[ Challenges ] [ Sims 3 Stories ] [ Agnes and Eric ]
Don Renzella, newly resurrected and freed of the vampire curse, felt reborn! Fitter than he ever had been.
"I must go and congratulate those scientists," he thought. He and Giovanni had settled in a larger house, in the prosperous celebrity suburb of Bridgeport, at 56 Brommer Drive. (Don had never asked Giovanni where the money came from, but he assumed it was the money Giovanni had defrauded Agnes of. That didn't bother him at all. Business was business.)
He went straight back to work; the other criminals were not at all phased at his having been dead and now being alive again.
"It's only like being in jail for a while," said "Fingers" Wogan Hemlock, and there were shrugs all round. Don wasn't a bad boss, some of them privately thought. They would prefer him over his son any day - while Don Renzella would dispose of an enemy, or a nuisance, without thinking twice, at least you knew where you stood with him. Giovanni was far more evil than his father and some of them were dreading the day when he would surely take over from his father as head of the Evil Empire.
Then Giovanni brought Cor to live with them. Don Salvatore was delighted to have his grandson living with them. he never gave any thought to Agnes. She was merely the vessel that his son had used to provide him with a grandson, an heir!
He loved hearing the child's voice in the background, and playing with little Cor. He taught him to walk and talk, and never to get into the swimming pool.
"One day, Cor, all this will be yours. And much more besides. I will have a whole criminal Empire for you."
"But I will have THIS. It is bad for your teeth!"
Cor loved to play by the swimming pool. He never fell in, but it was pleasant there on the warm clay tiles, and he didn't have to wear those annoying clothes. And the sound of the water moving was calming and reminded him somehow of his mother's voice.
They had a butler, but Don Renzella was a firm believer in the principle that bringing up children was work for women. Don Renzella got out his address book. Of course, he had talked to Aria, and wished her well with her new husband, but there were other ladies, and Aria was no longer young. Nor was he, but it didn't matter so much for a man... Maybe it was time to grow the Family a little. Maybe he could even find someone for himself... or for his son Giovanni, who was still single. He knew Morrigan, of course, and heartily approved of Benjamino's choice, although he was a little uneasy at there being no wedding for Benjamino. He liked big parties, and would throw one on the slightest excuse.
He interviewed a few women for the post of live-in nanny. Katelyn Missoni got the post, though this Townie, Daisy, had excellent qualifications.
But she was maybe not so good at looking after Cor. However, she and the longsuffering butler kept the household running between them.
Possibly because Cor didn't like her at all. "You're not my Mommy. You're just the nappy-changer-lady."
Little Cor was provided with all the toys he could possibly want, but there was no warmth.
And he often fell asleep all alone, ignored among his toys until the butler came to put him to bed.
Katelyn was very happy to flirt with the athletic Giovanni, though not at all interested in Don Renzella.
Cor had inherited his temper from his grandfather. Don Renzella also had tantrums. Not often, but VERY frightening.
Every night the little boy cried into his pillow for his mother, and every night his father came and told him to "Forget her. You have everything you want here. Now go to sleep." And then Cor would cry some more, quietly.
He did not have what he wanted, he told the pillow. Eventually he stopped crying, and became quite withdrawn.
He discovered many things in his grandfather's library, and developed an interest in poisons. Of course, Don Renzella had a large collection of books about crime and criminals. Every profession takes study and the Don felt they could all learn from the masters. (He approved of Cor's reading ALL his books, although Giovanni did question it. "Better he learn from a book and know how to protect himself when he is older," said Don Renzella.)
He played chess, he did his homework, he read in their library. "Master Poisoners of SimCity" and "Case Notes of A Forensic Scientist" were favourites of his.
He had no friends at school and never played, instead taking books with him to read (the more innocuous ones for school, in case a teacher asked what he was reading).
He was polite to his grandfather's many guests, even the stranger ones.
Cor watched and learned by watching. Don Salvatore had some interesting guests at his many parties, and Cor learned that if he looked just ... so, he could see what they saw.
Don Renzella made Emperor of Evil. Giovanni was then working as his Henchman, his sole desire being to take over after his father retired.
August 14, 2012