched all over the world and used his family's power to the utmost to find a woman who was the last of an ancient bloodline. He found one. He looked into the labour room at the woman. She had raven black hair and eyes so gray that they would gleam with a silver light. Her brown skin further accented her eyes. He had found her in Rio de Janeiro. The last remaining direct descendant of two bloodlines, the shamans of the Aztecs and the priests of the Incas. He was surprised to find her but dissapointed to see that her aptitude for magic was abysmal. Still he married and impregnated her. The lass was overjoyed to be courted by an Italian businessman and was fiercely loyal to him. She was nice to everyone in the family and always tried to force him to spend more time with her. Luigi found it annoying and always excused himself with a smile. He smiled wryly when he remembered how he had played the caring husband act splendidly.
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The door to the labour room opened, bringing him out of his reverie. A nurse carried out a small bundle in her arms and gave it to him without a word and hurriedly went back inside. Luigi was irritated but was surprised to see all the people inside the room rushing about. A while later the head doctor Silvio Medici came out of the room with a grim expression, " I'm sorry Luigi, we couldn't save her....", Silvio sat down on the bench while speaking, tired from over exerting his magic and his medical skills. Silvio and all the other nurses quite liked the friendly attitude of Luigi's wife and felt depressed that they couldn't save her. Luigi said nothing. He gently patted Silvio's shoulder and went inside the room. He bent down and kissed his wife's forehead and let a single tear fall from his eyes. He gently held her hand as if comforting her and then walked out of the room and the hospital carrying his son with him.
The next day her funeral was held and Luigi looked heart broken through out the proceedings. The heads of other families were surprised to see the stoic man with such an expression of anguish and inferred on their own of her importance to him. Inwardly though , Luigi felt glad that he didn't have that ' baggage ' with him anymore and decided to use this as an excuse to keep some annoying vultures away from him. He looked at his son and started thinking of how to factor him into his plans to get the most benefits.